Allegory
Anna Porter
An allegory is a story that uses characters and events to symbolize a deeper or hidden meaning. The events in Animal Farm are meant to parallel the events of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the early Soviet Union. The characters represent and criticize authority figures and people in history. A deeper meaning of the novel shows corruption and abuse of power found in totalitarian regimes.
When the story starts out the farm is just a simple farm that is not especially doing well but is not in bad shape. The animals are tired of working and are unhappy working under the farmer, Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones represents Czar Nicholas II of Russia. As the people of Russia were unhappy with the Czar so were the animals of Manor Farm with Mr. Jones. The animals wanted change so the boar, old Major, recalling a dream he had, makes a speech to the other animals on the farm on a future where animals are no longer working for humans and are free. He encourages the animals to rebel against Mr. Jones and take over the farm to start a revolution. Old Major’s character is meant to represent Karl Marx. Karl Marx is a philosopher and revolutionary socialist whose best known for being the founder of communism. He also emphasizes the uprising of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. Karl Marx dies before the Russian Revolution but his idea’s greatly influenced the revolution just as old Major’s speech started the Rebellion in Animal Farm. The pigs who take the first steps to plan the Rebellion are Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball, who takes charge the most in the beginning stages, represents Leon Trotsky. Leon Trotsky was the first leader and founder of the Red Army in Russia. He was later removed from power and then deported from the Soviet Union after the rise of Joseph Stalin. Stalin is also represented in the novel by the pig Napoleon. This event in history is paralleled in Animal Farm when Napoleon runs Snowball off the farm with his pack of dogs and Snowball is never seen on Animal Farm again.
After the expulsion of Snowball, Napoleon rises as leader and uses his pack of dogs and Squealer to enforce his leadership position. The pack of dogs that remain loyal to Napoleon represent Stalin’s secret police. Anyone who opposed Napoleon or admitted to cooperating with Snowball and plotting against the farm were promptly executed by Napoleon’s dogs. Napoleon’s dogs are a constant threat to the other animals which stops them from speaking up against Napoleon if they disagree with him. Stalin’s secret police were the same concept. Napoleon’s changing of the commandments and rule bending were always justified by Squealer. Squealer would convince the animals that what Napoleon was doing was necessary for the farm and it’s success through lies and tricky use of words. Squealer represents Stalin’s propaganda department. Stalin stays powerful and in control through his secret police and propaganda like Napoleon with his pack of dogs and Squealer.
Napoleon continues to break more commandments by engaging in trade with the farmers Pilkington and Frederick. Pilkington represents Winston Churchill and he runs a very successful and well accomplished farm called Foxwood that represents Great Britain. Napoleon is a very paranoid leader and tries to keep control through the use of fear and using the two neighboring farms as scapegoats. He blames Foxwood at first, saying they were harboring Snowball but later changes his mind when he was fooled later by Frederick. Frederick who represents Hitler and his farm Pinchfield that represents nazi Germany. Napoleon first makes a deal to trade firewood with Frederick but is given fake bank notes and quickly changes sides so he’s against Frederick and then sides with Pilkington and gambles with him at a celebration at the end of the novel. This situation shows the many conflicts that Stalin had with Great Britain and Germany. Hitler broke a deal with Stalin so he declared Germany an enemy and chose Great Britain as an ally. This is shown in the novel with the firewood incident.
By the end of the novel the animals can no longer distinguish the difference between the pigs and the humans just as the communist agenda and Stalin’s reign is no different than the Czar and Russia before the Soviet Union. The animals start out believing they are being treated unfairly by the farmer and aspire for better living conditions but when it’s too late it becomes obvious that they were better off with Mr. Jones than they are living under Napoleon’s reign just as the russian were better off with the Czar than they are with Joseph Stalin.
An allegory is a story that uses characters and events to symbolize a deeper or hidden meaning. The events in Animal Farm are meant to parallel the events of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the early Soviet Union. The characters represent and criticize authority figures and people in history. A deeper meaning of the novel shows corruption and abuse of power found in totalitarian regimes.
When the story starts out the farm is just a simple farm that is not especially doing well but is not in bad shape. The animals are tired of working and are unhappy working under the farmer, Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones represents Czar Nicholas II of Russia. As the people of Russia were unhappy with the Czar so were the animals of Manor Farm with Mr. Jones. The animals wanted change so the boar, old Major, recalling a dream he had, makes a speech to the other animals on the farm on a future where animals are no longer working for humans and are free. He encourages the animals to rebel against Mr. Jones and take over the farm to start a revolution. Old Major’s character is meant to represent Karl Marx. Karl Marx is a philosopher and revolutionary socialist whose best known for being the founder of communism. He also emphasizes the uprising of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. Karl Marx dies before the Russian Revolution but his idea’s greatly influenced the revolution just as old Major’s speech started the Rebellion in Animal Farm. The pigs who take the first steps to plan the Rebellion are Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball, who takes charge the most in the beginning stages, represents Leon Trotsky. Leon Trotsky was the first leader and founder of the Red Army in Russia. He was later removed from power and then deported from the Soviet Union after the rise of Joseph Stalin. Stalin is also represented in the novel by the pig Napoleon. This event in history is paralleled in Animal Farm when Napoleon runs Snowball off the farm with his pack of dogs and Snowball is never seen on Animal Farm again.
After the expulsion of Snowball, Napoleon rises as leader and uses his pack of dogs and Squealer to enforce his leadership position. The pack of dogs that remain loyal to Napoleon represent Stalin’s secret police. Anyone who opposed Napoleon or admitted to cooperating with Snowball and plotting against the farm were promptly executed by Napoleon’s dogs. Napoleon’s dogs are a constant threat to the other animals which stops them from speaking up against Napoleon if they disagree with him. Stalin’s secret police were the same concept. Napoleon’s changing of the commandments and rule bending were always justified by Squealer. Squealer would convince the animals that what Napoleon was doing was necessary for the farm and it’s success through lies and tricky use of words. Squealer represents Stalin’s propaganda department. Stalin stays powerful and in control through his secret police and propaganda like Napoleon with his pack of dogs and Squealer.
Napoleon continues to break more commandments by engaging in trade with the farmers Pilkington and Frederick. Pilkington represents Winston Churchill and he runs a very successful and well accomplished farm called Foxwood that represents Great Britain. Napoleon is a very paranoid leader and tries to keep control through the use of fear and using the two neighboring farms as scapegoats. He blames Foxwood at first, saying they were harboring Snowball but later changes his mind when he was fooled later by Frederick. Frederick who represents Hitler and his farm Pinchfield that represents nazi Germany. Napoleon first makes a deal to trade firewood with Frederick but is given fake bank notes and quickly changes sides so he’s against Frederick and then sides with Pilkington and gambles with him at a celebration at the end of the novel. This situation shows the many conflicts that Stalin had with Great Britain and Germany. Hitler broke a deal with Stalin so he declared Germany an enemy and chose Great Britain as an ally. This is shown in the novel with the firewood incident.
By the end of the novel the animals can no longer distinguish the difference between the pigs and the humans just as the communist agenda and Stalin’s reign is no different than the Czar and Russia before the Soviet Union. The animals start out believing they are being treated unfairly by the farmer and aspire for better living conditions but when it’s too late it becomes obvious that they were better off with Mr. Jones than they are living under Napoleon’s reign just as the russian were better off with the Czar than they are with Joseph Stalin.