UNIVERSITY OF GJAKOVA FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY Department of English Language and Literature

Transcription

1 UNIVERSITY OF GJAKOVA FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY Department of English Language and Literature BA DIPLOMA THESIS The Allegory of Revolution in George Orwell s Animal Farm Supervisor: Prof. Dr.Lirak Karjagdiu Candidate: Rudina Ahmeti Gjakovë, 2018

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3 Declaration I, Rudina Ahmeti, herewith pledge that I intend to work on my diploma paper/ba/ thesis fully respecting academic standards of the University of Gjakova Fehmi Agani. Therefore, any reference from published or unpublished work will be duly acknowledged through quotation, summarizing and paraphrasing. 3

4 Table of contents 1.Introduction Biography of the author Life Work Relevant information about the novel The representation of the Revolution through principal characters Mr. Jones as an allegory to Tsar Nicholas II and The Great Depression period Old Major as an allegory to rebellion along with Marx and Lenin s ideology Snowball as an allegory to Leon Trotsky s heroism and banishment Napoleon s dictatorship as an allegory to Josep Stalin s regime Squealer as an allegory to Soviet Propaganda Main conflicts of the characters Main Events in Animal Farm...24 Conclusion...27 References

5 1.Introduction Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name as George Orwell, is one of the most famous political writers of the 20th century. His work is based in the experiences from his real life. All his writings consist of elements from the events that happened during the time he was alive. The struggles and the wars he witnessed are all reflected in his writings. His work encouraged people to look differently at themselves and at their government. Throughout his novels, essays and documentaries Orwell uncompromisingly criticized imperialism, capitalism, nationalism, totalitarianism and always wrote his opinion about them, no matter the consequences. This was proved when he published Animal Farm. An allegory which is considered to be Orwell s masterpiece and his finest work of fiction. Orwell considered Animal Farm (1945) the book which brought together his commitment as a political writer and his gifts as a novelist. Except for the success that Animal Farm has as a novel, it also achieved success in the field of cinematography. Short movies were created from the novel, such as Animal Farm(1999) which was an animated television production directed by John Steppersson, screenplay done by Alan Jayson and Marty Burker and it was produced by Robert Halim and Animal Farm(1955) an animated film directed by John Hales and Jay Bachelor. As Quinn (2009) points out, Animal Farm transformed Orwell from a respected English journalist and minor novelist into an international best-selling author (p.39) The reason why I chose Animal Farm for my diploma thesis is that throughout this novel is expressed how those who are more powerful, benefit from the innocent society, and how common this still is in our world nowadays. I chose to discuss the novel s principal characters, their characteristics and how the author portrayed, satirized and criticized political personalities from the Russian Revolution through the characters from the novel. Continuing with some of the main conflicts of the novel and main events, how Orwell connected the events from the book with those from real life, like The Battle of the Cowshed, then the Battle of Windmill, and the Rebellion of animals against Mr. Jones. And the main conflicts of the novel, the conflict that happened between Napoleon and Snowball, then conflict between pigs and the other animals and the conflict between animals and humans. 5

6 For this Diploma Thesis, I will use the Deductive method by presenting the facts and events and analyzing their consequences in the end. This diploma paper consists of six chapters. The first chapter includes the introduction, which contains some information about the author, and about the novel and its popularity and how it will be divided. The second chapter consists of a short biography about the author, where I will mention some facts about his private life and then continuing with his work. The third chapter includes general information about the novel and also the importance of the novel. However, the most important part of this diploma paper will be focused in the next chapters. In the fourth chapter, in which the principal characters like Napoleon, Snowball, Mr. Jones, Squealer and Old Manor, will be discussed, who they are in the novel and who they represent in real life. The fifth chapter deals with the main events of the novel, and the last one will deal with the main conflicts between characters, where I will analyze how the author made the connection between events and conflicts from the Russian Revolution with those from the novel. And also a conclusion part in the end to summarize all that has been discussed in this paper and the references for the books and other sources that were used to prepare this paper. I m using this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who supported and helped me throughout this challenging period. First and foremost, I thank my adviser Prof. Lirak Karjagdiu, for his unconditional support, patience and for always being ready to help and guide me in the process of writing and finalizing my diploma paper. I also would like to express my warm thanks to the assistant Lorina Pervorfi, for helping me out with the literature that I needed for this diploma paper. Also, a special thanks goes to my colleague Fjoralba Haxhaj, for her support and advice. And additionally, I would like to thank my family for their constant support and unconditional love during these four years of my education. Thank you all. 6

