Orwell's Portrayal of the Characters in the Last Chapter of Animal Farm

In Animal Farm, George Orwell uses satirical allegory throughout his novel to present the pessimistic view of human nature. The animal fable is used to demonstrate the issues of unfair treatment, exploitation and inequality in society. It is evident that this irony is particularly evident in the ending of both novels (Gulbin 88). The satirist irony is directed on the events of the Russian Revolution and on the totalitarian regime. Orwell uses political reason with creative reason to show his negative belief that people only change the dictators though revolutions but the systems stay the same. It is only a dream that people can gain a classless society through revolutions. Orwell believes that everyone wants equality, yet it is in one's nature as human beings to obtain power.

In the Novel animal farm by George Orwell he tells a story about a farm that is taken over by animals, an allegory of the Russian revolution. In this essay I will show how Napoleon represents Stalin and what he did during the Russian revolution.

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 character of Squealer is intriguing because he is described as a manipulator and persuader, also Napoleon’s key “spokespig”. Orwell even narrates, “He could turn black into white.” Squealer is best correlated with the Pravda, the Russian newspaper of the 1930s. Since propaganda was a key to many publications, and there were no television or radio, the newspaper was the primary source of media information. Stalin’s control over the Pravda made it give out false information so people were convinced to keep following under Stalin’s dictatorship and the Pravda also worked for Stalin to support his image as a “good leader”. In Animal Farm, Squealer abuses language to justify Napoleon’s actions and policies to the proletariat (working class) by whatever means seem necessary.

Orwell uses stereotyped animals to create the desired image of his characters. For example, pigs are used to represent the authority figures such as Snowball and Napoleon, and also the Communist Party Loyalists. Pigs have connotations with being disgusting and repulsive, and the term ‘pig’ is often used to describe a person who is heartily disliked.

Animal Farm, written by George Orwell in 1943 is one of the greatest allegories the world has ever seen. This allegory about the Russian Revolution is delivered to the audience in a story about a diverse group of animals on a farm in England who use the words of an old pig to come up with the concept of ‘Animalism’ and rebel against their human master and begin to run the farm themselves. In the development of their supposed utopia, several problems arise and a dystopic reality sets in. by using the techniques of negative characterisation, anthropomorphism and dystopia, Orwell explores the ideas of power and control through manipulation and through this positions the audience to understand that the characteristics of greed, manipulation and violence are animalistic qualities which make us less than human.

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

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

In his allegory, Orwell uses the farm setting and its inhabitants to voice his opinions with regard to the political and social changes of the Russian Revolution. Orwell shows how the shift from a democratic leadership to a dictatorship results in corruption and the eventual loss of basic human rights and freedoms. We see this when the original Utopian idea that “all animals are equal” is compromised and then corrupted due to Napoleon’s hunger for power. In time, Orwell then highlights the sift form a utopia to a totalitarian dictatorship. We see this being demonstrated when with the “secret dogs” of Napoleon, an allegorical reference to the frightening acts of the ‘KGB’, a specialised force working under Stalinist Russia. Similar to Stalin, Napoleon ensures the complete obedience of the animals by ordering the dogs to kill any animal labelled “disloyal”. Further the dogs are used as a specialised team of spies, knowing every detail about each personnel on the farm. It is this intruding manner that Orwell cautions the Western society of, similar to Auden’s two poems as mentioned. In addition, education is being transformed from being a tool of enlightenment to an implement of oppression. This is evident when the pigs justify unwillingness to share milk and apples, through scientific jargon. “Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of the pig. We are the brainworkers.” Since the other animals are denied their education, Orwell highlights the difficulties of the ill-literate to appeal against the “scientific jargon”. This hunger for power resulted in the pig dictatorship transforming from a “pig to man”. Thus by depicting the gradual changes in pigs, Orwell warns the corruption that inevitably arises from

Many characters in “Animal Farm” represent either individuals or groups of people that really existed during the Russian Revolution. The first character introduced in the novel is the farmer Mr. Jones. He is representative of Czar Nicholas II, the leader of Russia before the revolution. He was, like Mr. Jones, not a cruel ruler but rather irresponsible. Snowball and Napoleon are representations of, respectively, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Like the pigs, these two men

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.

Orwell uses all of this in Animal Farm. The different characters represent different people in his novel. Major, the old boar, represents Lenin and the Marxist ideals, whereas Napoleon and Snowball are the Stalin and Trotsky of the book. The other groups of non-Communists found their way into Orwell's story by way of Pilkington and Frederick, the human neighbors to Animal Farm, whereas the paranoia that Stalin felt is shown in Napoleon by his use of the adult dogs he had raised from pups (a parallel to Stalin's Secret Police) to kill any rebels after the putting on of animal show trials. This is shown in Animal Farm:

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

    While most people rarely equate a farm to a political system, George Orwell ties a series of rather unordinary events into a much deeper metaphor in the novel Animal Farm. On a farm in the English countryside, animals revolt against the farmer and seize control of the land, with two pigs named Napoleon and Snowball as the de facto leaders of the newly-liberated farm. However, the supposedly ideal “Animal Farm” does not go without its share of problems, nor does it adhere to its original model. In Animal Farm, Orwell develops the novel’s antagonist, Napoleon, as a character parallel to Joseph Stalin, illustrating the rise of a dictator through his use of dialogue, actions, and symbols.

The rebellion was to escape from people and their cruel ways, but can they escape the death-grip of their own kind? The animals of animal farms are mistreated and have no rights. Mr and Mrs. Jones were the owners of Manor Farm, the human oppressors, and authoritarians of the animals. The animals rebel against the Jones and take over the farm. They create a utopian society for themselves, but the utopia quickly turns into a dystopia when the pigs take control of the farm. In many ways, Animal Farm is a complete allegorical / fable –like retelling of the founding of the Soviet Union, complete with a rebellion and eventual installation of a dictator. Like the ideological battle that was raged in Russia between the classes, the one that is played out in this novel have many of the same themes, including an initial push to strengthen the working class, a strong beginning movement of nationalism and unity, a series of successful efforts to topple the ruling authority (Mr. Jones), all followed by a complete totalitarian takeover by a dictator who is a hypocrite and goes back on many of the promises he made at the height of the revolutionary action.