Assignment

Subject:
English
Topic:
Review
Instructor:
Ma’am Mubashra
Submitted By:
M. Usama Javaid
5111
BS English, 4th (Tesol)
 Introduction

Novel:

Author: George Orwell

Original: Animal Farm: A Fairy Story

Country: United Kingdom

Language: English

Genre: Political satire

Published: 17 August 1945 (Secker and Warburg, London, England)

Media Type: Print (hardback & paperback)

Author:

Name: Eric Arthur Blair

Pen Name: George Orwell

Born: Eric Arthur Blair 25 June 1903

Died: 21 January 1950 (aged 46)

Residency: Oxford shire, England

Occupation: Novelist, essayist, journalist, literary critic

Alma mater: Eton College

Genre: Dystopia, roman à clef, satire

Subjects: Anti-fascism, anti-Stalinism, anarchism, democratic socialism,

literary criticism, journalism, and polemic

Years Active: 1928–1950

 Summary

The poorly-run Manor Farm near Willington, England, is ripened for rebellion from
its animal populace by neglect at the hands of the irresponsible and alcoholic farmer, Mr.
Jones. One night, the exalted boar, Old Major, holds a conference, at which he calls for the
overthrow of humans and teaches the animals a revolutionary song called "Beasts of
England". When Old Major dies, two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, assume command
and stage a revolt, driving Mr. Jones off the farm and renaming the property "Animal Farm".
They adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, "All
animals are equal". The decree is painted in large letters on one side of the barn. Snowball
teaches the animals to read and write, while Napoleon educates young puppies on the
principles of Animalism. To commemorate the start of Animal Farm, Snowball raises a green
flag with a white hoof and horn. Food is plentiful, and the farm runs smoothly. The pigs
elevate themselves to positions of leadership and set aside special food items, ostensibly for
their personal health. Following an unsuccessful attempt by Mr. Jones and his associates to
retake the farm (later dubbed the "Battle of the Cowshed"), Snowball announces his plans to
modernize the farm by building a windmill. Napoleon disputes this idea, and matters come to
head, which culminate in Napoleon's dogs chasing Snowball away and Napoleon declaring
himself supreme commander.

Napoleon enacts changes to the governance structure of the farm, replacing meetings
with a committee of pigs who will run the farm. Through a young porker named Squealer,
Napoleon claims credit for the windmill idea, claiming that Snowball was only trying to win
animals to his side. The animals work harder with the promise of easier lives with the
windmill. When the animals find the windmill collapsed after a violent storm, Napoleon and
Squealer persuade the animals that Snowball is trying to sabotage their project and begin to
purge the farm of animals Napoleon accuses of consorting with his old rival. When some
animals recall the Battle of the Cowshed, Napoleon (who was nowhere to be found during the
battle) gradually smears Snowball to the point of saying he is a collaborator of Mr. Jones,
even dismissing the fact that Snowball was given an award of courage while falsely
representing himself as the main hero of the battle. "Beasts of England" is replaced with
"Animal Farm", while an anthem glorifying Napoleon, who appears to be adopting the
lifestyle of a man ("Comrade Napoleon"), is composed and sung. Napoleon then conducts a
second purge, during which many animals who are alleged to be helping Snowball in plots
are executed by Napoleon's dogs, which troubles the rest of the animals.

Despite their hardships, the animals are easily placated by Napoleon's retort that they
are better off than they were under Mr. Jones, as well as by the sheep's continual bleating of
“four legs good, two legs bad”.

Mr. Frederick, a neighboring farmer, attacks the farm, using blasting powder to blow
up the restored windmill. Although the animals win the battle, they do so at great cost, as
many, including Boxer the workhorse, are wounded. Although he recovers from this, Boxer
eventually collapses while working on the windmill (being almost 12 years old at that point).
He is taken away in a knacker's van, and a donkey called Benjamin alerts the animals of this,
but Squealer quickly waves off their alarm by persuading the animals that the van had been
purchased from the knacker by an animal hospital and that the previous owner's signboard
had not been repainted. Squealer subsequently reports Boxer's death and honors him with a
festival the following day. (However, Napoleon had in fact engineered the sale of Boxer to
the knacker, allowing him and his inner circle to acquire money to buy whisky for
themselves.)

Years pass, the windmill is rebuilt, and another windmill is constructed, which makes
the farm a good amount of income. However, the ideals that Snowball discussed, including
stalls with electric lighting, heating, and running water, are forgotten, with Napoleon
advocating that the happiest animals live simple lives. Snowball has been forgotten, alongside
Boxer, with "the exception of the few who knew him". Many of the animals who participated
in the rebellion are dead or old. Mr. Jones is also dead, saying he "died in an inebriates' home
in another part of the country". The pigs start to resemble humans, as they walk upright, carry
whips, drink alcohol, and wear clothes. The Seven Commandments are abridged to just one
phrase: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." The maxim
"Four legs good, two legs bad" is similarly changed to "Four legs good, two legs better."
Other changes include the Hoof and Horn flag being replaced with a plain green banner and
Old Major's skull, which was previously put on display, being reburied.

