George Orwell’s Animal Farm is infamous for its direct representation of the 1917 Russian Revolution and its aftermath leading up to the Cold War. As stated by Tony Shaw in his Some Writers are More Equal than Others, “Orwell in fact aimed… to show that the Stalinists had betrayed the Bolsheviks’ original intentions and thereby to express his faith in the ultimate achievability in Socialism” (). In his novel, Orwell represents the major characters of the revolution namely in the form of farm animals. Through his representation of other major countries, the populace, and the leaders, George Orwell’s Animal Farm directly parallels the Russian Revolution.
Throughout the novel, the populace of the Soviet Union is represented by varying animals on the farm. The two most notable sanctions of the populace include the sheep and the two work horses. While the sheep on Animal Farm portray the simplest, blindest of the followers, the two horses, Boxer and Clover, are direct representations of the working-class. Following the revolt, the Seven Commandments of Animal Farm are established:
1. 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 (11)
Although the pigs and dogs were already literate, the rest of the farm was not, and so the animals tried to learn to read. Unfortunately, however, it becomes apparent that “the stupider animals, such as the sheep…were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart” (15). It is decided, then, that the Seven Commandments could essentially be summed up in one saying: “Four ...
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George Orwell’s Animal Farm provides a better understanding of the inner-working of the 1917 Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Orwell’s transformation of previously simple farm animals offers a clear, easily understood depiction of this major historical event. His representation of the populace, worldly powers, and major leaders makes the novel an interesting satire depicting the corruption that occurred in the early years of the Soviet Union. As stated by John Rodden in his 1999 work entitled Understanding Animal Farm, “Animal Farm now [seems] to be a prophetic book, ahead of its time. Orwell [seems] to have predicted the collapse of Allied alliance and unveiled the Soviet dictatorship as the new enemy of Western democracy” (Orwell, George, et al). Animal Farm is a clear, easy-to-understand representation of the beginning of the Soviet Union.
George Orwell’s animal farm is an allegory about communist Russia and the Russian revolution. Animal farm represents communist Russia through animal farm. Some of the themes Orwell portrays throughout the story of animal farm are lies and deceit, rebellion and propaganda through the characters and the story of animal farm.
The novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell expresses the idea of self-government through the animals. The animals play the role of humans. Because the animals decide that they want to run the farm by themselves, they make up a way of living called Animalism. The Seven Commandments (Animal Farm's Constitution) under which they live are based on these major principles of Animalism. As time passes, the Seven Commandments undergoes subtle changes as the pigs rewrite it to suit their own agenda. The Seven Commandments may be said to be the key to understanding Animal Farm.
Orwell’s Animal Farm closely follows the people and events of the Russian Revolution. In fact, Orwell wrote Animal Farm to convey the evil correlation between revolutions and tyrannies, and to point out the fault in revolutions (“Animal Farm” Literature). The Russian Revolution came about when the Bolsheviks took power after overthrowing Czar Nicholas II and Romanov rule, around the 1920s (Smele). This revolution was the real life version of the Rebellion on Animal Farm, an event in which the animals overthrew the evil humans who owned the farm. Two of the most well-known figures of this time include Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin, who both used and accentuated propaganda. In the novella, Napoleon the pig represents Stalin. Both Napoleon and Stalin became a dictator and stopped any resistance to their power through the use of propaganda (Stults). Old Major, a respec...
In 1917, Russia underwent a massive transformation. Common folk revolted against the corrupt Russian government and attempted to create a better system. However, humans are all flawed and because of this a perfect system of government is an unreachable standard. George Orwell's Animal Farm describes a situation which at first glance appears quite unrelated. In reality, Animal Farm is actually an animalistic version of the revolution. The animals in the book overthrow the farmer and strive to operate the farm without human aid. Eventually, the animal's revolution follows the same path as the Russian Revolution, the perfect intentions of the revolution soon gave away to corruption and greed as leaders chipped away at citizens' rights. Throughout the slow removal of freedom, propagandists spread the news that things were better than ever before. In Animal Farm, three characters represent key elements in a political revolution.
The thought provoking ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell is an interesting book that allegories the Russian Revolution. It reincarnates the main politicians of the Russian during that time and shows them as pigs on a farm called ‘Manor Farm’ although the pigs soon change the name to ‘Animal Farm’ when taking it over from the opprobrious Mr Jones. The pigs quickly become corrupted by their power and begin to bend their own rules and great ideas of equality. They used the animals’ basic intelligence against them and the pigs became greedy and selfish much like many other dictators.
