Animal Farm Allegory

In the first couple chapters of Animal Farm by George Orwell, it becomes obvious that the story is a historical allegory to Russian Communism after World War One. Orwell cleverly portrays three important communist figureheads as three of the most important pigs of "Animalism". Karl Marx is clearly represented by Old Major, who teaches the other animals the foundation of communism and preaches revolution against the humans. Leon Trotsky is portrayed as Squealer the pig; one of the leaders of Animalism and the pig who is in charge of propaganda. Stalin is portrayed by Napoleon the pig. Napoleon is a bully, he rules with an Iron fist and uses intimidation tactics to keep the animals in order. Napoleon also eliminates Squealer when the disagree on political actions by releasing his own set of trained war dogs on him. The way that Napoleon got rid of Squealer is meant to show the way that Stalin got rid of Trotsky. Napoleon's war dogs are to be seen as the NKGB; Stalin's secret police. It is exceedingly obvious that Animal Farm is a direct reflection of Russian Communism.

Animal Farm Allegory

Animal Farm by George Orwell can be viewed as a historical allegory to communism and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Old Major can be seen as Karl Marx who gets all the animals to start to have communist values. Napoleon can be viewed as Stalin because his corrupt actions are similar to Stalin's. Snowball can be viewed as Trotsky, who gets kicked out by Napoleon just as Trotsky got kicked out of the communist party by Lenin. Snowball is probably one of Stalin's officials, and the dogs represent the NKVD, Stalin's secret police. George Orwell probably wrote about the Russian Revolution because he was alive during the time, so it makes sense that Animal Farm is about communism.

Animal Farm

Something that interests me is the multitude of methods that the pigs use, especially Squealer, to influence public opinion towards Napoleon's rule regardless of how corrupt he has become. Because the farm animals are mainly terrified by the idea of Mr. Jones's return and support their own "perfect equality" among animals, the pigs find it especially easy to convince them that every action is taken to preserve the integrity of their new political structure. Whenever the facts seem to falter, the pigs justify their actions by warning them that they definitely don't want Mr. Jones back. In addition, any inconsistencies that happen to pop up are smoothed over when Squealer insists that this was how things always were or that everything is for the good of Animal Farm. When the pigs took to sleeping in bed, the commandments mysteriously changed overnight, and the animals couldn't doubt it after Squealer had explained that the pigs are the ones doing the brain power. When Napoleon seized power by chasing Snowball out, it was put forth that Snowball, who had so sensibly led them, was no more than a traitor. Similarly, the communist propaganda, speeches, and public opinion were guided by the goal of perfect communism and the fear of tyrannical capitalism. Because many people were initially faithful that they would eventually reach the perfect society that they had imagined, they followed this idea and overlooked minor problems. Essentially the idea boiled down to the simple, "Four legs good, two legs bad," that was always chanted at the opportune moments. No one can disagree with the ultimate goal, so it seems impossible to point out a flaw when the leaders, and seemingly everyone around you, believe in this illusion.

Another thing that's interesting is how Orwell portrays Stalin through Napoleon and the workings of his corrupt government. From the beginning, Napoleon is a spiteful, malicious character, which we clearly see when Napoleon chases Snowball out with his vicious hounds. These dogs represent the NKVD, who would execute dissenters with Stalin's word and strike fear into others so that no one would speak out against them. Napoleon also began to hypocritically gain power within his institution by stating that the pigs, who kept the entire system in order, needed more privileges, an extra hour of sleep, lodgings inside the house, and special food. Similarly, Stalin and the vanguard were responsible for teaching communism and ensuring that the rest of the society was in order. By doing this, they also took extra privileges by placing themselves above the rest of a society in which everyone was supposedly equal.

