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AN ALLEGORY is a literary work that juxtaposes symbolic characters and events to make a generalization on life. Animal Farm by George Orwell is largely allegorical, making use of farm animals that symbolize parts of government and society to manifest the theme of the Soviet Union�s corruption of socialist ideals after the Russian Revolution or more generally, that any revolution led by power-hungry people ultimately leads to the same corruption they fought to remove.
To begin with, character is a potent tool in this novel, as each animal is assigned distinct personality traits and made to correspond to an aspect of Imperial Russia, Russia during the revolution, and finally, the Soviet Union theoretically practicing Karl Marx�s vision of socialism. An integral symbol is Napoleon the pig, whose name is an unmistakable indication of his character. He in many ways is a four-legged, wide-snouted version of the infamous Frenchman because he is also a ruthless, power-hungry usurper who deserts all morals to stay in control. Orwell uses him as a symbol for Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953, who is considered by the western world to be one of the cruelest rulers in history. After the Russian Revolution that introduced Russia to socialism, Stalin established a totalitarian government by driving out his flamboyant political rival Leon Trotsky and then assembling a rough secret police force to slay any civilian who dared oppose him. Likewise, in the novel, Napoleon establishes his own totalitarian government by using a team of dogs to chase away the vivacious Snowball and later publicly slaughtering animals who were suspected to be in league with Snowball. Thrown out the window are the animals� original doctrine that all of them should be equal and live in comfort and felicity; Napoleon becomes a vicious and arrogant leader who oppresses the so-called "lower-class" animals while reaping the fruit of their hard work. In a more general sense, he symbolizes the leader of a rebellious group, who, Orwell warns, can be dangerous after the revolution if he becomes enamored with his newfound power and turns into an exact replica of those he rebelled against in the first place.
Another symbolic character is Snowball the pig, who, as already mentioned, represents Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin�s ardent rival and the public enemy number one in the Soviet Union for over twenty years. Trotsky was an impassioned speaker and had grand ideas, qualities that are manifested in Orwell�s portrayal of Snowball. As well, he is actually considered to have been the primary figure, along with Vladimir Lenin, in the instigation of the Russian Revolution in order to establish a socialist regime in Russia. He held a high position in the subsequent Lenin government, and historical evidence indicates that Lenin wrote in his will that he wanted Trotsky to succeed him, not Stalin. Unfortunately, anti-Trotskyists burned the will and Stalin became the ruler of the Soviet Union while Trotsky was driven out of the country and later assassinated by Stalin�s orders in Mexico. With his main opposition out of the way, Stalin established his cruel totalitarian regime and used propaganda to make the citizens hate Trotsky and blame him for every tiny thing that went wrong in the country. This string of events is retold in Animal Farm, where Snowball is shown to be a key player in the animals� revolution, fighting especially bravely in the Battle of Cowshed, where he is awarded the title of Animal Hero, First Class. However, Napoleon and Snowball soon engage in a struggle for control of the newly "democratic" farm. The animals are in support of both pigs, but Napoleon takes over by driving Snowball away with his pack of vicious dogs. Subsequently, Napoleon becomes the sole dictator on the farm and proceeds to blame every misfortune on Snowball in order to rally the animals more around himself. For example, in chapter seven, it reads, "[Snowball] stole the corn, he upset the milk-pails, he broke the eggs, he trampled the seed-beds, he gnawed the bark off the fruit trees. Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball." Generally, Snowball represents the opposition to a power-hungry dictator like Napoleon who is exterminated for fear of competition. He also represents the scapegoat that dictators use to keep the citizens� support, similar to how in World War II, Adolf Hitler used the Jews as a scapegoat so the Germans would support going to war.
Moving on, where there is an oppressor, there is always an oppressed. During Joseph Stalin�s regime, the working class was made to work tediously and their only return was meager rations and more fervent oppression. In Animal Farm, Boxer the plough-horse, who is the hardest working animal on the farm, represents these people. For instance, during the building of the windmill, it is noted that "in [Boxer�s] spare moments�he would go alone to the quarry, collect a load of broken stone and drag it down to the site of the windmill unassisted," such a hard worker is he. Unfortunately, Boxer is also naïve and too trusting of the other animals. He always does what he is told, does not complain, and never falters in believing that Napoleon and the other pigs speak the truth. Whenever any of the animals questions his work habits or asks for his opinion, his response is eternally one of two credos, "I will work harder" or "Napoleon is always right." His faith is heartbreaking, especially since it is not rewarded. After all of the years Boxer has spent serving Napoleon, when Boxer�s old body is unable to do any more work, the arrogant pig sells him to a horse-slaughterer. Even worse, Napoleon has Squealer tell the other animals that Boxer was taken to the hospital and died a peaceful death there. This treacherous event manifests the true greed of Napoleon and the tragic corruption of the animals� original theory that without humans, they would live in beautiful harmony. Generally, poor Boxer symbolizes the working citizens, the people whom in the end, become the victims should a revolution go wrong.