One of Orwell's main reasons for writing Animal Farm was to show how the Russian (or Bolshevik Revolutionaries) Revolution of 1917 had resulted in turning a benevolent ideal of equality into a government of an even more oppressive, totalitarian, and dominating to the people, than the aristocratic one it had recently ousted. Many of the main characters (animals) and synapses of Orwell's parody, run parallel to the event of the Bolshevik Revolution: In Orwell’s novel, The Farm is a representation of Russia and its people, and the most important characters such as Old Major, Snowball, and Napoleon parody the central figures that shaped it into the nation it came to be.
The characters and events that George Orwell put in his novel Animal Farm, can be linked to the similar events and people associated with the Russian Revolution. People like Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky can be compared and represented by the 2 pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, in Orwell’s Animal Farm. By writing this novel, Orwell attempted to expose the truth behind the totalitarian-type government in Russia at that time. However, he did this in a discreet way by using animals to symbolize the different people that played a role in the Revolution.
George Orwell’s foremost objective when composing Animal Farm was to depict the Russian Revolution of 1917 as an affair that produced a government more repressive, totalitarian and lethal than the one it replaced. Various components of the text including the setting, characters and plot were created intentionally to parallel key figures and events surrounding the communist territory of Russia during the revolution. Manor Farm – where the plot unfolds – is based on the country of Russia. The character of Mr Jones is a replica of Tsar Nicholas II, the final Russian emperor. Throughout Nicholas’ rule, the Russian people were faced with horrendous poverty and turmoil, just like the animals in Orwell’s novel lead lives of starvation and desire, as revealed when the creatures rebel against Mr Jones due to the fact that he hadn’t fed them in days (page 12)...
Animal Farm is an excellent allegory of the period in Russian history between 1917 and 1944. George Orwell symbolizes the characters, places, objects, and events of the Russian revolution superbly. His symbols not only parallel those of the Russian revolution, but any revolution throughout history. The fable Animal Farm relates not only to the Russian Revolution, but also to any revolution where an absolute dictator emerges.
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire of the Russian Revolution that took place during the late 1930s. Orwell uses vibrant characters such as Snowball, Old Major, and Napoleon to represent some of Russia’s horrific past. While Old Major represents the idea of revolution and Snowball represents the idea of industrialism, Napoleon represents the totalitarian dictatorship in Russia. Animal Farm is a good example of what happened to Russia during this time period. While Animal Farm could represent any dictatorship, it more specifically represents the totalitarianism brought on by Joseph Stalin through communism.
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel based on the lives of a society of animals living on the Manor Farm. Although the title of the book suggests the book is merely about animals, the story is a much more in depth analysis of the workings of society in Communist Russia. The animals are used as puppets to illustrate how the communist class system operated and how Russian citizens responded to this. And also how propaganda was used by early Russian leaders such as Stalin, and the effort this type of leadership had on the behavior of the people of Russia.
Animal Farm, A novella by George Orwell, tells the tale of the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm, who after much oppression from their master, take over the farm for themselves. In the beginning it seems like the start of a life of freedom and plenty, but ruthless and cunning elite emerges and begins to take control of the farm. The animals find themselves ensnared once again as one form of tyranny gradually replaces the other. The novella is a critique of revolutionary Russia and idealism betrayed by power and corruption. Orwell uses allegory between Animal Farm and the Soviet Union to highlight the corruption of socialist ideals in the soviet union, the power of language and propaganda, and the dangers of a naive working class.
George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is a great example of allegory and political satire. The novel was written to criticize totalitarian regimes and particularly Stalin's corrupt rule in Russia. In the first chapter Orwell gives his reasons for writing the story and what he hopes it will accomplish. It also gives reference to the farm and how it relates to the conflicts of the Russian revolution. The characters, settings, and the plot were written to describe the social upheaval during that period of time and also to prove that the good nature of true communism can be turned into something atrocious by an idea as simple as greed. This essay will cover the comparisons between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution. It will also explain why this novel is a satire and allegory to the Revolution that took place in Russia so long ago.
About 80 per-cent of all the animals on Animal Farm completely followed the seven commandments. The other 20 per-cent of the animals would rarely follow all the rules and they were often treated like a piece of dirt. All the animals on Animal Farm were treated differently according to their social status, where in today’s society everyone should treat everyone equally. The characters in Animal Farm had many diverse characteristics, some of the animals were powerful, stupid, and sneaky.
Animal Farm’ is a novel by George Orwell which carries allegorical aspects. In other words, this novel is mainly focused on the Russian Revolution of 1917. Orwell has portrayed this revolution and the era of Stalin in the Soviet Union (USSR), in a satirical manner. Through out the novel, he has brought out a strong criticism about the power- hungry human kind and the way it affects a nation.