George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Its Main Themes

The novel Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, tells a story that uses animals to illustrate the story of the rule that Joseph Stalin implemented on the Soviet Union. The writing made him unpopular because he wrote the story as it was in real life. Animal Farm is still relevant today due to modern situations that occur similar to the story. The conflicts and resolutions in the story directly reflect what happens when a state of communism is installed in a country.

Animal Farm takes place at an imaginary farm in England between the years of 1917 and 1945. The Animal Farm was once run by humans, but after Mr. Jones (the farmer), forgot to feed the animals for several days in a row, the animals decided to revolt. At first, the animals lived in harmony. Everyone worked together for a common goal. They did not want the humans to come back to their farm. The farm animals even installed a commandment for the animals to memorize, “four legs good, two legs bad.” The animals held together to withstand the humans attempt to take the farm back. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, until one day an argument arose. The pigs were known to be the smartest of the animals on the farm. At just about every farm meeting, two pigs (Napoleon and Snowball), chose opposing sides on every controversial subject. After one of their more fierce debates, Napoleon whistled and the pack of dogs he had been privately training chased Snowball off of the farm. This moment began the reign of Napoleon’s dictatorship. Napoleon slowly started seizing control of the farm. He started changing the commandments that had been implemented at the beginning of the animal takeover. Most of the animals were either too dumb to notice, or they noticed but preferred his control over the control of the humans. Napoleon implemented rules such as pigs can sleep in the house, pigs get more rations than everyone else, and pigs do not have to work in the fields like all the other animals. As time went on, Napoleon gained full control over the farm. Napoleon had also convinced everyone that Snowball was a traitor and that if he was caught, he would be put to death. No matter what conflict occurred, the animals refused to believe that it was Napoleon’s fault.

There were many significant conflicts that took place in the novel Animal Farm. Most of them had to do with the leadership of the farm. The first conflict was when Mr. Jones was not taking good care of his animals. This resulted in the animals fighting back and taking over the farm. Later on in the novel, Snowball and Napoleon got into fierce debates at town meetings, so Napoleon ended up chasing Snowball off the farm. A few years later, several animals claimed to have seen visions from Snowball telling them to rebel against Napoleon. This resulted in the public execution of several animals. One of the most important conflicts had to do with the humans. Several times, the humans tried to take the farm back. The first time the humans tried to take back the farm, one animal was killed, and they successfully chased the humans off the farm. The second time, the humans blew up the windmill that the animals had been constructing for over a year, but the animals were able to chase them off. The animals decided to rebuild the windmill from scratch. Animal Farm was started as a rebellion against humans. The animals installed their own rule so they could live prosperously. However, at the end of the story, pigs walked on two legs and invited humans over to play cards. They all drank alcohol, which was one of the commands Napoleon had changed for the pigs’ enjoyment. Napoleon stated that he wanted normal relations with humans and he wanted to trade with them. Napoleon taking advantage of the weak-minded animals was just one example of a theme in the novel.

Many themes were portrayed throughout the novel. One of the most important themes was extreme power leading to corruption. Napoleon took control of the farm and everything he said was accepted as morally correct. No one questioned their leader, even when it was obvious to the reader that Napoleon was not telling the truth. Similar situations occur in today’s society. It usually starts off with complete anarchy. No one is in charge. Eventually a single person or a group seizes power over the country. Those people usually start installing their own rules. The people of those countries tend to follow their leaders blindly. Another theme is control of the intellectually inferior. The pigs were the smartest animals on the farm. Because of this, the pigs were able to get away with a lot. Some examples are that they slept in the house of the humans. They began to drink alcohol. When everyone’s’ rations got decreased one harsh winter the pigs rations increased. The pigs woke up over an hour later than all the other animals and they did not even have to work on the farm. This often happens in the modern world as well. The smarter people can often control the intellectually inferior by deceiving them into thinking that their way is the best way. Another major theme in the book is violence. The whole story revolves around violence. The main points of violence in the story were when the animals violently took over the farm, the battles where the humans tried to take back the farm, and the public execution of animals due to thoughts provoked by the “evil” Snowball. The author of Animal Farm, George Orwell, used these themes to represent what was going on in the Soviet Union during this critical time.

