Animal Farm
The book Animal Farm by George Orwell is a modern classic where Orwell intended to convey a hidden message to the readers by adopting animals for real life figures. Orwell wanted to describe how those in power can manipulate and twist the truth, corrupting society.
The book is about what Orwell thought was right or wrong and he did this by portraying historical and political figures as animals or humans at a farm. Napoleon, the villain or the bad guy, was portrayed as Joseph Stalin who used propaganda, communist ideology and terror tactics to keep the public ignorant and eliminating any chances of an opposition. The central theme of Animal Farm is the theme of abuse of power, tyranny, and the corruption power leads to. The idea that Orwell wanted to create was that even in a society where everyone is equal, soon class and status differences emerges like the pigs as the higher class than the other animals. The idea that Orwell portrayed made me think about the effects of having too much power, it gets to your head and can corrupt you. The villain or the bad guy, Napoleon, who at first wanted to create an equal society, ended up corrupting and abusing his power.
One of the main character in the novel are the horses, in particular Boxer who symbolic for the working class in Stalins time who were loyal, hard working and kept ignorant about the happenings around them. The motive of Boxer the horse was to follow Napoleon and his motto, I will work harder and later, Napoleon is always right which is an example of the propaganda used to control the other animals. When the pigs abused their power, Boxer questioned it but he was given many excuses and false facts which he believed in, as he was a bit nave and slow. Also, Boxer or any other animal couldnt oppose Napoleon even if they disagreed with him because Napoleon would kill anyone who questioned or opposed him.
Another important character is Squealer, a fat pig, who assists Napoleon and uses propaganda and manipulation to defend Napoleons actions. Squealers job was to defend Napoleon and he did this by overcomplicating and confusing the other animals so they wont question him, for example, he would say that the pigs need all the luxuries to function properly.
One main incident in the novel was the incident that took place after the expulsion of Snowball. Napoleon saw Snowball as a threat to his leadership so he used force to expell Snowball out of the farm by sending dogs to kill him. Then Napoleon adopted Snowballs ways and ideas even though he opposed them, Napoleon had even said that Snowball stole the ideas from him. These events helped me understand that Napoleon was heading towards a dictatorship and would use propaganda through Squealer to dictate over the farm. It gave me the idea that Orwell wanted to suggest that this is how Stalin ruled while he was in power, by using propaganda and terror tactics to control the public.
This novel had many ways in which it was made successful but the thing that stood out most for me was the plot and the speed at which it moves. The plot is interesting and the possible real-life figures they represent are always interesting and there are many connections that can be made and many ways in which it can be interpreted. The pace at which the storyline moves is quick which means the interest is not lost and has a consistent pace to it. Also the excuses the pigs gave for their actions might make you think about politicians and how they manipulate their words to say something and mean something else.
This novel is a classic and more people should take the opportunity to read it. It provides many different interpretations which all link to historical events and refer and represent many social and political figures which provide for an interesting understanding and reading. In my opinion its a worthwhile book to read and as its in Time magazines top 100, its more reason to read it.
Bibliography
Animal Farm, wikipedia.org
George Orwell, Animal Farm
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