Compare And Contrast Animal Farm And Joseph Stalin

Theme 1: Animal Farm is most famous in the West as a stinging critique of the history and rhetoric of the Russian Revolution. Retelling the story of the emergence and development of Soviet communism in the form of an animal fable, Animal Farm allegorizes the rise to power of the dictator Joseph Stalin. In the novella, the overthrow of the human oppressor Mr. Jones by a democratic coalition of animals quickly gives way to the consolidation of power among the pigs. Much like the Soviet intelligentsia, the pigs establish themselves as the ruling class in the

“With great power comes great responsibility”-Uncle Ben from Spider Man. Many leaders throughout history were corrupted by the power they were given or achieved.The most notorious was Joseph Stalin. He and Napoleon from the book animal farm are very alike in many ways.

At the heart of a seemingly simple, unassuming novella lie political issues that occurred in Russia during and after the Russian Revolution in 1917. George Orwell’s allegorical ‘masterpiece’ as some would say, stems from his own opinions and detestation of the class divide. He shows that an egalitarian society is unachievable, when some characters that exercise power within Animal Farm use forms of both psychological warfare and physical threats in order to keep the ‘lesser’ animals under their control in order to maintain their society which supposedly follows the principles of Animalism; that ‘all animals are equal’.

Napoleon represent Stalin. Just like Stalin after Napoleon get rid of Snowball he begins to take advantage of the animals. For example when takes the puppies away from Bluebell and Jessie. He says “Napoleon took no interest in Snowball’s committees. He said that the education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who were already grown up.the education of the young was more important than anything that be could be done for those who were already grown up” (Orwell 13-14). The puppies he begins to raise them for his own personal gain. The puppies are never seen again until the Windmill incident when the puppies as fully grown vicious dogs - his bodyguards. When it looks like Snowball had one the debate over to do the windmill or not Napoleon unleashes the dogs on Snowball and he is never seen again. “He was running as only a pig can run, but the dogs were close on his heels. Suddenly he slipped and it seemed certain that they had him. Then he was up again, running faster than ever, then the dogs were gaining on him again. One of them all but closed his jaws on Snowball’s tail, but Snowball whisked it free just in time. Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more” (Orwell

The book Animal Farm is an allegory which corresponds to the Russian Revolution. In the book, the animals take over the farm and run the humans off of the property. They are tired of being treated cruelly and decide to take things into their own matters. This is where “war” between animal and man start. The Russian Revolution had much in common with this but also has its differences. During the Russian Revolution, Vladimir Lenin was obligated for changing Russia into the Soviet Union just as old Major tried to change Manor Farm into Animal Farm. Events and animals in the book are parallel to the events and people in the Russian Revolution.

Mr. Jones is Tsar Nicholas II, the last Russian emperor. He was a bad ruler of Russia. The people experience poverty and upheaval. The animals on animal farm lived miserable lives. In the story, Old major says, “Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life is ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, Laborious and short” ( Orwell 2). This proves that the lives the animals are currently living are like the lives of the people in Russia. Tsar Nicholas II abandon his throne because his people grew tired of him. In the book, Mr. Jones was removed by a civil war within the animals in the humans. “ ...the rebellion had been successfully carried through: Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs” ( Orwell 9). Both the animals and the humans grew tired of their rulers because of how they got treated. Old major is Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik party. Old major is like Lenin because he was the leader of the animals in Animal Farm. He believes in animalism and Lenin believes in communism. Animalism is a concept Napoleon and Snowball made based on Old Major 's wishes after he died. “These Seven Commandments would now be inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law by which all the animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after” ( Orwell 11). The animals are supposed to behave a certain way and that represents animalism because they come up with these commandments so that every animal must

1. How could the Russian Revolution have been avoided? What factors could have been changed that might have stemmed the call for revolution? Or, was the Russian Revolution inevitable? Why?

