Similarities between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution & Animal Farm
Animal Farm is a satirical novella by George Orwell, and it can also be understood as a modern fable. The book is about a group of animals who drive away the humans from the farm which they live on, and it is primarily based on the Russian Revolution.
Animal Farm is well known as an allegory. Most fables have two levels of meanings. On the surface, the fable is about animals. But on the second level, the animals stand for types of people or ideas. The way the animals interact and the way the plot unfolds say something about the nature of people or the value of ideas. Any type of fiction that has multiple levels of meaning in this way is called an allegory.
Links between the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm
Characters
The characters in Animal Farm all share a link between certain people involved during the Russian Revolution. Here is a list of characters from the book, which had things in common with some important people who played a role in the Russian Revolution.
Old Major (pig) – He represents Karl Marx, who is one of the most famous philosophers and political theorists in history. Karl Marx is the inventor of Communism, just like Old Major, who is the ‘Father of Animalism’. They also both die before the Revolution.
Napoleon (pig) – Napoleon is Joseph Stalin, the second leader of the Soviet Union. Animal farm skips the rule of Lenin (and combines Lenin with the character of Old Major), and has Napoleon leading the farm from the beginning of the revolution.
Snowball (pig) – Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, who was the other leader of the revolution. He was a pure communist who followed Marx, and wanted to improve life in Russia. When Joseph Stalin (Napoleon) rose to power, Trotsky becomes one of Stalin’s biggest enemies and was eventually expelled. In Animal Farm, Snowball was exiled from the farm by Napoleon’s dogs, just like Trotsky had been.
Mr. Jones - Mr Jones is a farmer, and the owner of Manor Farm. He
Animal Farm is a satirical novella by George Orwell, and it can also be understood as a modern fable. The book is about a group of animals who drive away the humans from the farm which they live on, and it is primarily based on the Russian Revolution.
Animal Farm is well known as an allegory. Most fables have two levels of meanings. On the surface, the fable is about animals. But on the second level, the animals stand for types of people or ideas. The way the animals interact and the way the plot unfolds say something about the nature of people or the value of ideas. Any type of fiction that has multiple levels of meaning in this way is called an allegory.
Links between the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm
Characters
The characters in Animal Farm all share a link between certain people involved during the Russian Revolution. Here is a list of characters from the book, which had things in common with some important people who played a role in the Russian Revolution.
Old Major (pig) – He represents Karl Marx, who is one of the most famous philosophers and political theorists in history. Karl Marx is the inventor of Communism, just like Old Major, who is the ‘Father of Animalism’. They also both die before the Revolution.
Napoleon (pig) – Napoleon is Joseph Stalin, the second leader of the Soviet Union. Animal farm skips the rule of Lenin (and combines Lenin with the character of Old Major), and has Napoleon leading the farm from the beginning of the revolution.
Snowball (pig) – Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, who was the other leader of the revolution. He was a pure communist who followed Marx, and wanted to improve life in Russia. When Joseph Stalin (Napoleon) rose to power, Trotsky becomes one of Stalin’s biggest enemies and was eventually expelled. In Animal Farm, Snowball was exiled from the farm by Napoleon’s dogs, just like Trotsky had been.
Mr. Jones - Mr Jones is a farmer, and the owner of Manor Farm. He