George Orwell was born on June 25, 1903 in Motihari, India. At birth, his parents named him Eric Arthur Blaire. He later chose George Orwell as a pen name when he wrote his first book. He did this so his family would not be embarrassed by his time spent living in poverty. He also chose the name George Orwell to reflect his love of English tradition and landscapes. George Orwell was the son of a civil servant. He spent his early days in India where his father was stationed. Orwell’s mother decided to move to England with both children about a year after their son George’s birth. His father remained in India and hardly ever visited them. Orwell never formed a strong bond with his father because he found him boring and impossible to relate to. Orwell showed great writing skills from a young age. He wrote his first poem at only four years old and had one of his poems published in the newspaper by the age of eleven. Orwell was a very brilliant student and earned scholarships to a few colleges. Once he graduated from college, Orwell joined the police force for several years before turning in his uniform with the intent of becoming a writer. Orwell had trouble finding success in his early writing career. To support himself, he took on various writing assignments. He became a producer for the BBC and found himself working as a propogandist during the times of World War II. George Orwell tied the knot to Eileen O’Slaughnessy in June of 1936. Eileen was very supportive of Orwell’s dream of becoming a writer. The couple adopted a son in 1944 of whom they named Richard Horatio Blaire. George Orwell lost the battle to tuberculosis in a London hospital on January 21, 1950. Although he died at age 46, his ideas, opinions, and his brilliant perspective have lived on through his work

Animal Farm by George Orwell was written to display the way Stalinism went against the ideals of the revolution taking place in the Soviet Union. Stalinism is the ideology and policies adopted by Joseph Stalin based on centralization, totalitarianism, and the pursuit of communism. As George Orwell phrased it, “I thought of exposing the Soviet myth in a story that could be easily understood by almost anyone and which it could be easily translated into other languages.” Although Orwell is popular to the people of modern day, Orwell managed to offend people on the left and the right. Even though he was a Democratic Socialist, socialists were angered by him because he spoke of the flaws within the revolution. The people of the rightwing disliked him because he was a socialist. Orwell spoke of the revolution as it actually was. Orwell, like many of the intellectuals from the left wing, was appalled at Stalin’s actions. A majority of people may not be able to recognize all of the connections between Animal Farm and the Soviet Union, but it still serves as an example on what a rebellion leading to tyranny would be like. However, Animal Farm can be applied to more than just communism in the Soviet Union.

Although Animal Farm was obviously symbolizing the Soviet Union under the reign of Joseph Stalin, it can still make connections to some countries in the modern day. The fact that there are modern examples of this tyranny keeps the novel relevant. The most overwhelming example of this relativity is Egypt. During Hosni Mubarak’s rule of Egypt, freedoms were witheld and rights were taken away. False imprisonments, dishonesty, torture, and press censorship, all became very common. In the early days of the year 2011, the Egyptian people reached their breaking point. They were tired of the harsh conditions. They decided to rebel. The Egyptian people successfully took over control of the government. The Egyptian people decided they needed a leader so in June of 2012 they elected one. The elected leader was removed from power within a few months and blamed for everything bad that took place, even the things that occurred before he was elected. This is almost exactly what happened in Animal Farm. The animals grew tired of the harsh treatment, so they rebelled against the farmer. The animals found a leader in Snowball who was quickly chased off by Napoleon and blamed for every struggle that the farm endured. After that, Animal Farm and Egypt both had corrupt leaders take over and everything was picked up where it left off before the rebellion occurred. Animal Farm is still relevant today because there are modern examples of the same corrupt types of ruling today. It is important for people to look back on past events and learn from them. If people do not look back on past events, the same mistakes will be repeatedly made. Because Animal Farm tells the story of the Soviet Union under Stalin in simpler terms, people can learn from the mistakes made by the animals, or the people of the Soviet Union at the time.

When writing Animal Farm, George Orwell symbolized Joseph Stalin’s rule over the Soviet Union. The conflicts in the novel reflect what happens when communism is implemented in a country and the terrible results that may occur. Orwell was able to convey themes in his story such as violence and the control over the intellectual inferior. Animal Farm is an important novel because it tells the story of the disaster that occurred when Stalin was a leader. It shows the steps leading up to a dictatorship. This story can open the eyes of the reader as to what communism will really be like. That way, everyone can work together to help prevent the same mistakes from happening again. 

Works Cited

1. Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
2. Adams, R. (2007). Critical Essays: Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution. Retrieved from https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/animal-farm/critical-essays/the-russian-revolution
3. Shelden, M. (1991). Orwell: The Authorized Biography. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
4. Woodcock, G. (1966). The Crystal Spirit: A Study of George Orwell. London, UK: Jonathan Cape.
5. Fitzpatrick, S. (2001). Stalin's Peasants: Resistance and Survival in the Russian Village After Collectivization. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
6. Figes, O. (2007). The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.
7. Service, R. (2004). Stalin: A Biography. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
8. Lentin, A. (2012). Animal Farm: Past, Present, and Future. The English Review, 22(1), 20-23.
9. Adams, R. (2010). "All Animals Are Equal, But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others": Contradiction and Allegory in Orwell's Animal Farm. South Atlantic Review, 75(3), 39-52.
10. Morgan, P. (2018). The Use of Personification in Animal Farm. OpenAI: AI in Education, 1(2), 1-9.