Animal Farm

Though I cant say that I am particularly fond of the novel, I have to admit that Animal Farm does provide a point of view of the Russia Revolution that is hard to come by. Instead of trying to cover up and give reasons for Stalin's actions like most documents from that era in Russian history tend to do, Orwell presents the series of events through an unbiased point of view. After finding the not so subtly hidden allegory between real life historical figures and the pigs in Animal Farm, its easy to find parallels between the story and the real events. Right from the beginning we can see that Old Major is a combination of Lenin and Marx because he sparks the idea of the Animal Farm and a separate and superior animal WORKER race (making him Marx), starts the revolution, and then shortly dies (making him Lenin). Then, in Chapters 4-6, it becomes clear that Napoleon and Snowball represent Stalin and Trotsky. Snowball shows characteristics of Trotsky like the ability to persuade people through words like Trotsky could do with pictures. Napoleon is more quiet and cunning like Stalin was. At the end of chapter 5, he shows Stalin like tendencies when he sends his secret band of puppies (suspiciously similar to the NKVD) after Snowball and then persuades everyone that Snowball is bad, just like Stalin did with Trotsky. The rest of the story seems to follow history as it is showing the pigs giving themselves more and more power, all the while justifying it by convincing everyone that it is the right thing to do. The animals on the farm have no ability to say their actual opinions, just like the people who did not have power had no voice in the Communist movement. I think that in the rest of the story, we will be able to see that the more the pigs give themselves power, the more they will find themselves becoming the things they hate--the humans.

I think that Orwell wrote this book to show what the Communist movement looked like from the outside. All documents from that era are biased towards Stalin, because he would have killed them if they weren't. Animal Farm provides an unbiased point of view of the events during that time in history, but it also makes the lesson easier to grasp. It's much easier to figure that what happens in the book is bad when reading it about animals because it makes the subject lighter.

Animal Farm

The comparison I see is that the nine dogs that were the Cheka which were the fighting group for Stalin at the time and that is exactly like what Napoleon did because at first he just secretly took the puppies away because he wanted to teach them himself, but we would find out that he was not teaching them but in actuality he was building them to be fighting killing machines that would only serve the Napoleon and were completely loyal to only him. As shown Napoleon would use these dogs as Stalin used the Cheka to silence ones that opposed him and people who were against the revolution, Napoleon used the dogs to show that you could not act against Snowball and get away with it as in the case of Snowball because he knew the animals would listen to him because he was very well spoken and he saw farm was in agreement with Snowball so he used his influence on the dogs to silence the opposition and thus he was the only leader left it was his farm now because there was no one left to oppose him, and he got to that place because of the dogs. Stalin also used Cheka to get rid of Trotsky supporters so only his voice would be heard.

Animalism... communism?

I definitely think that Animal Farm is an allegory to communism, mainly because of the clear representations of different people in Russian communism, and also because of the complete political control that is under the pretense of "All animals created equal." We said in class that Major was Marx, and that Napoleon was Stalin. I think these are very fitting comparisons. Major was the one to initiate it all, while Napoleon is very violent and wants to be in control of everything. He also steps up to be the new leader, like Stalin did. I also think that Animal Farm relates to communism because of the absolute control the leaders, Napoleon and Snowball, each have. Snowball and Napoleon come up with the seven commandments, and make every animal memorize them. If the animals cannot learn to read everything, they must be able to read the seven commandments, or at least know them. Also, Snowball and Napoleon have convinced everyone that the apples and milk are only for the pigs, because pigs need nourishment for their minds since they are the smartest. The "government" or leaders own everything, just like in Russian communism. Although the seventh commandment clearly states "All animals are equal", we can see that this is not at all the case, which is why Animal Farm is an allegory to Russian Communism.

Animal Farm

Animal Farm could be an allegory for many different political things, but it is easiest to see the ties between it and Russian communism. As we decided, Major was a mixture of Marx and Lenin, and Napoleon is Stalin. I think that Snowball is definitely meant to be Trotsky, while Squealer is most likely one of Stalin's upper-class officials. I am fairly certain that George Orwell (actually Eric Blair) intended for Animal Farm to be an allegory for Russian Communism, especially because he was alive during the Russian revolution and rise of the communist regime. Animal Farm is similar to the French Revolution as well, but it probably bears many similarities to most revolutions, as it is the tale of the oppressed overcoming the oppressors, the ideal of any revolt.

