Old Major Villains In Animal Farm
1. Old Major:
As the father of Animalism, Old Major is an obvious counterpart for Karl Marx, or, in some cases, Vladimir Lenin (Old Major’s skull was publicly shown in a similar way as Lenin’s remains were). Orwell did not mention Napoleon or Snowball at all during the speech Old Major gave on Animalism, showing how out-of-touch they actually were with him. It seems that the pigs took Old Major’s ideas and twisted them to their own belief. This could mirror how Stalin (Napoleon) ignored what Old Major had proposed in his ideas. When Napoleon takes over the farm, Old Major becomes just a distant memory, just like Marx was forgotten once Stalin took power.
2. Jones
Mr. Jones, the farmer and owner of Manor Farm, represents the last Czar of Russia, Czar Nicholas II, one of the major villains in …show more content…
the story. Orwell notes that the farmer has seemed to lose his “edge”, since he has taken up drinking and seems to forget about the animals. Mr. Jones only gives the animals as much as they need to survive and nothing more. The Czar was seen as a tyrannical leader by the people of Russia. He often neglected his people for the luxuries that he indulged the whole upper class with.
3. Animal Rebellion
The Animal Rebellion signifies the Russian Revolution. Just like the animals revolt against Mr. Jones for treating them badly, the Bolsheviks of Russia were in charge of removing the Czar from power; the Animal Rebellion was sparked by Old Major’s ideas while the Russian Revolution began with Karl Marx’s. The teachings were taken to heart by the pigs/Bolsheviks, and, at the next available opportunity, they struck.
4. Napoleon
As the chief “indirect” villain, Napoleon is the second leader of the Soviet Union (Vladimir Lenin seems to be combined with Old Major). His character stands for Joseph Stalin and the human weaknesses present in any revolution. Throughout the story, Napoleon is seen to change from the kind leader who replaces Old Major to the greedy and power-hungry dictator. This also happened to Stalin. The old aristocracy of the Czar was succeeded by the bureaucracy of the communist party. Stalin started out with his Five Year Plans—plans that would transform Russia into a more industrialized country—but eventually used the power he wielded to his advantage, providing luxury to certain individuals while the rest of Russia suffered. Another parallel between the two individuals are the systematic killings of alleged traitors. Napoleon murdered some of the animals because he thought they were plotting against them. Likewise, Stalin “purged” Russians on the suspected validation that they supported Leo Trotsky (Snowball).
5. Snowball
Snowball is a clear representation of Leo Trotsky, the arch-enemy of Napoleon (Stalin) and a key figure of the Animal Rebellion. Both Snowball and Napoleon were known to argue fiercely with each other about every topic worth disagreeing. As Napoleon rises to power, Snowball is exiled from the farm, just like Trotsky was exiled from Russia. Napoleon’s dogs (the KGB) were sent after Snowball to eliminate the threat that he posed to Napoleon’s rule. Similarly, Trotsky was assassinated by Stalin’s secret police (the KGB). When Snowball and Trotsky were exiled from Animal Farm and Russia respectively, their historical role was altered. They were no longer seen as heroes of the revolution, but portrayed as people who had been siding with the enemy.
6. Squealer
Squealer is the propaganda department of Russia, the Pravda, which was owned and manipulated by Stalin. He is seen as a great persuader, not unlike the way the propaganda department influenced the people of Russia. As the link between the animals and Napoleon, Squealer can carry out Napoleon’s orders with little to no resistance.
7. Napoleon’s Dogs
Napoleon’s dogs are the KGB, the secret police. They were also viewed as his body guards, and helped him enforce his rules. The dogs were mentioned importantly the first time at the Battle of Cowshed, in which they sent Snowball into exile. They look up to Napoleon like “mindless robots” because they do anything Napoleon says without a doubt. Later on in the story, the dogs are used to kill the animals who are considered traitors. Also, Stalin used the KGB to assassinate any of his opponents.
8. Foxwood Farm (Pilkington)
Pilkington and his farm symbolize the U.K. His farm is overgrown, neglected, and old-fashioned since he spends his time either fishing or hunting. As shown through the story, Pilkington is an “easygoing” guy, except when it comes to his neighboring farmer, Frederick, who he seems to disagree with at any possible chance. When Napoleon starts to trade with humans again, the relationship between them grows until it starts to resemble friendship. The analogy of the selling of the timber and the final scene which involve Pilkington are mentioned later in the document.
