Literary Analysis of George Orwell's Animal Farm

Enaam Alnaggar, Third Place Winner, USF Bullitzer Prize in First-Year Composition (with paragraphs:7-13 added by Benjamin Clayton)

Should dissatisfied people rise up in revolution to overthrow their leaders, or is such revolution fruitless in the end? When a society begins to decline, does the blame rest on the leaders alone? Does power always corrupt? These are questions that are presented in the unassuming, yet thought-provoking, novel Animal Farm. Written partly as a satire against the Russian revolution, Animal Farm also contains a deeper message that forces us to examine the role of power, rulers, and the ruled in society. Cleverly disguised as a children’s fairy story, Animal Farm drives a lasting, deeply resonant message firmly into our minds on the importance of initiative and awareness of people in their societies.

When Animal Farm was first written in 1944, no publisher wanted it to take it up. Russia was an ally of Britain, and such a work, so critical of the Stalinist regime, was considered an insult to a friend. After the war ended in 1945, the reshuffling of friends not uncommon after wars made the novel suddenly acceptable and a publisher invested enough paper to print four hundred and fifty copies. It was an instant bestseller (Byrne 14). The ‘little squib’, as Orwell jokingly described it, was enthusiastically adopted by the British as well as the CIA, which financed and distributed a cartoon version of it in 1954, albeit with a braver, more moralistic ending (Pearce 48). Brandished happily as “the work of a repentant communist who saw the light,” Animal Farm was liberally used as a cold war weapon that exposed the “inevitable fruits of revolution,” much to the dismay of the author (Byrne 15). Orwell explained many times that while one of the themes of the novel is satire on the Russian revolution (Pearce 52) and a condemnation of Stalinist Communism, the novel does not restrict its condemnation to that particular political system (Byrne 14). It is a novel about the failings that any society can undergo given a power-hungry ruler and an apathetic people.

Looking back at the history of different civilizations, both fictional and real, it can be reasonably concluded that power corrupts. It is also disturbingly addictive. There is something about having the ability to control others that distorts one’s image of an ideal world. Instead of working for the common good, it now becomes more important to work for one’s own benefit. It becomes easier to justify wrongdoing when the ultimate goal is the securing of more power for oneself. The pigs in the novel exemplify this idea. They are first and foremost in leading the glorious overthrow of Farmer Jones and even go so far as to develop Old Major’s ideas on animal rights into a way of life known as “Animalism.” But as they begin to take increasing command of the operations of the farm, they also begin to bestow unwarranted privileges upon themselves, such as when they claim all the apples and milk for themselves. It is not only the fact that they are beginning to set themselves apart from the other animals, who work just as hard, if not harder, than them, it is that they offer deliberately devious explanations for their actions. In an ideal society such deception should never be allowed to proliferate, because deception is the backbone of corruption. As the story progresses, the pigs pursue even more shocking paths to maintain their authority over the farm. Napoleon and his elite followers prove to be remorseless as they force the other farm animals to work a seven-day week, execute animals after coercing them to confess to false crimes, and faithlessly abandon the most loyal farm animal, Boxer, to the horse-slaughterer. The principles of Animalism, which had been so carefully followed in the times right after the revolution are now worthless, empty words that have been modified and mutilated to suit the needs of the dictatorial pigs.

The pigs go so far as to rewrite what can be considered the most important precept of Animalism. The slogan “All animals are equal” was soon transformed into “All animals are equal but some are more equal to others” (Orwell 53). In doing so the pigs drew themselves even further apart from the rest of the animals and advanced the progress of social stratification. The slogan “All animals are equal but some are more equal to others” can be taken to mean one of either two things. The first way of interpreting the modified maxim is to consider being more equal as being superior to others since equality is a ‘good’ thing. But if you define equality as being ‘identical’ or ‘same’ then such good connotations disappear and being equal to others becomes undesirable. In this reading, the pigs view equality as something that ties them to the common animal and they distance themselves from it as much as possible, in order to preserve their elite status (Kearney 238). Again, we can see the lengths the pigs go to preserve their power. A class system has no place in an ideal society, if only because it is the root of discontent and can often lead to another revolution.

Eventually, the paradise that was Animal Farm crumbles into a ruin no better than Jones’s Manor, and the fact that animals rule it presents a cruel irony. Long, uncompensated work hours and murder for the purpose of intimidation become the order of the day. While reading about such injustice during the course of the novel, one has to wonder, What happened to the vibrant desire for freedom that every farm animal seemed to be imbued with before Jones’ overthrow? Can the miserable state of affairs possibly be attributed to the lack of initiative of the other farm animals? Often, readers view the farm animals as ‘victims’ simply because behind the atrocities, injustice, and Napoleon’s tyrannical reign they fail to see that the animals are suffering, in a sense, due to their own indifference and weakness. Though there are instances of the farm animals wondering if the pigs’ actions were right, they are easily intimidated and distracted. Squealer is particularly adept at making them uncomfortable and forcing them to believe what Napoleon wants them to. Just mentioning Farmer Jones’ return is enough to force the animals into submission. However, the farm animals should have taken all these as warning signs and fought back. But they seemed to have forgotten the real purpose of revolution and do nothing to change their circumstances. And because they lacked the drive to preserve the freedom they had fought for and worked so hard to achieve and establish, they soon lost it. Orwell once stated in a letter, “Revolutions led by power-hungry people can only lead to a change in masters…Revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job…You can’t have revolution unless you make it for yourself; there is no such thing as a benevolent dictatorship” (Byrne 15).

