Animal Farm Book Report
Plot
This is a book that takes a look, from a satirical point of view, at the rise and excesses of communism in the former Soviet Union. Written from the point of view of animals in a farm, it starts with the 'vision' of a boar, Old Major, who dreams of a time when all animals are free from domination from humans and are equals.
Eventually, the animals revolt, driving out the farmer and setting up their own society. However, from the start, things slowly start to go wrong. The pigs set themselves up as leaders ('first among equals') and began to 'allocate work' to the rest of the animals. The Commandments set up just after the revolution began to be distorted and all questions on the leadership of the pigs or the commands handed down are swiftly deflected by their spokesperson.
The parallels to the rise of Communism are obvious in this book. People who know
something about the history of Communism will have no problems figuring out who represents Karl Marx, Stalin, the KGB, etc. However, even if you don't, or are not interested in finding parallels to Communism, the book is still an entertaining book to read. The gradual erosion of the initial ideals of the animal society, the rise to power of the pigs (unopposed by the other animals), and the eventual horror as the animals realize they have replaced one master with yet another are well written in this book.
Characters
Old Major
Old Major is the wise old pig whose stirring speech to the animals helps set the Rebellion in motion- though he dies before it actually begins. His role compares with that of Karl Marx, whose ideas set the Communist Revolution in motion.
Napoleon is a "large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way." And so he does. Instead of debating with Snowball, he sets his dogs on him and continues to increase his personal power and privileges from that time on. What counts for him is power, not ideas. Note his name: think of the other Napoleon (Bonaparte) who took over the French Revolution and turned it into a personal Empire. Napoleon's character also suggests that of Stalin and other dictators as well.
Snowball
Snowball is an energetic, brilliant leader.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the pigs take over Manor Farm and dominate the weaker animals by using a combination of strength, fear, and trickery. This book is an allegory to the Russian Revolution, which led to Josef Stalin’s rise to power and the beginning of his dictatorship. In the novel Farmer Jones symbolizes Czar Nicholas II and Napoleon symbolizes Josef Stalin. The animals overthrow their dictator, Farmer Jones, and eventually end up replacing him with another dictator, Napoleon the pig. Napoleon demonstrates how the other farm animals’ weakness can be dominated by strength, fear, and trickery, revealing one of George Orwell’s themes.
An infamous party came to light in 1917, with the overthrow of Tsar Nikolai II. Known as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, it established a new government under Vladimir Lenin. However a well-known man, by the name of Joseph Stalin, took over soon after Lenin’s death in 1924. Stalin, often known as “Koba” in the party or “Uncle Joe” to the western media, was not an effective speaker. Conversely, he had many supporters who spoke eloquently and with their help, he put the (then) Soviet Union under his regime. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the story of the Russian Revolution and its leaders are told through the use of allegorical satire. This masterpiece enlightens the human population about Russian communism and writes of the “leader” Napoleon, his troop of pigs, and the inhabitants of Animal Farm, who are oblivious to Napoleon’s corrupted ways and follow him blindly. In reality, Napoleon represented Stalin, who was a poor speaker but corrupt and demanding. He had many supporters and propagandists like the leading Soviet Union newspaper Pravda and political speakers such as Vyacheslav Molotov who supported his stances and seemly unapparent exploitations. In Orwell’s allegorical novella, the main propagandist is a pig named Squealer. When the animals question the actions of Napoleon or past events, Squealer is always able to appease them with lies and propaganda. Squealer is able to manipulate the minds of the animals of Animal Farm, by his persuasive fabrication and soothing perjury.
It was was a dark night, all the animals huddled around Old Major to hear what he had to say about his dream. It turns out Old Major talks about rebelling against man so that all animals can have a better life. Ironically, after Rebellion, no one except Napoleon has a better life and he makes their lives even harsher. This is a story of communism, this is the story of Animal Farm.
Looking for general information on the history of communism, I went to my local library. The librarian looked into the database and found only two books. One of which, Communism by Nigel Ritchie, I thought was going to be an easy read since it was a picture book. However my intuition was wrong. The book gave me a lot of information on communism’s history, but there were so many political words that I needed to look up such as socialism and capitalism.
In Orwell's Animal Farm, the animals revolt against the cruel human leaders and set up a better method of farm management where all animals are equal. As time passes, the new leaders become greedy and corrupt, and the other animals realize conditions are just as miserable as before. There is a major connection between Animal Farm and Russian communism. The pigs are one of the most significant of these connections, representing the communist rulers of Russia, like Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Their traits, personalities, and actions are similar to the actual men in power. In the novel Animal Farm, the pigs represent the communist leaders of Russia in the early 1900s.
