Even though some people might take it offensive to compare such terrible historical events to an animal farm, I think this approach interests the reader and makes it more understandable and exciting. My position is that it is more effective to show George Orwell's political views through an allegorical fable because this way the story seems less harsh, than if you were to read about what Stalin and Napoleon really did to the world in those weeks. In Animal Farm, George Orwell’s political views are shown in an entirely new light, as he explains the reader his opinions throughout an allegorical fable in a more settled way. Animal Farm is also categorized as a satirical novel, because it is taking a very brutal story about the hierarchy and fights between Stalin, Napoleon, Karl Marx and spread of communism, and then choose to make a theater of this with cute animals like pigs, dogs, cats, pigeons. That is shown with this quote: “”Why should we care what happens after we are dead?” or “If this Rebellion is to happen anyway, what difference does it make whether we work for it or not?” and the pigs had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to the spirit of Animalism” (16-17) The animals don’t get why they have to fight, but since their ‘masters’ say they have to do it they are left with no choice but doing it. By doing this he wasn’t name calling any of the powerful men, and he also let the reader do their own thinking, making their own
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.
People are intrigued by a book through its content. However, when a reader can relate to the book, it reminds them of their own life story. This is exactly what Orwell did when writing Animal Farm. He created the book to open people’s eyes and see what was really going on in front of them. Animal Farm intrigues so many people because though it is a fiction book, it is based on true events that happened in Russia. Animal Farm, a book based on Stalin’s Russia, can be interpreted in several ways: the similar characteristics between Stalin and Napoleon, the animal parallels, and the parallel between Stalin’s Russia (USSR) and the Animal Farm.
Eric Blair wrote “The Animal Farm” during 1945, which he writes about a dystopian society with animals. He makes connections to real world problems throughout the story. He refers to animals being human by making connections by forming a government, because it's in human nature to form any type of government. In this case, the animals form a democracy from the commandments they put in their constitution; with all the corruption it mimics a communist government. The corruption deals with the leaders taking advantage of the commandments by overriding them while the other animals have to obey them. The main characters were Napoleon, Snowball, Boxer, and Squealer which can be connected to real world leading figures. The author also put in
George Orwell's novel, Animal Farm, was his very first piece of political writing. On the surface, this novel is about a group of miserable and mistreated farm animals that overthrow their neglectful owner; they take control of the farm. However, it too is a political allegory mainly focusing on the Russian Revolution. Orwell wrote Animal Farm in response to what had occurred in the Russian Revolution. Seeing how the people were being manipulated over for their freedom, he decided to write about these events through farm animals. The author's purpose for writing this novel is to warn his audience that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutly. Orwell's intent in fusing political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole, was truly
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a satirical allegory through which he presents his cynical view of human nature. He uses the animal fable effectively to expose the issues of injustice, exploitation and inequality in human society.
When Orwell's Animal Farm first appeared in 1945, it was taken entirely as a satire of the history of the Soviet Union and the attitudes and the actions of various Western nations. However, when one looks at Animal Farm more
“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 George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, a major turning point in the novel was when Napoleon used his secret police force, his dogs, to exile Snowball. Snowball had previously been trying to improve the animal’s lives for the future by building a windmill. After Snowball was exiled, Napoleon became leader and everything immediately went amiss. Orwell stated that: "Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer- except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs" (p.86). In other words, no one was benefiting from the animal’s labours apart from the pigs and the dogs because the amount of authority the dogs and the pigs, especially Napoleon had, was corrupt. Frighteningly, if Snowball had been
Animal farm is a renowned, allegorical novella written by George Orwell in 1945, which can be interpreted to have a hidden political meaning behind it referring to the Russian Revolution. Throughout this novella, the author purposely positions the audience to make judgements based on sensible, moral perception to show that Orwell effectively revealed how the pigs exploited a vast majority of propaganda techniques to deceptively manipulate the values, attitudes and beliefs of the other animals, with full intention of complete social control. This was exposed to the reader when the three main values of ‘Animalism’, as outlined in Old Major's speech, which consists of freedom, unity and equality, are abused for the pigs own advantage. This task
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and and from pig to man again, but already it was impossible to say which was which.” Orwell wrote Animal Farm as an allegory based on problems resulting from the Russian Revolution. In Animal Farm, George Orwell uses tone, characterization, and stylistic elements to show that people in power use manipulation to stay in power.
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.
Animal Farm is a novel by George Orwell. It is an allegory in which animals play the roles of Russian revolutionists, and overthrow the human owners of the farm. Once the farm has been taken over by the animals, they are all equal at first, but class and status soon separates the different animal species. This story describes how a society’s ideologies can be manipulated by those in political power, to cause corruption by those in leadership.
Writers often use social commentary to inform the general population about a pressing issue while at the same time appealing to people’s sense of justice. One way of accomplishing this is through a fable which is simply a short story in which animals are used to convey a moral lesson. George Orwell is a prime example of an author who can use a fable as a social commentary. Orwell makes a parody of Russian communism as demonstrated in the pigs attempt at totalitarian rule, there manipulation of the working class and the pigs evolution into the capitalists they initially opposed.
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.
In Animal Farm by George Orwell, he uses the animals to represent everyone in our society today. In this novel, satire is the use of animal characters as a representation to show the Russian Revolution. The humans, portrayed by animals, are being ridiculed and it shows the breakdown of political ideology, and the misuse of power. Each of the characters portray an individual in society that expresses how humans can act similarly to animals. We can be perceived as animals because we can be separated by classes, or by our appearances. We often become what we don’t want to be, as in the novel the animals make rules to not become humans. We soon find out that the pigs are standing and becoming just like humans. The pigs hold all the power, and everything is fitted around them.