7 2.Biography of the author 2.1. Life Eric Arthur Blair, who was better known by his paper name as George Orwell, was born on June 25, 1903, in Bengal Province of British India. He was the son of Richard Blair a sub deputy agent of the Indian Civile Serve and Ilda Limouzin. They had three children two daughters and a son. Eric was the second child in the family. Eric suffered all his life from bronchitis. Maybe because of his fragile health, his mother was closer to him and supported him more than the other children. His formal education began in a converted school, and at the age of eight, he was legitimate for admission to a prep school. From there with the help of a scholarship, he went to two private secondary schools, Wellington where he studied for a year and a half and Eton from In 1921, he returned to his family in Southold, where his father refused to pay for his studies and as he could not win any scholarship he was obligated to find a job. His father Richard proposed him colonial service. Then he started working in Burma as a policeman and in his free time, he enjoyed reading and a little writing. He wrote many essays like A Hanging, Shooting an Elephant, and the novel Burmese Days. He served as a policeman of the Imperial Police for five years and then returned to England. Orwell decided to leave his job because he was determined to become a writer. In 1928, he moved to Paris with a small group of writers and lived there for 18 months, where he possibly produced two novels but they were both rejected by publishers and later destroyed by the author because of the rejection(quinn, 2009). Orwell married Eilee O Shaughnessy in June They first met at a party in Hampstead and fell in love. The couple lived in a cottage, where they kept chickens and goats, grow some vegetables etc. And during the time Orwell lived in the cottage, he thought up the Animal Farm. He fought in Spanish Civil war and was shot in the throat but did not die. After returning to Wallington they visited a hospital for treatment and here Orwell was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Because of his health, he could not join military anymore so he found work at the BBC. He always thought that he was sterile. So, Orwell and his wife Eileen decided to adopt a baby. The baby was a boy and they named him Richard Horatio Blair. When baby Richard was only ten months old, Eileen had 7

8 a heart attack due to the anesthetic and died. Later in 1946 Orwell together with his adopted son moved on the Island Jura. He got married for a second time in 1949 with a one-time lover that he had, Sonia Brownell. Orwell died alone on January 21, 1950, by an artery burst in lungs. His widow Sonia helped run Orwell s estate until she died from cancer in 1980 (Rodden, 2009) Work George Orwell is regarded to be the greatest political writer in English and the most influenced author of the 20th century. His literature has not only become specialized but it also created misconceptions about the man, the writer, and his literary legacy. Orwell was more than a novelist, he wrote literary critiques, essays for politics and culture, reportage, poetry, book reviews, and even film reviews, and he has influenced our conception of reality(shelden, 1991). He wrote 6 novels including Burmese Days (1934) which followed the development of Orwell s disillusion with Empire and his growing radicalism as well. A Clergyman s Daughter (1935) which is a story about the daughter of Clergyman Dorothy Hare whose life is complicated after an attack of amnesia. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936) a social critical novel, Coming Up for Air (1939) which was Orwell s last conventional novel, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) which are his two best-known novels. Three non-fiction books including Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), The Road to Wigan Pier (1937) which demonstrates author s embrace of socialism and his experiences in Spain during Civil War. By the time he finished writing this novel, he had taken a major step toward socialism. This novel is divided into two parts, the first part is a kind of reportage about the consequences that people of North England had, because of unemployment and the second part is an essay for the middle-class upbringing, development of the author s political conscience questioning British attitudes toward socialism. And, Homage to California (1936) which is considered to be the most personal book of Orwell and also the most powerful. It was sold poorly in the 1930s but it gave fame to his reputation as a real foe of communism(rodden, 2009). Orwell s most famous novels are Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. 8

9 Animal Farm (1945) is the novel which gave fame to Orwell and made him financially stable after fifteen years struggling as a writer. It is the book which brought together the author s talents as a novelist and his commitments as a political writer. Orwell wanted to write a satire, he called it- a fairy tale, showing to readers how the revolution can be corrupted. Animal Farm perfectly associates with the events that happened in the Soviet Union during the years after the Revolution. The novel took the author less than a year to complete it, but the problem that he faced was how to find a publisher for the novel because of the implied criticism of the Soviet Union. Frederic Warburg was the publisher who dared to bring out Animal Farm in August First edition was sold out in a matter of days and the second printing of copies also sold out faster than author thought. In 1946 Animal Farm appeared in the United States where it achieved even better success, almost a half million of copies were sold. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) was written for two years. Here Orwell shows the experiences from the Spanish War, his frustrations with BBC bureaucracy and his idea that objective truth was being under-minded by totalitarianism. All these took part in writing the Orwell s dystopia. Nineteen Eighty-Four was designed to show the reader how one man, Winston Smith, represents every man and is all controlled by the powerful forces of the state. When this novel was published in 1949, Orwell was hospitalized in London. Both novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four have sold almost fifty million copies in sixtytwo languages. His work is still in print and quite read even nowadays. And both these novels have been adapted into films(quinn, 2009). 9