Napoleon holds a dinner party for the pigs and local farmers, with whom he celebrates
a new alliance. He abolishes the practice of the revolutionary traditions and restores the name
"The Manor Farm". The men and pigs start playing cards, flattering and praising each other
while cheating at the game. Both Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington, one of the farmers, play the
Ace of Spades at the same time and both sides begin fighting loudly over who cheated first.
When the animals outside look at the pigs and men, they can no longer distinguish between
the two.

Analysis

Animal Farm is an allegory, which is a story in which concrete and specific characters
and situations stand for other characters and situations so as to make a point about them. The
main action of Animal Farm stands for the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the early years of
the Soviet Union. Animalism is really communism. Manor Farm is allegorical of Russia, and
the farmer Mr. Jones is the Russian Czar. Old Major stands for either Karl Marx or Vladimir
Lenin, and the pig named Snowball represents the intellectual revolutionary Leon Trotsky.
Napoleon stands for Stalin, while the dogs are his secret police. The horse Boxer stands in for
the proletariat, or working class.

Several of the novel's main characters are introduced in this chapter; Orwell paints
their dominant characteristics with broad strokes. Jones, for example, is presented as a
drunken, careless ruler, whose drinking belies the upscale impression he hopes to create with
the name of his farm. In addition, Jones' very name (a common one) suggests he is like many
other humans, and the tyranny of all mankind is an important theme of Major's speech. His
unsteady gait (suggested by the "dancing lantern" he carries) and snoring wife mark him
immediately as the epitome of all that Major says about mankind's self-absorption and
gluttony. Indeed, the first chapter presents Jones as more of an "animal" than the animals
themselves, who reacts to any disruption of his comfort with the threat of violence, as
indicated by his gunfire when he is awakened from his drunken dreams.

The animals assembling in the barn are likewise characterized by Orwell in quick
fashion: Major is old and wise, Clover is motherly and sympathetic, Boxer is strong yet
dimwitted, Benjamin is pessimistic and cynical, and Mollie is vain and childish. All of these
characteristics become more pronounced as the novel proceeds. However, Major's speech is
the most important part of the chapter, and through it Orwell displays his great understanding
of political rhetoric and how it can be used to move crowds in whichever direction the
speaker wishes. By addressing his audience as "comrades" and prefacing his remarks with the
statement that he will not be with the others "many months longer," Major ingratiates himself
to his listeners as one who has reached a degree of wisdom in his long life of twelve years
and who views the other animals as equals — not a misguided rabble that needs advice and
correction from a superior intellect. This notion that "All Animals Are Equal" becomes one
of the tenets of Animalism, the philosophy upon which the rebellion will supposedly be
based.

Style

George Orwell’s writing style is typically short and to the point. Particularly in his
later works such as Animal Farm and 1984, Orwell intentionally avoids using figurative
language, unnecessary words, and intricate language. As well, Orwell’s writings contain
hidden political messages.

George Orwell believed that much of the written language of his time was
inaccurate and was used to trick people. He believed that modern English authors wrote
without the use of concrete terms, making it easy to manipulate the truth and difficult to
interpret the true meaning of something. Political authors used euphemisms and pretentious
language to sound perceptive and well-informed. One example Orwell cited was the use of
the word ‘elimination’ was used by fascist regimes during World War Two to justify the
exploitation and mass murder of millions. Orwell believed that the English language was
brutish and sloppy, allowing people to have corrupt thoughts and not think freely for
themselves.

In the opinion of Orwell, literature was most beautiful when it was simple and clear to
the everyday reader. At St. Cyprian's School, Orwell improved his writing and learned from
those who were more experienced. The teachings of Mrs. Cicely Vaughan Wilkes; who
advocated for simplicity, honesty, and avoidance of verbiage, would forever be reflected in
his future writings. In Politics and the English Language, an essay about the problems with
the English language and possible remedies, Orwell offers these six rules by which an author
can improve their literature and avoid the corruption of modern English writing:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are
used to seeing in print.
 This first rule of Orwell's essay relates to English figures of speech. Orwell believed
that when authors imitated others, the did not understand the true meaning behind a phrase
and the original purpose was lost.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

Orwell valued simplicity in literature. If you could convey your message to the reader
in a straightforward manner, that was a great start.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

Again, Orwell values simplicity and straight to the point writing.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active

Orwell believed that, for the most part, the passive voice added unnecessary

confusion.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can

think of an everyday English equivalent.

