Works Cited
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Penguin Group, 1946. Print.
1.) Characters
Snowball- Snowball represents Leo Trotsky. Trotsky was one of the original revolutionaries. But as Stalin rose to power he became one of Stalin's biggest enemies. His speaking abilities allow for the revolution to occur in the first place.
Squealer- Squealer represents the Media/propaganda in Russia at the time. In the story, Squealer manipulates the animals to follow Napoleon's rule at all costs often saying, "You don't want Jones to come back? Do you?"
Boxer- Boxer represents the working class. His hard work is used to benefit at first all the animals, but later his efforts only really help Napoleon and the other pigs. His dedication is unrewarded though, and he is sold to the horse slaughterer.
Mollie- From what I could tell, Mollie represented working class who supported the tzar, but would not support the communists. I have also seen that some believe Mollie is a representation of the Russian upper class who did little work but were still supported by the government, which seems equally valid.
Benjamin- Benjamin represents unenthusiastic old people. He has seen so much and lived the longest and he believes that life will always be bleak no matter who the ruler is.
Old Major- The Old Major is Marx. Marx foretells of a revolution in which the people rise up against their government like the Old Major tells of a land free of humans.
Moses- Moses represents the Russian Orthodox Church. He tells the animals that there is a place called sugar candy mountain where they will go when they die like the Church tells the people that there is a heaven where they will go when they die. Seen as giving false hope to the animals, but is secretly allowed to stay on the farm by Napoleon to keep spirits up.
Mr. Pilkington- Represents the English Government.
Mr. Frederick- Represents the German Government, mainly Hitler. He betrays a trade arrangement made with Animal Farm in the story and comes off as a mean person overall.
Mr. Whymper- Represents the Capitalist portion of Russia needed to commence in commerce. Although he helps Animal Farm, his efforts are self-motivated. Why capitalists are seen as greedy in Russia at the time.
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2.)Russian Revolution Flow Chart
2- World War I destroys what unity is left in Russia under Nicholas II through the undermining of the Tzar's authority by the Duma, the educated middle class, and the masses at large.
3-The protests of 200,000 workers marching on St. Petersburg are joined by soldiers shouting things such as, "Down with Autocracy!" Nicholas II is forced to abdicate. His family is executed to remove all traces of the old government.4- A Provisional government is set up, but the Bolsheviks seize power by force with Red Guards. Key players are Lenin (Peace! Land! and Bread!) and Trotsky.
5-Lenin makes some moves: Distribution of farmlands to the peasants, ended Russian involvement in WWI, promised a freely elected Constituent Assembly that would draw up a new constitution (Lenin later prevents because his party is not in majority).6- Russian Civil War breaks out between the Red Army and the White Army. The Red Army crushes the White Army because little support is giving by the war-weary western nations. The Russian economy is halted as the Communists isolate themselves.
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3.) Personal Response to Animal Farm
I personally liked this book. It effectively demonstrated the Russian Revolution allegorically. The book was depressing at points though because the reader was truly made to feel the hardships of Boxer as he worked tirelessly to what seemed like no end. All of his work was repeatedly destroyed in the book with the blow not felt by the pigs in charge. Although you know that socialism in this book fails, you just wish that the animals would be able to live without the influence of man (representative of the old government). I caught myself often thinking, "If only the efforts of their labor would support themselves," before realizing that the thought goes against the capitalist system in place in our country. In the end I don't actually believe that a socialist society would work because too many people have their own interests at hand, making Marx's statement that the "government would then wither away," completely absurd. Good in theory, but bad in practice. I would not recommend the book though because it repeats the same point many times and its meaning isn't hard to find. This makes the book boring, but this book is much better than other books I have been forced to read, such as The Power of One. One thing that struck me as odd is that Boxer, the most redeemable character in the book is also the one who supported Napoleon all the way to his death. This is a great personal sacrifice, but I can not understand why George Orwell would portray the working middle class as unaware of the problems with Communism in Russia. To my knowledge most knew full well of its problems, but feared admitting them because they would be punished severely by the Russian secret police force.
