George Orwell’s Animal Farm

An Allegory of the Russian Revolution

Part 1: About George

About George

• Born in India in 1903 to a minor government official

• At 8, he went to a posh private school in England on financial aid which led to his peers treating him like a charity case

• He felt like a failure because of this and came to the conclusion that the rich and strong ruled the world

About George

• He sympathized with the underdog and victims of poverty

• Joined the Indian Imperial police after high school

• After 5 years he resigned

• He moved to Paris and wrote five novels from 1927-1932

About George

• In 1936, Orwell got in involved with a Communist faction in the Spanish civil war; Orwell concluded that the Communists were corrupt and came to the conclusion that all revolutions fail because people who obtain power are corrupted by it

About George

• Orwell returned to England with his wife where he enjoyed his life on his small farm

• Perhaps Orwell saw in nature the only true “Utopian state” and felt that man’s move away from the land was a mistake

About George

• Because of health reasons, Orwell could not serve in WWII; however, he worked as a correspondent for the BBC (like Fox News)

• He wrote Animal Farm during this time which was published in 1945

• Orwell had difficulty publishing his book (it was rejected by 4 publishers) because the true and aims and methods of the Russian Communists were coming to light

About George

• Orwell died in 1950, after publishing one of Miss Swanson’s favorite books, 1984

• Orwell’s purpose in writing Animal Farm was to warn the world about the dangers of totalitarianism as well as to poke fun at the mentality of revolutionaries who believe Utopia is possible

About George

• Orwell’s driving theme:

• Power inevitably corrupts and therefore revolutions inevitably fail in their purpose. Those who take over are necessarily corrupted by the new power. ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY!

Part 2: Russian Revolution

• There are direct parallels between the major players in the Russian Revolution (RR) and the characters in Animal Farm.

• In the mid-1800’s capitalism was flourishing in America and Europe because workers worked in inhumane conditions 14-18 hours a day and companies exploited children (there were no child labor laws)

Russian Revolution

• In 1847, an international worker’s group employed German philosopher Karl Marx to draw up a plan for their group. The group was called the Communist League and their purpose was to unite the working class of Europe.

Russian Revolution

• Karl Marx

Russian Revolution

• Marx wrote The Manifesto of the Communist Party; the Communism that evolved from this bore little resemblance to the original.

• In this manifesto, Marx envisioned a worker’s revolt followed by a kind of paradise (Utopia) where each person would work according to his or her ability and receive according to his or her needs. Marx thought this would bring about worldwide economic equality.

Russian Revolution

• As we all know, this worldwide revolution never took place. America and Europe revised its laws to accommodate its workers; they had safe working conditions and reasonable pay.

• Instead, the communist party split into two - those who tried to bring about change through legislation, and those who saw revolution as the answer

Russian Revolution

• Russia was poorly managed under a Czarist government (like a king or pharoah) and most of the Russian people were still underpaid workers on land owned by the wealthy

Russian Revolution

• Czar Nicholas II and his family

Russian Revolution

• Communists comprised a small extremist group within the socialist movement

Russian Revolution

• A major player in trying to overthrow the Czarist government and establish one based on socialism (very similar to communism) was Leon Trotsky

• He believed that terrorism was a valuable method to keep others from overthrowing the government

Russian Revolution

• Leon Trotsky

Russian Revolution

• In 1917, Nikolai Lenin and the Bolshevik Party successfully overthrew Czar Nicholas II and the Communist Party gained control of Russia’s government

• Lenin appointed Trotsky a high ranking position in this new government

Russian Revolution

• Nicolei Lenin

Russian Revolution

• When Lenin died, there was power struggle between Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.

• Stalin gained control in 1926

• Trotsky fled to Mexico where he was later assassinated

Russian Revolution

• Joseph Stalin

Russian Revolution

• Under Stalin’s Communist government, he deported anyone who didn’t agree with him to SIBERIA!

• His secret police arrested anyone they wanted to (mostly dissenters), and used torture and mass executions to maintain Stalin’s power

• Anyone could fall victim to Stalin’s secret police force for no apparent reason

Russian Revolution

• The goal of the communist revolution was to unite everyone to work toward the common goal of survival. However, Stalin’s government was just as terrifying as that of the Czar’s.

• There was no freedom; the government controlled everything.

• The rich got richer (sometimes), and the poor got poorer!

• Terrorist police prevented any uprisings from taking place.

Russian Revolution

• The aim of totalitarianism is to make people less and less aware to tell the difference between what is the truth and what is made up, and unable to draw logical conclusions. This is what happened to the animal workers in Animal Farm.

• The farm represents Russia, and the characters and plot all symbolize various people and events from the RR.

Russian Revolution

• Censorship and propaganda are essential methods of controlling the working class (proletariat) and convincing them they are on the right path while those in other political systems are idiots (sound familiar?)

Russian Revolution

• Communist propaganda