Irodalom | Középiskola » Animal Farm by George Orwell 2

Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) I. Summary The story is set on Manor Farm, owned by Mr. Jones One night, the white boar Old Major gathers all the animals to tell them that he has realized how they are slaves of the human beings. He thinks that soon or later a revolution against humans shall rise The boar relates his dream of rebellion and teaches the animals the song ‘Beast of England’. After Old Major’s death, the pigs led by Snowball and Napoleon start teaching his ideas (that they turn into a philosophy called Animalism) to the other animals. A few months later, Mr. Jones gets drunk and forgets to feed the animals, who become so hungry that they rebel and drive the human beings off the farm. Snowball renames the farm ‘Animal Farm’ and writes the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the wall of the barn. The first harvest is a great success The animals adhere to Animalism happily, and with good result. Everyone works and gets a fair share of food The pigs are the most

intelligent animals, so they think up resolutions for the other animals to debate. But as time goes by, they increase their control over the animals. Jones and other farmers try to recapture the Animal Farm but they fail. The animals celebrate their victory and call this fight ‘The Battle of the Cowshed’. The animals concede to let the pigs make all the resolutions but Snowball and Napoleon never agree on anything. They clash about a windmill that Snowball wants to build in order to have electricity in the farm and to shorten the work, but Napoleon opposes it. With the help of the nine dogs he trained, Napoleon expels Snowball from the farm. Squealer, the very persuasive pig who relays Napoleons decisions to the other animals, tells them that Snowball was in league with Jones. He also says that the windmill was Napoleons idea all along Building the windmill forces the animals to work harder and on Sundays, they rely a lot on Boxer, the very strong cart-horse. The pigs move into the

farmhouse and sleep in beds, even though it was forbidden by the former principles of Animalism. Squealer convinces the animals that there is no resolution against this. The winter is cold and the animals have little food Napoleon spreads propaganda against Snowball, claiming that he was always a collaborator and that he has secret agents. Napoleon makes several animals confess being in touch with the traitor, all of them are killed by the dogs. Afterwards, Clover and some other animals gather; they remember the former ideas of Animalism and consider how much they differ from the violence and terror of Napoleon’s leadership. The windmill is finally completed and to get money to buy the machinery for it, Napoleon decides to sell timber. He hesitates between the two neighbouring farmers Pilkington and Frederick, but he finally sells it to Frederick. He then discovers that he has been paid with fake banknotes. Frederick and his men invade the farm and destroy the windmill with

explosives. The animals try to chase the humans, but many die or are injured in what they call ‘The Battle of the Windmill’. A few days later, the pigs find a case of whisky in the farmhouse They drink to excess. In April, Napoleon declares the farm a Republic and is elected unanimously as President (he is the only candidate). The animals continue to work feverishly, most of all Boxer who is injured while repairing the windmill. Benjamin notices that the van Napoleon calls to send him to the vet has ‘Horse Slaughterer’ painted on the side. After many years, life becomes even harder than it was in Jones’ time. Squealer regularly reads statistics to the animals to convince them that production of crops is increasing. The pigs continue to award themselves more and more privileges They even wear Jones’s clothing and they start walking on two legs. None of the old Commandments are left on the barn wall. They have been replaced by a single maxim: “All animals are equal but some

animals are more equal than others.” One night, Napoleon holds a banquet for the farmers. Pilkington makes a speech in which he says he wants to emulate Animal Farm’s long work hours and low rations. The animals who are watching the scene by the window discover that they can no longer distinguish pigs from humans. II. Main themes Totalitarianism Animal Farm is a fable which savagely denounces totalitarianism. Orwell describes here the slow rise of a totalitarian regime, from rebellion and freedom to exploitation. It is obviously based on the history of the Soviet Union under Stalin: The Rebellion of the animals against Jones is a metaphor for the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Moreover, during the novel the pig Napoleon becomes Jones just like Stalin becomes a dictator after pretending to institute equality and freedom. The novel begins with Jones as an autocratic tyrant and ends with Napoleon in Jones’s position. Little by little, the Animal Farm starts having all the