10 3. Relevant information about the novel Animal Farm was first published in 1945, but the idea to create this novel came on author s mind during the dwindling days of the Spanish Civil War. Orwell began working on the script while he was serving as literary editor of the Tribune on the London in 1943, and finished the novel just four months later, in February 1944, two months after his baby Richard was born. Animal Farm is the book which made Orwell famous not only in Britain but in the whole America as well. The success that he achieved was not suspected of him. He never imagined that Animal Farm would have such a strong impact to the audience, and the fame that came to him after the success of the novel, caught him unprepared(shelden, 1991). Even though the novel uses animals as protagonists, which looks like the childish notion, the work s purpose is clear since the introduction of the novel, where Orwell writes in the preface: Nothing has contributed so much to the corruption of the original idea of Socialism as the belief that Russia is a Socialist country and that every act of its rulers must be excused... For the past ten years I have been convinced that the destruction of the Soviet myth was essential if we wanted a revival of the Socialist movement. (Orwell, 1945, p.1) Animal Farm is the story of a political experiment on a farm where the animals, under the advice of a patriarchal pig, achieve to get inspired and finally to drive out Mr. Jones the human owner(bloom, 2006). One of the main reasons that influenced Orwell to write Animal Farm was the political environment of the time. He was one of the victims that were caught in the battles of communism, so he feels that communism is a threat for the society. Another reason is totalitarianism. Orwell seeing the risks of totalitarianism through the politics of expedience and the use of propaganda to indoctrinate society, he wanted to expose the dangers of the system through his novel by allegorizing totalitarianism in ideologies, events, and conflicts that happen in Animal Farm. Orwell was convinced that the Russian Communists had betrayed the Socialist ideals set by Marx and Engels, and he thought that Western allegiance with the country of Russia was confusing the Stalinist regime of duplicity. Despite the Orwell s certainty that the right time had come to address corruption, his stance was not welcomed by the people in the world, which was still in political 10

11 unrest and filled with suspicion. Because of the time when it was written, at the height of the wartime with the Soviet Union in , the book was rejected by a huge number of American and British publishers, among them was also Orwell s own publisher, Victor Gollancz. Animal Farm was finally published by Secken and Warburg in August Orwell sold more than copies of the book just for five years. The American version which appeared later, in 1946, sold copies in four years. The novel was later translated into 32 languages. It earned the lead review in that time famous, The New Yorker, and the American writer and critic Edmund Wilson called the book absolutely first-rate (Bloom, 2006). Orwell relates Animal Farm with his travels in Northern England in the 1930s and his memories from the hard days that he passed during the Spanish Civil War. He witnessed the Stalinist regime s and saw firsthand how principles are misused by those who are in a position and how much it affects the innocents. It shows how an initial idealism can turn into exploitation and how society can lose its freedom in incremental steps(rodden, 2007). The novel consists of ten chapters. It tells how livestock at Manor Farm is given a chance to change their lives by Old Major a kind, philosopher pig. Major, proposes their animal friends a solution for their actual situation, to make an uprising against their owner, Mr. Jones. But he dies soon and this uprising occurs only after three months, when animals are fed up with the misbehave of their owner Mr. Jones. Meantime, three other leading pigs Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer develop the Major s ideas and plans into one statement called Animalism, based on the principles of equality between all animals and rejection of the corruption of humankind. After they have overthrown their owner, they start they new life where everyone is treated equally, and the seven commandments of Animalism (which was proposed by Old Major) are very important for each animal, so Snowball and Squealer paint them in the wall(orwell, 1945). Commandments are ranked as: Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs or has wings, is a friend. No animal shall fall asleep in a bed. 11

12 No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill other animal. No animal shall wear clothes. All animals are equal (Orwell, 1945, p.13). But gradually the pigs start controlling the farm and apply the vices of humanity, they prevent the working animals of proper sustenance, and engage them in foolish projects like the building of the Windmill, change the commandments, they start having contact with humans, trade with them and kill the old ones. At the end of the novel the pigs become men, and the other animals serve them. Orwell s animal fairy story includes the whole range of farm animals, which in reality presents the evolution of the events that happened in the Soviet Union and the personalities of that era, starting from the 1917 Revolution to the Stalinist purges of the 1930s, then continuing with the Teheran Conference of The characters that appear in the novel Animal Farm allegorize those that actually exist in Soviet Communism. Major from the Animal Farm represents Marx and Lenin, and the Animalism that Major created represents Marxism-Leninism, Napoleon represents Stalin, Snowball represents Trotsky, Squealer is Molotov and the Soviet Propaganda, Pravda. In general the pigs are the Communist Party membership, the domestic animals represent the working class, the dogs that are trained by Napoleon are the NKVD, the Windmill that characters of the novel create represents the first Five-Year Plan of 1928, the humans are the bourgeoisie, the meeting of the pigs with humans at the end of the novel represents The Tehran Conference, and the donkey Benjamin in the novel represents intellectuals who knew what the government was doing but decided to sit back and stay quiet, and its character comes closest to Orwell s own(bloom, 2009). Moreover, in his essay Why I Write 1946, Orwell wrote: Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried with full consciousness of what I was doing, to join political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole 1. 1 See Orwell, G.(1946). Why I write. 12

