IntroductionWhen most people try to think of a famous political novel, “Animal Farm”, by George Orwell, is one of the first books that usually come to mind. It was published in 1945, right after World War II, and is an allegorical political satire of the Russian Revolution. The novel is based on three important themes: politics, truth, and class conflict. Using the novel, Orwell made several political statements and criticized Stalinist Russia. It was a success immediately after publication, and the first edition was sold out in a month. By the time of Orwell’s death in 1950, 25,500 copies of Animal Farm had been issued in Britain, and 590,000 in USA (Gale, 2003).
Animal Farm is a fairy story that tells the story of a group of animals who are tired of being mistreated and starved by their irresponsible farmer, Mr. Jones. As a result, they stage a revolution to overthrow him in the name of Animalism, which promotes equality. The pigs, who are the smartest animals on the farm, naturally take the leadership roles, and try to come up with ways to improve the farm. However, there is conflict between the two leaders, Snowball and Napoleon, so they fight for power, and at the end Napoleon resorts to violence and defeats Snowball. The equality that they once stood for soon vanishes, as Napoleon leads the farm into totalitarian dictatorship, and eventually, Napoleon and the other pigs shamelessly break all the rules they had established and instead twist them to become the exact opposite of Animalism. |
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Comparison of Characters/Events from Animal Farm and Russian Revolution
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Characters
Winston Churchill - Pilkington/Foxwood Adolf Hilter - Frederick/Pinchfield Joseph Stalin - Napoleon Leon Trotsky - Snowball Lenin or Karl Marx - Old Major Czar Nicholas II - Mr. Jones Organized Religion/Russian Orthodox Church - Moses Russian Revolution of 1917 - Animal Rebellion Pravda (Russia's Media) - Squealer Secret Police - Napoleon's dogs Events Anti-Revolutionary Invasion of Russia (WWII) - Battle of Cowshed Battle of Stalingrad - Battle of the Windmill Five Year Plan - Building of the windmill Stalin-Hitler Pact - Napoleon sold a pile of timber to Frederick Hammer and sickle (Russia's flag) - Hoof and Horn Great Purge - Forced Confessions Tehran Conference - Final Scene (the meeting of men and pigs) |