Animal Farm by George Orwell Essay

Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Or healthy published in England on 17 August 1945. agree to Orwell, the disc reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era in the radical the Second World fight. Orwell, a democratic socialist,1 was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed totalism, especially after his experiences with the NKVD and the Spanish well-bred War.2 In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell descri go to bed Animal Farm as his novel contre Stalin.3 The original title was Animal Farm A Fairy Story, solely the subtitle was dropped by U.S. publishers for its 1946 publication and subsequently all precisely ane of the translations during Orwells lifetime omitted the addition.Other variations in the title include A caustic remark and A Contemporary Satire.3 Orwell suggested the title Union des rpubliques socialistes carnales for the French translation, which recalled the French chance on of the Soviet Union, Union des rpubliques social istes sovitiques, and which abbreviates to URSA, the Latin for hold up, a symbol of Russia.3Time magazine chose the book as one of the 100 exceed English-language novels (1923 to 2005)4 it too places at number 31 on the red-brick Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels. It won a Retrospective Hugo Award in 1996 and is also included in the Great Books of the Western World.The novel addresses non alone the corruption of the renewing by its leaders only also how wickedness, indifference, ignorance, greed and myopia corrupt the revolution. It portrays corrupt leadership as the flaw in revolution, rather than the act of revolution itself. It also shows how potential ignorance and indifference to problems within a revolution could allow horrors to happen if a smooth transition to a peoples government is not achieved.Plot summarysnowballs revolutionOld Major, the old hog on the Manor Farm, calls the animals on the farm for a meeting, where he comp ars the humans to parasites an d determineesthe animals a revolutionary song, Beasts of England. When Major dies two young pig beds, Snowball and nap, assume command and mo his dream into a philosophy. The animals revolt and drive the drunken and irresponsible Mr Jones from the farm, renaming it Animal Farm. They adopt heptad Commandments of Animal-ism, the most important of which is, All animals are equal.Snowball attempts to teach the animals reading and writing food is plentiful, and the farm runs smoothly. The pigs elevate themselves to positions of leadership and set aside special food items, ostensibly for their personal health. short sleep takes the pups from the farm dogs and trains them privately. When Mr Jones tries to take the farm, the animals defeat him at what they call the Battle of the Cowshed. sleep and Snowball struggle for leadership. When Snowball announces his idea for a windmill, sleep has his dogs chase Snowball start and declares himself leader. piles rule short sleep enacts cha nges to the governance structure of the farm, replacing meetings with a committee of pigs, who go away run the farm. Using a young pig named Squealer as a mouthpiece, Napoleon announces that Snowball stole the idea for the windmill from him. The animals bleed harder with the promise of easier lives with the windmill. After a violent storm, the animals comment the windmill annihilated. Napoleon and Squealer change over the animals that Snowball destroyed the windmill, although the scorn of the neighbouring farmers suggests that the windmills walls were too thin.Once Snowball becomes a scapegoat, Napoleon begins cleansing the farm with his dogs, slaying animals he acc white plagues of consorting with Snowball. He and the pigs abuse their power, imposing more control trance reserving privileges for themselves and rewriting history, villainising Snowball and glorifying Napoleon. Squealer justifies every statement Napoleon makes, even the pigs alteration of the Seven Commandments of Animalism. No animal shall sleep in beds is changed to No animal shall sleep in beds with sheets when the pigs are discovered to pass been quiescency in the oldfarmhouse. No animal shall drink alcoholic drink is changed to No animal shall drink alcohol to excess when the pigs discover the farmers whiskey. Beasts of England is replaced by an anthem glorifying Napoleon, who appears to be adopting the lifestyle of a man. The animals, though cold, starving and overworked, remain convinced that they are better off than they were when under(a) Mr Jones. Squealer abuses the animals scurvy memories and invents numbers racket to show their improvement.Mr Frederick, one of the neighbouring farmers, swindles Napoleon by buying old wood with forged money, and then attacks the farm, using blasting powder to blow up the restored windmill. though the animals win the battle, they do so at great cost, as m any(prenominal), including Boxer, are wounded. Despite his injuries, Boxer continues working harder and harder, until he collapses while working on the windmill. Napoleon sends for a forefront