13 4. The representation of the Revolution through principal characters Animal characters which appear in the novel, are used by the author Orwell to allegorize, satirize and represent people, events, and conflicts that follow the Russian Revolution of Each of the characters portrays a personality or group of people from the Russian Revolution Mr. Jones as an allegory to Tsar Nicholas II and The Great Depression period Mr. Jones was the owner of the Manor Farm. He used to be a great farmer but the dependence on alcohol destroyed his qualities and the order in the farm. Jones inability to take care of the farm is apparent since the allegory begins when he appears as a drunken person who forgets to feed the animals. He becomes irresponsible for his animals, cruel, he beats them, and most of the times forgets to feed them and even when he does he just gives them enough food to keep them alive. Soon the rebellion of animals occurs, which ends with the banishment of Mr. Jones from the farm. After the rebellion, he usually spends time in village pubs where he complains about what happened to him and tries to return back to the farm but he does not achieve it. Jones, is a symbol of the generations of farmers that oppressed their animals, his fall at the beginning of the novel symbolizes the worldwide great depression of the 1903 (Bloom, 2009). Mr. Jones s from the novel Animal Farm is a representation of the Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov (Nicholas II), the last emperor of Russia ( ), in other words, Mr. Jones is a representation of the absolute power of the Russian Tsars. And the banishment of Mr. Jones directly parallels with the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. Who was a neglected ruler just like Mr. Jones (Bloom, 2010). Orwell made Mr. Jones a character that allegorizes Tsar Nicholas II. He used allegory to prove who Nicholas was. By giving a representation of how Nicholas II led the country, and related it with Mr. Jones way of leading his farm. Characteristics that the author used to allegorize these two personalities are uncountable, they share the same personality, ignorance and the same way of misusing their power. Orwell considered Tsar Nicholas a neglected leader because during the time he was in front, his people were starving, most of the employee worked an 11 hour day, and the 13

14 factory conditions were harsh, this is one of the reasons why he wrote Animal Farm, to show the world what kind of people lead the society. 2 This situation is allegorized in Animal Farm, Mr. Jones acts irresponsible towards his animals, forgets to feed them, they work hard and don t get enough food,... our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just as much food as will keep the breath in our bodies (Orwell, 1945, pp.6-7). Tsar Nicholas II was blamed for all the wrongs that happened in his country. His people blamed him for leaving them aside and forgetting them involved in World War I. Poverty levels were at the highest, and as a result from all this his army stopped supporting him, and he had no other choice but to give up and step down from the reign. This is allegorized by Orwell in Animal Farm, where Mr. Jones is blamed for all the problems that animals have in the farm, Man is the only enemy we have (Orwell, 1945, p. 7). Tsar Nicholas II was forced out to resign and give his post to his brother, which later was taken by the Bolsheviks. And Mr. Jones was forced out of leadership by animals during the rebellion when they fed up with his mistreats. Revolutionists gathered in secrecy and discussed the rebellion against Nicholas II. Where as a result in 1917, Nicholas II was forced to give up his position. In the farm, animals used to gather for meetings in the barn where they made plans how to rebel against Mr. Jones. Nicholas II was portrayed through the character of Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm even before the animals throw him away from the farm. A similarity between two personalities, Mr. Jones and Nicholas II is seen through the income disparity of Russia during the revolution which is allegorized also in the farm. Before revolution started, Nicholas II lived in luxury, even though thousands of unemployed farmers struggled the survival. Even the ones that had a job suffered the abuse of their owners, and their salaries were extremely low. In the novel, the situation was quite similar, when Mr. Jones was the owner of the farm, the distribution of resources was small, and not enough for the job that animals used to do. While Mr. Jones had enough to drink and eat, animals got the bare minimum that would prevent them from starving (Orwell, 1945, p. 4). 2 See John Simkin, Spartacus Educational (2017). Tsar Nicholas II. 14

15 When Czar Nicholas II, was crowned, he was never trained or had any perspective. And with Mr. Jones happened the same, he was also an inefficient leader of Manor Farm. 3 Tsar Nicholas II was a dictator of Russia before the revolution happened, and as a result of this, dictatorship played a big part in the revolution. After Nicholas II was overthrown, the system of dictatorship was replaced by the Communist system, but its good intentions did not last long because of the dishonesty and greed of the leaders. And the system that the Russian Revolution fought to be created was no better than the one before. The same trickery is portrayed in the novel. In the beginning animals rebel against their owner Mr. Jones, the dictator, and when they threw him away they establish a system called Animalism, where all the animals are treated equally, but this system the same as the Russian Revolution does not last, it is twisted by the pigs for their own needs, and the farm turns back into a dictatorship system again(quinn, 2009). George Orwell chose to relate Mr. Jones with Nicholas II because they both share the same fate, they are both ruler/owner, and both are forced to give it up because of the lack of abilities to lead it. They both took advantages of their people/animals and did not give them what they really deserved, which pushed them into a revolution and ended with their overthrew. They thought their power was limitless, which is another reason why they failed. Nicholas II thought that his army, weapons, and position would push people to subject him, so he underestimated the power of Russian citizens who eventually won the battle against their emperor. Mr. Jones underestimated his animals, thinking that with guns, knives and whip could control them. But animals full of anger and desperate for freedom achieve to defeat Mr. Jones and took over the control of the farm (Orwell, 1945) Old Major as an allegory to rebellion along with Marx and Lenin s ideology Even though Old Major only appears briefly at the beginning of the novel, he has a significant role in the novel. Old Major is respected and admired by all the animals, he is the oldest and the wisest of them, and being aware that the death is soon coming for him, he wants to pass his wisdom to the other animals. But, not knowing that some of the animals are only interested for their own 3 See History.com (2018). Tsar Nicholas II Crowned. 15

