In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the windmill that the animals build symbolizes totalitarian triumph, highlights the novel’s Soviet parallels, and emphasizes various themes and character traits. The windmill reveals the despotic and megalomanic tendencies of the pigs, particularly Napoleon, and the hardworking and naïve nature of Boxer, the horse. It also brings the themes, such as the abuse of language to bolster power, and the danger of a naïve working class, to light. Animal Farm’s symbolic windmill certainly functions as a device to draw parallels between the failed communism in the Soviet Union and the failed animalism (the animals’ version of communism) in the Animal Farm. In the novel, the windmill is proposed as a necessary technology that would improve the lives of the animals drastically in the long run, but would require hard work and some concessions on the animals’ part. This closely mimics the forced industrialization attempts carried out by Stalin in the USSR. Like forced industry in Russia, the windmill was a useful way for Napoleon, or Stalin, to gain full, despotic control over the working class. The windmill allowed Napoleon to enforce harsh restrictions on food and sleep, as well as remove equality from animalism by presenting the pigs as higher beings. This is clearly an example of the triumph of autocratic power. Industrialization in Stalinist Russia was similar in that it placed Stalin as the dictator, and allowed him to exploit the working
In the novel “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, the animals take over the farm and develop their own independent society. Just as it happened during the Russian Revolution of 1917. George Orwell underlies the tension between the oppressed and the exploiting classes between the condescending ideals and harsh realities of socialism.
Theme Analysis The theme of Animal Farm is not difficult to understand. Orwell intended to criticize the communist regime he saw sweeping through Russia and spreading to Europe and even the United States. Though he agreed with many Marxist principles, Orwell was unable to accept the communist interpretation of socialism because he saw many similarities between the communist governments and the previous czarist regimes in old Russia. Communism, he thought, was inherently hypocritical.In his self-proclaimed “fairy-story,” Orwell uses his allegorical farm to symbolize the communist system. Though the original intention of overthrowing Mr. Jones (who represents the Czars), is not inherently evil in itself, Napoleon’s subsequent adoption of
George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is a great example of allegory and political satire. The novel was written to criticize totalitarian regimes and particularly Stalin's corrupt rule in Russia. In the first chapter Orwell gives his reasons for writing the story and what he hopes it will accomplish. It also gives reference to the farm and how it relates to the conflicts of the Russian revolution. The characters, settings, and the plot were written to describe the social upheaval during that period of time and also to prove that the good nature of true communism can be turned into something atrocious by an idea as simple as greed. This essay will cover the comparisons between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution. It will also explain why
The ninety-five page novella, Animal Farm, written by George Orwell. Aimed at teenagers and adults, it cleverly shows the flaws within society and how we will never change. This timeless classic was converted into an hour and ten minute long film (in 1954) which is suitable and supposedly appealing to young children.
Being deceived is not something noticed on first glance; small, seemingly harmless steps with perfectly reasonable explanations are taken first. Through the oppression and control of the non-pigs in Animal Farm, George Orwell warns that the negative results that come from ignorance are the likeliness of being deceived, unawareness of social change, and people’s inability to objectively judge their situation.
Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution. The concept of ‘Animalism’ that had come to “Old Major” (pg. 1) in a dream is representative of Marx and Communism. Napoleon is much like Joseph Stalin. Each animal or type of animal represents a person from the events of the revolution. “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (pg. 97), Communism is all about how everyone is equal, much like Animalism, however in both cases certain people have come out on top and made life a living hell for everyone of lower classes. Both concepts started out as utopic ideas but turned into dystopic realities for both the animals and humans. There is quite a distinct connection between the events of Stalinist Russia and during the book of Animal
Orwell, in his story Animal Farm explains the reality of Stalinist Russia by exposing how the welfare of the individual is dismissed due to a dominant and repressive ideology. The novel follows a linear narrative structure, calmly told, allowing the reader to monitor the increasing power of the pigs and the consequent erosion of the rights of the other animals. The regular description of the weather and seasons contributes to the chronological narrative while acting metaphorically to capture the mood and condition of the animals. The initial success of the revolution, ‘By Autumn the animals were tired but happy’, contrasts with the reality years later, ‘Meanwhile life was hard. The winter was as cold as the last one had been.’ The joy of liberation captured in the accumulation of verbs and repetition of ‘they’ , ‘…they hurled themselves into the air…They rolled in the dew,…’is short lived. Dramatic irony presents the disparity when it is decided the milk and apples ‘should be reserved for the pigs alone’ and marks the gradual erosion of conditions, ‘Starvation seemed to stare them in the face.’ An imperative tone, ‘No animal shall drink alcohol to excess’, highlights the increasing corruption of the pigs and contradiction of the seven commandments. The breaking of each commandment symbolises the parallel journey of the pigs to a dictatorship and the animals to destitution and oppression. Contrast
Every ninety-eight seconds, an American is sexually assaulted; however, only six out of a thousand rapists will end up prison. Not only are evil actions being done, they are actions that go unpunished. Along with sexual assault, people choose actions like murder, torture, and even more mild offenses like lying. People may even seek pleasure from these activities. Climate change, political agendas, and intolerance across the globe are all examples of human created problems that could be avoided if human weren’t fundamentally horrible. According to literary, historical and modern research, humans are generally violent and awful.
