Anastacia Leahey June 2014

Animal Farm

Animal Farm is a novella written by George Orwell in 1945; the animated film
version was made in 1954. George Orwell wrote Animal Farm to criticize the Russian
Revolution.

Animal Farm is an allegory based on the Russian Revolution and Soviet communism.
An allegory is a story where events or characters are symbols that represent ideas
about human life or a historical or political situation.

Farmer Jones was a dictator. He gave the animals little food and made them work
hard. If they disobeyed him, Farmer Jones would get cranky and hurt the animals. The
animals were afraid of Farmer Jones as he treated them poorly. Farmer Jones was
cruel, violent and drunk. He would often be at Red Lion, the local pub, drinking
alcohol, and he took little interest in keeping the farm tidy and clean. Farmer Jones
represents Tsar Nicholas II from the Russian royal family. He ran away from the farm
when the animals tried to take over the farm. This is representing how Tsar Nicholas
II abdicated, after Vladimir Lenin led a revolution against him.

The animals held a rebellion against Farmer Jones and took over the farm. Old Major
told the animals to Overthrow this evil tyrant! The animals all joined together and
ran after Farmer Jones. When Farmer Jones returned he had gathered all the men from
the Red Lion to battle the animals. The animals defeated Farmer Jones and his gang,
and took over Manor Farm. They restored order to the farm and renamed Manor Farm
Animal Farm.

Snowball led the animals. They tidied Animal Farm and did the gardening. They put
in effort and shared the food equally. All the animals worked hard and followed the
rules that Snowball had written on the barn. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky;
Snowball set up a communist society just like Leon Trotsky did during the Russian
Revolution. In the morning the animals were fed well and equally. The animals
worked hard during the day to keep the farm tidy and clean. At the end of the day they
would be fed fairly. This was an ideal communist system. Snowball worked hard as
well and was not greedy.
Anastacia Leahey June 2014


Napoleon told the animals that Snowball was planning to bring back Farmer Jones
and then he set his army of dogs on Snowball. The animals believed Napoleon. He
then seized control of Animal Farm. Napoleon trained the dogs to be his private army.
He made all of the animals build a windmill while he and Squealer, Napoleons
propaganda tool, watched, ate and drank alcohol. He disobeyed Snowballs rules and
eventually changed them. Napoleon became greedy and started trading with humans
for food. He was supposedly being fair to all the animals that everyone was equal.
Napoleon told the animals that pigs were more equal than other animals and the pigs
did not do any of the work. Napoleon was greedy, cruel and sneaky. He was named
after Napoleon Bonaparte and represented Joseph Stalin in the Russian Revolution.

The pigs became the elite members of Animals Farms Communist party. They were
sneaky, greedy and strict. The pigs worshipped Napoleon. They were given more
food, drank alcohol and slept in beds just like Napoleon. Napoleon said that pigs were
smarter and therefore deserved to eat more and did not have to help the other animals.
Napoleon and the pigs had all control of Animal Farm and if the other animals
disobeyed Napoleon and the pigs they would be banished. The communist system that
Napoleon tried to run slowly fell apart as he became greedier. In the end, a type of
military government ran Animal Farm. By the end of the film the pigs were greedy
and acting like humans. They walked around on their back legs, ate and drank like
humans. They became the government but Napoleon was the dictator of Animal
Farm.

In Animal Farm Napoleon changed the last rule Snowball had set: All animals are
equal, became All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. This
rule meant that all animals that are not pigs were treated differently. The pigs got
more than the other animals and were treated nicely, meanwhile the other animals
were treaded meanly and had to do all the work and did not get enough food. This
made the pigs greedy and worship Napoleon. The animals slowly found out that
Napoleon and the pigs were breaking Snowballs rules, so Napoleon changed the
rules.

Anastacia Leahey June 2014

One of the most important rules Snowball had written on the barn was Four legs
good, two legs bad. This was important in Animal Farm as animals had four legs,
except for chickens and birds who had wings, and were important, equal and fair to
other animals. Humans were called two legs and were consider mean, evil and
violent. Snowball had said that all humans were bad so animals should not interact
with them.

In my opinion societies should have a government. Without a government you would
have anarchy. This causes chaos and violence resulting in civil wars. My idea of a fair
system of government would have voting and referendums. There would be lots of
not for profit organizations and charities run by the government. There would be more
public service jobs for people who are over 50 years of age or have a disability. You
would be able to retire any time after you turn 55. This is a bit like a democracy.

Animal Farm has a very powerful message to its viewers and readers. The message in
Animal Farm is about how corrupt and unjust types of government can cause chaos,
suffering and unfairness.