Animal Farm was first published in 1945. Animal Farm is a satire on Stalinism and the Russian Revolution. As Russia was an allied of England in 1945, Orwell had a hard time publishing it.
Summary (below)
Symbolism / Interpretatio
Summary
The story takes place on a farm somewhere in England. The story is told by an all-knowing narrator in the third person. The action of this novel starts when the oldest pig on the farm, Old Major, calls all animals to a secret meeting. He tells them about his dream of a revolution against the cruel Mr. Jones. Three days later Major dies, but the speech gives the more intelligent animals a new outlook on life. The pigs, who are considered the most intelligent animals, instruct the other ones. During the period of prearation two pigs can distinguish themselves, Napoleon and Snowball. Napoleon is big, and although he isn't a good speaker, he can assert himself. Snowball is a better speaker, he has a lot of ideas and he is very vivid. Together with another pig called Squealer, who is a very good speaker, they work out the theory of "Animalism". The rebellion starts some months later,when Mr Jones comes home drunken one night, and forgets to feed the animals. They break out of the barns and run to the house, where the food is stored. When Mr Jones recognises this he takes out his shotgun, but it is to late for him, all the animals fall over him and drive him off the farm. The animals destroy all whips nose rings, reins, and all other instruments that have been used to suppress them. The same day the animals celebrate their victory with an extra ration of food. The pigs made up the seven commandments, and they write them above the door of the big barn. They run thus:
1.: Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2.: Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a
friend.
3.: No animal shall wear clothes.
4.: No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5.: No animal shall drink alcohol.
6.: No animal shall kill another animal.
7.: All animals are equal.
The animals also agree that no animal shall ever
enter the farmhouse, and that no animal shall have contact with humans.
This commandments are summarised in the simple phrase: "Four legs good,
two legs bad". After some time Jones comes back with some other men from
the village to recapture the farm. The animals fight brave, and they manage
to defend the farm. Snowball and Boxer receive medals of honour for
defending the farm so bravely. Also Napoleon who had not fought at all
takes a medal. This is the reason why the two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon,
often argue. When Snowball presents his idea to build a windmill, to produce
electricity to the other animals, Napoleon calls nine strong dogs. The
dogs
drive Snowball from the farm, and Napoleon explains that
Snowball was in fact co-operating with Mr Jones. He also explains that
Snowball in reality never had a medal of honour, that Snowball was
always trying to cover up that he was fighting at the side of Mr Jones.
The animals then start building the windmill, and as time passes on the
working-time goes up, whereas the food ration declined. Although the "common"
animals have not enough food, the pigs grow fatter and fatter. They
tell the other animals
that they need more food, for they are managing the whole
farm. Some time later the pigs explain to the other animals that they have
to trade with the neighbour farms. The common animals are very upset, because
after the revolution, there has been a resolution that no animal shall
make trade with a human. But the pigs ensured that there never has been
such a resolution, and that this was an evil lie of Snowball. Short after
this decision the pigs move to the farm house. The other animals remember
that there has been a commandment that forbids sleeping in beds, and so
they go to the big barn to look at the commandments. When they arrive there
they can't believe their eyes, the 4th commandment has been
changed to: "No animal shall sleep in bed with sheets".
And the other commandments were also changed: "No animal shall kill another
animal without reason", or "No animal shall drink alcohol in excess". Some
months later there is a heavy storm which destroys the windmill, that is
nearly finished. Napoleon accuses Snowball of destroying the mill, and
he promises a reward to the animal who gets Snowball. The rebuilding of
the mill takes two years. Again Jones attacks the farm, and although the
animals defend it, the windmill is once again destroyed. The pigs decide
to rebuild the mill again, and they cut down the food ration to a minimum.
Some day Boxer breaks down. He is sold to a butcher, whereas
Napoleon tells the pigs that Boxer has been brought to a hospital where
he has died. Three years later the mill was finally completed. During this
time Napoleon deepens the relations with the neighbour farm, and one day
Napoleon even invites the owners of this farm for an inspection. They sit
inside the farmhouse and celebrate the efficiency of his farm, where the
animals work very hard with the minimum of food. During this celebration
all the other animals meet at the window of the farm, and when they look
inside they can't distinguish between man and animal.
