Animal Farm- A Review
In his book Animal Farm, George Orwell satirically puts forth a story that at one point in time dictated the world’s politics. Set on a farm in the country side, this story talks about the oppression, greed and suffering faced by the animals living there. At first, at the hands of their human master and later at the hands of their fellow animals. Manor Farm was owned by Mr. Jones who kept his animals in impoverished conditions by not feeding them properly and striking them often. As a result of which, the animals revolt and oust him out of his own farm. For a brief time, the animals live in good conditions, but this does not last long. Greed and a thirst for power corrupt some of the animals which eventually brings the farm to the brink of peril as hunger and fatigue become a daily norm for the animals.
Animal Farm is an allegory for the events that took place during the Russian Revolution and the formation of USSR. George Orwell’s characters are based on the prominent individuals during this time in the greater Russian peninsula. Mr. Jones is the symbolic representation of Tsar Nicholas II. Old Major had a dream about equality for all. The dream was based on the idea of everyone being able to lead free and happy lives; free from the tyranny of man and all that he stands for. This dream represents the ideas put forth by Karl Marx in the Communist manifesto. Old Major himself is the embodiment of Vladimir Lenin who brought the ideas of Karl Marx to fruition by starting the Socialist Movement in Russia. One night when Mr. Jones was drunk the animals rallied behind Snowball and chased him out of the farm. This represents the Russian Revolution led by some of the prominent leaders of the Communist party, most importantly Leon Trotsky. The Tsar and his family were executed by the communist revolutionaries as symbolized by the ousting of Mr. Jones.
After the Battle of Cow Shed the animals rejoiced when they were successful in driving out the humans who came to reclaim their farm. They changed the name from Manor Farm to Animal Farm and came up with seven commandments.
The changing of the name signifies the formation of USSR under the banner of the Communist manifesto which is very similar to the commandments the animals wrote. After this, one of the other prominent pigs on the farm, Napoleon, took charge and used his dogs to chase Snowball out. Orwell’s Napoleon is based on Joseph Stalin who held military power during the Russian Revolution. Stalin exiled Leon Trotsky and took control of the Soviet Union. Napoleon’s rule was good at first. The animals were fed properly, everyone worked and reaped the labors. This, however, did not last long. As the animals soon came to realize, they were grossly underfed, always overworked and most days had very little to go on but despite it all, somehow managed to keep the wheels turning. Napoleon would use Squealer to reassure the animals that they were doing better than ever and that their produce was at an all-time high. As evident by history, USSR did see a steady decline in the quality of life of the people, whereas those in power lived lavishly. Stalin’s propaganda lobby worked tirelessly to assure the public that their efforts were not in vein and most of the remaining Trotsky supporters were executed on Stalin’s orders. Napoleon brokered a deal with Frederick; a neighboring farm owner. Animal Farm sold Frederick some of the excess timber that they had. The money they received from the deal turned out to be counterfeit. USSR signed a non-aggression pact with Germany to support them but this deal fell through when Germany attacked the East province of the USSR as signified by the fake money.
Frederick along with a few other farmers attacked the Animal Farm and destroyed the windmill the animals had built. Seeing their beloved windmill up in flames reignited the flame in the animals who led one last charge and were successful in driving the humans outs. The Battle of the Windmill in reality is WW2 during which Hitler invaded Stalingrad but was forced to retreat. Despite losing millions of lives and the destruction of their Industrial Machine, USSR celebrated victory.
During the meeting with Pilkington and other farmers the pigs drank alcohol and dined with them. The animals who were always told that humans were their worst enemies saw the pigs comfortably talking and laughing with the humans and playing cards. At that moment they could not differentiate between the two. This signifies Stalin’s meeting with the Western powers during the Tehran Conference and how he had turned into the same power the Russian Revolution had originally set out to end. After this the name of the Animal Farm was changed back to Manor Farm which marks the end of the Union Soviet Socialist Republic. The pigs and the humans were trying to deceive each other during the card game that points towards the deception both Russia and the Western nations were carrying out during the Cold War. I cannot help but wonder whether, if the pigs had focused on the 7 commandments and had not altered them to their own liking, would Animal Farm still have been Animal Farm. If greed had not corrupted Stalin would Russia still be the Socialist Republic. It is evident from Orwell’s narration that the failure of the Animal Farm was because of the greed and the self-interest the pigs had.
In today’s world this novel still plays a huge role in teaching us how greed and power corrupt. How the ruling class sticks to scripted rhetoric to keep their dominance over the ruled. Quoting false statistics and claiming how good things are even though hunger and poverty run rampant. Looking at most of the world’s nations I see them doing exactly what the pigs were doing; using all means necessary to keep their dominion over their subjects.