Animal farm in context to The Russian Revolution in terms of corrupting influence of power :

The plot to revolt commences when Old Major, a boar, gives a speech addressing a dream he has had the previous night. He asks the crowd, “Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings?” (Orwell 4). Old Major is stating that all of the problems in the lives of the animals are caused by the cruelty of humans. The animals demanded a revolution at once. The revolution of Animal Farm was straight forward, simple and successful – with no loss of life. The idea of revolution in Animal Farm is largely different from the Syrian revolution since it involves animals rebelling against humans. Compared to Syria, the animals did not protest and did not suffer any loss of life. They rebelled once and succeeded immediately. There was very little reaction from the Jones family, the owners of the

Napoleon is another character that has similarities to the revolution. He was representing Stalin, which they are both almost identical. Both had a great thirst for power and bloodshed. Stalin got rid of any opposition to his reign. In Animal Farm, Napoleon did the same. Both Stalin and Napoleon also liked to bend the truth, manipulating the media and information in their societies. Just like how Napoleon tried to hide his farm the farms lack of food to other farmers, the same way Stalin tried to hide that his country was in a massive famine.

The Russian Revolution is a governmental overthrow of a ruling that took place in the early twentieth century. Prior to the revolution, Russia was ruled by Czar Nicholas II who was a part of the last reigning Russian monarch, the Tsar. The Tsar had complete power in Russia as he owned much of the land, commanded the army, and controlled the church. During the reign of the Tsar, the Russian citizens were treated badly and unfair. They experienced vigorous labor in dangerous conditions for little pay and were without food and money countless times. The Russians did not hate the Tsar at first as they blamed their troubles on the government, however an event called Bloody Sunday changed their minds. Citizens began to protest outside of Tsar’s palace where many were shot and killed by soldiers. This turned them against the man they once trusted. World War I also occurred during Tsar’s reign and ultimately killed many unskilled and unequipped Russian soldiers. This caused the citizens to dislike Tsar even

Stalin, the leader of the Communist army in Russia and the most powerful man in the past uses violence to the ones that go against him. He has a style of dictatorship where many people suffer. Gunshots going across, people dying out, outcry, burst in tears with bruises all over the body, killing in harsh condition all occurs during Russian Revolution. The historical background of George Orwell’s Animal Farm is also the Russian Revolution. In the book, Napoleon uses dictatorship to order other animals, uses accuration, and give harsh punishment who block his way. George Orwell portrays Napoleon as Stalin in many similar ways. Just as some leaders use dictatorship to control political aspects, pigs also use dictatorship to control animals. Animal Farm uses characterization to suggest that although cruel leadership can be effective, it will lead to

Jones and all humans, are unjust. He described a place where there were no humans and animals ruled; he spoke of a utopian society where everyone was equal. After Old Major’s passing, the other animals took over the farm and ran out Mr. Jones. After all of this the pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, took control of the farm. They used what Old Major had said to promote “animalism”, or what we would call communism. The pigs used “animalism” to their advantage and also changed its rules for their benefit. Old Major never meant for Napoleon to use his ideas of “sharing” to cause more problems for the other animals than before under Mr.

Government by coalition often fails or one member will find a way to gain an advantage. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which” (139). It is shown how the pigs start out with Old Major's vision, but are exactly like the people (oppressive) by the end of the book. The pigs become like the humans by the end of the novel. Throughout the novel they have revealed similar traits; they want to seize power and maintain control over all the other animals. This is exactly what the humans did and the pigs, in effect, take over from the humans and rule in just the same oppressive manner. In this way, they destroy the original ideals of the revolution which called for complete equality for all animals and the rejection of all human contact. By the end of the novel, the pigs are in an open alliance with the humans and behave just like them, even by walking on two legs. A revolution aimed at improving the lives of the animals, with the best possible intentions, has degenerated into a nightmare. Similar to the creation and destruction of the Soviet Union, Napoleon in Animal Farm is directly connected to Joseph Stalin, while Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, and Old Major is Vladimir Lenin. Since Old Major's original idea was to create revolution around the

Animal Farm opens on Manor Farm, where animals are subservient to their human master, a farmer named Jones. One night an aged boar called Old Manor calls a meeting of his fellow animals, and puts forth the call that they should one day rise up in rebellion against the humans who enslave them. Old Manor suggests that once humans have been overthrown, no animal should act like a human by sleeping in a bed, wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, or engaging in trade. The meeting is concluded with old Major teaching the animals a song called Beasts of England, which becomes their anthem. When old Major dies, the pigs Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer take leadership roles, and develop old Major 's teachings into a system called Animalism.