Mohammad Sarim Hashmi - 24665

Professor Samina Wahid Perozani

English Grammar and Composition - 5385

19 December, 2021.

A STUDY OF ANIMAL FARM – FINAL EXAM

A shallow look at this masterpiece of George Orwell depicts clear hints of

communism as a system and how it might fail, given the hunger of power amongst all classes. It

was believed by institutions and most individuals alike that communism held danger to the social

norms and their wellbeing. The text does point towards communism and specifically the Russian

Revolution, Karl Marx's communist manifesto. Quite a few characters in the story resemble

actual leaders from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), and from the uprising.

George Orwell has also brilliantly projected different classes from a society and how and why do

rebellions do not affect all of them in a better way. The element of experience in the form of

Benjamin, the donkey was catchy, as he had a rigid opinion from day one, that things would not

change, and he only ended up being right, given that not much changed for the working animals.i

The text points towards a few other systems that differ from communism and what had

been taken out of it initially.

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Totalitarianism:

George Orwell once wrote: “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936

has been against totalitarianism.”ii Animal Farm is a fine example of it. Totalitarianism is the

absolute control of power by an individual around whom cultism takes place. Times of such

regimes are far more oppressive than authoritarian dictatorships, media propagation is censored,

the leader controls the economy and its factors entirely, propaganda is spread using authorities

and governmental influence.

It can be clearly compared as to how much the idea of Totalitarianism resembles the

condition of the Animal Farm post revolution. Napolean served as the dictator of all animals, his

disciples the dogs and other pigs suppressing any idea against him. Rumors were spread to

defame his could-be counterpart Snowball. Pigs led by Napolean enjoyed perks and privileges, in

the form of food and comfort, even in times of a failing economy.

Authoritarianism:

“Orwell’s portrayal of authoritarianism makes Animal Farm allegorical to modern

authoritarian or pseudo-authoritarian regimes, too…“iii It can be clearly established that Animal

Farm portrays a clear depiction of authoritarianism regime. An authoritarian regime basically

includes the use of government powers and authority to conserve the elite class and its political

status. It includes democratic voting that may not be fair entirely because of the centralization of

power. The leader or the leading class has no space for difference views and so the authority to

make decisions is submitted to the rulers completely.

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 In view of Animal Farm, Napoleon’s regime was a clear example of authoritarian

government where elections did take place, yet he was the only contestant making it clear as to

how much democracy was present. No arguments were excepted by the pigs against their will,

also the pigs held an upper class status that can be seconded by the new rule later made, “All

animals are equal but some are more equal than others. “. “…the pigs establish themselves as the

ruling class in the new society. “iv

Socialism:

"I was struck by clear signs of its transformation into a hierarchical society, in which the

rulers have no more reason to give up their power than any ruling class.", George Orwell. He

was sure that to retain the original idea of Socialism, the new idea given by the Soviet Union had

to be broken.v

The original struggle that the Major pushes the animals towards is a struggle towards

communism, where the idea pertained that all animals are equal, rather than, "All animals are

equal but some are more equal than others". But eventually the elite ruling class pushes the

system to Totalitarianism.

Dictatorship:

  Leadership in Animal farm is presented as a form of rule that happens to be cyclic. By

the end of the story, all the oppression that the human master of the animals used to inflict upon

the animals initially, was now being done by the animal dictator, Napoleon. vi This distinctively

shows a form of dictatorship that had been established at the Animal Farm. vii A symbolic thing
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to remember here is that Napoleon was the French Dictator who established himself as ruler via

the French revolution.viii

Napoleon enjoyed all forms of a comfort, only accessible to a dictator. He lived off the

food produced by the hard-work of all other animals and never gave any credit due, indicating it

was his right only to enjoy all privileges despite the condition of his fellow-animals. This can be

considered one of most heinous forms of dictatorship that resembled authoritarianism and

totalitarianism.

Conclusion:

It can be now perceived that George Orwell's Animal Farm did not only portray the

Russian Revolution and the struggle to a communist government, but also includes other forms

of governments and systems. The basic idea might have been communism, yet other forms of

systems have been portrayed perfectly using animals and the linkage to the working class of

humans. Orwell has tried to sketch how the struggle to establish a communist society could go

wrong, and if it does it could hold horrific consequences for the society.

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Work Cited:

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i
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/animalfarm/symbols/
ii
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/animal-farm/themes/totalitarianism
iii
https://howard-chai.medium.com/george-orwells-animal-farm-a-study-guide-7a8aede94c78
iv
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/animalfarm/themes/
v
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/animal-farm/about-animal-farm
vi
https://www.cram.com/essay/A-Comparison-Of-Leadership-In-Napoleons-Animal/FCYS9Z9KWG
vii
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Animal-Farm
viii
https://www.history.com/topics/france/napoleon