Animal Farm

Animal Farm By George Orwell Animal Farm is a story of how the animals revolted because of the way they were treated by Mr. Jones, the farmer. They felt that the farmers made all the profit, reaped all the rewards but didn't do any of the work. So they formed a government called Animalism. In Animalism, there are no owners, no rich, but no poor, workers got a better life, and all animals are equal. They had even established laws called the Seven Commandments, which were intended to give basic rights to animals and protect them from oppression.

The initial theme of the novel is, 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'; Power, in a sense, is bad because with power, there is responsibility. If one takes advantage of that responsibility, then there will be corruption. Orwell portrays this by permitting the farm animals to nominate the pigs to be in charge of the farm. The pigs left in charge are Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball. Napoleon and Squealer both have evil intentions by turning the dogs after Snowball, in other words, killing him. Napoleon would make the other animals work long hours and give them little portions of food, while he and Squealer would feast on large meals. Napoleon and Squealer took advantage of their role as governor and ate all the food, drank beer, and lived in the owner's house. However, to the farm animals, they considered these to be the 7 commandments:

Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is, no doubt, a notable piece of classic historical fiction and fantasy, and an elaborate allegory of the Russian Revolution. The story unfolds on an average farm, inhabited by oppressed animals under the ruthless rule of the farmer, Mr. Jones. Never had they thought to act upon their poor treatment, until Old Major, one of the prized pigs on the farm, dreams that the animals unite to overthrow the humans and lead the farm on their own. The animals are overjoyed at this idea, and label it “animalism”. Inspired by this philosophy, the farm, led by two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, chase Jones away from the farm and begin the animalist revolution. The animals are ecstatic at their victory, and the pigs, deemed the wisest animals on the farm, create seven commandments to ensure the happiness and equality of all creatures on Animal Farm, including rules such as “whoever goes upon two legs is an enemy”, “no animal shall

A wise boar, Old Major, expresses a dream of a world where animals live with no human oppression to the rest of the animals in Manor Farm. However, only three days after his speech, he dies, leaving three younger pigs to take over his place and lead the other animals toward Major’s dream. They create the Seven Commandments of Animalism, which set values against acting human-like, and paint them on the wall of the barn. One night, the animals succeed in rebelling against Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm. Initially, farming goes well after the rebellion. However, one of the power-hungry pigs, Napoleon, begins to run a totalitarian dictatorship with an eloquent pig, Squealer, by his side. He also trains puppies, whom he takes from their parents, into vicious guard dogs and uses them to enforce his plans. One by one, the Seven Commandments are broken and altered by Napoleon, who gradually acts more and more human-like. Finally, only one rule remains on the barn wall, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 133). Napoleon and the other pigs eventually walk upright, wear clothing, indulge in alcohol, and even sleep on beds (all of which were originally forbidden in the Seven Commandments), while the other animals work all day with little food. By the end of the book, the other farm animals can no longer tell the difference between the pigs and humans when other human farmers are invited over for dinner. “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” (Orwell 139).

George Orwell’s Animal Farm, is a satirical novel that follows the causes, effects, and outcomes of a revolution. The Manor Farm is overtaken by the fatigued and dissatisfied animals that work tirelessly for Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm. The revolution is inspired by Major, the prize boar on the farm, but is attained by Snoball and Napoleon, two other boars. Squealer, a younger pig, acts as a persuasive communicator between the pigs and the other animals. The revolution is sparked by the desire to live on equal and just terms. The animals on the farm receive little to no education which affects their position in the revolution. The animals’ ignorance plays a major role in both political and social oppression because of their inability to

Animal farm is a book about the struggle to be an animal. It shows how animals do not like the way they are treated by being used to do the humans work for them. The animals are inspired by Old Major who always wanted to overthrow the humans but never saw to it. Animal farm descends into a totalitarianism like government because of greed, power hungry animals, and people not against speaking Napoleon.

As the animals begin the Animal Farm society, everyone is equal. As time passes, it is realized that of all the animals, the pigs are the smartest. This is slowly the beginning of Animal Farm moving froma socialistic socoety to a totalitarian society. Snowball and Napolean are two pigs who are constantly arguing over issues; they compete for power. Snowball is a good speaker and can easily persuade people, whereas Napolean is not a very good speaker. Napolean was jealous of Snowball, and he was power hungry. One day, he had his nine enourmouis dogs chase Snowball off the farm. Now Napolean was in complete control, and he made it seem like he was putting a hardship on himself by doing so. Squealer was sent around and said, ³I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napolean has made in taking this extra labor upon himself. Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure!² (69) It was here that the shift to totalitarianism became rapid.

Many may wonder or not understand what the Russian Revolution was about. George Orwell’s classic, Animal Farm, is an allegory for the Russian Revolution of 1917. An allegory is a story in which things, actions, etc. are symbolic (Webster’s New Pocket Dictionary, page 9). In Animal Farm, there is a farm where all the animals are being run by pigs. The animals go to desperate measures for their mean human farmer, Mr. Jones, not to return. They do not want to be led by a human, who does not care about the animals. With pigs running the Animal Farm, a lot of things get complicated. The main leader, Napoleon becomes greedy, later becoming a lot like their old human farmer (Animal Farm, George Orwell). In Orwell’s Animal Farm, Joseph Stalin, from the Russian Revolution is represented by Napoleon. Napoleon’s characteristics include greed, being controlling, and always finding a way to get whatever he wants (Animal Farm, George Orwell).

George Orwell’s Animal Farm was published August 17, 1945 in England which is also where the setting of the book is derived. It is a fiction novel based largely around the Russian Revolution and Dictator Joseph Stalin as many of Orwell’s works were. He uses animals to represent the people of the revolution because he did not want it to completely obvious of what the idea of the novel was.

The revolution had begun and it was perfect at first with Snowball in charge until everything turned around and went for the worse. Most of Old Major’s seven commandments had all been changed. “No animal shall sleep in a bed” eventually turned into, “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”, “No animal shall drink alcohol” was now “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess”, “No animal shall kill any other animal” changed to “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause”, and finally “All animals are equal” now is “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. Napoleon started turning into a human and trading with them. Animalism was supposed to be equal for all animals and life was supposed to be easier, but Napoleon had changed everything.