16 good, and not for the good of all animals, he gives his speech and passes his vision of Animalism to the animals. News that he is making a speech gathers all the animals in a big bark at the beginning of the story. He explains his dreams, ideas, and hopes for the future of animals. Old Major s main purpose is to prophesy that at some point in time, the animals will rebel against their human owners and against the injustices that are done upon them, it might be in a week or in a hundred years (Orwell,1945, p.4) so, in this way he starts to inspire a revolution, and introduces the song Beasts of England to the animals, which later becomes their anthem, after the Rebellion. Death soon comes for him just three days after giving his speech and he can not celebrate what he always dreamed of(bloom, 2009). Orwell modeled Old Major as a representation and a metaphor for Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Karl Marx was a German philosopher, his ideas and visions formed the communism, and this communism is known better as Marxism in the mid-19th century, like Old Major s Animalism from the novel. A personality whose writings, provided a sourcebook for socialism and communism, including here The Communist Manifesto (1848). Marxism is a system based upon the economic and political theories of Karl Marx, his theories show how power structures from the society keep people under control. And also a representation of Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the November 1917 Revolution. Theorist and a Russian revolutionary who established in his country Russia, kind of Marxism in the early 20th century. Like Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, also Old Major dreams and believes that there is a better future for his animals. He wants them all to be treated equally no matter what kind of animal it is, weak or strong, simple or clever, they must be aware of itself in relation to the other animals on the farm. Except this, he wants to warn the animals not to repeat the evil ways of humanity, when they get rid of them(bloom, 2006). Orwell used Old Major to allegorize Vladimir Lenin. He used allegory between these two personalities by matching their actions and speeches. His acts and work are all parallelized with those of Vladimir Lenin. These two personalities are similar in many ways, they both led to the start of a Revolution, both believed in the creation of an ideal government system for their animals/people. They both made speeches about being treated unfairly and rebelling against their 16

17 emperors. Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, or October Revolution, which was a revolt against the Tsarist autocracy of the Russian Empire. 4 And Old Major was the first major character in the allegory Animal Farm. He is the one that inspires the Rebellion to the other animals. He dies just three days after giving his speech and his skull is hung in front of the farm as a symbol of Animalism. The same happened with Lenin, his tomb served as a reminder of Communism and is respected by everyone who still believes in Communism. Both of them imitated a Revolution and had parts of their body to remind people/animals of the Communism/Animalism. These systems have the same goals in general, equality. Communism is focused on equality through the people, and Animalism focuses on equality through animals. Lenin believed that capitalism could be overthrown by the working class and replaced with communism where everyone is treated in the same way. Old Major, had the same dream for his animals, to throw away the humans and create equality among the animals: And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot describe that dream to you. It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind. Last night, however, it came back to me in my dream. And what is more, the words of the song also came back-words, I am certain, which were sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called Beasts of England (Orwell, 1945, p.5) Snowball as an allegory to Leon Trotsky s heroism and banishment Snowball was one of the most intelligent animals on the farm. He was the hero of the Battle of the Cowshed and a prominent candidate to take the leadership in the farm after the rebellion. Snowball wants to fulfill Old Major s dream and takes the lead in teaching the animals the principles of 4 See Biography.com Editors. (2017). Vladimir Lenin Biography. Government Official, President (non-u.s) ( ). 17

