Symbolism, Propaganda and a Pen

"Whatever happened she would remain faithful, work hard, carry out the orders that were given to her, and accept the leadership of Napoleon. But still, it was not for this that she and all the other animals had hoped and toiled. It was not for this that they built the windmill and faced the pellets of Jones's gun. Such were her thoughts, though she lacked the works to express them" (Orwell Animal Farm 59).

George Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism. Although he wasn't against rebellion itself, he was against corrupt leadership and couldn't ignore the suffering, pain and helplessness of the people that were under Stalin's dictatorial reign ("Context of Animal Farm"). He felt that the new Soviet Union wasn't a positive representation of the possibilities of a socialist society. Therefore, Orwell became a sharp critic of communism as well as capitalism while advocating freedom as a committed opponent of communist oppression. His outrage was expressed through two anti-totalitarian books that he wrote shortly before he died. One, titled 1984, paints a terrifying picture of a world where personal freedom is nonexistent ("Context of Animal Farm"). The other, Animal Farm, reflects the events leading up to and during the Stalin era in Soviet Russia by retelling the story of emergence and development in the form of an animal fable set on an English farm. Although disguised as a children's book, Animal Farm is an attack on the Russian Revolution and became a valuable piece of propaganda on the evils of Stalin and his rule for the Western world.

Due to this, there are countless connections between the story and the events the occurred during the communist revolution in 1917. In fact, each character in the story symbolizes an important person or group of people that was somehow part of the uprising. The following post will explore some of the most important symbols and characters within the story, determine what they represent and their effect on the plot.

First, and most obviously, is the struggle for power between the pigs Snowball and Napoleon. "Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character" (Orwell 9). Snowball was a key part in the creation of Animalism and fully believed in a better life for all animals.He is less of a schemer than Napoleon but a fantastic speaker. "At the Meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches, but Napoleon was better at canvassing support from himself in between times" (Orwell 31). Overall, Napoleon was very different in comparison to Snowball. He "...was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker but with a reputation of getting his own way" (Orwell 9). Unlike Snowball, Napoleon was cruel, brutal, selfish, devious and corrupt.

Unfortunately for the future of Animal Farm and its inhabitants, "these two disagreed at every point where disagreement was possible. If one of them suggested sowing a bigger acreage with barely the other was certain to demand a bigger acreage of oats, and if one of them said that such and such field was just right for cabbages, the other would declare that it was useless for anything except roots" (Orwell 31). This rivalry was similar to the one between Leon Trotsky (the pure communist) and Joseph Stalin (the power thirsty revolutionist). "In both the historical and fictional cases, the idealistic but politically less powerful figure (Trotsky and Snowball) is expelled from the revolutionary state by the malicious and violent usurper of power (Stalin and Napoleon)" ("Themes, Motifs & Symbols"). The result is tyrannical rule and the eventual abandonment of the founding principles of their respected revolutions. "There was nothing there expect for a single Commandment. It ran: All Animals Are Equal But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others" (Orwell 90).

Another important symbol in the story was the windmill, the key project that all the animal slaves devoted nearly all of their time to. It was Snowball's dream to see this structure built and working so it "could be made to operate a dynamo and supply the farm with electrical power" (Orwell 32). However, after Napoleon's takeover and numerous rebuilds due to weather, attack and structural weakness, the great windmill symbolizes the pigs' manipulation of the other animals for their own gain. "Despite the immediacy of the need for food and warmth, the pigs exploit Boxer and the other common animals by making them undertake backbreaking labour to build the windmill" ("Themes, Motifs & Symbols"). Then, after the completion of the project many years later, it wasn't even used for its original purpose! "The windmill, however, had not after all been used for generating electrical power. It was used for milling corn, and brought in a handsome money profit" (Orwell 86). This is yet another example of the pigs' betrayal to their fellow animals and their ability to get what they want because the animals cannot think for themselves. "From an allegorical point of view, the windmill represents the enormous modernization projects undertaken in Soviet Russia after the Russian Revolution" ("Themes, Motifs & Symbols").

Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a cautionary tale that he hoped would make a difference. Orwell not only wanted Russia to learn from the story, but he wanted all people to understand political revolutions where the ideals of justice, equality and fraternity shatter in the events (Johnson 4). This powerful plot and the vital symbols within it were used to explain how power corrupts well intentioned revolutionaries. George Bernard Shaw said it best when he penned: "Power does not corrupt man; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power".

Bibliography

Johnson, Juliana. "The Russian Revolution and Animal Farm." Scribd. 8 December 2006. Web. 30 October 2011.
Lamont, George. "Animal Farm- Comparison of Characters to the Russian Revolution." n.p. n.d. Web. 26 October 2011.
n.a. "Context of Animal Farm." Sparknotes. n.d. Web. 29 October 2011.
n.a. "Themes, Motifs & Symbols in Animal Farm." Sparknotes. n.d. Web. 29 October 2011.