Animal Farm Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Animal Farm is a satirical novel by George Orwell, ostensibly about a group of animals who oust the humans from the farm they live on and endeavour to run it themselves, only to have it corrupted into a brutal tyranny on its own. It was written during World War II and published in 1945, although it was not widely recognized until the late 1950s.Animal Farm is a thinly veiled critique on the Russian Revolution and analysis of the corruption of Communism under Stalin. (See below.)
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2 Characters 3 Significance 4 References and post-publication views of the book 5 ISBN numbers 6 External links |
After a revolution on Manor Farm (duly renamed Animal Farm), the pigs, who have developed the doctrine of Animalism and lead the revolution, gradually take over. The two boars, Napoleon and Snowball, engage in a power struggle culminating in the expulsion of Snowball by force. Life on the farm becomes harder and harder for the rest of the animals. The pigs impose more and more controls on them while reserving privileges for themselves, based on the 'first amendment' to the Principles of Animalism: All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others, all of which is justified by the pig Squealer, effectively the farm's propaganda minister. With a pack of vicious dogs as enforcers, Napoleon conducts show trials and executions, grants himself glorious titles, and progressively annuls all the Principles of Animalism. The pigs finally take to walking on two legs and carrying whipss, treating the other animals more or less as they were treated when humans had dominion. In the last scene of the book, the animals observe the pigs and men talking together but can see no difference between them.
Orwell wrote the book following his experiences during the Spanish Civil War which are described in another of his books, Homage to Catalonia. He intended it to be a strong condemnation of what he saw as the Stalinist corruption of the original socialist ideals, in which he believed and continued to believe after he saw a revolution betrayed, as in Spain.
In recent years the book has been used to compare new movements that overthrow heads of a corrupt and undemocratic government or organization, only to become corrupt and oppressive themselves over time as they succumb to the trappings of power and begin using violent and dictatorial methods to keep it. Such analogies have been used for many former African colonies such as Zimbabwe and Democratic Republic of Congo, whose succeeding African-born rulers were as corrupt as the European colonists they supplanted.
Orwell originally prepared a preface on freedom of the press for the book which noted "The sinister fact about literary censorship in England is that it is largely voluntary. ... [Things are] kept right out of the British press, not because the Government intervened but because of a general tacit agreement that ‘it wouldn’t do’ to mention that particular fact." Somewhat ironically, the preface itself was censored and is not published with most copies of the book.
The book was the basis of an animated feature film in 1955 (Britain's first full-length animated movie), directed by John Halas and Joy Bachelor and quietly commissioned by the American CIA, which softened the theme of the story slightly by adding an epilogue where the other animals successfully revolt against the pigs. There was also a 1999 live action film directed by John Stephenson. In addition, radical socialist rappers Dead Prez released a song called "Animal in Man" off their debut LP, Let's Get Free, re-telling the story.
Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals was partially inspired by Animal Farm, categorising people as either pigs, dogs or sheep.
This is an Article on Animal Farm. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Animal Farm Plot
Characters
The events and characters in Animal Farm are all carefully drawn to represent the history of the Soviet Union and Orwell makes this explicit in the case of Napoleon who he directly connects to Stalin in one of his letters. The other characters have their analogies in the real world but care should be taken with these comparisons as they do not always match history exactly and often simply represent generalised concepts.Significance
The book was an allegory about the events following the revolution in the Soviet Union, and in particular the rise of Stalinism. Many of the characters in the book are identifiable as historical figures. Napoleon and Snowball are direct representations of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky respectively. Their disagreement about the direction the farm should take is meant to represent the ideological disagreement between Trotsky (whose theory of "Permanent Revolution" would have sought to advance the revolution across the world) and Stalin (whose theory was to consolidate the revolution in Russia, commonly referred to as "Socialism in One Country"). Boxer, the ever-loyal cart horse, portrays the ill-educated and unskilled proletariat. Boxer, and the other cart-horse Clover, are manipulated by the persuasive arguments of the pigs but are ultimately taken for granted and fail to reap the benefits of the "Revolution". Comparisons can be drawn between Boxer and Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov, after whom the Stakhanovite movement was named.
The Hen's small rebellion, driven by their desire to keep the eggs they lay, draws close comparisons to when many peasants burnt their farms in the USSR, instead of handing them over to the government.
There are many other small references scattered throughout the book. For example, the animals originally sung an anthem called Beasts of England, but later, Napoleon and the other pigs ordered that a new song be sung in its place. This is a reference to the replacement of The Internationale with the Hymn of the Soviet Union, probably for the purpose of distancing Soviet state socialism with Trotsky's revolutionary socialism. References and post-publication views of the book
ISBN numbers
External links