Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm

The novel Animal Farm was wrote by the British author George Orwell (1903-1950) in 1945, years after the Russian Revolution was ended. Eric Arthur Blair better known by his pen name George Orwell was an English novelist, essayist and critic famous for his novels such as Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-four. The Russian Revolution occurring in 1917 between March and November inspired the novel, which narrates the story of a group on animals living in an English farm. The animals of the Manor Farm live under bad conditions as their drunk and mean farmer Mr Jones, exploited them. One day, the pig, who lead the animals, Old Major, called all the animals to a meeting and expressed a dream he had the previous night. He organized a rebellion against humans for their freedom. As the novel is inspired by the revolution occurred in Russia, we can see how the author uses allegory to illustrate how Stalinism had betrayed the ideals of the socialist revolution in the Soviet Union, in order to reach a wide range of public with an important historical issue.

In order to attract a wide range of public and explain the Russian issue in a way readers could understand, Orwell represents a political and social issue using fable characteristics. The Russian revolution started as a social issue when millions of Russians had been killed in WWI. Previous to the war, Russians protested for lack of land, food and peace. These protests against the government, lead to the revolution. Animal Farm represents out the issue with an issue involving the animals and their wellbeing. “Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth”. The issue manifeste in the story represents the conditions lived by russians before the revolution took place. The lack of amenities caused by the government in Russia lead to protests the same way it happens with animals. The author simplifies the historical issue to the reader by using an argument faced by animals in a farm, two simple and understandable concepts for either adults or children.

One of the main characters in Animal Farm is represented by a pig named Old Major. Old Major was the firts animal to begin the Rebellion againts Mr Jones farmer and was the founder of Animalism. Its main ideas had spread through other animals which become againts humans too. The ideals of Old Major foucoused in animals beign equal; neverthless, these made life for pigs easier and other