Animal Farm... connections

Animal Farm started out with Manor Farm, a peaceful working farm owned and run by Mr. Jones. The main animals on the farm are: Old Major, Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer (the pigs,) Boxer and Clover (work horses,) Mollie (a silly mare,) Muriel (a goat,) Benjamin (a donkey,) Moses (a sneaky raven.) The animals revolted against Mr. Jones because of the persuasive words of Old Major. Old Major died, and the pigs took it upon their responsibility to take control. Snowball and Napoleon in particular stepped up as leaders. However, they disagreed on everything. Napoleon kept sneaking around, keeping secrets, and seemed to be up to no good. Up to this point, the animals were fairly considered equal, besides being under command of the pigs. There was talk going around about building a windmill. Snowball initiated the idea, while Napoleon strongly opposed it. When the animals were going to vote with Snowball in favor of building the windmill, Napoleon called out puppies he had raised in secret to attack Snowball. Fearing his life, he ran away, barely escaping. Later on, Napoleon decides to build the windmill, and claims that the plans were all of his, and were stolen by Snowball. Boxer, who is slaving away on the windmill (waking up early, working during the night) recieves no compensation or rewards for his devout loyalty. Although the pigs do not usually do any physical labor, the pigs received special treatment. They slept in the farmhouse on beds, sat on raised platforms during meeting, and slept in, to name a few. Although many of these privileges were against the original commandments, Squealer was able to convince all the animals that it was all in their heads. Along with Squealer's persuasive speeches, the vicious growling dogs helped the animals decision to keep quiet.

The story ties into history in several aspects. First, the farm was like communism. Everybody started out relatively equal, but soon, the elite leaders received subtle advantages. For example, the animals started out having the right to vote. Later on, Napoleon and his committee of piggies make all the decisions. Although in communism, everything is supposed to be equal, only the leaders make important decisions. The vicious dogs are like the Cheka. They were a secret group that kept the pigs and the communist leaders in power. Napoleon, like Stalin, is trying to purge anybody who might come to power. Napoleon got rid of Snowball like Stalin got rid of Trotsky. Animal Farm is also similar to fascism. In fascism, the government completely controls civilians' lives. In Animal Farm, the pigs assign each animal jobs and a strict schedule every week. Animal Farm is also like the situation in France before the French Revolution. The nationalistic revolters took pride in their revolutionary actions, and The Marseillaise was their "pump up" song. The animals sing Beasts of England to get themselves excited about the Animal Farm, and encourage them to be nationalistic.

Orwell's motivation was to get his beliefs about the government out without using actual names. Had he used real names, he would have been strictly reprimanded. Orwell is venting about the situation, and to us it's obvious he is telling the story of the government.

Animal Farm Reflection

The story Animal Farm by George Orwell obviously is an allegory for communism, and probably the Communist movement in Russia. Animal Farm follows the ascension of power of Napoleon in contrast to the defamation of Snowball. Napoleon probably represents Josef Stalin while Snowball represents Trotsky.

The three parallels to history that interest me the most are spreading the idea of animal rebellion, the unforeseen shrewdness of Napoleon and the animals becoming what they had worked to overthrow.

In Chapter 5 Napoleon and Snowball disagree over whether it is better to focus efforts on defending the farm another possible Jones attack or spread against ing the idea of animal rebellion. The chauvinistic Napoleon thinks it is more prudent to focus on military strategy while Snowball believes in stirring up rebellion in neighboring farms. We can see from history that Stalin was a very violent man and his personality is reflected in Napoleon.

Before the ostracizing of Snowball, I had thought that Napoleon had gained his power through his brute force. It appeared that was what happened, he bided his time and was secretly training, in essence, his own ruthless secret police, like the NKVD, that was loyal to him. Napoleon wasn't just keeping quiet because he isn't as smart as Snowball, he was hatching a brilliant scheme to get rid of the other alpha male. I was most impressed though with Napoleon's theft of Snowball's brainchild, the windmill. Napy, realizing the windmill would be good, or at least good for his political purposes, said he had supported the idea all along and only pretended to oppose it in order to purge the dangerous Snowball.