Symbolism/Interpretation
The novel Animal Farm is a satire on the Russian Revolution,
and therefore full of symbolism. George Orwell associates certain
real characters with the characters of the book. Here is a list of the
characters
and things and their meaning:
Mr Jones: Mr. Jones is Orwell's chief (or at least most
obvious) villain in Animal Farm. Of course Napoleon is
also the major villain, however much more indirectly.
Orwell says that at one time Jones was actually a decent
master to his animals. At this time the farm was thriving.
But in recent years the farm had fallen on harder times
(symbol of the world-wide Great Depression of the 30's)
and the opportunity was seen to revolt. The world-wide
depression began in the United States when the stock
market crashed in October of 1929. The depression
spread throughout the world because American exports
were so dependent on Europe. The U.S. was also a
major contributor to the world market economy. Germany
along with the rest of Europe was especially hit hard. The
parallels between crop failure of the farm and the
depression in the 1930's are clear. Only the leaders and
the die-hard followers ate their fill during this time period.
Mr. Jones symbolises (in addition to the evils of
capitalism) Czar Nicholas II, the leader before Stalin
(Napoleon). Jones represents the old government, the
last of the Czars. Orwell suggests that Jones (Czar
Nicholas II) was losing his "edge". In fact, he and his men
had taken up the habit of drinking. Old Major reveals his
feelings about Jones and his administration when he
says, "Man is the only creature that consumes without
producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs,
he is too weak to pull the plough , he cannot run fast
enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals.
He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare
minimum that will prevent them from starving and the rest
he keeps for himself". So Jones and the old government
are successfully uprooted by the animals. Little do they
know, history will repeat itself with Napoleon and the
pigs.
Old Major: Old Major is the first major character
described by Orwell in Animal Farm. This "pure-bred" of
pigs is the kind, grand fatherly philosopher of change an
obvious metaphor for Karl Marx. Old Major proposes a
solution to the animals desperate plight under the Jones
"administration" when he inspires a rebellion of sorts
among the animals. Of course the actual time of the
revolt is unsaid. It could be the next day or several
generations down the road. But Old Major's philosophy is
only an ideal. After his death, three days after the
barn-yard speech, the socialism he professes is
drastically altered when Napoleon and the other pigs
begin to dominate. It's interesting that Orwell does not
mention Napoleon or Snowball anytime during the great
speech of old Major. This shows how distant and
out-of-touch they really were; the ideals Old Major
proclaimed seemed to not even have been considered
when they were establishing their new government after
the successful revolt. It almost seems as though the pigs
fed off old Major's inspiration and then used it to benefit
themselves (an interesting twist of capitalism) instead of
following through on the old Major's honest proposal. This
could be Orwell's attempt to dig Stalin, who many
consider to be someone who totally ignored Marx's
political and social theory. Using Old Major's seeming
naivety, Orwell concludes that no society is perfect, no
pure socialist civilisation can exist, and there is no way to
escape the evil grasp of capitalism. (More on this in the
Napoleon section.) Unfortunately when Napoleon and
Squealer take over, old Major becomes more and more
a distant fragment of the past in the minds of the farm
animals.
Napoleon: Napoleon is Orwell's chief villain
in Animal
Farm. The name Napoleon is very coincidental since
Napoleon, the dictator of France, was thought by many to
be the Anti-Christ. Napoleon, the pig, is really the central
character on the farm. Obviously a metaphor for Stalin,
Comrade Napoleon represents the human frailties of any
revolution. Orwell believed that although socialism is
good as an ideal, it can never be successfully adopted
due to uncontrollable sins of human nature. For example,
although Napoleon seems at first to be a good leader, he
is eventually overcome by greed and soon becomes
power-hungry. Of course Stalin did too in Russia, leaving
the original equality of socialism behind, giving himself all
the power and living in luxury while the common peasant
suffered. Thus, while his national and international status
blossomed, the welfare of Russia remained unchanged.
Orwell explains, "Somehow it seemed as though the farm
had grown richer without making the animals themselves
any richer--except, of course for the pigs and the dogs."
