Analysis and Meaning of Orwell's Allegorical Novel "Animal Farm"

Questo appunto di Letteratura Inglese riguarda il romanzo “Animal Farm” di George Orwell. L’appunto contiene una spiegazione del messaggio del libro, una descrizione dei personaggi principali, un riassunto della trama e di un episodio significativo e un’analisi dell’opera.

Message

“Animal Farm” is a novel by George Orwell which was published in 1945. It is an allegory of the Russian Revolution in the form of an animal fable. The message the author wants to convey is that all revolutions fail because their leaders are interested in taking power and keeping their privileges. According to Orwell, tyranny is evil, regardless of its political nature.

Main characters

The novel features animal protagonists who embody real historical characters and whose story is connected to historical and political events. For instance, Old Major is an allegorical combination of Marx and Lenin. Mr. Jones, described as a heavy drinker who doesn’t care about his animals, is Tzar Nicolas II. The three pigs are Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer. Napoleon embodies Stalin, who used terror and force in order to take power. Snowball, Napoleon’s rival, represents Trotsky, whereas Squealer serves as Napoleon’s minister of propaganda.

Plot summary

The book is a short narrative set on a farm, where a group of oppressed animals, who can speak and think, rebel against Mr. Jones, the farmer, and set up a revolutionary government. The pigs lead and supervise the enterprise under Napoleon's leadership. At first, the animals follow seven commandments based on equality. Then, these commandments are altered by the pigs, who become dictatorial and take the place of men. At the end of the story, the principles of Animalism are not respected anymore; the seven commandments are abandoned and only one remains: “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”.

The episode of the executions

The leader, Napoleon, purges his farm of all traitors; he gets rid of all those animals who don’t obey him and he spreads propaganda to justify his actions. One day, he calls a meeting in which the dogs attack four pigs who defended Snowball; under pressure, they confess to be spies working for Snowball. Then, other animals are forced to confess crimes and they are promptly killed. The animals are shaken and upset because a pile of corpses lies at Napoleon’s feet. Boxer feels restless, he doesn’t understand what is going on. He doesn’t question the principles of Animalism and he thinks that the solution is working hard; he says that he will get up earlier in the morning. Clover can be considered as Orwell’s spokesman. She says that this execution was not what they aimed at when they rebelled against the human race; these scenes of terror aren’t what they expected. They aimed to build a society of animals free from hunger and whip, all equal, where the strong would protect the weak. Instead, now, no one dares to speak their mind. Eventually, Squealer announces that “Beasts of England” will no longer be sung, as that song is about the Rebellion, and now there is no more need for rebellion. “Beasts of England” is replaced by a new song written by Minimus, Napoleon’s pig poet. However, the animals think the new song isn't as meaningful as the previous one.

Book analysis

The central conflict of “Animal Farm” occurs when the animals’ wish for freedom and equality is corrupted by the consolidation of political power among the pigs. The animals’ original aim is expressed in Old Major’s teachings and especially in the song “Beasts of England”. At the beginning of the story, political power is embodied by Mr Jones. When the animals successfully rebel against the farmer, they think they have overcome political power, but in reality, they have only overcome one of the forms it can take. By the end of chapter 2, political power is embodied by the pigs and especially Napoleon. In the following chapters, the pigs gain more and more power, and the animals realize that they have not achieved their goal after all. The pigs —and Napoleon in particular— embody political power in three ways. First, they claim more and more of the farms’ resources and products for themselves. First, they steal milk and apples, then sell animal products to buy goods like whisky. Second, the pigs become increasingly violent, creating the dog police force and ordering executions. Third, the pigs want to establish what truth is. Gradually, the animals realize that their lives have not improved since the Rebellion took place. The climax of the story occurs in Chapter 7 when Napoleon decides to sell the hens’ eggs. The hens realize that the pigs are their antagonists and they rebel. Their rebellion is violently put down, and Napoleon has the hens executed. Now, Boxer is the only character hoping that freedom can be achieved. He has worked hard to achieve this goal, and he hopes that he will graze in a particular pasture when he retires. However, when the time comes for him to retire, he is sold and killed. This episode marks the moment when political power, embodied by Napoleon and the pigs, completely defeats the animals. In the final pages, the animals watch the pigs having dinner with humans, and they can’t tell the difference between the two groups.
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