Napoleon and Snowball as Russian Leaders

Animal Farm is considered to be an allegorical fable and a dystopian novel that was written by George Orwell in 1945. Since the novel retells the story of the founding of the Soviet Union, followed by the rebellion and the installation of a dictator, Orwell opted for symbolism in order for his work to be published. After its publication, the novel became one of the most meaningful satirical fables of the 20th century. According to the English author Malcom Brandbury “this novel will remain the greatest satirical fable of the darker modern history and the most important political critique written in Britain in 1945” (Brandbury 2000:1). That is why in this essay I will deal with the corrupting influence of communism in Animal Farm. I argue that by moving through the chapters of Animal Farm and analysing the many parallels between the Russian Revolution, Communist takeover and the events in George Orwell’s novel I will be able to show how communism and power are used to destroy the community and corrupt the individual.

In its general meaning, the word communism refers to a “theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property of a country in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state” (Williams 1985:56). Specifically, it is what we call an organization system in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party. Throughout an effective animal allegory, Orwell resorts to satire in order to critique Russian Communism. He makes an indirect attack on the events of the Russian Revolution and on the totalitarian regime.

For example, the act of throwing humans out of the farm closely corresponds to Marx’s vision of the collapse of “class distinction” between the wealthy elite and the proletariat. After taking over the farm, the pigs impose themselves to rule the life of the other animals by applying Old Major’s main Animalism commandment: “All animals are equal” (Orwell 1945:15). With communism, workers no longer work for capitalists, and with Animalism, animals no longer work for humans, thus making everyone equal.

We are going to account for the assumption that Orwell’s fable was an attack against Russia and refer to the specific historical figures and events which he wished to criticize. At the very beginning of the story, the readers are introduced to Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm. Mr. Jones actually represents the Tsar of Russia Nicolas II, who ruled until 1917 when he was deposed and killed. Both Mr. Jones and his wife represent Capitalists in general since they are a part of the aristocratic ruling class which neglects and is abusive towards their animals. Similarly, Mr. Frederick plays another important historical figure, Adolf Hitler, whose field in the neighbouring farm represents Germany (Frame 2000: 1110).

It is important to note that Orwell didn’t criticise only the Russian politics of the 20th century, he also criticised the neglectful government of his own country. He did that through the character of Mr. Pilkington who represents Churchill during his time as the prime minister. Mr. Pilkington is the owner of fox wood (the other neighbouring farm which stands for England) whose name is symbolic of the fact that English aristocrats hunted foxes in their leisure time. Marion (1995) claims that through Mr. Pilkington, Orwell shows his rejection of the English Socialism.

Besides the humans, each animal also represents a historical figure. We see that at the very beginning of the novel when the figure of Old Major is introduced. Marion (1995) believes that the wise Middle White Boar is the combination of two outstanding social theorists of the 19th century, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, and the leader of the revolution Vladimir Illich Lenin.

According to Laski (1997) Old Major’s speech on Animalism Ideology is actually an oversimplification of the Communist Manifesto written by Marx and Engels in 1848. Since it was written at the request of the Communist League, it includes the socialist principles and ideas and serves as a guide to socialist countries. Furthermore, the other animals that come to listen to Old Major’s speech stand for the Russian workers who contributed to the success of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. They gathered secretly and listened to him in the same way that the revolutionists listened to their leaders (Marion 1995). Marx himself believed that the revolution would be accomplished with the help of the proletariat because they were “the largest cast of the society”, and secondly “because they were the direct victims of the hardships of the ancient system” (Williams 1985:297).

Unfortunately, after the Revolution neither the Russian workers, nor the animals in Animal Farm, led a good life. Apart from the pigs, all other animals suffered from the dictatorship in which they lived, primarily because of the constant exploitation. For instance, the most hard-working horse named Boxer is the first one to wake up and the last one to go to sleep. He obeys every order because he believes that “Comrade Napoleon is always right” (Orwell 1945:55). In doing so, Boxer actually represents the loyal and enthusiastic Russian common people who sacrificed their lives fighting for their cause. They also worshiped their leaders and were easily swayed by propaganda. On the same token, Boxer blindly believes in every lie that Squealer utters. At the very end, he dies still fighting for some greater cause just like the Russian workers died for their country. Unlike Boxer, Benjamin the donkey is the only animal who does not make any effort to change throughout the story. Benjamin does not believe in the changes that the Rebellion is supposed to bring. Thus, he stands for the Russians who did not believe in the new system, were aware of the treacheries, but who were powerless to act. Furthermore, through the character of Mollie the mare we see individuals who do not even understand what the Rebellion is for. She asks ridiculous questions such as “Will there still be sugar after the rebellion?” (Orwell 1945:10). Mollie preferred living on the farm in Jones’s time because he fed her sugar and dressed her in ribbons. After the Rebellion, Mollie runs away to a neighbouring farm so that she can continue leading an easy life. Thus, Mollie stands for the people who like to be dominated, for the people who were well off before the Bolshevik Revolution and who fled after it happened (Schlueter 1984).

