Themes Presented through the Characters in George Orwell's Animal Farm

Animal farm is a novel written by George Orwell, in August 1945. It is a very important work of fictional political satire, and educates the reader about the history of a revolution that went horribly wrong, a savage attack on Stalin. Orwell reveals many themes throughout the novel and uses his characters to convey them. Orwell uses an effective combination of human traits with animal’s characteristics that provide the main charm of the characters of animal farm. They are distinct characters and are appropriate figures of political satire. They resemble certain political leaders of society and thus making it humorous and ironic. The main themes that were expressed in this novel are; the power of ideas, power and rebellion. These themes or issues are made real by Orwell’s characters and how they dealt with them. Napoleons Character teaches us the theme of power. He is a very untrustworthy pig who gains his power by manipulating the other animals and spreading mean lies about others. Napoleon is described as a “Large Berkshire boar…not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way” (page 15). Napoleon is fierce and strong-minded and would do anything to gain power for himself, furthermore reinforcing the idea that too much power is not always good. As the story goes on Napoleon gains control by forcing his rival Snowball out of the farm, Napoleon gains a tremendous amount of power, moreover making him paranoid and very secretive. He starts to gain total leadership, and then rules like a tyrant. Napoleon starts to indulge in human activities and soon regards himself as the leader and no one is his equal “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. This shows us that napoleon do... ... middle of paper ... ...ize middle boar”. Old Major starts the ideas of the rebellion. He had a dream that one day animals wouldn’t be exploited anymore; this shows us readers about the power of ideas. Old Major suggested the idea of the rebellion and soon all the animals were on their way to freedom; this reinforces the idea that ideas are the most powerful things and one person’s idea can save us all. Old Major inspired all the animals to “Carry on the struggle until it is victorious” again this teaches us about old major’s ideas and how they are power filled with the ability to change a group of animals. Animal farm was an exciting novel that taught the world about rebellion and power. Freedom motivated the animals to rebel and in the end they lose it all. The characters in the novel provided a stable storyline and taught themes and issues that are most important in today’s society.