Oscar Vila
Mr. Maza
AP English Literature
25 April 2014
George Orwell's Animal Farm
Although Animal Farm is best known as an allegory for the Soviet Union and the failure of communism, George Orwell intended his work to show how human nature inherently and consistently fails to be equal. Through the development of a parallel between the story and the Russian Revolution, Orwell is able to use this platform as an allegory for human nature and how human nature will never and can never be based on equality.
The novel the Animal Farm is an allegory or fable novel, and more so a fairy tale for the adult readers. In the novel the author uses animal characters instead of human beings; the main aim of using animal characters is to be able to draw the mind of the reader from the real happenings in the world into a fairy tale world. Orwell personalizes the entire animal characters in the novel to symbolize real historical people or figures in the society. The novel animal Farm is a very powerful satire full of irony, all meant to show the effects of totalitarianism, and especially Stalinism.
The story begins with the arrival of Mr. Jones who is the owner of Manor Farm. Mr. Jones is too drunk that he stumbles into his bed and falls asleep. The farm animals wait in silence, and after being sure that Mr. Jones is asleep they prepare themselves for a meeting called by Old Major in the big barn. The reason for calling the meeting is so that he can share a very strange dream that he had with the other animals. The animals do not arrive at the meeting at the same time, the first to arrive are the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher. The dogs are followed by cows, sheep, hens, pigeons, white goat, a donkey named Ben...
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...promises of the pig government have metamorphosed into slavery and there is a lot of grumbling among the masses. These grumblings certainly denote lack of satisfaction from quarters feeling less equal than others. The human version of such has always been industrial actions that end up sometimes in running battles with the police as the government fights back in a frantic bid to maintain law and order. If there had been equality, then nobody would have a reason to complain.
The author has done an exemplary job in using animal characters to bring out the issue of inequality in the society. The novel brings out the effects of totalitarianism type of government in any society. The book can prove really helpful to any person who may want to look at the issue of inequality in the society from another perspective. The book is easy to relate with and understand.
George Orwell's goal in writing the novel Animal Farm was to portray the events surrounding the Russian revolution that took place in 1917. Orwell's tale of Animal Farm is seemingly a story of how a group of farmyard animals plot to overthrow their owner and seize control of the land. The novel seems to be a simple story, however Orwell wrote this book as an allegory, a story that has a clear secondary meaning beneath is literal sense. Everything in Animal Farm is used to represent people and events that took place during the Russian revolution from 1917-1939. Orwell chose to represent Russia's three famous leaders during this time with three pigs. Each three are drastically different and have dissimilar beliefs. Snowball representing Leon Trotsky, Napoleon by Josef Stalin and Old Major by Karl Marx. Orwell wrote this and many other books as warnings. The warning is that people must change their ways, or we are most surely doomed.
One thing which relates to the topic is how pigs are favored on Animal Farm. The main source for this was because their leader, Napoleon, was a pig. The pigs were subject to favoritism by Napoleon, and were subject to privileges that other animals were not given. Privileges such as sleeping in beds, wearing clothes, and drinking beer. The pigs were the only animals involved in making the vital decisions on Animal Farm. The fact emulates in a way how our government tends to operate. The Government Party members are paid an exorbitant amount of money. With this money, the members of government can purchase costly cars and houses if they wish to do so. They make all the important decisions about the country where as the tax payers rarely take say in it.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than other.” is one of the most famous quotes from George Orwell’s Animal Farm. From afar, Animal Farm is a fictitious novel with no real substance, but when carefully read, it is a chilling allegory of the horrors of the Russian Revolution. Orwell stresses in the novel, the dangers that go along with a bureaucratic or totalitarian regime. The novel supports the idea that Communism is an unethical and unjust system of government and damages society. While Orwell hides the fact that the novel has information, identical to events pertaining to Russia during the 1940’s, he utilizes it in an innocent way by using simple farm animals to directly compare different events and characters of the revolution.
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.
... while offering a critique on stalins’s Soviet Russia, and communism in general. Orwell is revolutionary in his work, as in 1945, communism was a “taboo” subject, punishable in post- war America by arrest and even death. Every aspect of context is explored in Animal Farm is an allegory of the situation at the beginning of the 1950’s and employs a third person narrator, who reports events without commenting on them directly. Animal Farm represents both the making and the breaking of communist society. The birth of the communist agenda in animal Farm is brought by the character “old major”. The conclusion is that Animal farm and Marxism have a lot in common.
The cat “was seen one day sitting on a roof and talking to some sparrows who were just out of her each. She was telling them that all animals were now comrades and that any sparrow who chose could come and perch on her paw; but he sparrows kept their distance” (Orwell 39). The cat used this word to try and persuade the sparrows to land on her paw, so that she may eat them. Using the word tactfully she tried to manipulate them into their death, which the sparrows narrowly avoided. Napoleon, after his human transformation, states that the “animals on the farm had had a rather foolish custom of addressing one another as ‘Comrade.’ This was to be suppressed” (Orwell 127). This phrase was used to symbolize unity as equality, but now that the pigs view themselves as above other animals they deem it as inappropriate. This symbolizes the final separation between the pigs and the animals. The pigs no longer view themselves as animals and identify more with the humans. After the humanization of the pigs, they change a long-standing rule about animal equality to “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 123). From the very beginning Old Major warned that equality of all animals must stay intact. The pigs did not wish to completely upset the animals be blatantly stating that they are better, so they chose to confuse the unassuming animals by using the same words. Even if the pigs were suggesting all pigs are equal, that is not true because it is clear that Napoleon rules over them. The animal’s word choice and diction portray their own wants as well as how willing they are to get
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.
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.
Most directly one would say that Animal Farm is an allegory of Stalinism, growing out from the Russian Revolution in 1917. Because it is cast as an animal fable it gives the reader/viewer, some distance from the specific political events. The use of the fable form helps one to examine the certain elements of human nature which can produce a Stalin and enable him to seize power. Orwell, does however, set his fable in familiar events of current history.
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.
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 Animal Farm is a political satire of a totalitarian society ruled by a mighty dictatorship, in all probability a fable for the events surrounding the Russian Revolution of 1917. The animals of “Manor Farm” overthrow their human master after a long history of mistreatment. Led by the pigs, the farm animals continue to do their work, only with more pride, knowing that they are working for themselves, as opposed to working for humans. Little by little, the pigs become dominant, gaining more power and advantage over the other animals, so much so that they become as corrupt and power-hungry as their predecessors, the humans.
Animal Farm, a novel by George Orwell, was a story of courage and corrupt government. It was set on a farm in England. This setting is very important to the story itself and the characters in it. It made the plot a lot more interesting and influenced all the characters.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is a fable about rulers and the ruled, oppressors and the oppressed, and an idea betrayed. The particular meaning given will depend partly on the political beliefs- “political” in the deepest sense of the word. The book is there to be enjoyed about how human beings can best live together in this world. The novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell, successfully combines the characteristics of three literary forms-the fable, the satire and the allegory.
George Orwell wrote a unique story in 1945 to criticize the political system of that time. He uses animal characters to tell his story. The novel effectively portrays how animals rebel human leadership with the intent to rule themselves. Some animals pursue the rebellion because they believe they are going to be free at last. However, as events turn out, they end up in more oppression by one of their kind. The animals end up in disappointment and slavery. Orwell brings out the political theme carefully. In my opinion, Orwell’s story has relevance to the political and economical system in the developing world today.