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