Ivana eput

mr. sc. Ilonka Peri

Britanska i irska knjievnost 20. stoljea

20 February 2015

G. Orwell's Animal Farm as a Critique of Communism

This essay will deal with one of the greatest and most famous works of world

literature, George Orwell's Animal Farm, and its allegorical representation of communist

society. Undoubtedly, Orwell refers to the subject of communism and post-revolutional events

as a sharp critic. The author himself, in his essay Why I Write, said that he writes to accentuate

certain facts and to reveal some lies.i Considering the authors intentions in writing and reading

the novel, a reader can easily read through straightforward and uncomplicated language to

find strong criticism of animal society, easily applicable to real-life events of Russian

Revolution from 1917. In which ways this work criticizes communism I shall analyze

discussing a few segments from the novel.

Firstly, as symbolism is the most important feature for successful reading through this

allegorical novel, there should be a link established between historical people and events, and

characters from the work. Therefore, Manor Farm symbolizes Russia, Mr. Jones is modelled

on Tsar Nicholas II, Old Major is probably V. I. Lenin, while Snowball and Napoleon are

Trotsky and Stalin.ii There is another point of view which says that old Major is Karl Marx,

and Snowball is Lenin.iii

Taking into consideration this briefly presented symbolic representation of the

characters, I shall firstly examine the concept of animalism, which originated as the idea of

Old Major. Idealistic and noble ideas of Old Major about dethronement of the men and the
rule of equal animals were developed by Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer. Animalism here

stands for communism; hatred for man stands for hatred towards capitalists; and equality of

animals is actually a brotherhood of the proletariat. Only in the first chapter, when old Major

is still alive, the possibility of good and just society exists. But even then, Orwell hints that

there are going to be same animals that will be more equal than others. Thus, pigs settled

down in the straw immediately in front of the platform.iv

The fading of the starting idealism and growing corruption of those in power is

presented gradually in the novel. It is visible in behaviour of Napoleon and Squealer, and

most straightforward in the change of seven commandments. Even in naming the characters

Orwell already condemned communism, giving the ruler the possibly insulting name of

Napoleon as a reference suggesting that he is the combination of love for power and inability

to gain that power any other way than force. Also, in the name of Squealer the root of

squeak can be found, which is a warning of his future doings; mostly propaganda and

agitation.

In the first few days after the spontaneous revolution, all animals on the farm were

truly pleased. They worked satisfactorily knowing that they are working for themselves and

not for the evil men who exploited them. They called each other by the name of comrade,

had enough food, that is: they lived happily together. But, in the very first morning after the

revolution, there is a suggestion that the ideal conditions will not last long. After milking the

cows when animals wanted to know what is going to happen with the milk, it was Napoleon

who cried: Never mind the milk, comrades symbolically placing himself in front of the

buckets.v The illusion of democracy in a communist society is completely diminished when

Napoleon with his dogs chases away Snowball. Here we have the same situation as in Russia,

where Trotsky, intellectual force of revolution, is banished by Stalin.vi

 We can see the further development of characters of Napoleon and Squealer as a

gradation; the more power they have the more vicious and insidious they get. In the

beginning it was said that of the three pigs Snowball was quicker in speech and more

inventive, while Squealer was a brilliant talker with persuasive powers and Napoleon had

a reputation for getting his own way. vii Having trained the puppies and turning them into a

form of cruel and obedient police, he got total power in a violent way. This treatment of the

young is connectible to communist societies where the easiest brainwashing could be done on

the young. A lot of work by propaganda was focused especially on the youth, since they dont

know much about the times passed, and are easiest to be influenced and seduced by

revolutionary idealism. Such is the example of Pavlik Morozov who denounced his father to

the authorities, and whom propaganda later turned into a hero and a martyr.viii

The work of propaganda in communist societies is present in Animal Farm through the

character of Squealer. One of the first Squealers actions is the one when he explains why pigs

get all the milk and the apples. He uses his wit to persuade animals that those are the groceries

which are essential to them, and that their work is actually completely devoted to well-being

of all animals: It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. But his most

successful way of convincing animals into absurd lies is the fear of Mr. Jones: Do you know

what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! () surely, there is

no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?ix In each situation Squealer would

pull out the card of their biggest fear, which was the return of Mr. Jones and loss of their

freedom.

The most important tool of propaganda was the language itself. It is known how the

language and the mind are connected, and manipulation can be carried out through language

constructions.x We can see the example of that when animals were constantly getting less and

less food, but that information was always put into abstruse and enhanced forms: Squealer
always spoke of it as a readjustment, never as a reduction.xi Also, communist regimes seem

to adore slogans, and the same is on Animal Farm. xii The sheep, represented as unintelligent

animals, were the most suitable ones to spread mottos, such as Four legs good, two legs

bad The change of this slogan is one of the indicators how history can easily be rewritten,

and really is, in totalitarian societies.

Historical facts can be altered a little with a change of perspectives and with the future

events that throw a different light on the past ones. But through this short novel a reader

witnesses how history is being rewritten for many times, and each time changing the facts

mildly, propaganda establishes a completely new set of memories for animals.

