Stan Temming
Mrs. McConkey
ENG 3UE
5 December 2011
Apologia: Can a ‘Political Allegory’ Be Deemed A Classic?
Italo Calvino, a wise Italian journalist, writer and essayist once said: “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say” (“Classic Quotes”). Even after its author’s passing, he is still able to speak to each new generation through words he penned so many years ago. These novels become universal and well-known because of the fact they are timeless and always seem to be fresh or modern. No matter who picks up the book, it will resonate with them as the reader and send them away to a land unlike their own to tell a story that has harnessed something much deeper and more complex that is beyond the words that are written. What that something is cannot be described, nor is there “…a series of tests one can apply to a novel in an attempt to assess its greatness” (“What Makes a Good Novel”). Although stories have been told since oral interaction began many million years ago, only a small percentage has been pasted on from generation to generation and are able to engage, excite and absorb its readers just the same. These tales, the ones have captured something mysterious and almost magical, are the classics.
This exceptional and extraordinary group of novels includes famous works such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and Moby Dick by Herman Melville. These stories, among many others, share one common ingredient within their literature recipes that have caused them to become the eternal narrative that they are. According to classmate Jasmine Quigley, “it is a classic novel’s ability to connect to the audience that makes it relevant in society today” (Quigley). With this vital requirement in mind, can a satirical story based on a revolution and the subsequent consequences that occurred nearly a century ago be considered a classic as well? The answer is yes; George Orwell’s Animal Farm is part of this honorable collection of literature because it passes the test of theme, characters, and, most importantly, power.
In Animal Farm, the audience witnesses how the corruption, greed and selfishness of the pigs result in the destruction of any chance of a better life for their fellow animals and ‘comrades’. The reader sees how the leaders use deception, wit and their advanced intelligence in order to create the perfect lives for themselves while the other animals suffered through hardship much worse than that of their time under Mr. Jones’ reign. The pigs lived in complete luxury. Days were filled with the ‘supervising’ of the other animals, alcohol and the preaching of Animalism. Meanwhile, for the others, “their life, as far as they knew, was as it had always been. They were generally hungry, they slept on straw, they drank from the pool, they labored in the field; in winter they were troubled by the cold, and in summer by the flies” (Orwell Animal Farm 87). Although the themes of greed and deception are ancient due to their prevalence in history, Orwell causes the reader to view this theme “from a fresh angle” (“What Makes a Good Novel”).
The theme of greed was displayed in a new way in this political allegory. In the past, greed was displayed through many stories like the Lord of the Rings and basically every pirate story created. Orwell’s fresh take on the concept was done by giving animals human characteristics and displaying how the greed and intelligence of a group of individuals “within a revolution could allow horrors to happen if a smooth transition to a people’s government is not achieved” (“Animal Farm”). Although the seventh and most important commandment of Animalism was “all animals are equal” (Orwell 15), Napoleon and his squad of henchmen had different ideas. Sadly, since all the other innocent and naïve animals were loyal to the ideology of Animalism, the pigs were able to do and take whatever they wanted.
Watching the pigs do what they please while the other animals suffer is extremely frustrating for the reader. Then, once the audience realizes that this fable is based on the events that took place following the Russian Revolution, it nearly becomes enraging. Having to hear the struggles and hardships that these poor creatures had to endure, like the building of the windmill, decreased rations and longer work weeks, the reader begins to sympathize with them and the people that they symbolized, the Soviet Union’s public. Over time, the audience forms a very strong bond with the animals of the book and begins to “…care about the characters and what happens to them” (“What Makes a Good Novel”). When they starve, the reader desperately wants to feed them. When they work feverishly, the reader wants to be there to help. And when they hurt, the reader feels pain as well. This deep affection for the animals also causes the audience to strongly detest the pigs who allow their subjects to live such awful lives. It also results in a reader that wishes that these petty creatures would rise up to their superiors and recreate the awful lives that have been bestowed upon them. However, as painful as it is to say, they never do.
