Term Paper on "George Orwell's Animal Farm in Context of the Soviet Communist Party"

Term Paper 4 pages (1576 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Animal Farm and Communism

ANIMAL FARM: GEORGE ORWELL

Animal Farm is one the most widely read books by George Orwell. Interestingly most people do understand the political significance of the book and know that it was written as an attack on totalitarianism. But what they often miss, thanks to Signet Classics edition, is that it was not written only against totalitarianism as Orwell clearly stated: "Every line I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism, as I understand it." Sadly the last four words are often found missing in the editions that Americans have had access to. But why would this be omitted when it seems like an important piece of information? The question needs to be understood in the framework of American political structure and environment. During the 1950s, it was unsafe to openly talk about anti-communism in the United States

The Everyman's Library edition by Alfred a. Knopf (1993) is a much better version of the book which offers more comprehensive background information and historical context of the book. And that is where we find the last four very important words. The book was against communism as it existed in USSR.

Orwell had experience as a farmer from 1936 and 1940 and this experience was utilized in the novel to allegorically attack communist politics in USSR and to attack communism in general. Like any form of communication, this novel had a meaning embodied in it and like any other communication, it is important to be familiar with the background to understand the context in which the book is written. The book was clearly an indictment of the communist principles that had violated the ideals on which Soviet Union had been created. Told in the form of a fable, the story draws some parallels between real figures that existed at the time and farm animals. Some other parallels have also been used. For example "Farmer Jones" was a caricature of Czar of Russia, "The Pigs" represented "The Bolsheviks," "Major" was none other than Marx plus Lenin, and so on. The novel is full of parallels and symbolic correspondences. The Soviet flag with hammer and sickle is symbolized by the hoof and the horn, the song Beasts of England was like the Communist hymn the Internationale.

It is an argumentative piece of work that builds a strong case against delusions of Soviet Communism and the complete betrayal of Western scholars who sided with communist leaders. Orwell offers the story in plain language with an omniscient narrator who is someone from England where "such concepts as justice, liberty, and objective truth are still believed in." 2 Animal Farm appeals to logic because it is told as a fairy tale in a language that most people, other than perhaps intellectuals, and that works on the most basic level of understanding. Emotional appeal is given by drawing a connection between animals' emotions and human characteristics.

Orwell himself was not a "liberal." Just because he was against communism doesn't mean he was a capitalist at heart. He was actually a democratic socialist who believed in the original socialist principles and couldn't stand communist betrayal of those principles. It is known that he wrote the book because he was angry at "the prevailing orthodoxy" in England in 1943 was "an uncritical admiration of Soviet Russia." Orwell didn't like the union of principles between England and Russia and tried to get the book published even though three publishers rejected the manuscript.

Orwell's work is politically geared but is for some reason, more tasteful than Swift's Gulliver Travels or Spenser's Faerie Queene. There is something more authentic and sincere in this book than you would find in other politically oriented books. Of course the book is allegorical satire but since it has a direct connection with real-life figures, the meaning becomes clearer immediately. Part of the simple pleasure of reading this book comes from figuring out which character represents whom.

Mr. Jones is the owner of Manor Farm and his cruel treatment of animals is a constant source of concern to Major. Before his death, Major has a dream where he sees animals overthrowing their human masters. Major teaches them a song "Beasts of England," that is all about hoping for a better and fairer world. Apart from the song, they also learn seven important commandments which were basically the socialist principles. They were taught not to follow human habits such as living in a house, sleeping in a bed, wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, touching money, or engaging in trade. Above all, all animals are equal.

Major was a mixture of both Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin. Both had similar ideals and Marx was especially influential in speaking against capitalism and wanted a society where workers had adequate rights and say. He wanted workers to unite against capitalism much in the same way as Major wants the animals to stand against the cruel owner of the farm. Lenin was on the other hand was the leader of the Bolshevik Party and while he sided with Marx on attack against capitalism, he disagreed that workers alone would bring about a change. He felt that a rigidly disciplined "vanguard party" composed of the intelligentsia and "advanced" members of the working class could bring about the required social change.

Lenin died young just like Major who died at a young age which resulted in a power struggle between Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) and Joseph Stalin (1879-1953), who are represented by Snowball and Napoleon, respectively. Trotsky has been in favor of industrialization which is shown by building of the windmill while Napoleon who is actually Stalin wants to maintain an agriculturalist policy. It is often felt that one doesn't need to know about the history of USSR to appreciate the subtle messages of the book. For example the fact that Major's decision to put one group against another results in serious problems for the animals who are brutally oppressed by the pigs. Anyone should know that a system based on hatred for one group would always result in oppression in the end.

One event that is very important and doesn't really fall the original sequence of events is the revolt of hens against the order to produce more eggs. This is a reference to the rebellion of Soviet sailors at Kronstadt in 1921 that was brutally repressed by forces loyal to Trotsky. But Trotsky is not held responsible for the evils that follow; it was actually Napoleon who was more directly responsible. The starvation in the novel corresponds to the widespread starvation in the Ukraine in 1933.

The saddest part of the book is the death of Boxer who represents an average worker. His death symbolized the death of socialism because the ideals that socialism had promoted had been cruelly overridden by communist agenda. The worker who was supposed to be the most important figure was reduced to an insignificant component in the machinery of radicalism.

The ending is another important event. It takes the readers to the Tehran Conference in 1943, where Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met for an important conference. The fact that the three had met and the meeting went on well indicated that they had similar views which angered Orwell further. He draws parallels in the novel where he establishes that this was a time when it was hard to tell the difference between pig and man. Talking about the ending, Orwell said:

number of readers may finish the book with the impression that it ends in the complete reconciliation of the pigs and the humans. That was not my intention; on the contrary I meant it to end on a loud note of discord, for I wrote it immediately after the Teheran Conference which everybody had… READ MORE

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