Animal Farm
Module Title: Literature and Social Change 1910-1950
Module Convenor : Dr. Benjamin Keatinge
Title of the Assignment: “In what ways does Orwell criticize Soviet Communism in Animal Farm and to what extent is his analysis based on real historical events?”
George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is a master piece where as politics and satire are concerned. It is a tale where animals as individuals are oppressed by their owner Mr. Jones. The animals, which can speak and actually share a lot of human characteristics, are being mistreated and neglected having wanted freedom for a longer period of time. They ultimately raise a rebellion against their owner and they expel him and his wife from the farm. They finally have the freedom they have so long lusted for in their own hands, but a silent fight is getting prepared to start on whose hands will finish on the control of the same freedom. The animals are becoming corrupted by the taste of the same power which oppressed them. They form a society which originally starts as a democracy but eventually evolve in a totalitarian regime which is generally viewed as Orwell’s critique to the communism in Soviet Union.
Orwell’s analysis is based on historical events. The whole book is an allegory which is balanced very nice on several levels of meaning. We have the first level which is the story about the animals. The whole development of the tale is the first level. Also every animal has it kind of secret identity which is connected to some famous figure from Soviet Union history. And we have the second level of meaning which is Orwell’s critique to the whole communist regime. It is very well constructed through out the story line. As I said the animals share their identity with famous Russian political individuals from history. For example through out the character of the pig Napoleon is presented Joseph Stalin. So Napoleon gets his characteristics. He is the pig who leads the rebellion against Mr. Jones, but after the
Module Convenor : Dr. Benjamin Keatinge
Title of the Assignment: “In what ways does Orwell criticize Soviet Communism in Animal Farm and to what extent is his analysis based on real historical events?”
George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is a master piece where as politics and satire are concerned. It is a tale where animals as individuals are oppressed by their owner Mr. Jones. The animals, which can speak and actually share a lot of human characteristics, are being mistreated and neglected having wanted freedom for a longer period of time. They ultimately raise a rebellion against their owner and they expel him and his wife from the farm. They finally have the freedom they have so long lusted for in their own hands, but a silent fight is getting prepared to start on whose hands will finish on the control of the same freedom. The animals are becoming corrupted by the taste of the same power which oppressed them. They form a society which originally starts as a democracy but eventually evolve in a totalitarian regime which is generally viewed as Orwell’s critique to the communism in Soviet Union.
Orwell’s analysis is based on historical events. The whole book is an allegory which is balanced very nice on several levels of meaning. We have the first level which is the story about the animals. The whole development of the tale is the first level. Also every animal has it kind of secret identity which is connected to some famous figure from Soviet Union history. And we have the second level of meaning which is Orwell’s critique to the whole communist regime. It is very well constructed through out the story line. As I said the animals share their identity with famous Russian political individuals from history. For example through out the character of the pig Napoleon is presented Joseph Stalin. So Napoleon gets his characteristics. He is the pig who leads the rebellion against Mr. Jones, but after the