to take Boxer to the veterinary surgeons, explaining that better caveat whoremonger be given there. gum benjamin the donkey, who could read as well as any pig,5 notices that the van belongs to Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler (a knacker), and attempts to mount a rescue but the animals attempts are futile. Squealer reports that the van was purchased by the hospital and the writing from the previous owner had not been repainted. He recounts a tale of Boxers death in the hands of the best medical care. Shortly after Boxers death, it is revealed that the pigs have purchased more whiskey. adult maleisationYears pass, and the pigs learn to walk upright, carry whips and wear clothes. The Seven Commandments are reduced to a single phrase All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. Napoleon holds a dinner company for the pigs and the humans of the area, who congratulate Napoleon on having the hardest-working but least fed animals in the country. Napoleon announces an alliance with the humans, against the labouring classes of both worlds. He abolishes practices and traditions related to the Revolution, and changes the name of the farm to The Manor Farm.The animals, overhearing the conversation, notice that the faces of thepigs have begun changing. During a poker match, an argument breaks out between Napoleon and Mr Pilkington when they both play the Ace of Spades, and the animals progress to that the faces of the pigs look like the faces of humans, and no one can tell the difference between them.AnimalismSeven Commandments redirects here. For the Noahide code, see Seven Laws of Noah.The seven laws listed by the Tosefta and the Talmud are71. inhibition of Idolatry2. Prohibition of Murder3. Prohibition of Theft4. Prohibition of Sexual immorality5. Prohibition of Blasphemy6. Prohibition of eating flesh taken from an anim al while it is still alive7. Establishment of courts of lawThe pigs Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer adapt Old Majors ideas into an actual philosophy, which they formally name Animalism. Soon after, Napoleon and Squealer indulge in the vices of humans (drinking alcohol, sleeping in beds, trading). Squealer is employed to alter the Seven Commandments to account for this humanisation, an allusion to the Soviet governments revising of history in order to exercise control of the peoples depressions about themselves and their society.6The original commandments are1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.3. No animal shall wear clothes.4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.5. No animal shall drink alcohol.6. No animal shall kill any other animal.7. All animals are equal.Later, Napoleon and his pigs secretly revise some commandments to clear them of accusations of law-breaking (such as No animal shall drink alcohol having to excess appended to it and No animal shall sleep in a bed with with sheets added to it). The changed commandments are as follows, with the changes bolded1. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.2. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.3. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.Eventually these are replaced with the maxims, All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others, and Four legs good, two legs better as the pigs become more human. This is an ironic twist to the original purpose of the Seven Commandments, which were supposed to keep order within Animal Farm by sum the animals together against the humans, and by prevent animals from following the humans evil habits. by dint of the revision of the commandments, Orwell demonstrates how simply political dogma can be off-key into malleable propaganda.7CharactersPigsOld Major An aged prize Middle White boar provides the inspirationthat discharges the Rebellion in the book. He is an allegory of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, the founders of communism, in that he draws up the principles of the revolution. His skull being put on revered public display also recalls Lenin, whose embalmed body was put on display.89Napoleon A large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for acquire his own way,10 An allegory ofJoseph Stalin,8 Napoleon is the main villain of Animal Farm. In the first French version of Animal Farm, Napoleon is called Csar, the French form of Caesar,3 although another translation has him as Napolon.11Snowball Napoleons rival and original head of the farm after Jones overthrow. He is mainly base on Leon Trotsky,8 but also combines elements from Vladimir Lenin.9Squealer A small white fat porker who officiates as Napoleons right hand pig and minister of religion of propaganda, holding a position equivalent to that of Molotov.8Minimus A poetic pig who writes the second and third national ant hems of Animal Farm after the singing of Beasts of England is banned.The Piglets Hinted to be the children of Napoleon (albeit not explicitly stated) and are the first generation of animals actually subjugated to his idea of animal inequality.The young pigs Four pigs who complain about Napoleons