Animal Farm: Czar Nicolas II and Farmer Jones

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Animal Farm: Czar Nicholas II/Farmer Jones

Czar Nicholas II was the last tsar of Russia and ruled the country during the 19th and 20th century. He was overthrown by his own people because he lacked the leadership abilities needed to run Russia. Nicholas was the eldest son of Czar Alexander III and Princess Dagmar of Denmark. Nicholas became Czar in 1894, after his father’s sudden death, and ruled the largest country in the world which at the time had a population of 130 million people. From the start of his reign, people were starting to get angry at the royal family and wanted a better government ("Nicholas"). Farmer Jones, a character from George Orwell's Animal Farm, is the owner of Manor Farm who treats his animals very harshly. He is an alcoholic and that causes him to make bad choices for his farm. This paper focuses on the similarities between Czar Nicholas and Farmer Jones and how they fell from their positions as leaders of Russia and Animal Farm to being exiled and forgotten.

"On Midsummer's Eve, which was a Saturday, Mr. Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk that he did not come back till midday on Sunday. The men had milked the cows in the early morning and then had gone out rabbiting, without bothering to feed the animals" (Orwell 38). Mr. Jones abandoned the animals and let them starve just like Czar Nicholas ignored how dire the situation in Russia was during the famines. He refused to take it seriously and did not help his people, instead, he “carried on playing dominoes for several hours”(Vogt 102) while his people were starving and dying. Nicholas was eventually forced to abdicate. Mr. Jones was forced to leave the farm after the Rebellion since he wasn’t taking care of his animals and they were star...

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...r because of his choices. Both of them could have prevented the Russian Revolution/Rebellion and led their country/farm prosperously if they had made the right choices and had not neglected their people/animals. Their choices cost them their power and many lives, including their own. Animal Farm shows that the Russian Revolution really did not help Russia because it did not get rid of the famines or make life any better than it was during Czar Nicholas II’s reign.

Work Cited

“Czar of Russia Nicholas II.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6th Edition (2013): 1. Literacy Reference Center. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

“Nicholas II.” Historic World Leaders. Gale, 1994 U.S. History in Context. Web 10 Dec 2013

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.

Vogt, George. Nicholas II. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Print

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