18 Animalism. He paints over the new name of the farm, Animal Farm, and the seven commandments of Animalism on the wall of the barn. Comparing with the others, he is the only one who truly seems to embody the revolutionary spirit of Animalism. He is determined to spread the Animalism, creates the new flag for the farm, succeeds in teaching many of the animals to write and read, and plans to create a better future for all the animals. His plans to create a Windmill, disturb the other pig, Napoleon, who unleashes his furious dogs on Snowball, forcing him to run away from the farm in order to save his life. He becomes the scapegoat for all the animals on the farm. And is blamed for every disaster that happens in the farm. He is blamed for the destruction of the Windmill and is portrayed as a traitor of Animalism since the Rebellion started(bloom, 2006). Orwell used Snowball to allegorize the personality of Leon Trotsky. And the transformation of Snowball from hero to a traitor represents the fate of Leon Trotsky. He used allegory in the representation of Trotsky through Snowball s actions, speeches, and propaganda. Trotsky was initially heralded as a hero of the subsequent Civil War between the Reds and Whites, where he organized and led the Red Army and was a hero of the Russian Revolution. He was banished from the Soviet Union by Stalin, and in exile, he continued being a powerful critic of Stalin s regime, even in a notable way through his study The Revolution Betrayed (1937). In the same way, Snowball shares the same fate with Trotsky, they both were exiled, both opposed Napoleon/Stalin, and both supported the theories of Marx/Old Major. Stalin exiled and killed Trotsky for his personal gain, just like Napoleon did with Snowball, who used his nine dogs to chase him away who in reality represent military force, as is written on the novel,...and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws (Orwell, 1945, p. 37). Orwell presented the fate of Trotsky by allegorizing him with Snowball. They share the same revolutionary spirit to spread Communism/Animalism. Trotsky was the most brilliant Marxist leader, and also a man of action, a thinker, and a hard worker. 5 In the same way, Snowball shared the same attributes and ideas as Trotsky, both had the same political views when it came to the leadership of the country/farm. They both were leaders that led a Revolution against their old leader. They both led the army, Trotsky in the Russian Civil War and Snowball in the Battle of the 5 See Biography.com Editors. (2017). Leon Trotsky Biography. Activist ( ). 18

19 Cowshed. They both had plans to make the country/farm a better place to live in. Trotsky proposed the 5 years plan and Snowball the building of the Windmill(Quinn, 2009) Napoleon s dictatorship as an allegory to Joseph Stalin s regime Napoleon is a large, fierce-looking boar, and the only Berkshire boar on the farm, he has a reputation for getting his own way, even though he is not much of a talker. In the novel, he represents Joseph Stalin and also shares some characteristics with the French leader Napoleon, who, in history is known as a hero for overthrowing French royalty. Even though Napoleon is considered one of the most important characters in the Animal Farm, and has taken upon himself to help other animals, he does nothing for them. He is selfish, arrogant and makes no contributions to the farm, the only thing that he does and takes care of, are the nine dogs which he takes from their mother after birth and trains them, he uses them as his bodyguards and they help him to chase away his rival Snowball. Napoleon represents all kinds of dictators but especially Joseph Stalin. He is a representation of a political tyranny(bloom, 2006). Joseph Stalin, the personality which is allegorized by Napoleon, was part of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and ruled Soviet Russia after the death of Vladimir Lenin. He ruled from 1926 until he died in As long as he was in power, the country had gone under an unexpected situation. The famine covered the country and millions of people starved to death because of his wrong governed way, and those who were against Stalin were either imprisoned or killed by his propaganda(bbc, 2018). Orwell used Napoleon as a symbol of Stalin, and their doings and actions match together in a figurative way. Stalin was motivated to start a Revolution because of Karl Marx s philosophy about the communism, he also was part of the three-man committee, but turned against them shortly after the death of Lenin. In the same way, Napoleon is motivated to rebel against his owner Mr. Jones because of the Old Major s speech, and in the same way turns against his comrade Snowball, soon after the Rebellion. In many aspects of the allegory, Napoleon represents Stalin. Orwell used Napoleon to allegorize Stalin because he wanted the society to understand what kind of man they have as a leader, by allegorizing his personality, actions and selfish way of leading. Both Stalin and Napoleon were 19

20 inspired by the other to rebel, and both had the idea of Communism/Animalism after the Rebellion, but soon forgot the rules of the system and made decisions for their own benefits. When these two leaders started to make the decision themselves, their country/farm started to go into a famine. They both used propaganda, Stalin used Marx s philosophy to win the support of the people and Napoleon used theories from Old Major s speech. They changed the Communism/Animalism that Marx/Old Major once created, what they tried to achieve was different from what the original was. They both killed/overthrow opposes. Stalin did not follow the rules of Communism, he changed up and did things his own way, and the same happened with Napoleon who changed the Seven Commandments of Animalism(Quinn,2009). Napoleon used violence in order to maintain his ruling position in Animal Farm, this is proved when he uses the nine dogs not to educate them but to protect him and to eliminate anyone who tries to stand his way. This is symbolized by Stalin, who during the time he ruled the USSR, he was a crucial leader who would eliminate anyone who got his way, and millions of people who refused to cooperate with him were executed. After abolishing Marx s theories, Stalin became a dictator himself who was relatively similar to the old leader Tsar of the Russian Empire. 6 This is another trait of Stalin that author allegorized in Napoleon too. He adjusted the Seven Commandments of Animal Farm and started adapting human behaviors, that goes parallel with the old owner Mr. Jones Squealer as an allegory to Soviet Propaganda Squealer is one of the three principal leaders among the pigs which came in the protection of the farm after the post-rebellion. Squealer is at once one of the most amusing and evil characters of the Orwell s allegory. His role in the allegory is mostly one of the propagandists. Most of the time his propaganda is directed at Snowball s character, and his speeches are always against him, making Snowball the scapegoat of the farm for every single tragedy damage that befalls the Animal Farm. Squealer s duty, however, is to protect Napoleon and to justify his actions, which like the novel progresses differ more and more from the principles of Animalism(Quinn, 2009). 6 See Biography.com Editors. (2017). Joseph Stalin Biography. Dictator ( ) 20

