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Importance Of Stalitarianism In Animal Farm

Decent Essays

In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, there is no lack of themes and metaphors that directly point to Stalinism in Russia. Known as ‘animalism’ in the novel, Orwell paints a vivid picture of what communism does to the individuals it controls; as it both strips them of both freedom and dignity under the ruling party. Looking beyond communism and Russia, how is Animal Farm relevant to today’s political society? The novel does a good job of illustrating the nature of tyrants, including the importance of the way in which they take and maintain power. Corruption does not lie in the leader alone though, rhetoric and the use of political language also plays a major role, and this is especially relevant to today with the way in which we receive and interpret the way that our political leaders speak to us and our society as a whole. Corruption and tyranny was first foreshadowed to take place by the opening of the novel through Old Major’s speech, an old and wise pig on the farm, that inspired the revolution that would later take place. Old Major’s call to action rested on the idea that “all animals are equal” (Orwell 3), and by carrying out a revolution the animals could make this dream a reality and create their own Utopia. While Old Major’s speech was inspiring and revolutionary, he does not live to see his dream become a reality, and instead the other pigs on the farm take charge as the newfound ‘leaders’. Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer rule over the rest of the pigs and the rest of

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