9. Pinchfield Farm (Frederick)
Frederick is Hitler, and his farm is Germany. He is not as laid-back and lazy as Pilkington, but instead is “a tough, shrewd man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a name for driving hard bargains” (Orwell 38). In the book, when Napoleon gives the promised timber load to Frederick instead of Pilkington and gets forged bank notes as payment, that seems like the failed non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union.
10. Battle of Cowshed
The Battle of Cowshed is the Russian Civil War which was fought between the Whites (loyal followers of the czar; the farmers, and other men in Animal Farm) and the Red Army (led by Trotsky). More specifically, during the Battle of Cowshed (the civil war), Snowball (Trotsky) becomes a war hero until Napoleon (Stalin) exiles him. Another similarity is the absence of Mollie (the middle class) who is not sympathetic to the laborers. Lastly, the Proletariats (Boxer) were shown as being a powerful military.
11. Battle of Windmill
The Battle of Windmill is parallel to the Battle of Stalingrad which is part of German invasion of Russia in WWII in general. In real-life, the Germans marched into Russia up to twenty miles from Moscow targeting some oil fields. It was with much death and blood that the soviets managed to drive the Germans back and away from their motherland. In the story, Frederick (Hitler) advances into Animal Farm and takes over a pasture. In that pasture, he manages to blow up the windmill that the animals have spent so much time working on. The animals do manage to drive Frederick and his men back, but at the cost of many injuries and lives. In the end, when Squealer tries to convince the others that the battle was a success, he finds that many of the animals do not believe him.
12. Final Scene
The final scene between the pigs and the humans alludes to the 1943 Tehran Conference between the Soviet leaders (the pigs) and the U.S. and U.K. (the humans). In the story, the pigs are walking on two legs, and the Seven Commandments eventually become one. In fact, it seems all the ideas of the rebellion are being dismissed as the pigs say that, “their sole wish, now and in the past, was to live at peace and in normal business relations” (Orwell 139). In real life, the Tehran Conference was where Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt gave Stalin permission to have Poland if he helped them fight against Germany. The agreement between the U.S. and the U.K. with the Soviets was seen as a betrayal by the many anti-Soviets living in the West (such as Orwell himself). 13. Animals other than pigs and dogs
All the animals other than the pigs and the dogs are truly represented by Boxer. They are the proletariats, the working class of Russia. However, I added a more in-depth description of all the animals below:
• Wild Birds: The birds are the many classes of citizens that did not really fit in with the Soviet socialist idea. The communistic slogans mainly dealt with the urban working class (the horses, sheep, etc.), and the non-laborers (the birds) felt left out. The non-laborers were different than the other Russians since they owned land, just as the birds were different from the animals because they had only two legs.
• Moses: Moses is the Russian Orthodox Church. At the beginning of the story, Moses is seen as Farmer Jones’s pet. He leaves at the same time as Farmer Jones, but eventually returns to the farm. Moses preaches about “Sugarcandy Mountain… [Where it is] Sunday seven times a week, clover was in season all year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on hedges” (Orwell 17). Napoleon wants him to leave at first, however, he lets Moses stay and even gives him a ration of beer!
• Hens: The hens are the peasant farmers of Russia. Stalin tried to “collectivize” the farmers of Ukraine, but, just like the hens tried to resist Napoleon’s efforts to collect their eggs, the peasants were eventually starved into consent. In the book, the hens smashed the eggs to further protest. In real life, the Ukrainian peasant farmers killed their livestock right before the joined a collective.
• Three young Black Minorca pullets: These birds were seen as the leaders of the rebellion against Napoleon. Their real life counterparts are the Ukrainian farmers since they were the ones that spurred the protests against Stalin.
• Pigeons: The “Communist World Revolution” (also known as the Comitern or the Communist International) are the equivalent of the pigeons in Animal Farm. The pigeons were sent off every day to spread the word of Communism in a similar fashion as the “Communist World Revolution”.
• Old Benjamin: Old Benjamin, the donkey, is the wise, elderly population of Russia. On a deeper level, Benjamin represents all the people who should have helped in the rebellion but did not.