takeover of the farm but are quickly silenced and later executed.Pinkeye A minor pig who is mentioned only once he is the pig that tastes Napoleons food to make sure it is not poisoned, in response to rumours about an assassination attempt on Napoleon.HumansMr Jones The source owner of the farm, Jones is a very heavy drinker. The animals revolt against him after he drinks so much that he does not feed or take care of them.Mr Frederick The tough owner of Pinchfield, a well-kept neighbouring farm, who briefly enters into an alliance with Napoleon, represents Germany.Mr Pilkington The easy-going but crafty owner of Foxwood, a neighbouring farm overgrown with weeds, represents Britain.Mr Whymper A man leased by Napoleon for the public relations of Animal Farm to human society, who is eventually used to procure luxuries like alcohol for the pigs.EquinesBoxer Boxer is a allegiant, kind, dedicated, and respectable horse, although rather dim-witted.Clover Boxers companion, constantly caring for him she also acts as a matriarch of sorts for the other horses and the other animals in general. molly Mollie is a self-centred, self-indulgent and vain young white mare who quickly leaves for another farm after the revolution.Benjamin Benjamin, a donkey, is one of the oldest animals. He has the worst temper, but is also one of the wisest animals on the farm, and is one of the few who can actually read. He is skeptical and bearish, his most-often-made statement being Life will go on as it has always gone on that is, badly.12Other animalsMuriel A wise old goat who is friends with all of the animals on the farm. She, like Benjamin and Snowball, is one of the few animals on the farm who can read.The Puppies Offspring of Jessie and Bluebell, taken away from them by Napoleon at birth and reared by Napoleon to be his security force.Moses An old raven who occasionally visits the farm, regaling its denizens with tales of a wondrous place beyond the clouds called Sugarcandy Mountain, where he avers that all animals go when they diebut only if they work hard. He is interpreted as symbolising the Russian Orthodox Church, with Sugarcandy Mountain an allusion to Heaven for the animals.13The Sheep They show limited understanding of the situations but nonetheless blindly meet Napoleons ideals.The Hens The hens are among the first to rebel against Napoleon.The Cows Their milk is stolen by the pigs, who learn to milk them, and is stirred into the pigs mash every day while the other animals are denied such luxuries.The Cat Never seen to carry out any work, the cat is absent for long periods, and is forgiven because her excuses are so convincing and she purr ed so affectionately that is was impossible not to recall in her good intentions.14 She has no interest in the politics of the farm, and the only time she is recorded as having participated in an election, she is found to have actually voted on both sides.14Glossary of TermsCoccidiosis a parasitic infection that causes bloody diarrhea and sudden death in animalsCommunism a theory or system of social organization based on theholding of all property in common, actual self-control being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state in practice, communism is often a totalitarian system of government young man a fellow member of a political party a member of the Communist partyDisinter to exhume to unearth that which is buried trade union movement in Marxism, the class of workers, especially industrial wage earners, who do not possess capital or property and must sell their labor to outlastPropaganda information, ideas, or rumors disseminated to help or harm a person, group, mo vement, institution, nation, or other entityRegime a mode or system of rule or government such a system when in powerSocialism a theory or system of social organization that advocates vesting the ownership and control of the agency of production and distribution, of capital, land, and other assets in the community as a wholeTotalitarianism absolute control by the state or a presidential term branch of a highly centralized institutionTushes small, short tusks such as those belonging to a boar.Major ThemesThe Soviet Union under StalinismAnimal Farm is a satire of totalitarian governments in their many guises. But Orwell composed the book for a more specific purpose to serve as a cautionary tale about Stalinism. It was for this reason that he facedsuch difficulty in getting the book published by the time Animal Farm was ready to meet its readers, the Allies were cooperating with the Soviet Union. The allegorical characters of the novel represent specific historical figures and differ ent factions of Imperial Russian and Soviet society. These include Karl Marx (Major), Vladimir Lenin (Major), Leon Trotsky (Snowball), Joseph Stalin (Napoleon), Adolf Hitler (Frederick), the Allies (Pilkington), the peasants (Boxer), the elite (Mollie), and the church (Moses).The resemblance of some of the novels events to events in Soviet history is indubitable. For example, Snowballs and Napoleons power struggle is a direct allegory of Trotskys and