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell is an allegorical novel published on England in 1945. According to the author, this book reflects historical events leading up and during the Stalin era before World War II. It is the story of a revolution which goes wrong, based on the Russian revolution and Stalin’s use of power, the overall message is that man’s desire for power makes a classless society impossible. In the book, each animal represents a public figure or a type of person in real life. With this we can begin to develop the questions below in order to have a more complete idea of the meaning of the novel.
In Animal Farm by George Orwell, Old Major declares “‘And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come--cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the
One of the major significant symbols in Animal Farm is the windmill. Orwell writes, “The animals were somewhat surprised to hear Napoleon announce the windmill was to be built after all... he merely warned this extra task would mean very hard work; it might even be necessary to reduce their rations” (Orwell #). The quote above proves that the windmill represents government manipulating their people. Within the government at Animal Farm the pig Napoleon was the leader and he had all the animals work on the windmill while he sat back and gave orders. Most of the animals were working very hard and were getting less food due to the time spent on the windmill. Furthermore, while everyone else was getting less food, barely enough to keep them going, he was manipulating them. He convinced them he needed food because he used his brain to keep them all alive. Additionally, this clarifies that the windmill represents how government manipulates their people because Napoleon was head of the government and basically the whole government. This means he was the mastermind and manipulated everyone into benefitting him in someway. In the end, Napoleon is the government who manipulates their people in the Russian Revolution.
The novel Animal Farm is about a group of animals who rebel against the ranch owner and take over the ranch. However, once the animals were at last all equal, the pigs started to gradually make the farm a dictatorship by deceiving the other animals. The point where the "free" farm became just as atrocious as the original was when the pigs begun to walk on two legs, which was incredibly allegorical of the pigs becoming the evil humans that they swore never to become. Overall, the whole story was a metaphor of the Russian Revolution. Much like it occurred in Animal Farm, the visions of a better future dreamed about by Vladimir Lenin do not transpire. The philosophical goals and outcomes of communist societies are drastically incongruent because humankind is avaricious. Once absolute power is given to a person that does not genuinely believe in the purpose, that person often becomes corrupt. In the case of Animal Farm, the pigs started to relish the luxuries of humans and kept wanting more. To entirely understand why the philosophical goals and outcomes of communist societies are drastically different, one must first understand the reasons for the original development of socialist and communist philosophy in Europe, the events that were impetus behind fundamental change in Russia, and the social, political, economic, and cultural factors which cause the practices of newly formed political systems to deviate from purist philosophy. The reasons for the original development of
Tyranny has always been present in human history from Joseph Stalin to Adolf Hitler they have all taken advantage of the public and used them to their own advantage and personal needs. In the story Animal Farm by George Orwell this tyrannical, totalitarian, and corrupt form of government is seen. In the story the tired animals organize a rebellion against their owner and drive him out. They create their own government, with the pigs assuming control. But the corrupt pigs take advantage of this power entrusted to them, and oppress the animal for their own benefit. Even though the pigs abused the power they had, The naive and gullible animals themselves were the ones responsible for the pigs’ quick rise to power and control because the animals were tricked into supporting the pigs evil plans, they were too braindead to organize and execute a rebellion even after they realized the pigs were up to no good, and they were so foolish that they even supported the expulsion of snowball, the only good pig that worked for the good of the other animals.
“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, farm animals drive out their farmer and live in an environment where all animals are equal. However, the pigs, the smartest animals on the farm, end up taking over the farm and controlling all the animals. They trick the animals into believing they are doing everything for the benefit of the farm, when in reality they are doing it for themselves. The famous quote mentioned in this novel not only explains a scene in the book; it also shows the Orwell’s true purpose for writing the story: his hatred towards communism and Stalin’s rule. An author shows his or her purpose through the text’s hidden meanings, the structure of the text, the sequence of events, and the diction of the text.
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.