• Boxer and Clover: Boxer, the horse, is the working class of Russia, also known as the proletariats. He is described as having poor intelligence (he cannot learn any letters after “D”, or he will forget the ones before). Boxer always tries to work harder, but in the end, when he is useless to Napoleon, he is sent away to be killed. Clover, who is also a horse, is Boxer’s female counterpart.
• Muriel: Muriel, the wise old goat in Animal Farm, is the literate elderly ladies of Russia, or the small percentage of Russia’s working class that is educated enough to see what is wrong with their current government. However, she is not charismatic or inspired enough to take on Napoleon and his pigs.
• The Cat:
The cat is Russia’s educated class who did not believe communism was the right thing. The cat skips out on work, just like the educated people did not do any physical labor. Also, when the cat performed a service, such as catching mice, she was rewarded with milk/shelter (the benefits). This implies that the cat was privileged under Farmer Jones like the educated class was under the czar.
However, a more accepted theory on the cat’s true identity is that the cat represents the gypsies. The gypsies, like the cat, did not care much for the government, and they wandered wherever they pleased.
• Rats/Rabbits: The rats and rabbits are the wild animals that live on the farm. Their real-life counterparts are the beggars and thieves. During the first animal meeting, the decision of whether or not the rats and rabbits were animals was considered. In the end, they were accepted as “animals” and “comrades”.
• Cows: The cows are rarely mentioned in Animal Farm. In some sources, the cows may represent the milkmaids. As discussed further on, the horn on Animal Farm’s flag might represent the cows.
• Sheep: The sheep in Animal Farm are, simply, the blind, loyal proletariat masses that are easy to manipulate to Napoleon’s needs. The sheep are the dumb followers who do not really think for themselves and only repeat what they have been taught. This resembles people influenced by Stalin’s propaganda. They rely on the slogans which they repeat endlessly to the point where you associate the slogan with the people themselves.
14.
Mollie the cart horse
Mollie, the vain horse, is Russia’s middle class, the bourgeois. Mollie craves the attention of human beings, and she loves being pampered. When the revolution starts, she is shown to have a hard time; it is no surprise that she leaves Animal Farm to live with the humans and all the luxuries she missed. Likewise, the bourgeois were not against the revolution, they just were not ready to give up their luxuries for the cause. They, too, fled Russia after a few years of the Russian revolution.
15. Chasing away Jones
The chasing of Farmer Jones is the Bolsheviks disposing of the Czar and his family. In the story, the pigs throw out the farmer when he comes back from a day in a pub, and the workers forget to feed the animals and milk the cows. Farmer Jones’s neglecting of the animals is also the fact that the Czar was out of touch with his people’s needs. This leads to both the farmer and the Czar being evicted from the place they once owned because their constituents were unhappy with the ruling they provided. However, while the farmer was lucky and left with his life, the Czar was sent to Serbia where he was then executed.
16. Animal Farm (Manor
Farm)
Animal Farm is a symbol for how Russia changed from the years 1917 to 1943. Animal Farm started out as Manor Farm, just as the Soviet Union started out as a monarchist Russia. They both changed by overthrowing their leaders and installing new ones. In the story, the animals got rid of malevolent Farmer Jones, and the pigs became the new government. In history, the Bolsheviks and the Russian people got rid of Czar Nicholas II, his family, and his government; their new administration consisted of a reign of communism led by Leo Trotsky and then Joseph Stalin. Animal Farm also represents the people who were not content with what was happening and taking matters into their own hands. The animals were not happy with the living conditions, so they ousted their master, Farmer Jones; a new government led by the animals was later installed. Likewise, in Russia, the people were not happy with their living conditions, so they deposed of the Czar and induced a new government. Ironically, in both cases, the protagonists set out to create a better government, but then eventually became the administration they set out to overthrow.
17. Selling the wood
The selling of the wood is the Nazi-Soviet pact between Stalin and Hitler. Originally, the wood was meant to go to Pilkington (England), but at the last moment, Napoleon (Stalin) sent it to Frederick (Hitler) instead. As a surprising twist, Frederick ends up paying in counterfeit money. This whole scenario basically reenacts the failed Nazi-Soviet pact. Stalin was to give Hitler all the supplies needed for his Nazi Germany, and, in return, they would split up Eastern Europe between them. The pact failed when Hitler launched an attack into Russia, betraying Stalin. The German troops were twenty miles to Moscow when they were finally stopped. The betrayal is the equivalent of Frederick giving counterfeit money for the wood. Russia/Napoleon was shocked!
