Animal Farm

Biographical Analysis: Animal FarmIn 1917, the Russian Revolution began. It was a series of economic and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. Inspired by this event, Animal Farm shows how totalitarianism corrupts the masses. This can be shown easily through any of the many examples of it throughout the novella.

George Orwell does a nice job displaying a satirical allegory of totalitarianism from the very beginning of the novella. He has the animals play the role of Bolshevik revolutionaries and overthrow the human owners of the farm, setting it up as a place in which, at first, all animals are equal. Soon after, disputes start to emerge between the different species or classes. This mirrors the events of the Russian Revolution almost precisely.

Bolshevik by Boris Kustodiev, a visual representat...

English: Russian Provisional Government

Russian Provisional Government of 1917

Around the same time as the Russian Revolution, a man by the name of Joseph Stalin came into power. His animal counterpart in the book Animal Farm is Napoleon. While writing the book, George Orwell changed a small event in the story. When the windmill blows up he had wrote that, "all the animals including Napoleon flung themselves on their faces." Later, in a note to the editor, he asked for it to be changed to, “all the animals except Napoleon." This is due to the fact that Joseph Stalin stayed in Moscow during the German advance. Similar human counterparts are given to almost all the animals in the story.

Towards the end of the book, Mr. Jones in a last effort attempt, tries to re-take the farm. In the book, it is known as The Battle of the Cowshed. After the Russian Revolution, the western capitalist government sent soldiers to try to remove the Bolsheviks from power. In Animal Farm, the Bolsheviks are represented by the animals (more specifically the pigs) and the western capitalist government by the human (Mr. Jones and his friends). In both cases, the last effort to regain what was lost proved futile.

Many more examples of similarities between Animal Farm and the early 1,900’s of Russia exist throughout the story. The book was written as a way to rebel against the Russian government and as a result was refused to be published by many publishers and banned in some countries after its release. In conclusion, this book is a perfect example of a literary work that largely mirrors the author’s life and personal experiences.

English: Kadomtsev Mikhail Samuilovich, russian bo...

Kolomna - Russian revolution

English: Bolshevik troops during the Russian Revol...