Stalins. Fredericks trade agreement with Napoleon, and his subsequent breaking of the agreement, represents the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact that preceded World War II. The following Battle of the Windmill represents World War II itself.Despite his fairy-tale clarity in satirizing some historical events, Orwell is less specific about others. For example, the murders in Chapter VII conflate the Red Terror with the Great Purge. The executions themselves bear resemblance to both events, although their details connect them more to the M oscow Trials than to the Red Terror. Squealers subsequent announcementum that the executions have ended the Rebellion connects them to the period of the Red Terror, however. Orwell leaves some ambiguity in the identities of the Rebellion and the Battle of the Cowshed. These ambiguities help the reader focalise on the overall satire of Stalinism and the broader warning about the evils of totalitarian government.The Inevitability of TotalitarianismOrwell held the pessimistic belief that totalitarianism was inevitable, even in the West. According to Russell Baker, who wrote the preface to Animal Farms 1996 Signet Classics version, Orwells pessimism stemmed from his having grown up in an age of dictatorship. Witnessing Hitlers and Stalins movements from afar, as well as fighting totalitarianism in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell came to believe in the rise of a new species of despot, worse even than the tyrants of old. This cynicism is reflected inboth of his highly successful novels, A nimal Farm and 1984. Orwell emphasizes the insidiousness of totalitarianism early in the novel, when the pigs take the fresh milk and apples.The pigs justify their actions on the basis of their superiority they are unfermented and need more nutrition than the other animals to fuel their brainpower. There is no scientific basis for the pigs claimin fact, if anyone needs more food to fuel their labor, it is the manual laborersbut they can count on the animals being too ignorant to realize that. In this way, Orwell makes the point that totalitarianism need not be blatant in order to be operating. It can hide under the guise of the greater good as it did in the Soviet Union before the totalitarianism became obvious.Orwell uses a cyclical structure in Animal Farm, which helps advance the idea of totalitarianisms predictability. The novel begins with Jones as autocratic tyrant and ends with Napoleon not only in Joness position, but in his clothes as well. Over the course of the novel, Na poleon essentially becomes Jones just as Stalin becomes an autocrat after pretending to espouse equality and freedom. Orwell cements this idea in the books final scene, where he writes, Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again but already it was impossible to say which was which (139). The circularity of Orwells story prevents the reader from imagining a better future for Animal Farm. After all, even if another Rebellion were to take place, its leaders would eventually come to emulate Napoleon.According to Baker, technology turned out to be the force freeing people from Orwells age of dictators. But technology can be just another banner under which to rally the people. While Orwell does portray technology as a source of progress in Animal Farm, he points out that it is useless unless it is in the peoples hand s. Most notably, even when the windmill is finished it is used for milling corn instead of its original purpose of supplying the animals with electricity in their stalls. experience and Education as Tools of OppressionFrom the very beginning of the novel, we become aware of educations role in stratifying Animal Farms population. succeeding(a) Majors death, the pigs are the ones that take on the task of organizing and mobilizing the other animals because they are generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals (35). At first, the pigs are loyal to their fellow animals and to the revolutionary cause. They translate Majors vision of the future faithfully into the Seven Commandments of Animalism. However, it is not long before the pigs intelligence and education turn from tools of enlightenment to implements of oppression. The moment the pigs are faced with something material that they wantthe fresh milkthey abandon their morals and use their superior intellect and knowledge to deceive the other animals.The pigs also limit the other animals opportunities to gain intelligence and education early on. They teach themselves to read and write from a childrens book but destroy it before the other animals can have the same chance. Indeed, most of the animals never learn more than a few letters of the alphabet. Once the pigs cement their status as the educated elite, they use their mental advantage to manipulate the other animals. For example, knowing that the other animals cannot read the Seven Commandments, they revise them whenever they like.The pigs also use their literacy to learn trades from manuals, giving them an opportunity for economic specialization and advancement. Content