18. Napoleon takes over the farm Stalin’s rise to power as Soviet dictator in 1926 is parallel to Napoleon taking over the farm. Both Napoleon and Stalin follow the original revolutionary ideas posed by someone else: in Napoleon’s case, it is Old Major, and in Stalin’s case, it’s Karl Marx.
19. Confessions and executions The confessions and executions of the animals were Napoleon’s way of reacting to things that might threaten his power. The same goes for Stalin. He, too, was afraid of losing power, so he simply killed anyone who spoke out or acted against him. Napoleon executed the animals that “confessed” to helping Snowball regain control of the farm. By making the executions public, he tried to silence the animals into obedience and devotion. Stalin executed those who he deemed as potential threats to his authority. The greatest example of this was his “Purges” from 1934 to 1939. In this time frame, Stalin got rid of around ten percent of his administration. Overall, in his dictatorship, over twenty million people were killed for “political offences”.
20. Hoof and horn on the flag
In Animal Farm, Snowball creates a flag that is very similar to the Soviet Union flag. The animals’ hoof and horn on the flag correspond with the Soviet’s hammer and sickle. The Soviet’s hammer stood for the factory workers (the proletariats), and the sickle for the farm workers. In my mind, the hoof on Animal Farm’s flag are the industrial workers on the farm, the horses and donkeys (pigs would fit in this category too, but they are a different class altogether). Boxer is the animal who hauls the blocks to build the windmill, and also helps by being the strongest animal around. These characteristics remind me of the factory workers, who helped build Russia’s cities. On the other hand, the horn on the flag are the farm workers, the cows and goats. They are the ones who provide the food for the rest of the farm. The cows and goats both produce milk which is eaten by the others. Likewise, the farm workers in the Soviet Union worked the fields to yield enough produce for the country.
As the father of Animalism, Old Major is an obvious counterpart for Karl Marx, or, in some cases, Vladimir Lenin (Old Major’s skull was publicly shown in a similar way as Lenin’s remains were). Orwell did not mention Napoleon or Snowball at all during the speech Old Major gave on Animalism, showing how out-of-touch they actually were with him. It seems that the pigs took Old Major’s ideas and twisted them to their own belief. This could mirror how Stalin (Napoleon) ignored what Old Major had proposed in his ideas. When Napoleon takes over the farm, Old Major becomes just a distant memory, just like Marx was forgotten once Stalin took power.
2. Jones
Mr. Jones, the farmer and owner of Manor Farm, represents the last Czar of Russia, Czar Nicholas II, one of the major villains in …show more content…
the story. Orwell notes that the farmer has seemed to lose his “edge”, since he has taken up drinking and seems to forget about the animals. Mr. Jones only gives the animals as much as they need to survive and nothing more. The Czar was seen as a tyrannical leader by the people of Russia. He often neglected his people for the luxuries that he indulged the whole upper class with.
3. Animal Rebellion
The Animal Rebellion signifies the Russian Revolution. Just like the animals revolt against Mr. Jones for treating them badly, the Bolsheviks of Russia were in charge of removing the Czar from power; the Animal Rebellion was sparked by Old Major’s ideas while the Russian Revolution began with Karl Marx’s. The teachings were taken to heart by the pigs/Bolsheviks, and, at the next available opportunity, they struck.
4. Napoleon
As the chief “indirect” villain, Napoleon is the second leader of the Soviet Union (Vladimir Lenin seems to be combined with Old Major). His character stands for Joseph Stalin and the human weaknesses present in any revolution. Throughout the story, Napoleon is seen to change from the kind leader who replaces Old Major to the greedy and power-hungry dictator. This also happened to Stalin. The old aristocracy of the Czar was succeeded by the bureaucracy of the communist party. Stalin started out with his Five Year Plans—plans that would transform Russia into a more industrialized country—but eventually used the power he wielded to his advantage, providing luxury to certain individuals while the rest of Russia suffered. Another parallel between the two individuals are the systematic killings of alleged traitors. Napoleon murdered some of the animals because he thought they were plotting against them. Likewise, Stalin “purged” Russians on the suspected validation that they supported Leo Trotsky (Snowball).
