Animal Farm

Animal Farm by Eric Arthur Blair, popularly known by his pen name George Orwell, is one of the finest political allegory ever written. The novella was published in 1945. The book is about a farm where animals rebel against their human master, set up their own governance but later falls under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.

Pigs are depicted as more intelligent animals in the Manor Farm. Under the leadership of Snowball and Napoleon – two pigs, the animals in the farm kicks out their owner Mr. Jones. They rename the farm as “Animal Farm” and sets up a socialist democratic governance. Napoleon with his pet dogs under his command, forces Snowball to exile and slowly sets up an authoritarian tyranny with the pigs – more intelligent of the animals in the farm- by his side.

The animals in the farm slowly falls to a much worse situation than before. The symbols representing the socialist setup – including the song “Beasts of England” and Seven Commandments – are destroyed systematically. The plot revolves around animals struggling to build a windmill for the farm. The book depicts how a totalitarian government slowly extends its claws, spreads fake propaganda and forces the lower classes to misery.

The notable characters from the book includes Old Major – the old boar who initially urges for a rebellion against humans, Mr. Frederik and Mr. Pilkington – adjacent farm owners, Squealer – a propaganda spreading pig, Boxer and Clover – the hard-working horses, Benjamin – a wise but cynical donkey and many other animals.

George Orwell was a strong advocate of democratic socialism. This book was written in the background of the second world war when England was allied to Stalinist Russia – a dictatorial regime at the time. The satire is aimed at Russia – Old Major in the novella symbolizing Lenin or Marx, Napoleon being an allegory for Joseph Stalin and so on. 

George Orwell being a critic of totalitarian regimes, has also written another novel, “1984”, a dystopian classic depicting life under an autocratic government. Many of the instances from the current era are relatable to incidences from the book and the message it conveys stands ageless.