in the role of the intelligentsia, the pigs forgo manual labor in favor of bookkeeping and organizing. This shows that the pigs have not only the advantage of opportunity, but also the opportunity to reject whatever opportunities they like. The pigs intelligence and education al low them to bring the other animals into submission through the use of propaganda and revisionism. At the books end, we witness Napoleons preparations to educate a new generation of pigs and indoctrinate them into the code of oppression.Propaganda and Duplicityworks as a propagandist during World War II, Orwell experienced firsthand both the immense power and the dishonesty of propaganda. Manytypes of governments make use of propaganda, not only totalitarian ones. Consider, for instance, the arguments that led many United States citizens to go along with the idea of invading Iraq after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Propaganda serves the positive task of uniting the people, sometimes at the cost of misleading them. Orwell takes a firm stance on the harmfulness of propaganda in Animal Farm while acknowledging its value for exchange a mistreated and dis fallacyed populace.In Chapter IX, Orwell demonstrates the positive value of propaganda. By this point, the animals are so downtrodden that they are desperate for something in which to believe. (Note the irony, though it is Napoleon who has robbed them of their belief in the original version of Animalism.) The falsely optimistic statistics, the songs, and especially the Spontaneous Demonstrations give the animals something to live for. This chapter is an exception in terms of portraying propaganda in a positive light. For the majority ofAnimal Farm, Orwell skewers propaganda and exposes its nature as deception.Squealer represents a totalitarian governments propaganda machine. Eloquent to a fault, he can make the animals believe almost anything. This fact is especially clear in Squealers interactions with Clover and Muriel. Each time Clover suspects that the Seven Commandments have been changed, Squealer manages to convince her that she is wrong. After the executions, Napoleon abolishes the singing of Beasts of England in favor of a new anthem, the lyrics of which contain a promise never to harm Animal Farm. In this propagandist manoeuvre, Napoleon replaces the revolutionary spirit of Beasts of England with the exact opposite, a promise not to rebel.In addition to being a source of manipulation, propaganda is an agent of fear and terror. Orwell demonstrates this quite clearly with Napoleons vilification of Snowball and his assurances that Snowball could attack the animals at any minute. He uses similar fear tactics regarding Frederick and Pilkington. The most flagrant example of propaganda in the novel is the maxim that replaces the Seven Commandments All animals are equal / But some animals are more equal than others. The idea of more equal is mathematically improbable and a nonsensical manipulation of language, but bythis time, the animals are too brainwashed to notice.Violence and Terror as intend of ControlIn Animal Farm, Orwell criticizes the ways that dictators use violence and terror to frighten their populaces into submission. Violence is one of the yokes from which the animals wish to free themselves when they prepare for the Rebellion. Not only does Jones overwork the animals and steal the products of their labor, but he can whip or slaughter them at his discretion. Once the pigs gain control of the animals, they, like Jones, discover how reusable violence and terror can be. They use this knowledge to their full advantage. The foremost example of violence and terror in the novel is the pattern of public executions. The executions can be said to represent both the Red Terror and the Great Purge, but they stand more broadly for the abuse of power. For example, they are also similar to the Talibans public executions in Kabuls soccer stadium in modern Afghanistan.Capital punishment for criminals is a hotly debated issue. Killing hazard criminals, as Napoleon does, is quite another issue. The executions perhaps best symbolize the Moscow Trials, which were show trials that Stalin arranged to instill fear in the Soviet people. To witnesses at the time , the accused traitors confessions seemed to be given freely. In fact, they were coerced. Napoleon likely coerces confessions from many of the animals that he executes. Orwells use of the allegory genre serves him well in the execution scene. Execution with weapons is a violent and horrifying act, but many people have become desensitized to it. Orwells allegorical executioners, the dogs that kill cruelly, portray the bloody and unavoidably animalistic side of execution.Terror comes also in threats and propaganda. Each time the animals dare to question an aspect of Napoleons regime, Squealer threatens them with Joness return. This is doubly threatening to the animals because it would mean another battle that, if lost, would result in a return to their former lifestyle of submission. Joness return is such a in effect(p) threat that it quashes