A novel of political satire depicting the Soviet Union under Stalin
Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is parody or allegorical telling of the Russian Revolution and aftermath, in a fairy tale style setting. It is a very popular book that is often included in many “best novels” lists, including the list I posted previously – the top 100 reading list – which you can find here. It was written during the latter part of World War II but the author originally had difficulty finding a publisher as the USSR was an ally of England at that time. The book became very popular after the war, especially as the Cold War began to intensify.
Here’s a good description of the author’s background and purpose of the book, from Wikipedia:
According to Orwell, the fable reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. The Soviet Union, he believed, had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described Animal Farm as a satirical tale against Stalin (“un conte satirique contre Staline”), and in his essay “Why I Write” (1946), wrote that Animal Farm was the first book in which he tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, “to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole”.
Wikipedia Animal Farm entry – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm
Themes
Inequality – The farm animals suffered greatly under the mismanagement of Mr Jones, the original owner of the farm and land. The lack of care provided and abuse from Mr Jones is what leads to the initial revolt by the animals. In the early part of the rebellion, animal equality is enshrined as part of the 7 commandments.
Corruption of power – The pigs become the early leaders and organizers of the rebellion and during the transition to animal takeover of the farm. But slowly one particular pig begins to exert more and more influence and begins to use his power to banish and kill any animal who would question him. This new ruling party begins to violate almost all of the 7 commandments and to make revisions so as to justify their behavior.
Influence of propaganda – One pig in particular, Squealer, is the main instrument of propaganda. He is the one who changes the commandments and gives the official orders to stop singing the song of rebellion, alter the history of the rebellion, and spread rumors to make Snowball the enemy and Napoleon the true hero.
Hypocrisy of the Soviet Union – If you are able to get a version that contains the preface and appendix that Orwell wrote to go with this book, you’ll see his reasons for why he portrayed Stalin and the USSR in such unflattering terms. At the initial time of writing, very few were willing to acknowledge the gigantic hypocrisy happening under Stalin and how the initial Russian Revolution, which was supposed to help the peasants, had instead turned into a corruption of power and a ruling party that stood against many of the things that the Revolution fought against.
Recommendation
This is an interesting book and an easy read. As an allegory, it is a warning of how quickly power can corrupt and the horrible things that can happen under totalitarian rule. In that way, this novel is similar in warning to Orwell’s later book, 1984. Personally, I found 1984 to be a much more compelling book and prefer it to Animal Farm. But still, I feel like this book is important as a piece of satire, especially considering the time it was written. If you aren’t familiar with Russian history, the Wiki link included below will help you to identify the animals and events portrayed in this book. It felt a bit slow developing in parts, but I liked it overall.
Here’s a link to the Wiki page for Animal Farm.
Eclectic Reading List 