After reading Animal Farm, it becomes clear that while revolution can help us achieve a better society, revolution alone is not enough. It is equally important for us to actively and carefully maintain the harmony of that society and keep rulers in check. Without constant limitation and restriction, without firm definition of boundaries of authority, a peaceful society cannot be sustained and will collapse as Animal Farm did. Every society needs to have some form of leadership; this is what prevents disorder, but this leadership should not overstep its boundaries and become something to be feared. Leaders have a responsibility to their people to work for the benefit of all. The power they are bestowed with is meant to be used accordingly. Everything they do, every law they impose, should be with the intention of achieving a positive outcome for everyone. Although it often turns out otherwise, it is the government which is meant to serve the people, not the other way around. In Animal Farm, it seems that this concept has been forgotten. One of the last images imprinted in our minds before the novel ends is that of the pigs having dinner with the humans. The miserable farm animals look through the window and “looking from pig to man, and from man to pig they observe that there is no difference between them“ (Orwell 55). This image demonstrates to us the fragility of uncorrupted leadership and the poisonous effects of unrestrained power. And as the animals sadly resign themselves to their fate, we can see, ever so clearly, the importance of a proactive and wary populace.

The book itself has to be known as one of the greates and most powerful fictional pieces of all time; not only can this book be enjoyed on a quite day out or in a park by children but it can be studied intricately by academics and literature lovers. The allegory runs extremely near to the surface and this allows anyone, even if they lack a huge amount of historical knowledge, to be able to take an active and huge role in the enjoyment of the academic part of the novel. George Orwell's epic also clearly warns, not singularly against the communist regime, but against any particular regime which results in a focus of power into one single person or organisation. George Orwell clearlky displays this through the role that Napoleon the pig plays in the novel and through the way that the former regime of man then comes back round into a similar dictatorship made by pigs, and, even more specifically, Napoleon.

Furthermore, George Orwell clearly defines the mindset of the Russian people, through that particular period in time, thropugh the character of Boxer and his clear and understandable actions. This is mainly seen through Boxer's constant ethos that, "Napoleon is always right," which sounds very much of the Russian chants of yor and through Boxer's ideology that his constant and unstopable work will result in a better place to live in for, both himself and the other animals that occupy the farm. In addition, it allows the reader to get an even firmer idea of history through the eventual end of Boxer and his barbaric death- he is sold so that the Pigs, who have assumed control of the farm, are able to purchase whiskey and get drunk; this clearly represents the fate of millions of Russian people through the communist era.

Furthermore, surley the beauty of the novel is summed up in its satyrical nature and the way that this is allowed to be carried off whilst, at the same moment, it is possible for an extremely deep and important message is being conveyed through the novel.

George Orwell' use of characters itself allows the reader to clearly see that it is directly related to the former communist regime which existed in Russia; it was for this reason that the book, at first, was not accepted by Britain and many other counrtis as they did not wish to sever any relationships that they had with the communist Russia at thge time.

For example, snowball and Napoleon relate to the two poloticians of the time attempting to grasp power on a suposedly equal society. Boxers continuous mindset and unwillingness to challenge the communist (and in the book-animalist) regime is the allegory to the working people of Russia at the time and the character of Squealer directly links to the use of propoganda through that period in time- to wipe the memories of many clean and, through repetition and blunt lies, to implant new thoughts which they never, actually possessed themselves.

In addition, the corrupt nature of the poloticians, who gained theior position in society through a coktail of lies, deciept and pure aggression is clearly shown in the novel especially when the poloiticians attempt to justify the sincere lack of equality (which is the main thing that the animals are, supposedly, striving for) and the system in which only the pigs are allowed to drink the milk and eat the apples. This, in the allegory, relates directly to the way in which many a polotician demanded a holiday home on the basis that they needed it to help continue equality.

Furthermore, through Squealer and Napoleon's actions, the leaders of the farm directly contradict the set of rules which they created at the start of their rebellion. For example, after the victorious battle of the cowshed, the commandments proclaimed that nno animal would be allowed to kill another animal; later on in the book, Napoleon (once he has ceased power) decides to hold trials and execute all those who, apparently, opposed his reign and regime. So that the other animals did not take offence to these actions, Napoleon ordered Squealer to change the rule to- No animal shall kill another animal without just cause and Squealer and Napoleon used the fact that the other animals were not able to read and their lack of intelligence to pass this off without anyn quiries. All of this runs on a parrallel with the regime that was held during communist Russia.

Works Cited

Byrne, Katherine. “Not all books are created equal: Orwell & his animals at fifty.”

Commonwealth. 123 (1996): 14-15.

Kearney, Anthony. “Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984.” The Explicator. 54 (1996): 238-240.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. 1945. 5 Mar. 2006. <http://www.msxnet.org/orwell/print /animal_farm.pdf>.

Pearce, Robert. “Animal Farm Sixty Years On.” History Today. 55 (2005): 47-53.