Although the audience sympathizes with all of the citizens being governed by the pigs, the strongest connection occurs with Boxer, “…an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together” (Orwell 2). Of all the abused, trusting and naïve Boxer, along with Napoleon, Squealer and Snowball, are the key characters in the book that fulfill the “the expectation of memorability, that is, the characters must be worth remembering and they must stick out in your memory – they must not fade away into oblivion when you put the novel aside” (“What Makes a Good Novel”). These characters and their actions in the story cause them to become unforgettable. The reader will always recall the clever and deceptive actions of Napoleon and retain their sorrow when Boxer’s insane pace finally causes him to burn out. “Too late, someone thought of racing ahead and shutting the five-barred gate; but in another moment the van was though it and rapidly disappearing down the road. Boxer was never seen again” (Orwell 82-83). The combination of love for the characters, connections with them and their memorability results in Animal Farm being a classic because of the strength they add to the story as a whole. Without the characters, their actions and their attributes, Animal Farm wouldn’t have been the worldwide success that it is.
The final and most important test that this piece of literature passes is the test of power. This test is one “…which is difficult to define, but which may be the most vital of all…” (“What Makes a Good Novel”). A classic novel must have an impact on its reader in order for it to be successful. A story might have great characters, an exciting plot and a thought-provoking theme, but if the reader is unchanged after completing the last page, then it has been a complete waste of time for both the audience and the author.
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. 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.
Animal Farm is a large satirical analogy between former Soviet Russia and the Manor Farm. Through relating Stalinism to a group of animals, parallels can be seen between the two that allows Animal Farm to explain the horror and injustice occurring in Soviet Russia. The use of low burlesque, by comparing Joseph Stalin and his officials to a group of pigs, also makes the piece satirical and much more enjoyable to read. These elements allowed Orwell to inform the audience about the horrors that were a half a world away while stirring the audience to ponder the piece and form an intelligent informed opinion. “Shortage of paper after the World War II restricted the number of copies of Animal Farm printed in Britain, but 25 500 had been issued by the time Orwell died in January 1950, and 590 000 in America” (Orwell v). This short novella caused people to rise up against communism and after wars and pressure from around the world, it collapsed in 1989. Therefore, although it was only a small part in the grand scheme of things, Animal Farm’s impact was enormous. In hindsight, the impact, or power, of this story was to turn people on. By informing people, it allowed them to take action based on the knowledge that they received and change the world by doing so.
This is quite the achievement for a story. However, the most amazing part of this piece is that it has been able to remain relevant, even after the fall of communism. A conversation between an editor and Orwell put it best:
On 2 December Dwight MacDonald, editor of the American Journal Politics, and a friend of Orwell’s, wrote saying he assumed Animal Farm applied only to Russia and that Orwell was not making any larger statement about the philosophy of revolution. Orwell replied that though Animal Farm was ‘primarily a satire on the Russian Revolution’ it was intended to have a wider application. That kind of revolution, which he defined as ‘violent conspiratorial revolution, led by unconsciously power-hungry people’, could only lead to a change of masters. He went on: ‘I meant the moral to be that revolutions only effect a radial improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job (Orwell vii).
From this perspective, it can be seen how Animal Farm is still relevant in today’s society. With totalitarian governments and dictatorships all over the world, Orwell’s novel can help to explain the organization and dangers of these systems of 'leadership'. Also, like during Stalin’s era, the story power is definite when the connections between the text and reality are made. Even now, in a world filled with the same hardships that the animals faced, the reader is turned on by Animal Farm and can create an informed opinion on the matter. This will allow the audience to possibly take action on the themes, ideas and morals within the novel’s pages in order to assist in ending injustice, poverty and exploitation.
Near the end of Animal Farm, the old Seven Commandments that made up Animalism are abolished and replaced by one single commandment. “It ran: All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 90). The same rule applies to literature. Although basically all are equal or good, some are ‘more equal’ or better than others. Animal Farm by George Orwell is one of these books. Its combination of a ‘fresh angle’ on the themes of greed and deception, memorable characters that the reader sympathizes and cares about as well as a definite and significant impact of the audience makes Animal Farm a classic novel. Above all, it is that impact that has allowed George Orwell’s sharp passionate voice against totalitarian government to continue speaking more than half a century after his passing.
