Cruelty in animal Farm

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This story Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel about an animal revolution over an oppressive farmer. The irony in the story comes when the pigs turn into the very thing revolted against. They exhibit the same cruelty by treating the other animals the same or even worse than previous owners. This cycle of cruelty is shown in the Russian revolution by Joseph Stalin who is represented by Napoleon in the story. Cruelty in animal farm is shown by the human’s treatment of the animals, and the animal’s eventual treatment of each other and the ironic characteristics of the two. After the Animal Revolution the pigs take the initiative and place themselves in charge because of their claim of having higher intelligence. Over time this power begins to distort the basis of their revolt by recreating the same social situation they were previously in. “When the pigs takeover they claim that their goal is to preside a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another, yet power quickly proves too much for a pig.” Though the animals originally took over the farm to increase the animal’s independence as a whole, because of the pig’s superiority they soon take the place of the humans further limiting their independence. The idea of totalitarianism that is shown in Animal Farm is represented by the pigs treatment of the other animals. The pigs start off treating the other animals as equals but as their hunger for power increased they began to differentiate themselves from them. According to the facts on file companion to the British novel: 20th Century, vol.2 “They allocate the food that all the animals help to growing an unequal manner, reserving the milk for their own exclusive use.” (British novel: 20th Century, vol.2) Bec... ... middle of paper ... ...shown during the Russian Revolution as a result of a power struggle. They struggle results in the exploitation of the other subjects and the taking of independence in which they fought to obtain to begin with. This is also shown in today’s society with people with high power who used this power for the wrong purposes. When a ruler takes over from an oppressive dictator the power the former ruler had does not go away and the new ruler becomes overwhelmed and becomes the same thing. Works Cited Aiken, Michael. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Print. Brackett, Virginia. British novel: 20th Century, vol.2. N.p.: Facts on File, 2005. Print. Orwell, George. Animal Farm. N.p.: n.p., 1946. Print. “Themes, Motifs & Symbols.” Spark Notes. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. .

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