The true side of Napoleon becomes evident after he
slaughters so many animals for plotting against him. He
even hires a pig to sample his food for him to make
certain that no one is trying to poison him. Stalin, too,
was a cruel dictator in Russia. After suspecting many
people in his empire to be supporters of Trotsky (Orwell's
Snowball), Stalin systematically murders many. At the
end of the book, Napoleon doesn't even pretend to lead
a socialist state. After renaming it a Republic and
instituting his own version of the commandments and the
Beasts of England, Comrade Napoleon quickly becomes
more or less a dictator who of course has never even
been elected by the animals.
Squealer: Squealer is an intriguing character
in Orwell's
Animal Farm. He's first described as a manipulator and
persuader. Orwell narrates, "He could turn black into
white." Many critics correlate Squealer with the Pravda,
the Russian newspaper of the 1930's. Propaganda was
a key to many publications, and since their was no
television or radio, the newspaper was the primary
source of media information. So the monopoly of the
Pravda was seized by Stalin and his new Bolshevik
regime. In Animal Farm, Squealer, like the newspaper, is
the link between Napoleon and other animals. When
Squealer masks an evil intention of the pigs, the
intentions of the communists can be carried out with little
resistance and without political disarray. Squealer is also
thought by some to represent Goebbels, who was the
minister of propaganda for Germany. This would seem
inconsistent with Orwell's satire, however, which was
supposed to metaphor characters in Russia.
Snowball: Orwell describes Snowball as a
pig very
similar to Napoleon at least in the early stages. Both pigs
wanted a leadership position in the "new" economic and
political system (which is actually counterdictory to the
whole supposed system of equality). But as time goes
on, both eventually realise that one of them will have to
step down. Orwell says that the two were always arguing.
"Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in
the debates. But it was noticed that these two were never
in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made,
the other could be counted to oppose it." Later, Orwell
makes the case stronger. "These two disagreed at every
point disagreement was possible." Soon the differences,
like whether or not to build a windmill, become to great to
deal with, so Napoleon decides that Snowball must be
eliminated. It might seem that this was a spontaneous
reaction, but a careful look tells otherwise. Napoleon was
setting the stage for his own domination long before he
really began "dishing it out" to Snowball. For example, he
took the puppies away from their mothers in efforts to
establish a private police force. These dogs would later
be used to eliminate Snowball, his arch-rival. Snowball
represents Leo Dawidowitsch Trotsky, the arch-rival of
Stalin in Russia. The parallels between Trotsky and
Snowball are uncanny. Trotsky too, was exiled, not from
the farm, but to Mexico, where he spoke out against
Stalin. Stalin was very weary of Trotsky, and feared that
Trotsky supporters might try to assassinate him. The
dictator of Russia tried hard to kill Trotsky, for the fear of
losing leadership was very great in the crazy man's mind.
Trotsky also believed in Communism, but he thought he
could run Russia better than Stalin. Trotsky was
murdered in Mexico by the Russian internal police, the
NKVD-the pre-organisation of the KGB. Trotsky was
found with a pick axe in his head at his villa in Mexico.
Boxer: The name Boxer is cleverly used by
Orwell as a
metaphor for the Boxer Rebellion in China in the early
twentieth century. It was this rebellion which signalled the
beginning of communism in red China. This communism,
much like the distorted Stalin view of socialism, is still
present today in the oppressive social government in
China. Boxer and Clover are used by Orwell to represent
the proletariat, or unskilled labour class in Russian
society. This lower class is naturally drawn to Stalin
(Napoleon) because it seems as though they will benefit
most from his new system. Since Boxer and the other low
animals are not accustomed to the "good life," they can't
really compare Napoleon's government to the life they
had before under the czars (Jones). Also, since usually
the lowest class has the lowest intelligence, it is not
difficult to persuade them into thinking they are getting a
good deal. The proletariat is also quite good at
convincing each other that communism is a good idea.
Orwell supports this contention when he narrates, "Their
most faithful disciples were the two carthorses, Boxer
and Clover. Those two had great difficulty in thinking
anything out for themselves, but having once accepted
the pigs as their teachers, they absorbed everything that
they were told, and passed it on to the other animals by
simple arguments." Later, the importance of the
proletariat is shown when Boxer suddenly falls and there
is suddenly a drastic decrease in work productivity. But
still he is taken for granted by the pigs, who send him
away in a glue truck. Truly Boxer is the biggest
poster-child for gullibility.