Furthermore, there are three most important figures among the pigs who shape the story and are real representatives of the key figures in the Soviet Union. The first of them is Napoleon who is the central character. Napoleon is an utterly corrupt opportunist that is completely modelled on the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Just like Stalin, Napoleon is notorious for his greed and lust for power. According to Gaidar & Bouis (2007) Stalin was the head of all the branches of the government so that no one could oppose his decisions. He was also the head of the Army, which executed all of his wishes. Similarly, Napoleon trains a litter of puppies until they become his own private army that help him impose his will on other animals. Later on in the story, Napoleon uses the dogs to kill animals who claimed that “Snowball had appeared to them in a dream and incited them to disobey Napoleon’s orders” (Orwell 1945:56), even though one of the Seven Commandments was that “No animal shall kill any other animal” (Orwell 1945:10). This episode in the novel portrays the public purging trials of the 1930’s during which many military men, officials and party members were killed after publicly confessing to false deeds. Those men confessed to having done crimes against the country, consequently being shot or deported to camps in Siberia (Cohen 1980:304).

Another major character in the novel is Snowball, who emerges as a fervent ideologue and an eloquent speaker that stands for Leon Trotsky. Trotsky was Lenin’s collaborator, who became Commissar of War after his death (Frame 2000). Snowball’s main objective was to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s infrastructure. Unfortunately, that was impossible because Snowball and Napoleon had different aspirations. As Orwell says “these two disagreed at every point where disagreement was possible.” (Orwell 1945:31). In comparison to the Soviet Union, it can be said that Snowball, like Trotsky, advocated the idea of developing heavy industry and spreading the revolutionary ideals throughout the world. This was symbolized in the novel by sending out the pigeons to neighbouring farms. On the other hand, Napoleon, like Stalin, wanted to rise up the food production by developing agriculture. Their disagreements resulted with the expulsion of Snowball from the farm because he proved to be no match for Napoleon’s brute force. According to Orwell and Angus (2010) this episode is modelled on the exile of Trotsky in 1929. Later on, in 1940, he was assassinated in Mexico by one of Stalin’s agents. Orwell gives life to this story by having dogs chase after Snowball who consequently slips through a hole that is symbolic of a tomb.

Throughout the story, the readers may get a sense that Orwell sympathizes with Snowball, but Orwell actually refrains from idealizing him, making sure to display his moral flaws as well. Firstly, Snowball shows that he approves of the superiority of the pigs over other animals. For example, Snowball does not object when the pigs take the milk for themselves and do not share it with the other animals. Secondly, in the Battle of the Cowshed, when Boxer was feeling sorry for the stable-boy that he had kicked, Snowball told him not to be sentimental because “…the only good human being is a dead one” (Orwell 1945:28). Furthermore, Orwell seems to reject the idea that Napoleon and Snowball are different. The only difference is that Snowball is much more intelligent than Napoleon. Snowball was able to create schemes for the construction of the mill, but Napoleon was not able to execute on them. This is the same way in which Trotsky’s industrial plans were executed by Stalin, but resulted in complete failure (Gaidar & Bouis 2007).

Finally, there is Squealer, the pig whose name itself is symbolic of his deceptive nature. Squealing, of course, refers to a pig’s typical form of vocalization, and Squealer’s speech is his most important defining feature. As Orwell says “He was a brilliant talker, and when he was arguing some difficult point he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive. The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white” (Orwell 1945:7). Since Squealer is Napoleon’s closest friend, he abuses language to justify Napoleon’s actions by whatever means necessary. Squealer unnecessarily uses complicated language in order to confuse and intimidate the other less intelligent animals. Thus, he is the perfect representation of the Russian machine of propaganda which worked tirelessly to maintain Stalin in power. In the Soviet Union, people were told that they enjoyed the rights and liberties which none in the world did. Often times, they were told through false statistics that they lived in a prosperous country. Orwell comments on this by saying “…who does not know those Soviet statistics…in which the curve of everything except morality goes up and up and up? And how much do they tell one...” (Orwell and Angus 2010: 40). Even though the life of the animals on the farm was harsh, even though the animals were often hungry and cold, Squealer was always there to convince them that they have nothing to complain about. As Orwell says “Besides, in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, as Squealer did not fail to point out (Orwell 1945:34).

To conclude, Animal Farm perfectly reflects the events and the historical figures which participated in the Second World War. Old Major, just like Marx and Engels had a vision that never came to be. Under the influence of power and communistic principles, both the Soviet Union and the farm turned into an autocratic dictatorship, rather than into a utopia. Poisoned by ideology, the animals worked tirelessly and died for a non-existent cause while Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer used their power only to better their own lives, which eventually led to the collapse of the farm. That is why Animal Farm remains to this day one of the most important cautionary tales of a utopian dream that is bound to go wrong due to animal, and especially human, nature.