characteristics of a Totalitarian regime: there is a single ideology (the commandments of Animalism rewritten by the pigs prevent the animals from thinking freely), there is a single party (the pigs led by Napoleon) and a worship of the leader (for example the animals have to call Napoleon ‘Our leader comrade Napoleon’). Propaganda Squealer is very eloquent and with fake arguments, he can make the animals believe what he wants them to (more precisely what his leader Napoleon wants them to). He represents the propaganda in the totalitarian government that the farm has become. Squealer not only uses lies to protect the dictatorship, but he also rewrites the Seven Commandments one by one, in order to hide the excesses of the pigs. Each time Clover suspects that the commandments have been changed, Squealer succeeds to convince her that she is wrong. The most evident example of propaganda in the novel is the maxim that replaces the Seven Commandments of Animalism: “All animals are

equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Although this sentence is obviously absurd, the animals are too brainwashed to notice. Propaganda is here a mean of control on the animals, as it was during the Soviet Union: Napoleon is represented as a “the father of all people”, just as Stalin was during his dictatorship. Violence as a mean of control Orwell criticizes here the way that dictators use violence and fear to submit the people. While preparing the Rebellion, the animals want to free themselves from violence because Jones not only overworks them, but also steals the products of their labour. Once the pigs gain control of the animals, they, like Jones, discover how useful violence and terror can be to base their power. The most striking example of violence in the novel is the scene of public executions: the animals who confess being in touch with Snowball are killed by Napoleon’s dogs. This episode shocks the other animals and gives them a lesson: they are more

willing to follow Napoleon’s orders. The nine dogs that Napoleon trained could represent the Cheka, the police under Stalin’s regime. These huge dogs scare the animals and it is because of them that Napoleon is ‘respected’ and that the animals don’t try to revolt against him. Exploitation In Jones’ time, the animals don’t realize that they are being exploited and that’s why Old Major’s speech is a huge revelation. After the revolt, they taste freedom and enjoy it But soon after the Rebellion, all the animals are exploited again by Napoleon (except from the pigs). But they don’t see it because they trust their leader and they think all the orders are for their own good. Napoleon exploits the ignorance of the animals and their strength (because he doesn’t work with the others). Boxer is a particularly sad example of exploitation because he exploits himself, believing all his heart in Napoleon’s goodness. This blindness will lead him to his death. At the end of the

novel, we can clearly see how the animals participate in their own exploitation: they are beginning to build a schoolhouse for all Napoleon’s kids. They became slaves just like they were before the Rebellion (and even worse as they have less food and more working hours): the cycle of exploitation continues. At this moment, we could say that the farm tends to look like a Gulag, these labour camps under Stalin. III. Characters As Orwell’s novel is a fable which goal is to denounce a fact with an allegory, all the characters are stereotyped. Considering that, we can say that all the characters are flat ones Old Major Old Major is wise and intelligent thanks to his oldness. He thinks that soon or later, animals should release themselves from the human beings yoke because he believes they should work for themselves and eat their production. He inspires thoughts of a rebellion among the animals. He teaches to the animals ‘Beasts of England’, a song claiming that animals will be

free: ‘Rings shall vanish from our noses, and the harness from our back.’ Moreover, by making them singing together Major unites the animals as one group (although they are all different). Old Major dies soon after his speech but the animals rise in revolt shortly after his death. It is said that Old Major was based on both Lenin and Marx Mr. Jones He is the farmer of the Manor Farm. He used to be a good one but as he lost money, he got depressed, started drinking and changed his demeanour towards the animals. He represents the villain, a dictator that animals want to eliminate (and they succeed at chasing him from the farm). But the reader realizes at the end that the animals were better fed and treated under Jones that they were under Napoleon. Jones is an allegory of Tsar Nicholas II Boxer & Clover Boxer, the male cart-horse is very large and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. He isnt highly intelligent, but he is a hard worker respected by all He is very

