Literature Analysis: Animal Farm

1.      George Orwell created an allegory comparing a small farm ran by animals to a fascist government model his short novel Animal Farm. Orwell personifies the farm animals to allow them to express their discontent with the rulership of the farm’s current owner, Mr. Jones. Old Major, a commanding boar in the barn, leads the animals in a rebellion against Mr. Jones, urging his "comrades" to earn autonomy. The animals then organize in a mutiny against Mr. Jones and manage to overtake the farm. Old Major is reveled as a hero, a leader that preserved the best interests of the farm and its animals. As the days go by, the morals and cornerstones of the new farm begin to slip, and Old Major begins to become more and more like the dictator-figure he once sought to overturn. Old Major recruits three "comrades" that help maintain his rule by feeding the farm animals propaganda; these three characters take to educate rest of the animals on Old Major’s philosophy. They engrain his philosophies so far into their heads that the policies become second nature to the farm animals. Once Old Major dies, the barn is left his three biggest followers: Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer. Soon after, Napoleon uses his cunning and deceitfulness to run Snowball off the barn.

Napoleon becomes a tyrant and kills any animal that doesn't worship his leadership. Out of fear and loyalty to the only thing they know, all of the animals stand devoutly by Napoleon's rule. The animals' quality of life continually diminshes, as they are put to work more often and fed less often. Napoleon begins to garner control over every aspect of the animals lives, and becomes more human-like. He begins to walk upright and wears overalls. The novel ends with the farm's leaders dining in the company of their human neighbors. The animals can no longer distinguish animal from man.

2.     The theme of the novel is the corrosive nature of power. The allegory shows that the concentration of power in a small circle of leaders combined with an uneducated people is bound to lead to corruption, even if the revolution originated with the purest intentions.

3.     Orwell's tome was somber and became progressively more so as farm-life became more and more oppressed.

4.     Allegory– The novel is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. The pig elite represents the USSR ( Napoleon=Stalin; Snowball=Lenin). Many of the events of the novel were parallel to those in Russia. For example, propaganda was used heavily by Stalin during his ruler over the USSR, and also by Napoleon through Squealer.

Personification – All the animals in the novel could speak. They were also given the human quality of the desire for autonomy and a sense of government.

Diction – A power relationship was demonstrated by Orwell's word choice. While using strong words when addressing or creating dialogue for the pigs, he used simple, elementary vocabulary for their followers. This implicitly establishes the pigs' dominance over the rest of the animals by making them appear to be more sophisticated and capable than the rest of the animals. It also separates them by making them more human-like.