Revolution On Animal Farm: Review
Orwell's work in Animal Farm is considered a unique novel for political satire and allergy. The novel is known to be a Marxist novel, all the characters in the novel share a common goal toward change, throughout the novel the writer attempts to depict the living example of oppressed and impoverished masses attempting to bring about a classless society. And the endeavors for creating an ideal society on peace, equality, and a life of harmony for the animals. At the same time presenting serious critique on Stalin's regime, and communism. (Bartleby)
The first stages of the Animal Farm revolution start with the Old Majors speech to the animals of the Manor Farm, what we can draw from his speech is that he has had great potential in the farm, since everyone gathered around him to listen for his speech. He passes on his experience to the animals and emphasizes that he has had " a long life… had much time for thought" and " understands the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living " such speech on his life age, and wisdom and knowledge gave him more authority and credibility among the animals and made it easier for him to convince the animals and stimulate the other animals. (Johnson)
He utilized language technics and rhetorical strategies to even more emphasize on encouraging the animals and stimulate their feelings. He goes on by asking the cows "You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk…? And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? And you Clover, where are those four foals you bore…? " these questions rhetorically presents the injustices been done to the animals by Jones, and by focusing more on the individuals the Old Major could get into the mind and heart of the animals and strike feelings of resentment in them. (Bartleby)
Old Major is the sound of disapproval against Jones, demonstrating Jones's tyranny toward the animals; starving the animals, and killing the animals when they grow old or weary. Nevertheless; later in the novel his idea became a disaster for the animals of the Manor Farm because of internal conflicts, the results brought about a dystopia for the farm instead of a utopian living. (Deniz)
The ruler of Manor Farm, Mr. Jones, who is also the villain of the story, is a drunk incompetent farmer, he leaves out the animals, starves them, and is carless. Clues from the novel for this claim is "Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-house for the night but was too drunk to shut the popholes" this shows how carless Jones is for the wellbeing of his animals, he neglects them and is too drunk to close the popholes, by leaving it open the chickens would get cold. In addition to his carelessness; he is also a cruel and tyrant farmer, clue for this is Old Major's speech on Jones "As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond. " Old major attempts to hint that Jones instead of taking care of his dogs when they are 'old and toothless' 'he drowns them in the nearest pond' while he should look after them. The image portrayed here by Old Major is an image of brutality and cruelty. (BBC)Mr. Jones’s cruelty and tyranny is an image of oppressors and dictators, who don’t care for his people, and the development of his country. It’s Jones’s brutality that the animals revolt against. They are obviously frustrated with their living situation. The song "Beasts of England'' and the slogan "All men are enemies; all animals are comrades!" are true depictions of political campaigns. Orwell tried to utilize strategies and characteristics of political rallies, so as to draw a true image of this revolution. The impact of the Old Major's speech can be seen in the animals provoked behavior. The way they repeat the song on their free- well demonstrates how sneaky politicians take advantage of their audience and stimulate behavior, while they don't even belong to the class of society they tend to represent. (Fonseka)
After the Old Major' speech the animals revolt against Jones and kick him out along with the rest of humans of the farm. Next, the name of the farm is changed from Manor Farm to Animal Farm, they brought about a set of rules "The Seven Commandments" for everyone to obey and live by. Soon after, the pigs thought about running the farm by themselves and take control over the rest of the animals. Napoleon, who is the powerful pig, tends to brainwash the animals, he succeeds in manipulating the animals through his strategies, and in the process he himself turns into a manipulative dictator. (Weir)
The revolution’s honeymoon period of the farm goes well, the pigs live happily together, living a much better life than how they used to live in times of Jones. Meanwhile; Boxer, the horse, with his motto 'I will work harder!' works all time with lots of effort for the progress of the farm. Not after so long, the inequality between the pigs and the other animals begin, when Napoleon and other pigs steal milk and take extra apples for themselves and threaten the animals if they don't get what they need from food, Jones might return. And that was enough to persuade them. (BBC)
Day after day the utopia of the animals turn into a dystopia. Radical changes happen, The Seven Commandments who were once thought of as good and rules to live by now has all changed. The pigs change the rules with their intertest "No animals shall sleep in bed" is changed into "No animals shall sleep in bed with sheets" they take advantage of the animals’ illiteracy and replace all the rules with new ones like "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others". In the further steps the animals’ society is divided into two classes, the pigs and dogs as superior, and the other animals in the lower class. (Johnson)
