Animal Farm - George Orwell Essay Allegory PDF

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Summary

This is an essay about the allegory of Animal Farm by George Orwell. It talks about the role of Napoleon and how it is a parody of totalitarnism....

Description

An allegory is a story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. As such, ‘Animal Farm’ by Orwell is an allegory of the Russian Revolution where it satires communism in the form of an animal fable. Orwell uses his characters to represent the different classes of the Russian hierarchy and their contribution to the corrupt society of the Soviet Union. Through this, he criticises communism through the downfall of the government and their exploitations of power however, he also blames the mass populations’ sheer ignorance and stupidity. Due to their lack of political knowledge, they are unable to protest and question Napoleon’s actions, allowing him to make unjust decisions. Therefore, Orwell’s allegorical novel is used to effectively justify the corruptions of communism through the representations of each character. Orwell uses allegory to criticise the corruptions of communism through the exploitations of power. Both dictators, Stalin and Napoleon result to fear to take absolute control of the farm/Russia. By drawing historical parallels, Orwell indirectly criticises Stalin’s tyrannical actions that caused the Soviet Union to become oppressive. When Napoleon murders the chickens, ‘and so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon's feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood,’ his true nature of becoming a dictator is revealed. Orwell’s use of blood imagery emphasises Napoleon’s power and his ruthlessness. By killing, Napoleon strikes fear into the animals, justifying his position on the farm by eliminating those who protest or against his rule. Orwell therefore, criticises communism where those in power will turn to mass murdering to ensure that their position is secured. As well as this, both Stalin and Napoleon’s abuse of language allows them to manipulate others, ‘Snowball has sold himself to Frederick or Pinchfield Farm, who is even now plotting to attack us and take our farm away from us!’ By portraying Snowball as a traitor, it acts to justify Napoleon’s running of Snowball off the farm. Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat to...