Communism: The Ongoing Threat
Instead of the hope for freedom leading to the Russian Revolution, the conflict resulted in disaster for the common people. John Steinbeck illustrates the decline from bad to worse seen during the Russian Revolution in his novella, Animal Farm. Due to the corrupt nature of humanity, absolute power will always be a temptation. The Russian Revolution, the novella Animal Farm, and the existence of communism today serve as a warning about the ongoing threat of absolute power.
Karl Marx’s view of the role of government is the core of communism. Simply defined, it is, “…an economic and government system characterized by citizens holding all property and goods in common…” ("Karl Marx Biography"). In other words,
…show more content…
Orwell was no stranger to the fear Stalin instilled in communist Russia. He fled Spain in a panic, due to the fact that communists were trying to kill him for fighting on the side of their political adversaries during the Spanish Civil War (Woodcock). “The experience left him with a lifelong dread of communism…” (Woodcock). Literary scholar, John Wain, believes it was a turning point for Orwell (25). Not only was he afraid of communism, but he also felt compelled to write about the horrors of communism. Guidorizzi’s article uses Orwell’s own words to illustrate his feelings on the subject. Orwell states, “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism; Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole” (Guidorizzi).
Orwell wrote Animal Farm as an allegory for the Russian Revolution to illustrate
…show more content…
In Animal Farm, Orwell shows the steady, but devious progression of Napoleon’s plan to strip the commoners of their education and self-confidence. Boxer, the work horse in Orwell’s novella, represents the working man. He devotes his life to the revolution, even when it becomes only beneficial for Napoleon, the dictator. As Boxer dies, it is obvious that hope for equality dies with him (Bloom 35). Boxer’s death is a warning about the injustice of communism. When writing about the themes in Animal Farm, Rodden says, “Revolutions tend to come full circle and devour their people” (23). Boxer was devoured by his unwavering loyalty to the government. He put total faith and trust in the government, wrongly thinking it would in turn, help him in his old age. Rodden correctly reveals, “Animal Farm is powerful warning against the delusions of Soviet Communism…”
Animal Farm, by George Orwell was published in 1945, a crucial time in history because of Stalin’s takeover of the Soviet Union and his exploitation of the centralized communist government. This was in direct contradiction to the expected results of the Russian Revolution. Orwell felt that revolutions fail because the end result is a change of tyrants and not of government. Orwell exemplifies this failure through the goals of the revolution and their failure to meet them, the malfunction of Napoleon and Snowball’s rule together, and Napoleon’s disastrous reign.
One of the main reasons Orwell wrote this book is to show us the dangers of communism. Overall it’s blatantly obvious the whole book is just a big “diss” on communism by having historical events line up to the ones in the book. Even the animals ideology is called, Animalism. In the book an animal named Old Major gave a speech on the principles of “Animalism” in which Old Major stated, “"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.” and “"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals” (Animal Farm Pg. 3) . This kind of talk sounds awfully similar to the teachings of Marx and Lenin the same people who eventually influenced and stared the russian revolution which would lead the the creation of the U.S.S.R thenceforth 20 million dead. Furthermore, it seems that Orwell was trying to compare some of his character to notorious communists so that he could warn us. That is one way Orwell was trying to warn us in Animal Farm.
George Orwell, the pseudonym of english author Eric Arthur Blair, was an influential author of novels, novellas, and essays that criticized the rise and practices of authoritarian governments. One of his most revered works, Animal Farm, is hailed as a brilliant piece that satirizes the statues of Stalinism by allegorizing its tumultuous rise and the harsh, often lethal loyalty Stalinism demands of its followers. One of the hallmarks of Stalinist rule is its frequent use of propaganda. In his novella, Animal Farm, Orwell presents the use of propaganda in a Stalinist society through the deification of a leader, the use of scapegoating against an exiled revolutionary and against the vices of man; and exposes the practice of engendering fear into the population of Animal Farm.
Orwell continues to represent class on the farm through the character of Boxer. Boxer represents the lower, working class who were uneducated and inferior to the nobles and government, in this case the pigs and dogs. ‘I will work harder.’ and ‘Napoleon is always right.’ his mottos show just how loyal and hard-working he was. Boxer would work and work until he was at the point of collapsing and this is just what the working class of Russia would do, slaving away their today for a better tomorrow. Boxer is key in building the windmill, which represents change, the change that Boxer wants to bring to the farm through his hard work and determination. Boxer may have had all these credits but what Orwell uses Boxer to say is that no matter how physically strong you are, it’s nothing compared to knowledge and mental strength. When Napoleon tells Boxer he is to retire after he collapsed whilst working, Boxer naively gets on the van that is not really to take him to where he will retire, but to the knackers’ yard to be killed. Even though Boxer was so driven and committed in what he did, he wasn’t able to spot that Napoleon was tricking him because he wasn’t nearly as well educated as Napoleon. So to cut a long story short, the fact that Boxer was poorly educated eventually lead to his demise.