The concept of identity is ever-changing throughout the life of a human being. This becomes especially evident when someone is put into a position of leadership and responsibility. This facet of identity is explored in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”. The purpose of this novel is, specifically, to portray the uprising and corruption of the Communist regime in Russia, but in a broader sense, it shows how even the best-intentioned people can be overwhelmed and intoxicated by the sense and want of power. This change in attitude and identity is illustrated by Orwell’s use of the motif of the word “comrade”. At the beginning of the novel, this term is used as a sign of equality and friendship. However, through the development of the novel and the eventual dictatorship run by the Berkshire pig, Napoleon, the term seems to have almost a cynical meaning. The changing meaning of the word “comrade” throughout the novel symbolises the changing values of the Animal Farm society. For example, in the first meeting of the animals on their theory of Animalism, Old Major refers to all the animals as “c...
The pigs are natural born leaders and they lead the rebellion, with Snowball answering questions, “We have no means of making sugar on this farm… those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery” (37). One must think of themselves in the animal’s shoes. They have to be as pure as possible and not interact with humans. They need to be vigilant and not stray from the tasks at hand. Subsequently, the animals are starving when a cow breaks the storeroom lock and all the animals rush in for a meal when Jones wakes up. The animals fight bravely and force, “A minute late all five of them were in full flight down the cart-track that led to the main road, with the animals pursuing them in triumph” (39). The animals wonder if this is their time to shine. They think about all the good times ahead and fight for all it is worth. They imagine themselves in the human’s shoes as they quiver and run away like babies from a tiger. Lastly, the pigs create a set of rules which read, “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. … No animal shall kill any other animal. All animals are equal” (43). The animals create a set of rules to govern themselves before they fall into chaos and dictatorship. However, some animals reject the ideas secretly. On the
The novel opens with Mr. Jones not locking up the barn properly because he is so drunk. The animals taking advantage of the situation have a meeting planned to hear about the dream that Old Major had the previous night. Old Major speaks about his idea of something he calls animalism. This is the idea he has of the humans that control them and mistreat them. In his dream he describes a world without humans and the animals doing all the work for no one but themselves. He also teaches them a song that his mother taught him “Beasts of England.” Old Major dies a few days later and the animals waste no time in planning a revolution because of the recent worse treatment by Mr. Jones. The pigs are the ...
The pigs developed Old Major’s teaching into a complete system of thought: Animalism. Rules of equality, formality, and hard work was proclaimed and encoded in The Seven Commandments - ';an unalterable law.'; The animals enthusiasm was expressed through a hymn, ';Beasts of England.';
It all starts with Napoleon, the leader pig, banishing their farmer Mr. Jones in order to become the dictator of Manor Farm. This is seen many times in a dictatorship where people rebel against their ruler’s actions. Napoleon leads his pigs by breaking the commandments of human and animal
Looking back through Russia’s history, you can very closely compare certain political figures to the characters in Animal Farm. In the book Old Major represents Karl Marx. The revolutionary ideals of Karl Marx are the same as the opinions that Old Major has about the revo...
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a book about animals kicking the humans off the farm and taking control of it. They renamed the Farm from Manor Farm to Animals farm and tried to create an equal society for all animals. Initially, they were successful but it quickly went downhill as Napoleon, a pig who was a leader of the revolution, took control and turned the democracy into a dictatorship. It is a well-loved story with a hidden meaning. The entire book is an allegory to the Russian Revolution with each character and event representing key aspects of the Russian Revolution.
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.
During 1917, Russia underwent one of the most famous revolutions in history; with the sole intention to improve the nation. However, the original plan for the revolution was quickly put aside as the new leaders began to abuse their power; this brought on more than two years of slaughter and economic decrease. Within the text Animal Farm, George Orwell portrays the working class animals as naïve, while also having a lack of personal awareness; the pigs, however, were corrupted and manipulative. The pig’s hypocrisy against their own rules and ideas lead them to become the farms most powerful figure. Nevertheless, none of this would have been possible without the animals constantly turning a blind eye and failing to acknowledge when they were
...ale Animal Farm proves to be a symbolic and understanding book. In its pages we can see the contrast between a supposedly communistic state where everyone is equal and the same, and how in the end it only leads to a total dictatorial establishment of totalitarianism, where everything is controlled by an elite group. Though Animal Farm was established with the idea of every animal being equal, in the end, the voice of the scheming pigs was the only one heard. Secondly, the book powerfully symbolizes key figures that have appeared in history. It shows how Karl Marx affected the Communism movement in the character Old Major, and also displays the kind of government that lights the fuse for a revolution in the tempered Farmer Jones. Though dark and menacing, Animal Farm paints a very brutal yet truthful view of the dangers when a society moves to the ideas of communism.