Animal Farm

review

Animal Farm is a satire. It’s purpose was to show that “power corrupts

and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Also, the book attacks totalitarianism.

Totalitarianism

Russia (1917-1939), Italy (1922-1939) and Germany (1933-1939) might be regarded as mean totalitarian states. Within these states, the individuals had no right of free speech, free publications and free associations. The individuals had no right to form political parties. There was only one governmental party which imposed its dictatorial rule on the people. This one-party regime was concerned with the 'total' activities of its people - their work, their leisure, their religion, even their private lives. The basic concept of the totalitarian state was best expressed in Mussolini's well-known phrase, "all within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state." In short, the state was the master, the individual the servant.

Orwell was writing about a political system which had begun full of promise and which had deteriorated into tyranny.

One of his purposes in using the figures of beasts to portray the actions of men was to imply that men in their political communities were often no better than beasts, though more is expected of men because of his possession of the faculty of reason.

Tyranny

In classical politics, a tyrant is one who has taken power by their own means as opposed to hereditary or constitutional power. This mode of rule is referred to as tyranny.

Farmer Jones

He represents the Tsarist system which had gradually broken down in Russia as it was unable to adjust to changing social and economic conditions.

http://henryjones.googlepages.com/TheSystemoftheTsars.pdf

Napoleon

He represents Stalin. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-81056534

96901511375&ei=CojMStjMDIvGqwK8o4yXBA&q=stalin&hl=en

He is not particularly creative in ideas, and he knows how to build an apparatus for controlling others, as did Stalin. Napoleon is characterized by a great force of will and personality, and also by a total lack of scruples (his treatment of Boxer).

Snowball

He represents Trotsky, a great organizer, while also serving as a scapegoat.

To admit failure would be to weaken Napoleon’s position as the Leader. Therefore, Napoleon blames everything on Snowball.

Trotsky

was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. He was one of the leaders of the Russian October Revolution, second only to Lenin. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and later as the founder and commander of the Red Army and People's Commissar of War. He was also among the first members of the Politburo.

After leading a failed struggle of the Left Opposition against the policies and rise of Joseph Stalin in the 1920s and the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party and deported from the Soviet Union. An early advocate of Red Army intervention against European fascism,[2] Trotsky also opposed Stalin's peace agreements with Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. As the head of the Fourth International, Trotsky continued in exile to oppose the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, and was eventually assassinated in Mexico by Ramón Mercader, a Soviet agent.[3] Trotsky's ideas form the basis of Trotskyism, a term coined as early as 1905 by his opponents in order to separate it from Marxism. Trotsky’s ideas remain a major school of Marxist thought that is opposed to the theories of Stalinism.

Old Major

He represents Karl Marx, the most important historical theoretician of Communism and of the doctrine of world revolution which is to bring about a classless society and to change human nature.

Old Major seems to represent Lenin as well as Marx, as his successors are Napoleon and Snowball, who fight over the succession to power with the result that Snowball loses and is exiled.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx (1818-1883) is best known not as a philosopher but as a revolutionary communist, whose works inspired the foundation of many communist regimes in the twentieth century.

Squealer

He is the “mouthpiece” of Napoleon, corresponding to a totalitarian minister of propaganda.

He makes things appear in the eyes of the animals to be much better than they are.

propaganda

Propaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

The dogs

They correspond to the Secret Police and to the other apparatus of terrorism and repression in a totalitarian state.

Pilkington

He represents England or the British government.

His quarrel with Napoleon corresponds to the split between Stalin and the Western Allies.

Frederick

He represents the German nation. His agreement to buy timber from Napoleon corresponds to the Russo-German non aggression pact before the Second World War.

Russo-German non aggression pact -between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Moses

He is not only a spy, but also symbolizes the Orthodox Church.

The story of Sugarcandy Mountain helped to keep the animals quiet.

Benjamin

He is a pessimist who does not believe that things will be different after the Revolution has come.

Boxer

He represents the unthinking masses; he is really loyal more to the Farm than to Napoleon, but he is not clever enough to protect himself against Napoleon.

The Cat

An individualist, who votes on both sides of the question raised at the meeting with Old Major, and who has no commitment to either side.

The Sheep

The mindless masses, who can only bleat slogans.

Manor Farm

Represents Imperial Russia prior to 1917.