5. Snowball
Snowball is a clear representation of Leo Trotsky, the arch-enemy of Napoleon (Stalin) and a key figure of the Animal Rebellion. Both Snowball and Napoleon were known to argue fiercely with each other about every topic worth disagreeing. As Napoleon rises to power, Snowball is exiled from the farm, just like Trotsky was exiled from Russia. Napoleon’s dogs (the KGB) were sent after Snowball to eliminate the threat that he posed to Napoleon’s rule. Similarly, Trotsky was assassinated by Stalin’s secret police (the KGB). When Snowball and Trotsky were exiled from Animal Farm and Russia respectively, their historical role was altered. They were no longer seen as heroes of the revolution, but portrayed as people who had been siding with the enemy.
6. Squealer
Squealer is the propaganda department of Russia, the Pravda, which was owned and manipulated by Stalin. He is seen as a great persuader, not unlike the way the propaganda department influenced the people of Russia. As the link between the animals and Napoleon, Squealer can carry out Napoleon’s orders with little to no resistance.
7. Napoleon’s Dogs
Napoleon’s dogs are the KGB, the secret police. They were also viewed as his body guards, and helped him enforce his rules. The dogs were mentioned importantly the first time at the Battle of Cowshed, in which they sent Snowball into exile. They look up to Napoleon like “mindless robots” because they do anything Napoleon says without a doubt. Later on in the story, the dogs are used to kill the animals who are considered traitors. Also, Stalin used the KGB to assassinate any of his opponents.
8. Foxwood Farm (Pilkington)
Pilkington and his farm symbolize the U.K. His farm is overgrown, neglected, and old-fashioned since he spends his time either fishing or hunting. As shown through the story, Pilkington is an “easygoing” guy, except when it comes to his neighboring farmer, Frederick, who he seems to disagree with at any possible chance. When Napoleon starts to trade with humans again, the relationship between them grows until it starts to resemble friendship. The analogy of the selling of the timber and the final scene which involve Pilkington are mentioned later in the document.
9. Pinchfield Farm (Frederick)
Frederick is Hitler, and his farm is Germany. He is not as laid-back and lazy as Pilkington, but instead is “a tough, shrewd man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a name for driving hard bargains” (Orwell 38). In the book, when Napoleon gives the promised timber load to Frederick instead of Pilkington and gets forged bank notes as payment, that seems like the failed non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union.
10. Battle of Cowshed
The Battle of Cowshed is the Russian Civil War which was fought between the Whites (loyal followers of the czar; the farmers, and other men in Animal Farm) and the Red Army (led by Trotsky). More specifically, during the Battle of Cowshed (the civil war), Snowball (Trotsky) becomes a war hero until Napoleon (Stalin) exiles him. Another similarity is the absence of Mollie (the middle class) who is not sympathetic to the laborers. Lastly, the Proletariats (Boxer) were shown as being a powerful military.
11. Battle of Windmill
The Battle of Windmill is parallel to the Battle of Stalingrad which is part of German invasion of Russia in WWII in general. In real-life, the Germans marched into Russia up to twenty miles from Moscow targeting some oil fields. It was with much death and blood that the soviets managed to drive the Germans back and away from their motherland. In the story, Frederick (Hitler) advances into Animal Farm and takes over a pasture. In that pasture, he manages to blow up the windmill that the animals have spent so much time working on. The animals do manage to drive Frederick and his men back, but at the cost of many injuries and lives. In the end, when Squealer tries to convince the others that the battle was a success, he finds that many of the animals do not believe him.