21 Squealer is a small pig, with rounded cheeks and twinkling eyes. His voice is screechy and his movements are nimble. After Snowball, he is the best talker of the farm, and he has a way of skipping side to side while he gave speeches and used to whiskey his tail, detail that somehow was very persuasive for the other animals. On the farm the other animals knew him as someone who could turn black into white, meaning that his speeches were persuasive, and he could completely change someone s mind. As the story progresses and the barnyard starts being more stratified, Squealer serves as a link between Napoleon and the animals. He always achieves to convince the animals that Napoleon is right, and all the animals are treated equally. Squealer becomes the spokesman of the Napoleon after he chased away Snowball. Being smart and a brilliant speaker he always delivers Napoleon s orders, explains his choices to animals, and even lies just to protect Napoleon. In the allegory Animal Farm, Squealer represents the Soviet Propaganda, Pravda, the Russian newspaper of the 1930s. This newspaper was Stalin s key to propaganda and was very powerful. Also, Squealer is thought to represent Vyacheslav Molotov, who was a protector of Stalin and controlled the Communist propaganda(bloom, 2006). Orwell modeled Squealer primarily inspired by Joseph Stalin s aide Vyacheslav Molotov also figuratively as propaganda. He allegorized Squealer to present the real face of Molotov. In the novel, Squealer is a close companion and a protector of Napoleon, just like Molotov served for Stalin. Molotov was Stalin s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister but also a constant spokesman. 7 He was a consonant apologist for Stalin, rationalizing Stalin s tyranny as being the best interests of the people. In the same way, as Molotov acted, Squealer supported the ideas and justified actions of Napoleon. Orwell represented what Snowball did to protect Stalin by allegorizing it with Molotov s actions for the protection of Stalin. 7 See Britanica.com Editors. (2018). Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. Foreign Minister of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 21

22 5. Main conflicts of the characters The animals versus the humans- the main conflict is considered to be the one that happens at the beginning of the story, between the animals and Mr. Jones (exactly between Man and Society). This struggle is represented in the novel by the disagreement between the humans and the animals. The whole reason for rebellion stated by Old Major is the way how Mr. Jones treated the animals. In this conflict, humans are represented by Mr. Jones and his workers as an authoritarian and ruthless institution with the animals portrayed as the abused society of this unjust situation. He does not care for his animals, even forgets to feed them, and when he does, the animals get only enough food to survive. Orwell used allegory in this conflict to represent harsh reality during the time when Tsar Nicholas II was the emperor, just like Mr. Jones, Nicholas II showed no mercy for his people, put them into a war where suffered heavy losses and defeats, and society lived in huge poverty until the February Revolution when he was forced to abandon his place as a ruler(quinn, 2009). In Animal Farm after the Rebellion which ended with the defeat of Mr. Jones, everything seems to get better until Napoleon expels Snowball, whose plans involve improvements for all the animals and takes the leadership of the farm sending it to an even more miserable situation than it was during the Mr. Jones era. This was all allegorized in the novel to represent what happened with Russia after Stalin came in charge. In the novel eventually, the conflict is resolved as the humans and the pigs are hardly distinguishable from each other and for the other animals it was almost impossible to say which was which (Orwell, 1945). Snowball versus Napoleon (allegorical representation of the conflict between Trotsky-Stalin )- The conflict that happens between Snowball and Napoleon in the novel is, in reality, a representation about the conflict that Trotsky and Stalin had during the 1920s. After the death of Old Major, both pigs have different ideals and theories about the future of the farm and use the Rebellion for different purposes. Just as it happened in reality, when Lenin grew sick, a serious disagreement started to grow between Stalin (Napoleon) and Trotsky (Snowball). Trotsky had already critiqued Stalin for his ways of acting in war, but the peak was achieved when Trotsky 22

