Animal Farm by George Orwell
The book Animal Farm by George Orwell was first published in 1945, and the context when it was written plays a huge role in shaping it. It was after the Russian Revolution in which we see Joseph Stalin became the new leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin’s idea and leadership clearly doesn’t impress George Orwell, as this book shows the dark side of Stalin’s system through a group of fictional characters, the animals. Not only that, the book was also able to foresee the situation every government in the world is facing: the lethal side of power.
The plot of the book is pretty straightforward; it resembles the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of that event a lot. Starting with a barn called Manor Farm where
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At the meeting about the project, Snowball has a great and passionate speech about his vision, but when it’s Napoleon’s turn to speak, he signals nine attack dogs to chase Snowball off the farm. He then declares his leadership and declares that the pigs will make all the decisions, no more meeting required. He also uses Snowball as a scapegoat for everything bad that happens to them. As time goes on, Napoleon and the pigs behave more and more like humans: they move into Mr. Jones’ house and live in prosperity while the other animals have less and less food. As more of the Seven Commandments are broken by the pigs, the commandments are slightly changed so the pigs technically don’t break any of them. As the years pass, Napoleon purchases more land from a neighboring farmer, Mr. Pilkington. Life for all animals is harsh, except for the pigs. Eventually, the pigs start walking on two legs and behave like a human. The Seven Commandments are later reduced to a single law: "All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others."
As we connect the book to Russia in the post-Russian Revolution era, we find the resemblance between the fictional and historical character. The boar Old Major is the representation of the Marx-Lenin idea of a better life after the suffering they’ve had under Mr. Jones, who represents Tsar Nicholas II (the last Tsar of Russia). Napoleon is the “necessary” leader to
Animal Farm is an allegory novella describing and revealing what Orwell thought wrong with how Russia went from it's previous form of ideology to communism.
The book takes place in a farm where a group of oppressed and mistreated animals plan to rebel against their human master Mr Jones. They want to create a farm with perfect comradeship where the
N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016. Old Major is the animal version of V. I. Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Party that seized control in the 1917 Revolution. As old Major outlines the principles of Animalism, a theory holding that all animals are equal and must revolt against their oppressors, Lenin was inspired by Karl Marx's theory of Communism, which urges the "workers of the world" to unite against their economic oppressors. As Animalism imagines a world where all animals share in the prosperity of the farm, Communism argues that a "communal" way of life will allow all people to live lives of economic equality. old Major dies before he can see the final results of the revolution, as Lenin did before witnessing the ways in which his disciples carried on the work of
Old Major is Lenin, the dogs are the KGB, Moses is religion at that time, Mr. Jones is Tsar, Frederick is Hitler, Pilkington is the USA, Napoleon is Stalin, Snowball is Trotsky, Squealer is propaganda, Boxer is the laboring class, and Mollie is the upper class. It is not hard to determine which animals represent what. Orwell makes sure to make it simple for the reader to see who is representing who. Squealer is one of the easiest animals to pick out. Orwell describes Squealer as, “a small fat pig…with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes...and a shrill voice. He was a brilliant talker and when he was arguing a difficult point…he had a way which was somehow very persuasive” (Orwell 36). Squealer also uses a form of propaganda when speaking about Boxer, deception, because he is deceiving everyone to think good of Napoleon when, in reality, he is really the one that is the enemy here. Snowball is another easy parallel to catch because of the hatred of him by Napoleon. Just like how Trotsky was deported from Russia by the KGB, Snowball was chased off the farm by the dogs. Also, similar to how Trotsky and Stalin differ on opinions about many things, Napoleon and Snowball differed on opinions about the building of the windmill. Overall, the animals are very easy to characterize because of Napoleon’s
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is, first and foremost, a political satire warning against the pursuit of utopian desires through unjust and oppressive means. Operating under the pretense of an animal fable, Orwell disparages the use of political power to poach personal freedom. He effectively alerts his readers to the dangerous price that can accompany the so-called “pursuit of progress”. And he illuminates how governments acting under the guise of increasing independence often do just the opposite: increase oppression and sacrifice sovereignty. While the cautionary theme Orwell provides proves widely applicable, in reality his novel focuses on one tale of totalitarian abuse: Soviet Russia. The parallels between the society Orwell presents in his Animal Farm and the Soviet Union – from the Russian revolution to Stalin’s supremacy – are seemingly endless. Manor Farm represents Tsarist Russia, Animalism compares to Stalinism, and Animal Farm, with the pig Napoleon at its helm, clearly symbolizes Communist Russia and Joseph Stalin. But Orwell does more than simply align fiction with fact. He fundamentally attacks Soviet Russia at its core. And in so doing he reveals how the Communist Party simply replaced a bad system with a worse one, overthrowing an imperial autocracy for a totalitarian dictatorship. This essay will demonstrate that Orwell’s Animal Farm is
As I said, everything in this story stands for something in the Russian Revolution. Manor Farm is allegorical of Russia, and the farmer Mr. Jones is the Russian Czar. Old Major stands for either Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin, and the pig named Snowball represents the intellectual revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Napoleon stands for Stalin, while the dogs are his secret police. The horse Boxer stands in for the proletariat, or working class.