12. Final Scene
The final scene between the pigs and the humans alludes to the 1943 Tehran Conference between the Soviet leaders (the pigs) and the U.S. and U.K. (the humans). In the story, the pigs are walking on two legs, and the Seven Commandments eventually become one. In fact, it seems all the ideas of the rebellion are being dismissed as the pigs say that, “their sole wish, now and in the past, was to live at peace and in normal business relations” (Orwell 139). In real life, the Tehran Conference was where Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt gave Stalin permission to have Poland if he helped them fight against Germany. The agreement between the U.S. and the U.K. with the Soviets was seen as a betrayal by the many anti-Soviets living in the West (such as Orwell himself). 13. Animals other than pigs and dogs
All the animals other than the pigs and the dogs are truly represented by Boxer. They are the proletariats, the working class of Russia. However, I added a more in-depth description of all the animals below:
• Wild Birds: The birds are the many classes of citizens that did not really fit in with the Soviet socialist idea. The communistic slogans mainly dealt with the urban working class (the horses, sheep, etc.), and the non-laborers (the birds) felt left out. The non-laborers were different than the other Russians since they owned land, just as the birds were different from the animals because they had only two legs.
• Moses: Moses is the Russian Orthodox Church. At the beginning of the story, Moses is seen as Farmer Jones’s pet. He leaves at the same time as Farmer Jones, but eventually returns to the farm. Moses preaches about “Sugarcandy Mountain… [Where it is] Sunday seven times a week, clover was in season all year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on hedges” (Orwell 17). Napoleon wants him to leave at first, however, he lets Moses stay and even gives him a ration of beer!
• Hens: The hens are the peasant farmers of Russia. Stalin tried to “collectivize” the farmers of Ukraine, but, just like the hens tried to resist Napoleon’s efforts to collect their eggs, the peasants were eventually starved into consent. In the book, the hens smashed the eggs to further protest. In real life, the Ukrainian peasant farmers killed their livestock right before the joined a collective.
• Three young Black Minorca pullets: These birds were seen as the leaders of the rebellion against Napoleon. Their real life counterparts are the Ukrainian farmers since they were the ones that spurred the protests against Stalin.
• Pigeons: The “Communist World Revolution” (also known as the Comitern or the Communist International) are the equivalent of the pigeons in Animal Farm. The pigeons were sent off every day to spread the word of Communism in a similar fashion as the “Communist World Revolution”.
• Old Benjamin: Old Benjamin, the donkey, is the wise, elderly population of Russia. On a deeper level, Benjamin represents all the people who should have helped in the rebellion but did not.
• Boxer and Clover: Boxer, the horse, is the working class of Russia, also known as the proletariats. He is described as having poor intelligence (he cannot learn any letters after “D”, or he will forget the ones before). Boxer always tries to work harder, but in the end, when he is useless to Napoleon, he is sent away to be killed. Clover, who is also a horse, is Boxer’s female counterpart.
• Muriel: Muriel, the wise old goat in Animal Farm, is the literate elderly ladies of Russia, or the small percentage of Russia’s working class that is educated enough to see what is wrong with their current government. However, she is not charismatic or inspired enough to take on Napoleon and his pigs.
• The Cat:
The cat is Russia’s educated class who did not believe communism was the right thing. The cat skips out on work, just like the educated people did not do any physical labor. Also, when the cat performed a service, such as catching mice, she was rewarded with milk/shelter (the benefits). This implies that the cat was privileged under Farmer Jones like the educated class was under the czar.
However, a more accepted theory on the cat’s true identity is that the cat represents the gypsies. The gypsies, like the cat, did not care much for the government, and they wandered wherever they pleased.
• Rats/Rabbits: The rats and rabbits are the wild animals that live on the farm. Their real-life counterparts are the beggars and thieves. During the first animal meeting, the decision of whether or not the rats and rabbits were animals was considered. In the end, they were accepted as “animals” and “comrades”.
• Cows: The cows are rarely mentioned in Animal Farm. In some sources, the cows may represent the milkmaids. As discussed further on, the horn on Animal Farm’s flag might represent the cows.
• Sheep: The sheep in Animal Farm are, simply, the blind, loyal proletariat masses that are easy to manipulate to Napoleon’s needs. The sheep are the dumb followers who do not really think for themselves and only repeat what they have been taught. This resembles people influenced by Stalin’s propaganda. They rely on the slogans which they repeat endlessly to the point where you associate the slogan with the people themselves.
14.