Evidently the animals lack education and self-confidence in spite of the active role which most of them played in the first rebellion and, in the case of some, are naturally stupid. Orwell is not implying by this the hopelessness of a proletarian revolution: he rather points to the need for education and self-confidence in any working-class movement if it is to remain democratic. (Letemendia)Things get worse but not better, animals are enslaved by the pigs and dogs, more work to do with less food. “Throughout the spring and summer, they worked sixty hours a week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoon as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his ration reduced by half. ” Meanwhile Napoleon, the big pig, creates a luxury life for themselves in the house! And the rest of the animals to the barn. (Johnson)
The animals' fate seems mirror rather closely that of the common people as Orwell envisaged it some six years before commencing Animal Farm: "what you get over and over again is a movement the proletariat which is promptly canalized and betrayed by astute people at the top, then the growth of a new governing class. The one thing that never arrives is equality. The mass of the people never gets the chance to bring their innate decency into the control of affairs, so that one is almost driven to the cynical thought that men are only decent when they are powerless. " (Letemendia)
At first, Napoleon was actually one of the three pigs who were the founders of "Animalism", based it on the ideas of the Old Major. Animalism is the system of ideology that encourages animals to revolt. Napoleon was not in any way talented, but he knew well how to make things go his way. He made good use of various technics and strategies, just as politicians. He won the sheep's support, and encouraged them to utter "four legs good, two legs bad" so as to prevent others make any speech. From the beginning he took two puppies from their mother and looked them after, when they grew up he used them as tools to take control over the farm. (BBC)Napoleon is one of the main characters of the novel, and obviously a metaphor for Stalin. He is the character representing the reason of the failure of any revolution, human frailties. Orwell wanted to demonstrate that we can never adopt socialism or have a socialist country, although its perfect ideally, but reality is not possible because of the irresponsible nature of human and its greediness to power. As its presented in the novel Napoleon had a good role in the beginning, but then he overcome by his sins and became hungry for power. The same way Stalin left the original values of socialism for power. (Kibin)
Napoleon exercised radical power and violence to hold his position in the farm. For instance, he took the puppies and raised them up, but not to educate them for their own good. He took advantage of them, used them to overthrow anyone standing in his way, and protect him. He was even willing to go against his allies and break his coalitions only for his benefit. Snowball was another pig, one of the other pigs who took the idea from Old Major and turned them into Animalism, yet Napoleon turned against him when they disagreed on where to build the windmill. Napoleon had his dogs banish him from the farm and called "kill the traitors who had leagued themselves with Snowball"Associating Stalin's tyranny to the puppies becoming soldiers by Orwell in the novel, intensifies the mood of the novel, because the impact here is on the victims than if Napoleon tended to choose any other type of animal. Puppies are the stereotype of cuteness and pets that are not harmful. Dogs are also thought after as friendly creatures and man's friend. Thus, training these puppies by Napoleon to become his soldiers, protectors, and slaughter anyone who disagreed with him creates a puzzling feeling for the reader. Consequently, the events and tactical violent become more memorable to the audience. (Weebly)
Orwell himself in one of his letter to Dwight Macdonald, explained that he purposefully narrated the novel in satire to the Russian Revolution, Orwell writes: I intended it primarily as a satire on the Russian revolution. But I did mean it to have a wider application in so much that I meant that that kind of revolution (violent conspiratorial revolution, led by unconsciously power-hungry people) can only lead to a change of masters. I meant the moral to be that revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job.
The turning-point of the story was supposed to be when the pigs kept the milk and apples for themselves. If the other animals had had the sense to put their foot down then, it would have been all right. (nybooks)Napoleon deceives the other animals from the truth that he is altering the original vision of Animal Farm. He kills anyone who rebels against him or does not agree with him. And keeps the animals working harder all day long on building the windmill, the farm, or building a school. Keeping the animals busy with an unending labor is just a technic for keeping them busy, so as not to be able to, or free enough to think what is happening to them or their lives. And animals should praise him for anything good happening to them. Napoleon's character does not change in the novel, he remains cruel and greedy, and always turn things his way. He gets worse on wanting more and becoming even more power-hungry because of his never-ending greed. (Lacy)In Animal Farm, the pigs are like the sneaky politicians. They both convey the use of deceptive language to gain control over people. Politician’s main goal is to lead the people of their country, just as the pig’s goal is to lead their farm. (Weir)
The idea of Socialism seemed for the animals of Animal Farm as a utopia, and wanted to bring down the system of Capitalism which has deprived them from their rights, freedom… etc. They sought after a classless society, but what reality and the novel shows us in conclusion is the transformation of this utopian dream into a dystopian reality, after taking over power and control the animals had to experience classism again this time under animals. (Jahangeer)
In conclusion, all these illustrations further prove Orwell's ideology on the failure of revolution. Revolutions fail because it ends with replacing one tyrant with a new one. From the novel, Napoleon's accession and his oppression over the animals is a clear proof on Orwell's philosophy on revolution.