Pigs: Orwell uses the pigs to surround and
support
Napoleon. They symbolise the communist party loyalists
and the friends of Stalin, as well as perhaps the Duma, or
Russian parliament. The pigs, unlike other animals, live
in luxury and enjoy the benefits of the society they help to
control. The inequality and true hypocrisy of communism
is expressed here by Orwell, who criticised Marx's
oversimplified view of a socialist, "utopian" society.
Obviously George Orwell doesn't believe such a society
can exist. Toward the end of the book, Orwell
emphasises, "Somehow it seemed as though the farm
had grown richer without making the animals themselves
any richer except, of course, the pigs and the dogs."
Dogs: Orwell uses the dogs in his book, Animal
Farm, to
represent the KGB or perhaps more accurately, the
bodyguards of Stalin. The dogs are the arch-defenders
of Napoleon and the pigs, and although they don't speak,
they are definitely a force the other animals have to
contend with. Orwell almost speaks of the dogs as
mindless robots, so dedicated to Napoleon that they
can't really speak for themselves. This contention is
supported as Orwell describes Napoleon's early and
suspicious removal of six puppies from their mother. The
reader is left in the dark for a while, but later is
enlightened when Orwell describes the chase of
Snowball. Napoleon uses his "secret dogs" for the first
time here; before Snowball has a chance to stand up and
give a counter-argument to Napoleon's disapproval of
the windmill, the dogs viciously attack the pig, forcing him
to flee, never to return again. Orwell narrates, "Silent and
terrified, the animals crept back into the barn. In a
moment the dogs came bounding back. At first no one
had been able to imagine where these creatures came
from, but the problem was soon solved: they were the
puppies whom Napoleon had taken away from their
mothers and reared privately. Though not yet full-grown,
they were huge dogs, and as fierce-looking as wolves.
They kept close to Napoleon. It was noticed that they
wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other
dogs had been used to do to Mr. Jones." The use of the
dogs begins the evil use of force which helps Napoleon
maintain power. Later, the dogs do even more dastardly
things when they are instructed to kill the animals labelled
"disloyal." Stalin, too, had his own special force of
"helpers". Really there are followers loyal to any politician
or government leader, but Stalin in particular needed a
special police force to eliminate his opponents. This is
how Trotsky was killed.
Mollie: Mollie is one of Orwell's minor characters,
but she
represents something very important. Mollie is one of the
animal who is most opposed to the new government
under Napoleon. She doesn't care much about the
politics of the whole situation; she just wants to tie her
hair with ribbons and eat sugar, things her social status
won't allow. Many animals consider her a trader when
she is seen being petted by a human from a
neighbouring farm. Soon Mollie is confronted by the
"dedicated" animals, and she quietly leaves the farm.
Mollie characterises the typical middle-class skilled
worker who suffers from this new communism concept.
No longer will she get her sugar (nice salary) because
she is now just as low as the other animals, like Boxer
and Clover. Orwell uses Mollie to characterise the people
after any rebellion who aren't too receptive to new
leaders and new economics. There are always those
resistant to change. This continues to dispel the believe
Orwell hated that basically all animals act the same. The
naivety of Marxism is criticised socialism is not perfect
and it doesn't work for everyone.
Moses: Moses is perhaps Orwell's most intriguing
character in Animal Farm. This raven, first described as
the "especial pet" of Mr. Jones, is the only animal who
doesn't work. He's also the only character who doesn't
listen to Old Major's speech of rebellion. Orwell narrates,
"The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the
lies put about by Moses, the tame raven. Moses, who
was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a
tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed
to know of the existence of a mysterious country called
Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when
they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little
distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy
Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was
in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed
cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses
because he told tales and did no work but some of them
believed in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to
argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such
place.". Moses represents Orwell's view of the Church.
To Orwell, the Church is just used as a tool by
dictatorships to keep the working class of people hopeful
and productive. Orwell uses Moses to criticize Marx's
belief that the Church will just go away after the rebellion.
Jones first used Moses to keep the animals working, and
he was successful in many ways before the rebellion. The
pigs had a real hard time getting rid of Moses, since the
lies about Heaven they thought would only lead the
animals away from the equality of socialism. But as the
pigs led by Napoleon become more and more like Mr.