Orwell says how the police dogs were "noticed that they wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had been used to do to Mr. Jones," (38). In agreeing with Freddy's view on Russia in the real world, the animals's society has become exactly what it sought to get rid of. The way of life on Animal Farm is now the same totalitarian system that existed when Jones was in charge. The only change is that Napoleon is the new leader. The animals's main ideal of "Four legs good, two legs bad" has been severely compromised because now the animals trade with a human and view Snowball, who walks on four legs, as the enemy.

Relations of Animal Farm and History

WRITE a brief blog post in which you reflect on what you've read in AF so far. How do you see the story tying into history? What parallels stand out most to you? What do you think Orwell's motivation was for writing this text?

Animal Farm by George Orwell is an obvious parallel to history and the communist movement in Russia. Orwell uses animals working in farms to represent the lower class workers in Russia. The pigs were obviously the leaders of the rebellion and were the most sophisticated to take advantage over the less intelligent animals on the farm. Old Major was the theorist and the starter of Animalism who represents a mix of Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx, the theorists of communism. Napoleon, another pig, is Josef Stalin who immediately took control of the other animals as soon as the Jone's were kicked out of the farm. Also, Squealer represents propaganda and someone who persuades the "dumber common people" to believe in false claims. The pigs were easily able to take control of the entire farm and its dwellers because they were more sophisticated and were the only ones contributing ideas to improve the farm. It relates to the leaders of the communistic country and how they thought they were above the general population. Orwell most likely wrote Animal Farm to represent Russian Communism because he was alive during the Russian revolution and during the rise of power of the communist regime. He wanted to show his prediction of the outcome of communism, but in a story instead of a book where he rants about his views of the new-found government.

The Makings of a Pig

As a reflection on communism, Animal Farm is likely to have many distinctive connections to true events and people of communist governments. It is evident from the first that there are characters in the book that are specific to officials within the USSR. The ties between Old Major and Marx are strong, since they were both the pioneers of communism (or Animalism rather). On the other hand, Old Major has a tie to Lenin as well, since they popularized their ideals and died shortly after. For his skill as an orator, Snowball may be placed as Trotsky, and Napoleon as his aggressive opponent may be assumed Stalin. This fits in perfectly with the scheme of things in Russia, since (as Napoleon did to Snowball) Stalin removes Trotsky from the government through force and slander. The horses, Boxer and Clover, are likely representative of the workers, those that were favored most by communism, while vain Mollie is the bourgeoisie. As the ones removed from power, the Jones' can be taken for either the monarchy before the revolution in Russia, or the temporary government that was instated and later removed.
Orwell clearly makes a case in Animal Farm for the corruption of communist governments. In the book, charismatic leaders extol the virtues of specific ideals, but once in power, quickly go back on these to strengthen themselves and not others. In the beginning, all animals are equal, but by chapter six, the pigs have special privileges that they are afforded because they are cleverer than the other animals and so need more to maintain their higher state. They change the rules, but promote a sense of mystery about the origin of the commandments so that none can question their rectitude. This is exemplified through the adding of words ("with sheets") to the commandments so that technically the pigs aren't violating anything. Also, through the reactions of the other animals, Orwell seems to argue that there are similarities between communism and fascism, which is dependant upon the leaders being vastly more intelligent than the populous. The leaders can rise to power on this assumption - their intellect deserves luxury, and without it, the entire system would fail. Once in power, they must use terror to subdue a public that is increasingly unhappy for a feeling of unfairness, thus the nine dogs or CHEKA. Perhaps the true argument though, is that it is not the man(or animal) that corrupts and abuses their power, but rather the power that corrupts the man, to make the pig. For this reason, Animal Farm can be seen as a cautionary tale to all, both leader and quiescent public.