23 insisted to spread Revolution abroad, and Stalin was focused only on building communism in the territories which Russia had already under control. This was the point where these two personalities set apart. In Animal Farm, the disruption between Stalin and Trotsky (Napoleon and Snowball) is allegorized through the argument about the construction of the Windmill(Quinn, 2009). As the novel progresses, Napoleon rejects the idea about the construction, when he urinated over the plans walked out without uttering a word - and in general the whole thing was up when the whole farm was deeply divided on the subject of the windmill (Orwell, 1945, p. 28). The Windmill is used as the perfect symbol for the decision about whether or not to expand communism. It represents the great and unreachable dream. In reality, the dream is a worldwide communist revolution. Napoleon eventually achieves to exile Snowball with the help of his nine trained puppies (who represent KGB), and begins to consolidate power for himself, as Stalin did in Russia after he throws out Trotsky. Animals versus Pigs- after the animals successfully expel Mr. Jones from the farm, pigs take it under control. In the beginning, everything changes for the all the animals in general, Snowball starts teaching them how to write and read, and there is a kind of equality in the farm. But soon pigs start to enjoy certain privileges that the other animals do not have access to, and refuse to help with the working around the farm. They only give orders. An example of when the conflict between other animals and pigs starts is in chapter three, when the animals discover that the pigs have been staling their milk and apples, but Squealer convinces them that pigs do not like drinking milk and eating apples but it helps them work and think, they need food to make their brains work harder. The situation gets even worse when Napoleon usurps lower by driving Snowball from the farm. And each time that animals feel like they are being treated worse than pigs, Squealer with his speeches is there to confuse them. Animals fight themselves if they should speak out but the less intelligent animals are doubting that anything is wrong, and do not think of a compelling speech and Napoleon continuously threatens them with his dogs. Animals give their loyalty to the pigs and they manipulate and abuse the animals physically and mentally. While pigs lived in the 23

24 farmhouse and had the best kinds of foods, other animals had less food than during the time when Mr. Jones was the owner(orwell, 1945). The same hatch happened during the time when Stalin was the emperor of Russia, he used false and exaggerated statements pushing people to support his politic. He used his society, just as Napoleon did with his animals. Stalin and his government forced farmers to farm on collectives and took their products. And when farmers refused this by only making enough food for themselves, the government took all of the farmer s products and did not leave anything for the peasants forcing them to starve Main Events in Animal Farm The Battle of the Cowshed (allegorical representation for the Russian Civil War)- In Animal Farm, the animals have enough time to prepare before Mr. Jones and his employers return. Animals, acting smart take on clearer roles. Groups are set up, and the pigs start to spread literacy throughout the animals(orwell, 1945). In fact, these are illusions to the earliest Bolshevik efforts after the October Revolution. During that time, Bolsheviks did not have time to get going before the country end up in Civil War. There was a resistance to Bolsheviks from the start, but what sparkled the resistance group was that Bolsheviks withdrew from World War I by signing the Treaty Of Brest-Litovsk. And, as Germans advanced into Russian territory, there was no choice for the Bolsheviks. 9 In Animal Farm, Orwell portraits the situation where Mr. Jones goes to a local bar and starts to complain about the tragedy that happened to him. But none of his friends listen to him, much less his two neighboring farmers Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick, who are on bad terms themselves. Here is portrayed the relationship between the U.S and the U.K, Germany, and Russia. Mr. Frederik is a stand for the Germans and Mr. Pilkington represents the U.S and the U.K. 8 See The New Republic. (2018). Why Stalin starved Ukraine. 9 See Britanica.com Editors (2018). Russian Civil War. 24

25 Orwell used the Battle of Cowshed to depict the Russian Civil War. Which, ended in 1922 with the defeat of the White Army and the founding of Soviet State. Similarly, in Animal Farm, after the Battle of Cowshed, the animals won the battle and the farm started its real establishment(orwell, 1945). The Battle of the Windmill (allegorical representation for the World War II)- During the World War II, Russia suffered a huge number of causalities, it is supposed that the Soviet Union lost around 11 million soldiers in the war. 10 During that time Orwell was finishing Animal Farm, and the war was not over yet, but for the Soviets, the worst part had already gone. So, Animal Farm has its own version of the World War II based on the Battle of Cowshed. Things begin when Fredrik s men advanced, and destroyed the Windmill. This battle in Animal Farm is considered extremely violent. A number of animals are killed, even though animals win the Battle, they find that they are very wounded. The horse Boxer (who represented the downtrodden working class ) claimed that he no longer understands the word victory, as a result of the damages (Orwell, 1945). The Card game at the end of the novel (allegorical representation for The Tehran Conference)- the novel ends with the meeting between pigs and the neighboring humans. The animals watch on from the farmhouse windows as the pigs discuss with the humans, clearing some misunderstandings that have happened before in the farm. Such as rebellion which is now a forgotten issue according to Napoleon. He explains to the humans that his intentions were not to fight against each other but to have good relationships with human neighbors(orwell, 1945). The meeting between pigs and humans, in reality, is an allusion to the Tehran Conference, which took place in November 1943 and was thought of as a strategy to end the World War II. It is a meeting of the three leaders: Franklin Roosevelt of the U.S and Winston Churchill of the U.K and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Socialist Republics as well. In this meeting, these three leaders compiled out agreements on different matters of great importance related to World War II See Britanica.com Editors (2018). World War II. (WWII). 11 See Britanica.com Editors (2018). Tehran Conference. World War II. 25

26 Though the animals cannot tell the pig from human, these two are caught in an intense argument. When Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington had both played an ace as spades simultaneously. This moment which is the end of the novel too may be thought of as the allegoric beginning of the Cold War. Orwell, might saw it coming. 26