In that way, an ideal example of created enemy, while destructing history and

rebuilding a new one, is Snowball. Here, the real historical persons can be linked to literary

characters, where Napoleon is Joseph Stalin xiii, and Snowball stands for Leon Trotskyxiv. As

Trotsky was a major figure in the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil Warxv, so Snowball

was the hero of The Battle of the Cowshed, in which animals defeated people lead by Mr.

Jones who was to overtake the farm. In the battle, Snowball showed great bravery and was

even grazed by the pellet. Nevertheless, since he was forced out of the farm, he gradually

became a synonym for cowardness, treachery and wickedness.

Squealer, who according to Guidorizzixvi represents Pravdaxvii, a propaganda-ridden

Russian newspaper, does all the work to create public thinking. And public opinion turns out

to be subject to change almost on a daily basis. Squealer, a pig that ''could turn black into

white'' successfully presents how the mechanism of propaganda and brainwashing works in

totalitarian regimes, by showing how the pigs could make the other animals believe

practically anything.xviii So he manages to make the brain and the hero of the revolution be

remembered as an evildoer and a traitor. Progressively, the Snowball's role in the revolution
is being undermined. Finally, Squealer declares that it was Snowball who lead humans in the

battle with ''long live humanity'' and also was in alliance with Mr. Jones from the beginning.

The talkative and convincing pig succeeds in his memory rewriting missions by graphically

telling what he wants animals to believe, and he ends his speeches with the statement that

Napoleon says so, and he is always right, as well as with the threat that Mr. Jones shall return.

This leads to the next link between the life on Animal Farm and post-revolutionary

communist states: constant feeling of fear. Animals are constantly threatened of humans who

are their enemies and want to take their freedoms. Likewise, they are afraid of not being in

agreement with Napoleon, who is said to have all the best qualities an animal can have. And

above all, everything he does, he does for community.

Again, Squealer is the one that successfully constructed an idealized image of

Napoleon, who managed to keep a totalitarian rule over the Animal Farm, being the only

sovereign. None of the animals opposed to their new tyrant since Napoleon was presented as

one of the animals who works very hard and lives humble, giving everything for prosperity of

the community. Boxer, a noble, good-natured, but not very clever horse, is an example of a

common person in a totalitarian society. Before the revolution he was enthralled by the ideas

of equality, freedom and justice, and afterwards, when he encountered disillusionment,

became a victim of propaganda. He himself had a saying Napoleon is always right, which

is an example of how political propaganda becomes part of ordinary mans thoughts.

The decay of noble revolutionary ideas is mostly visible in the gradual change of

seven commandments.xix For example, "Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a

friend" changes into: "Four legs good, two legs better." "No animal shall kill other

animal" becomes: "No animal shall kill other animal without cause." "All animals are equal"

turns into: "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." From the
very first page of Animal Farm when Orwell already suggested that the pigs were the one

occupying the seats in the first row, to the last page in which there is a hair-raising scene of

animals beholding the pigs. They ''looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig

to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.'' xx Pigs betrayed all of

the beliefs and the postulates from the time of the revolution, and symbolically, by wearing

clothes, drinking alcohol, sleeping in the beds, and eventually walking on two legs, became

just like humans.

As Orwell himself explained, Animal Farm is ''the history of a revolution that went

wrong."xxi It is critical of communism, showing that the power corrupts, and if the power is

absolute it corrupts absolutely.xxii The author shows how futile revolutions are and accentuates

the vicious circle in which the leading figures always behave tyrannically. Thus, the Animal

Farm is another literary work which demonstrates how noble and just theoretical ideas about

the welfare state and equality turn into terror and tyranny.
 Works cited

Guidorizzi, Stephanie. George Orwells Animal Farm Condemns Communism

Web. 20 February 2015

<http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/CoursePacks/GeorgeOrwellsAnimaFarmCond

emnsCommunism.pdf>

Hassapi, Anna. Animal Farm, George Orwell Book reviews.

Web. 20 February 2015

<http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/animalfarm.html>

Orwell, George. Animal Farm Longman literature.

Yemenici, Alev. Animal satire in Animal Farm The Orwell Reader.

Web. 20 February 2015

<http://www.theorwellreader.com/essays/yemenici.html>
i G. Orwell: Why I Write

ii http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/animal-farm/critical-essays/the-russian-
revolution

iii http://www.essay.uk.com/coursework/animal-farm-communism-through-the-eyes-of-
george-orwell.php

iv G. Orwell: Animal Farm: 1

v G. Orwell, Animal Farm: 16

vi
http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/CoursePacks/GeorgeOrwellsAnimalFarmCondem
nsCommunism.pdf

vii G. Orwell, Animal Farm: 9

viii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlik_Morozov

ix G. Orwell, Animal Farm: 22

x http://rorueso.blogs.uv.es/2010/12/15/%E2%80%9Cmanipulation-of-language-as-a-
weapon-of-mind-control-and-abuse-in-george-orwell%E2%80%99s-works%E2%80%9D/

xi G. Orwell, Animal Farm: 69

xii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_Soviet_Union

xiii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin

xiv http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky

xv http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky

xvi
http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/CoursePacks/GeorgeOrwellsAnimalFarmCondem
nsCommunism.pdf

xvii http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pravda

xviii http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/animalfarm.html
xix http://www.theorwellreader.com/essays/yemenici.html

xx G. Orwell, Animal Farm: 88

xxi http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/animalfarm.html

xxii http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/animalfarm.html