Animal Farm, in addition, includes several allegorical events. One significant occurrence, which Orwell once described to be the turning point of the novel, is at the termination of chapter two. The animals are newly independent and have just witnessed the unveiling of the Seven Commandments of Animalism by the pigs when suddenly, the unmilked cows groan in discomfort. To solve the problem, a group of pigs organize themselves to do the milking, and the end product is five buckets of fresh, creamy liquid. Many of the animals are interested in knowing what will happen to it, but Napoleon interjects that they should deal with the harvest first. Then upon their return, "it was noticed that the milk had disappeared," and though Orwell does not go into detail here, this occurrence insinuates that the pigs have stolen all the milk for themselves. The reader�s suspicions are confirmed in chapter three, where it reads, "[the milk] was mixed everyday into the pigs� mash". In other words, corruption within the farm has commenced, since the seventh principle of Animalism was "all animals are equal" and not sharing the milk equally among themselves is obviously a breach of that rule. In a broader sense, the taking of the milk is a symbol for when leaders of a wild revolution are overcome by the power of their new position and begin to act for their own personal interests instead of those of the people.
Another symbolic event is also the most heartbreaking of the novel. In chapter nine, the faithful plough-horse Boxer who has toiled endlessly for Napoleon since the rebellion, falls by the windmill. His age has finally caught up with him and any more physical labor is out of the question. Instead, Boxer looks forward to the "retirement" promised at the outset of the revolution, which entitles him to a yearly pension and a spot within a special grazing ground once he turns twelve. He is unaware that retirement is only an illusion made up by the pigs to keep the masses oppressed, that there is actually no benevolence felt towards super-annuated animals, that his idealistic plans will just end up being annihilated by the selfish intentions of the pigs. Then one day, while the animals are toiling in the fields, a van comes to take Boxer away. The others naively believe that their friend is being taken to someplace or other that would benefit Boxer, but when Benjamin reads the words on the side of the van, they realize that it belongs to a horse-slaughterer! In fact, Napoleon, disgusted that he can get no more work out of Boxer, has sold him to, as Benjamin puts it, the "knackers". This event becomes a symbol for Stalin�s cruel treatment of the working class, because though Trotsky had preached a system of democratic working class socialism, Stalin was more interested in using socialism as a front so he could work undetected solely for the interests of the bureaucracy. During his rule, the dictator forced farmers to work in factories in the cities, forced wages down, and took everything that was produced for himself and his minions. His so-called "socialist" government was a dictatorship that advocated slave labor. In Animal Farm, poor Boxer is a symbol of the working class who rides the greed of the pigs right to his death.
Working together, all these symbols present the theme of how revolutions can be disastrous if the masses are not alert to everything the new government is doing and allow it to become an exact replica of the old government. For instance, this novel has Napoleon the pig fooling the other animals, who represent the working class, into thinking that he is the smartest out of all of them, that he has the right to oppress them and make them do essentially slave labor. In fact, the animals� revolution that started out with the intention to make all animals equal and rid themselves of the tyranny of human beings has, with the intervention of the pigs� greed, evolved into only a change of masters. In the old days, Mr. Jones had mistreated them; now the pigs are. No more liberty has been won by their revolution than if they had just stayed put with Jones. The author, Orwell, had admired Karl Marx�s original idea of socialism and was enraged with Stalin�s use of it in the Soviet Union as a façade so he could work discreetly for his own personal gain. He intended this tragic fable to be a criticism of that corruption and a lesson to future generations to keep it from ever happening again.
In conclusion, Animal Farm by George Orwell is a gallimaufry of symbolic characters and events that make it one of the most beloved allegories of the English language. From the big boar Napoleon�s representation of corrupt dictator Joseph Stalin to Boxer�s demise symbolizing Stalin�s cruelty to the working class, the novel is a faithful retelling of the Russian Revolution and the corruption of socialist ideals in the resulting nation. In a broad sense, it is a tragic parable that cautions the danger of impetuous, wild revolutions if the masses are not alert and the lust for mammon overcomes the right to democracy.
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Copyright 2002 by Elizabeth Keys. All rights reserved.
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