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
During the year of 1945, when George Orwell published his novel Animal Farm, the world was in the midst of witnessing shocking events: the suicide of Hitler, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and the surrender of Germany to end the second World War. Coming out of one of the most horrific ages of our time, the common people were shocked at the human potential for destruction; Occurrences such as the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, the widespread bloodshed of World War II, and the atomic bombings revealed a degree of damage thought to be unimaginable to humanity. This shock to humanity fueled a heated debate between the opposing political structures of capitalism and communism. Orwell examines the human greed for power that ultimately defeats the potential
Orwell effectively conveys the rise of communism in Russia throughout the book Animal Farm by the accurate elucidation of the context in the Soviet Union from 1917-1945. Orwell’s attitude and political view towards Russia is evident in his representation of the farm animals on Communist Party leaders: Napoleon and Snowball, for example, are figurations of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, respectively. He expresses the anthropomorphic characters of farm animals, and major events in Animal Farm such as the Rebellion and the construction of the windmill, reminiscent of the Russian Revolution and the “Five-Year Plans”. Orwell also uses many techniques to describe the crucial points in Animal Farm by metaphoric language and allegorical means
Orwell uses the allegory, Animal Farm, to present the story of The Russian Revolution and essentially express his opinions on the matter. By plainly exposing the unjust and corrupt system that is communism, Orwell is ultimately presenting his pessimistic view of human nature.
George Orwell’s novel ‘Animal Farm’ is an allegorical fable of the Russian Revolution. It depicts the Revolution in a way that is inoffensive to people and also very easy to understand. This controversial novel also teaches many valuable lessons, all very true in man’s past and also in the present.
In the novella Animal Farm, the timeline of early 1900s Russia unfolds in an allegory, with revolutionists Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx sparking a rebellion against Czar Nicholas II. Subsequently, a social democratic party known as the Bolsheviks overthrew the czar, aided by two significant leaders: Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Even so, the newfound ideology of communism that Stalin introduced and quickly corrupted through propaganda proved to be just as oppressive as the reign of Nicholas II. Most importantly, this corruption and oppression was elucidated by British author George Orwell through the use of rhetorical devices in the allegorical satire Animal Farm, where the audience receives a glimpse into the cunning caricature of
Imagine a single, lonely flame. Its vitality, its survival, depends on you. Now imagine the emotional commitment you have set forth to preserve this oscillating light, this sliver of hope. Now imagine that it wisps out of existence, from one moment to another. Such was what men devoted to communism, like George Orwell, author of the book Animal Farm, might have beheld when facing the despotism in Russia under the charade of communism, and such was the sight of the animals of Animal Farm, when the pigs march out of the farmhouse on two feet, triumphant, as dominators, as humans. Though late in the narrative, multiple factors clearly make this the turning point. It is because of the animal's protests, the indifference of
Animal Farm Essay Introduction George Orwell, the creator and author of ‘Animal Farm’, written in 1945, has characterised a genuine depiction of the Russian Revolution. Characters of the book resemble real people in the past act of Communism, revealing some truths about human nature, existence and transformation. The gradual development of Napoleons authority and Boxer’s pledge to work harder brings together the historical context. Napoleon Napoleon’s most significant offence was his gradual transformation into Mr Jones, becoming the deceiving leader that no one should ever endure, abusing the first law of the seven commandments’; “All animals are equal”. Napoleon is recognised as Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who was the secretary-general
The main aim of Marxism is to bring about a classless society, and ‘Animal Farm’ is generally considered to be a Marxist novel, as all its characters share a similar ambition at the beginning. ‘Animal Farm’ represents an example of the oppressed masses rising up to form their own classless society, whilst offering a subtle critique on Stalin’s Soviet Russia, and communism in general. Orwell is, ironically, revolutionary in his work, as contextually in 1945, communism was a ‘taboo’ subject, punishable in post-war America by arrest and even death. It is clear from the political references in ‘Animal Farm’, that Orwell considered Russia, and consequently communism as a
… Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side” (Orwell 132). Just as Napoleon took his final mark on his authority, Stalin used his power to go into wars such as the Korean War and World War II which only caused harm to the Soviet Union. Orwell used these allegories to show that leaders and people cannot always be trusted by their first word, but what they show and do. With both leaders gaining power, they forget why they wanted to change their roles. Students can use this as a moral to remember where we come from and why we choose to obtain something in the first place. Loyalty and hard work of the working class in the Soviet Union were characterized by many of the animals, including Boxer, a steady and diligent horse. Communism was based on this utopia that would benefit the working class by giving them a better lifestyle with more wages and necessities, such are the likes of Animalism. The animals would be able to keep most of their children and products from the farm without worrying about them being sold in trades. They would also be healthier due to the animals creating more of a product for themselves, but with Napoleon’s power growing, he cares less and less about how the animals feel. When workers such as Boxer begin to work less due to older ages, with animalism, they would be able to retire and still live on the farm, but
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.