Mollie the cart horse
Mollie, the vain horse, is Russia’s middle class, the bourgeois. Mollie craves the attention of human beings, and she loves being pampered. When the revolution starts, she is shown to have a hard time; it is no surprise that she leaves Animal Farm to live with the humans and all the luxuries she missed. Likewise, the bourgeois were not against the revolution, they just were not ready to give up their luxuries for the cause. They, too, fled Russia after a few years of the Russian revolution.
15. Chasing away Jones
The chasing of Farmer Jones is the Bolsheviks disposing of the Czar and his family. In the story, the pigs throw out the farmer when he comes back from a day in a pub, and the workers forget to feed the animals and milk the cows. Farmer Jones’s neglecting of the animals is also the fact that the Czar was out of touch with his people’s needs. This leads to both the farmer and the Czar being evicted from the place they once owned because their constituents were unhappy with the ruling they provided. However, while the farmer was lucky and left with his life, the Czar was sent to Serbia where he was then executed.
16. Animal Farm (Manor
Farm)
Animal Farm is a symbol for how Russia changed from the years 1917 to 1943. Animal Farm started out as Manor Farm, just as the Soviet Union started out as a monarchist Russia. They both changed by overthrowing their leaders and installing new ones. In the story, the animals got rid of malevolent Farmer Jones, and the pigs became the new government. In history, the Bolsheviks and the Russian people got rid of Czar Nicholas II, his family, and his government; their new administration consisted of a reign of communism led by Leo Trotsky and then Joseph Stalin. Animal Farm also represents the people who were not content with what was happening and taking matters into their own hands. The animals were not happy with the living conditions, so they ousted their master, Farmer Jones; a new government led by the animals was later installed. Likewise, in Russia, the people were not happy with their living conditions, so they deposed of the Czar and induced a new government. Ironically, in both cases, the protagonists set out to create a better government, but then eventually became the administration they set out to overthrow.
17. Selling the wood
The selling of the wood is the Nazi-Soviet pact between Stalin and Hitler. Originally, the wood was meant to go to Pilkington (England), but at the last moment, Napoleon (Stalin) sent it to Frederick (Hitler) instead. As a surprising twist, Frederick ends up paying in counterfeit money. This whole scenario basically reenacts the failed Nazi-Soviet pact. Stalin was to give Hitler all the supplies needed for his Nazi Germany, and, in return, they would split up Eastern Europe between them. The pact failed when Hitler launched an attack into Russia, betraying Stalin. The German troops were twenty miles to Moscow when they were finally stopped. The betrayal is the equivalent of Frederick giving counterfeit money for the wood. Russia/Napoleon was shocked!
18. Napoleon takes over the farm Stalin’s rise to power as Soviet dictator in 1926 is parallel to Napoleon taking over the farm. Both Napoleon and Stalin follow the original revolutionary ideas posed by someone else: in Napoleon’s case, it is Old Major, and in Stalin’s case, it’s Karl Marx.
19. Confessions and executions The confessions and executions of the animals were Napoleon’s way of reacting to things that might threaten his power. The same goes for Stalin. He, too, was afraid of losing power, so he simply killed anyone who spoke out or acted against him. Napoleon executed the animals that “confessed” to helping Snowball regain control of the farm. By making the executions public, he tried to silence the animals into obedience and devotion. Stalin executed those who he deemed as potential threats to his authority. The greatest example of this was his “Purges” from 1934 to 1939. In this time frame, Stalin got rid of around ten percent of his administration. Overall, in his dictatorship, over twenty million people were killed for “political offences”.
20. Hoof and horn on the flag
In Animal Farm, Snowball creates a flag that is very similar to the Soviet Union flag. The animals’ hoof and horn on the flag correspond with the Soviet’s hammer and sickle. The Soviet’s hammer stood for the factory workers (the proletariats), and the sickle for the farm workers. In my mind, the hoof on Animal Farm’s flag are the industrial workers on the farm, the horses and donkeys (pigs would fit in this category too, but they are a different class altogether). Boxer is the animal who hauls the blocks to build the windmill, and also helps by being the strongest animal around. These characteristics remind me of the factory workers, who helped build Russia’s cities. On the other hand, the horn on the flag are the farm workers, the cows and goats. They are the ones who provide the food for the rest of the farm. The cows and goats both produce milk which is eaten by the others. Likewise, the farm workers in the Soviet Union worked the fields to yield enough produce for the country.