Jones, Moses finds his place again. After being away for
several years, he suddenly returns and picks up right
where he left off. The pigs don't mind this time because
the animals have already realised that the "equality" of
the revolt is a farce. So Napoleon feeds Moses with
beer, and the full-circle is complete. Orwell seems to
offer a very cynical and harsh view of the Church. This
proves that Animal Farm is not simply an anti-communist
work meant to lead people into capitalism and
Christianity. Really Orwell found loop-holes and much
hypocrisy in both systems. It's interesting that recently in
Russia the government has begun to allow and support
religion again. It almost seems that like the pigs, the
Kremlin officials of today are trying to keep their people
motivated, not in the ideology of communism, but in the
"old-fashioned" hope of an after-life.
Muriel: Muriel is a knowledgeable goat who
reads the
commandments for Clover. Muriel represents the
minority of working class people who are educated
enough to decide things for themselves and find critical
and hypocritical problems with their leaders.
Unfortunately for the other animals, Muriel is not
charismatic or inspired enough to take action and
oppose Napoleon and his pigs.
Old Benjamin Old Benjamin, an elderly donkey,
is one of
Orwell's most elusive and intriguing characters on Animal
Farm. He is described as rather unchanged since the
rebellion. He still does his work the same way, never
becoming too exited or too disappointed about anything
that has passed. Benjamin explains, "Donkeys live a long
time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey."
Although there is no clear metaphoric relationship
between Benjamin and Orwell's critique of communism, it
makes sense that during any rebellion there or those who
never totally embrace the revolution those so cynical they
no longer look to their leaders for help. Benjamin
symbolises the older generation, the critics of any new
rebellion. Really this old donkey is the only animal who
seems as though he couldn't care less about Napoleon
and Animal Farm. It's almost as if he can see into the
future, knowing that the revolt is only a temporary change,
and will flop in the end. Benjamin is the only animal who
doesn't seem to have expected anything positive from
the revolution. He almost seems on a whole different
maturity lever compared to the other animals. He is not
sucked in by Napoleon's propaganda like the others. The
only time he seems to care about the others at all is when
Boxer is carried off in the glue truck. It's almost as if the
old donkey finally comes out of his shell, his perfectly
fitted demeanour, when he tries to warn the others of
Boxer's fate. And the animals do try to rescue Boxer, but
it's too late. Benjamin seems to be finally confronting
Napoleon and revealing his knowledge of the pigs'
hypocrisy, although before he had been completely
independent. After the animals have forgotten Jones and
their past lives, Benjamin still remembers everything.
Orwell states, "Only old Benjamin professed to
remember every detail of his long life and to know that
things never had been, nor ever could be much better or
much worse hunger, hardship, and disappointment
being, so he said, the unalterable law of life."
Rats & Rabbits: The rats and the rabbits, who are
regarded as wild animals, somehow represent the
socialist movement, the so-called "Menscheviki". In the
very beginning of the book the animals vote if rats and
rabbits should be comrades.
Pigeons: The pigeons symbolise Soviet propaganda,
not to Russia, but to other countries, like Germany,
England, France, and even the United States. Russia
had created an iron curtain even before WWII. The
Communist government raved about its achievements
and its advanced technology, but it never allowed experts
or scientists from outside the country to check on its
validity. Orwell mentions the fact that the other farmers
became suspicious and worried when their animals
began to sing Beasts of England. Many Western
governments have gone through a similar problem with
their people in this century. There was a huge "Red
Scare" in the United States in the 20's. In the 1950's in
the United States, Joseph McCarthy was a legislative
member of the government from Wisconsin. He accused
hundreds of people of supporting the Communist regime,
from famous actors in Hollywood to middle-class
common people. The fear of communism became a
phobia in America and anyone speaking out against the
government was a suspect.
Farm buildings: The farm stands for the Kremlin.
In the
early days of the USSR there were sightseeing tours
trough the Kremlin. Later it became the residence of
Stalin.
Windmill: The Windmill for example stands
for the
Russian industry, that has been build up by the
working-class (Clover...)
Fredericks: Stands for Hitler. There also
has been an
arrangement and secret deals. (allusion to Fritz)
Foxwood: Foxwood farm is representing England.
Pinchfield: Pinchfield symbolises Germany.
Destruction of the Windmill: This destruction is a symbol
for the failure of the Five Year Plan.
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