faithful to Napoleon and his two mottos are ‘Napoleon is always right’ and ‘I will work harder’: he doesn’t realize that he’s being exploited. He gets injured because of overworking and Napoleon sends him to the horse-slaughter house, saying that he will go to the veterinarian. The reader feels pity towards him; Boxer represents all the proletarians who are being exploited because of their faith in the regime and in a better life. Clover, the female cart-horse, is very kind and motherly. She is devoted to Boxer She is quite intelligent although she doesn’t know how to read. With the help of Benjamin the donkey she finds out that the Seven Commandments have been changed but Squealer convinces them of the contrary. Clover represents the people who can be easily manipulated by propaganda. Benjamin The donkey is the oldest and one of the wisest animals of the farm. He is very intelligent and he can read as well as the pigs. He is very cynical about the Rebellion and life in

general. He is devoted to Boxer, and they often spend their spare time grazing side by side. The only thing that outrages him is the pigs betrayal of Boxer, after which he becomes more cynical than ever. He could represent the people of Russia who believed that Communism would not help them. Some people think that Benjamin represents George Orwell himself Napoleon Napoleon was based on Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union for nearly 30 years. He is a large black boar After the revolt, he becomes the leader of Animal Farm and is worshipped by the other animals. From the start, he is a villain : he drinks the milk the animals had gathered, and takes away Bluebell and Jessies puppies (saying that he will ‘educate’ them). He also changes the Seven Commandments one by one (he hides the bans of killing, drinking, and sleeping in beds). Little by little, Napoleon becomes a dictator and adopts many of the human ways. At the end, he decides to abolish the use of comrade and declares

that the farm shall be recalled by its former name: Manor Farm. The pigs have become so much like humans, both in behaviour and appearance, that the animals watching through a window can’t tell which is human and which is pig. Snowball Snowball is a kind and inventive boar. Snowball has the best interests of the animals in mind; his way of thinking is close to Old Major’s. Together with Napoleon, he leads the animals Rebellion against Jones. It is Snowball that writes the first version of the Seven Commandments. Napoleon expulses him from the farm because they always disagree; moreover Napoleon wants to have all the power. Snowball believes in a continued revolution: he argues that in order to defend Animal Farm, the animals should rebel in other farms through England. He is the allegory of Leon Trotsky in the Soviet Union Squealer Squealer is a very persuasive boar, and the key spokesman for the pigs. He reinterprets facts and shows the power of propaganda to control the

uneducated masses. Squealer serves the leader boar Napoleon. When the animals suspect that the pigs are breaking the laws, Squealer justifies their actions. For example, when the other animals want to have milk and apples, Squealer convinces them that only the pigs, who are the thinkers in the farm, need this food. Squealer’s main argument is that the animals don’t want Jones back in the farm, for that not to happen they must support Napoleon. To prevent the animals from suspecting them, Squealer rewrites the Seven Commandments when necessary. But he is seen by some animals, trying to change the commandments during the night. Orwell uses Squealer to show how some governments use propaganda to get their ideas accepted by the people. Pilkington & Frederick Frederick is a farmer of the neighbourhood who owns the farm of Pinchfield. He is money-minded and he hates old and useless animals. They are many stories about him; it is said that he beat an old horse to death and threw dogs

into his furnace. Frederick is constantly arguing with his more prosperous neighbour Pilkington who owns the farm of Foxwood. The one thing which unites them is their fear of the Rebellion the animals could spread to their farms. Frederick could be the allegory of Adolf Hitler Pilkington, who is an upper-class farmer, represents western capitalist countries such as the United States and Great Britain. IV. How this book can teach us history The form of the fable is more simple and funny that the real facts and it makes the reader understand better what happened during the Soviet Union under Stalin. What we really learn is that it is easy to manipulate people who are less intelligent because of their education, and that propaganda is essential to institute a dictatorship. The character of Squealer is one of the most interesting for this reason: he can make the animals believe almost everything just with the power of his words and his fake arguments. This novel also teaches us that

equality is hard to obtain (even impossible): there is always someone thirsty of power who wants more (here it is of course Napoleon). The characters are caricatural and it helps remembering them. These allegorical novels are a good way to learn history and reading Animal Farm makes the reader want to read more Orwell’s books, such as 1984