For most of his career as an author, Orwell wrote for the common person. He believed

that an author should do their best to appeal to the reader and make the work as easy to

understand as possible without losing its meaning. Despite being non-religious and believing

that religion was used by the greedy to keep control, Orwell admired the Bible for its to the

point language, easily understood concepts, and appeal to the working class.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

He concludes by stating that these rules are by no means rigid, even admitting that
he did not always abide by these rules. Looking back on Politics in the English Language,
Orwell says: “for certain you will find that I have again and again committed the very faults I
am protesting against".
 Orwell's personal beliefs about the English language are reflected in Animal Farm
and 1984. In both novels, language is used to manipulate others and maintain control. The
pigs make use of propaganda, songs, and intricate figures of speech, which makes it easy to
twist the meanings of words and trick the other animals into a sense of patriotism. In 1984,
language is extremely restricted, making it very difficult for people to put their thoughts into
words. By extension, the government can manipulate the very thoughts people have.
Newspeak is used by the government to control what people can and can't say, as well as
censor unpopular opinions.

Historical Outlook

George Orwell wrote Animal Farm to bring public attention to the abuses of
Stalinism. Orwell wrote the novella in the context of World War II, when Britain and the
Soviet Union were allied against the Nazis and support for Stalin and the Soviet Union would
have been at its strongest. Orwell wrote Animal Farm because he was disturbed at the British
left's whitewashing of Josef Stalin's tyranny and atrocities. He feared that if Stalin's lies were
accepted as truth and his dictatorship approved, it would be all the easier to undermine
democracy and freedom in England. He did not believe supporting the principles of
communism countenanced supporting the man who betrayed those principles in the real
world.

Stalinism was the immediate target of Animal Farm, but it was not that alone that
distressed Orwell. He wanted to speak out against any regime that twisted language and truth
to serve its own agenda. He wanted, too, to speak out against any regime that oppressed the
mass of the population for its own benefit. He didn't care what the ideology was of the ruling
party, whether fascist or communist, if it was harmful to individuals in its society.

Orwell wanted to warn the British people in the simplest possible language and in the
simplest possible story to beware being swayed by propaganda and the threat of force into
giving up either their freedoms or their right to a fair share of society's resources. Even
though this made him unpopular with his left-wing friends, Orwell believed speaking the
truth essential. Many of the themes he brings in up in this work crop up later, in a more
fleshed-out form, in 1984.
 Animal Farm, much like 1984, was written largely with this political motive in mind.
Remember, Animal Farm, the famous satire of the Soviet Union, was originally published in
1945, written during a context in which the United Kingdom had actually been allied with the
Soviet Union against Nazi Germany during World War II. This immediate political context
must also be weighed against pro-Stalinist apologists among journalists such as Walter
Durante. It was in this context that Orwell wrote Animal Farm, seeking to influence public
opinion against Stalin in a time when public support would have been at its strongest. Indeed,
on these grounds, Orwell's novella was actually quite controversial when it was originally
written, but at the same time, one might also state that this was also the reason it was so
important for Orwell to write Animal Farm to begin with.

Movements

Animal Farm, anti-utopian satire by George Orwell, published in 1945. One of

Orwell's finest works, it is a political fable based on the events of Russia's Bolshevik
revolution and the betrayal of the cause by Joseph Stalin. The book concerns a group of
barnyard animals who overthrow and chase off their exploitative human masters and set up
an egalitarian society of their own. Eventually the animals’ intelligent and power-loving
leaders, the pigs, subvert the revolution. Concluding that “all animals are equal, but some
animals are equal than others” (with its addendum to the animals’ seventh commandment:
“All animals are equal”), the pigs form dictatorship even more oppressive and heartless than
that of former human masters.

The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution across the
territory of the Russian Empire, commencing with the abolition of the monarchy in 1917 and
concluding in 1923 with the Bolshevik establishment of the Soviet Union at the end of the
Civil War. It began during the First World War, with the February Revolution that was
focused in and around the then-capital, Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg). The revolution
erupted in the context of Russia's major military losses during the war, which resulted in
much of the Russian Army being ready to mutiny. In the chaos, members of the Duma,
Russia's parliament, assumed control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional
Government. This was dominated by the interests of large capitalists and the Russian nobility
and aristocracy. The army leadership felt they did not have the means to suppress the
revolution, and Emperor Nicholas II abdicated his throne. Grassroots community assemblies
called "Soviets", which were dominated by soldiers and the urban industrial proletariat,
initially permitted the Provisional Government to rule but insisted on a prerogative to
influence the government and control various militias.