In George Orwell’s famous novel animal farm Orwell’s views on Power leadership corruption, lies and deceit, and violence are shown through the novel Animal Farm and is a clear allegory for the Russian Revolution.
One of the main characters of Animal Farm is an allegorical parallel of Joseph Stalin. Napoleon is the pig that emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the Rebellion. He represents
After the Czar, a provisional government is set up in Russia to run the country (Brown). After Mr. Jones, the animals are led by a pig named Napoleon who ends up being very similar to Farmer Jones as well. Also, another way these two people are alike is they were both forced out of their rule. Czar Nicholas was forced into exile and later killed. Farmer Jones had been forced out by his animals who took over.
George Orvells fairy story “Animal Farm” portrays a group of animal’s rebellion for being mistreated. George Orvell uses a combination Personification and hyperboles to symbolize the Russian Revolution. George Orvell depicts idealist and politicians as animals to enlighten the reader on the Russian Revolution, and The Russian Civil War. Snowball’s character is defined by his loyalty to the cause of animalism, and his willingness to work hard beside the other animals.
The book Animal Farm can be summarize as a animals who were tired of working with poor conditions and wanted to make a change. After the creation called Animalism made by the majestic boar, Old Major, animals seeked for justice. In the beginning of animalism, the farm animals had got along and had created the seven commandments for all to follow but in short time they fell back in the hole of inequality. The pigs had taken over to be the most important, made the others fear them and were forced to let the boars have all power in saying. Orwell’s main purpose was to distribute the wide connection and relevance of animalism to communism showed great similarities toward the Russian Revolution. Many of the pigs portrayed the leaders of the Soviet
The book Animal Farm by George Orwell was written in comparison to the way that the Russian revolution had taken place. The main idea of the book was that the petite bourgeoisie’s (the middle class people) were the ones who took advantage of the revolt. The petite bourgeoisie moved up the social tower to be the bourgeoisie (the noble class). The proletariat (peasants) did not want to rebel because they were to worried about what they were going to eat the next day.
George Orwell includes a strong message in his novel Animal Farm that is easily recognizable. Orwell’s Animal Farm focuses on two primary problems that were not only prominent in his WWII society, but also posed as reoccurring issues in all societies past and present. Orwell’s novel delivers a strong political message about class structure and oppression from the patriarchal society through an allegory of a farm that closely resembles the Soviet Union.
The story of “Animal Farm” interpreted the events of the Russian revolution and the political standings within the Soviet Union by comparing it to how farm animals would act if they had power. It is considered an allegory because it is a story that is trying to reveal a hidden message. Within the book, Manor Farm is a metaphor for Russia. Tsar Nicholas II was portrayed as Mr. Jones. Tsar Nicholas II was the last emperor of Russia before the revolution took place. The leader of the Bolshevik Party, V.I.Lenin was portrayed as old major. An ally of Lenin was Leon Trotsky which was portrayed as Snowball. Napolean, the pig, was a comparison of Joseph Stalin. Napolean’s
The book Animal Farm by George Orwell is a highly thought-provoking book filled with political ideas. One of the main ideas in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm" is how each event in it parallels an event in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War.