the animals curiosity without fail. The other major example of feartactics in the novel is the threat of Snowball and his collaborators.Napol eon is able to vilify Snowball in the latters absence and to make the animals believe that his return, like Joness, is imminent. Snowball is a worse threat than Jones, because Jones is at least safely out of Animal Farm. Snowball is proved to be not only lurking along Animal Farms borders but infiltrating the farm. Napoleons public investigation of Snowballs whereabouts cements the animals fear of Snowballs influence. In modern language, Snowball is pegged as the terrorist responsible for the infringements on the rights and liberties instigated by the pigs.Exploitation and the Need for Human RightsExploitation is the issue around which the animals unite. Initially, the animals do not realize Jones is exploiting them. For this reason, Old Majors speech is a revelation of momentous proportions. Major explains to the animals that they are enslaved and exploited and that Man is to blame. He teaches them not only what exploitation means, but also the fact that it is not inevitable. Orwel l suggests that exploitation is, in fact, bound to happen when one class of society has an advantage over another. The opposite of exploitation, according to Major, is the state of being rich and free. Majors ideas about animal rights symbolize the grandeurand scarcityof human rights in an oppressive regime. Gaining freedom does not necessarily lead people also to become rich, but it is better to be poor and free than poor and exploited.All the animals on Animal Farm are exploited under Napoleons control, save the pigs. Even the dogs, which work almost with the pigs, are exploited. The dogs face perhaps even a worse form of exploitation than the other animals, because they are made into agents of intimidation and death. Whereas Napoleon exploits the other animals material strength and their ignorance, he exploits the dogs viciousness and turns them into villains against their parents wishes.Boxers life is a particularly sad example of exploitation because he exploits himself, bel ieving wholeheartedly in Napoleons goodness. In theend, Napoleon turns the tables and exploits Boxer, having him slaughtered for mesh. By the end of the novel, we see clearly how the animals participate in their own exploitation. They are beginning to build a schoolhouse for the thirty-one young pigs Napoleon has fathered (perhaps an oblique reference to the Thirty Tyrants of ancient Greece).That schoolhouse will never benefit the animals that build it rather, it will be used to educate the pigs and indoctrinate them into the cycle of exploiting others. Throughout the novel, Orwell shows us how the lack of human rights results in total helplessness. However, though it underscores the need for human rights, the novel does not suggest how to achieve them. After all, once the animals expel Jones and gain rights for themselves, the pigs take those rights away and the cycle of exploitation continues with new players.Apathy and AcceptanceIn the beginning of Animal Farm, the idea of freed om rouses the animals as if from a long slumber. Immediately following Majors death, the animals begin preparing themselves for the Rebellion just the idea of revolution is enough to motivate them, since they do not expect it to happen in their lifetimes. By the books end, the animals have become as apathetic as Benjamin always was. Despite the many hardships and injustices they face, the animals pride as well as Napoleons propaganda keep them invested in the greater good and the illusion of freedom.If Benjamin is the harbinger of emotionlessness, Boxer is its antithesis. Strong not only in body but also in spirit, Boxer will make any sacrifice for the benefit of Animal Farm. With Boxers eventual betrayal by the leaders he served so unconditionally, Orwell lays bare another type of apathytheirs. Far from truly considering Boxer a loyal comrade, the pigs treat him as apathetically as they would a mere object. Symbolically, they even make a profit by having him turned into literal ob jectsglue and bone meal.Boxers enthusiasm does not give him an advantage, but the other animals eventual apathy gives them a defense mechanism against the painful reality of their lives. It is no coincidence that Animal Farms most apathetic and cynical animal, Benjamin, is one of those that survives thelongest. Benjamins emotional detachment from situations, whether they are good or bad, keeps him from being disappointed. In his apathy and cynicism, Benjamin represents the stereotypical gloomy Russian and also the perennially pessimistic Orwell himself.Summary and analysis of Chapter IMr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, stumbles drunkenly up to bed as the farm animals wait in still silence. The moment he is out of sight, they begin to bustle around, preparing themselves for the big meeting that is to take place that night. Old Major has called the meeting to discuss a strange dream he had the previous night. He is waiting for his fellow animals in the big barn.