Critical Analysis of Themes in George Orwell's "Animal
Critical Analysis of Themes in George Orwell's "Animal Farm"
Animal Farm by George Orwell was written in an “importune time” where communist ideologies were spreading across the globe. As a socialist himself, he despised the idea, as it was not a “pure” socialist form of government, instead it was a deception of leaders in mansions whilst others suffered outside of their “palace walls”. Animal Farm is a struggle between the old regime and an ever-changing world that leads to the beginnings of revolutions. It is a reflection of the communist ideologies that propose an equal life for all by taking advantage of uneducated minds and the manipulation of them to gain leadership. Orwell has cleverly taken the human world and portrayed it through the use of animals in replacement of key individuals that have re-shaped history. It is a witty way of retelling history in a form that is both entertaining yet educational at the same time. It is the tale of how power corrupts, and human nature eventually leads to corruption and bloodshed in the search for greater personal wealth.
The leader of these ideologies is shown through the character of Old Major, a pig that is a metaphor for the philosopher Karl Marx. He is only present through the first part of the novel and is used to show how simple ideas can be manipulated after death, to benefit the future leaders of a nation or in this case a farm. The ideal society he proposes is of course only an ideal utopia-- but the animals don't know this and when Napoleon and Snowball step in and in essence reinvents Old Majors ideas it is simple to see that “an equal society for all” is not what their goals are.
Napoleon and Snowball are both extremely central characters in the novel. Their feuding ideas, and arguments at all times represent the parallels between Trotsky and Stalin the arch rivals in Russia. Although both believed in Communism, they both thought that they would be able to rule the country better than the other. Napoleon, initially seen as a fair leader, eventually cannot fight human nature or “pig nature” in his case. He is overcome by greed and the need for power, which in turn leads him to eliminate those that opposed or plotted against him, just as...