Marxism is a philosophical and theoretical underpinning of socialism, Stalinism,

Leninism, and communism. Proponents of all these doctrines claim to be true followers of
Marx when in reality they have all perverted the true meaning of Marxism. Socialism is based
on the idea of equality and justice. Socialists think that the redistribution of wealth from the
rich to the poor is a silver bullet to the majority of society’s problems. Communism is a
radicalized version of socialism because, on the one hand, it maintains that equality is our
primary goal, but, unlike socialists, who support all forms of property, it advocates the
abolishment of private property. In addition, communists have a global vision: they aim to
spread their ideology across the world with force.

Themes

The main theme of George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is that political power inevitably
leads to corruption and that there is no real difference between one political system and
another. Even a revolution by the people eventually falls back into established patterns of
dominance and subservience.

In Animal Farm, Orwell uses the animals to highlight the hardships of the working
classes. He uses Mr. Jones as a symbol for the Emperor - to highlight how lazy and neglectful
the Tsar was. The animals each represent a different section of society at the time - they are a
metaphor for what happened to the people. The animals, like the working class of Russia, had
short, difficult lives, working to produce things that the ruling class would take for
themselves. The Rebellion on the farm seeks to change this, but the revolutionary pigs soon
adopt the ways of the ruling class that they sought to abolish.

In Animal Farm, Orwell uses the animals and their actions to make the reader think
about equality and inequality. Before 1917, the majority of Russian people suffered from
great inequality - they had far less money and food than the ruling classes. Likewise, before
the rebellion in Animal Farm Mr. Jones takes everything that the animals have away from
them. After the Rebellion the animals are free from the tyranny of Mr. Jones and seek to
establish equality amongst themselves. One of the Commandments is 'All animals are equal'.
However, this equality is short-lived and pigs begin to bend the rules until inequality returns
to the farm.

Power and control is one of the most important themes in Animal Farm. Orwell
explores political power - Mr. Jones owns the farm and the animals and uses his men and
whips to keep them under control and maintain his power. Orwell shows that the animals
have the power to challenge Mr. Jones' control and take over the farm - using power in a
positive way. He then explores how the pigs use rhetoric and propaganda to establish
themselves in power and take control of the farm. It is interesting that the working animals,
especially Boxer the horse, have great physical power but they don’t use it to break free from
the control of the pigs.

Old Major is partly based on Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Karl Marx, was a
German philosopher who lived during the 19th-century. Orwell explores the idea of power
leading to corruption. Many of the characters in the novel are eventually corrupted by the
power they have, particularly the pigs, as they manipulate their position of leadership to
exploit animals.

Impact

In Past:

The story of Orwell and the refugees was an incredible triumph of life amidst so much
death and destruction. Between Stalin's terror famine and the Gulag, Hitler's concentration
camps, the clash of Soviet and Nazi armies in World War II, it was as though hell had opened
up across Eastern Europe. Sixty-five years ago this March, Orwell wrote a heartfelt letter to a
group of Ukrainian refugees sharing in their solidarity of wanting to expose the
incomprehensible evil of totalitarian regimes. The refugees turned the letter into Orwell's
only published introduction to Animal Farm, and the only known personal account of how he
developed the book that would be considered his masterpiece.

During Orwell's time, information was tightly controlled by a few known names at the
top. These were the windmills he quixotically fought against: reading through the lines of
mainstream dogma and rubbing the fog off the rosy glasses of his generation overly
enamored with Stalin's strength, which they confused with the hopes and dreams of the
Russian Revolution. When Stalin's approval rating in the West was at its highest, thanks to
cheerleaders with international influence like Watler Duranty of the New York Times,
George Bernard Shaw, Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Stalin had already become one of the
vilest mass murderers in history with the 1932-1933 terror famine in Ukraine. In this year that
Stalin starved to death an estimated 6-10 million Ukrainians, Duranty won the Pulitzer Prize
for his spineless coverage of Stalin and the Soviet Union was officially recognized and feted
by the United States.

Present:

Orwell's main message in Animal Farm is that power corrupts, even when idealism is
at play. The events of the story are an allegory for the Russian Revolution of 1917, where the
bolsheviks overthrew the tsar in order to establish a communist regime. Orwell’s message is
this: Malicious groups of people, like the pigs, will continue to use propaganda to usurp
power, to exploit the vulnerable, and to control the masses, unless courageous individuals
spread the truth and stand up for those who cannot fight for themselves. George Orwell's
Animal Farm is written about how actions can give a bad idea of freedom and equality. The
animals on the farm were inspired by what old Major had told them before he died. We may
observe these lessons and can implement the specific techniques to progress our society.