Allegory in Animal Farm, by George Orwell Essay

** How is this story allegorical? If an allegory is “a figurative representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal,” then what is the additional or alternative meaning contained in Orwell’s story of animal rebellion?

‘Animal Farm’ is a novella by George Orwell, which serves as a political allegory of the Soviet Union and satirises the tyranny under Joseph Stalin’s dictatorship. It tells the story of a farm on which the animals drive out their human master, Mr Jones, who has grown accustomed to neglecting them in his drunken stupors, reflecting how Tsar Nicholas II ignored the squalor the proletariat were living in whilst the bourgeoisie enjoyed better fortunes. With Jones ousted, the animals seem to enjoy a life of equality but as issues arise, the pigs, who claim themselves to be the most intelligent of the animals, put themselves in charge and a power struggle arises between the two most headstrong pigs, Napoleon, a “fierce-looking Berkshire boar”, and Snowball, ‘a more vivacious pig’. Orwell presents a social hierarchy and a divide between the pigs and the other animals from an early point with it growing more prominent as the story progresses using a variety of language and structural techniques.

I have decided to explore the theme of how ‘Fear is a powerful motivator’. Different leaders and influential people have various ways of using fear to motivate people. Two of my texts: ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, and ‘The Rise of Evil” directed by Christian Duguay, both show how totalitarian leaders used violence to motivate the public. The other texts: ‘Bowling for Columbine’ directed by Michael Moore, and ‘Who’s for the Game’ by Jesse Pope, both show how two different influential people motivated the public without using violence, instead creating fear using words.

An allegory is similar to symbolism but that instead of one thing standing for another meaning, the whole story stands for a greater meaning. "Animal Farm" is a great example of an allegory because every aspect of the story symbolizes something in real life and George Orwell was trying to point out something that was happening everyday. In the time "Animal Farm" was released, Russia had a lot of things going on. The people were overthrowing the traditional czarist country and leading a communist revolution, whether they knew it or not. Mr. Jones represents the czar in power before they were overthrown by a new power, the pigs. The animals represent the people, or the working class.

a. Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is an allegory due to the usage of the concept of animals on a farm, which is usually a lighthearted subject, being used to reflect the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917. The events in the story also reflect on the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. In the beginning of the story, the Major, whom is an old middle white boar, encourages the other animals to start a rebellion. He wanted to kick out the owner of the farm, Mr. Jones, so that animals may instead rule the farm. “Why then do we continue in this miserable

Animal Farm by George Orwell is a story with lots of underlying and foreshadowing ideas. It takes place in England and it is about a farm were the animal’s take over and they run it themselves. However the pigs create a dictatorship, which ruins the purpose of the farm. The rules of Animalism change in the story to suite the pigs as the pigs gain more power.

What kind of government does what ever it can to gain all the power it can? How far will a government go to achieve full submission? One such government that took the controle of it citizens to far was the Russian Government during the russian revolution. George Orwell used allegories in the book Animal Farm to critisize the totalitarian government that over took Russia. Orwell clearly explains how the Russian totalitarianistic Government brain washed its citizens into working hard for minimal pay, kept the working class from rebelling, and shaped the beliefs of the people.

The novella ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, is an allegory, because while the pigs and dogs may have started out trying to make things better, they ended up making things worse then they had been before. Little hidden meanings, to show the negative aspect when taken too far. Some examples are: Manor Farm is allegorical of Russia, Mr Jones - the farmer, is Czar. Snowball, the pig is the intellect of the operation, the dogs in the barnyard are police squad. Boxer, the horse is your average Joe, or the working class. My take on this story's message, is in reference, to what I believe to be the most famous line in the entire story “ All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Basically stated, you have to be careful when you are trying to change things, otherwise you might become the thing you are trying to fight; communism in this setting, and that power manipulates for its own means.

When people have too much power, it can cause corruption. In 1945, George Orwell published a novella called Animal Farm. This novella is about how the animals were treated and how they responded to these actions. George Orwell uses allegory in Animal Farm to show how power can corrupt a leader by using symbolic elements and characters.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and Stalin’s rise to power. What begins as a fight for equality quickly turns into a dictatorship in which the pigs manipulate and exploit the rest of the animals on the farm. In the novel, animals on a farm decide that they are being mistreated and starved to death by Mr. Jones. The animals have decided that the best way for life to change is to rebell and expel Mr. Jones off the farm. The animals are now under power of Napoleon and the other pigs.

In George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, published in 1945, allegory is used many times throughout the story by several of the main characters including: Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer. Snowball was a caring leader who did things for the farm, not just himself. The selfish and wanting pigs, Napoleon and Squealer, drove Snowball away and took control of the farm by brainwashing the other animals. Most things that occur in Animal Farm are related to what happened with Joseph Stalin. One major theme expressed in the book is that power will eventually corrupt those who possess it. Allegory in Animal Farm focuses on the characters of Snowball, Squealer, and Napoleon.

Animal farm written by george orwell is an example of an allegory. An allegory, in literature, is a story that has two levels of meaning. First, the story shapes itself, whereas the characters, and the plot are set and being explained. The second level is where the symbolism takes place, more specifically has a deeper meaning. An allegory is a fable. Animals in the story talking and surreality, where the animal farm would be placed because it is a story about animals, a farm, and their treatment but following along is the flaws in the russian government during the time it was written. Each animal represents a person or groups of people who played a role in and were affected by the Russian Revolution. Napoleon, the pig who leads the revolution against men, represents Joseph Stalin. Stalin's actions are parallel with Napoleon. For instance, Stalin starved an estimated 4 to 10 million Ukrainian farmers for defying collectivism. The

Karl Marx, writer of Communist Manifesto, is represented as an old, wise pig in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Because Orwell is a democratic socialist and does not accept the ideologies of Marxism, he reveals the reality of communism and reflects his opinions through sardonic situations that occur among animals. The state of communism that Marx and Friedrich Engels describe is where the state is abolished, people live in a society where members work together in agreement and no one is exploited, and every member shares the rewards of hard work. The envisions of Marx greatly contrasted with the plot of Animal Farm. Old Major, a pig, had a dream that mirrored Marx and his dream of communism. This “dream” is ironic because it suggests that communism is only a dream. The Soviet Union’s policies were seen as steps to reach communism, rather than the end result of communism, in which all animals of the farm endured. The characters in animal farm had to pass through this in between stage before becoming a complete communist society, and in reality they remained in this stage and believed they were close to their goal.

George Orwell was the author of Animal Farm, an allegory to Russian history around Stalin’s time in 1917. Orwell has written many books, his most popular ones including Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. “An anarchist in the late 1920s, by the 1930s he had begun to consider himself a socialist.” (BBC, page 1). Along with being a socialist, Orwell was also called an “anti-stalinist,” due to having to get away from a battle against the Soviets due to wanting his life to be saved.

Though Animal Farm can be considered nothing more than a charming animal fable depicting a doomed rebellion, its origin is actually of a more serious and political nature. It is not only the tale of Napoleon and Animal Farm, but a satire and commentary on that of the Russian Revolution, Stalin and Communism. For a person to gain a true understanding of Orwell's meaning in Animal Farm, it is best that he or she has an understanding of the political parties and history surrounding Communism, Stalin, and the upheaval and fear that followed Stalin's rise to power.