George Orwell- Animal Farm Essay, Research Paper

World War II had a major effect on the entire world of the late twentieth century. Many of the changes that occurred were shown through the literature, which often addressed the moral and political issues of the modern state (Petcovic 1). As opposed to the nineteenth century, twentieth century writers started writing anti-utopian novels . These were books that discussed the evils of man, instead of the perfectibility of mankind (Scott-Kilvert 279). Many of the novels written were intended as criticism of the political and social structure of that author s time. As well as writing about their time, authors started writing about themselves and their countries. Fiction blossomed during this time, as a way of commenting on society (Petcovic 3). In addition, people started to write about the working class.

George Orwell, a twentieth century writer, wrote many novels, including Animal Farm and 1984. Orwell, also known as Eric Blair, had little imagination. All of his novels were somewhat similar, involving stories of solitary characters that reflect himself (Fores 2). He drew from his own experiences to get ideas for his novels. His concentration on himself leads him to see the outside world as an enlarged projection of his own personal problems, says critic Ian Scott-Kilvert (Scott-Kilvert 273). Orwell grew up hating the idea of inequality, as well as political lying (274). He desired a society where class privileges would not exist. He chose poverty, a working-class background, and anonymity in preference to the conventional career a young man of his gifts might have followed (Zehr 1). He had much sympathy for humanity, and wrote two great novels that attacked totalitarianism.

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The novel, Animal Farm, put the problems of caste division outside a human setting (Fores 1). Orwell tried to show how revolutionary ideals of justice, equality and fraternity always shatter in the event (1). George Orwell drew from his own experiences to discuss the two major things he hated in life, inequality and political lying.

Orwell s experiences during the Spanish Civil War changed his views on society. When he volunteered to fight for the Republic, he thought he saw the success of socialism in action. He saw much comradeship and respect , and everyone was treating each other as equals (Rovere 283). He also saw the same type of respect when he joined the militia group.

However, soon later, his views turned to horror. He saw his fellow comrades being shot and jailed by the other comrades who were fighting on the same side (Rovere 289). The same people who were once treating each other with respect were now killing each other. The Communists did not agree with the views of Orwell s militia, and believed that the militia was being disloyal to the Communist ideas. Orwell could not believe how people could treat each other as equals, and the turn on each other in a heartbeat. These experiences contributed toward Orwell s intense hatred of inequality.

When Orwell returned to England to tell of the horrors he had seen, no one would listen to him. The socialists ignored him because it was the wrong time to say anything that might hurt the Republican side (Rovere 290). After having observed that politics was more important to the socialists then truth, Orwell became disgusted with party

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politics and with all of the political lying. Even though this was the wrong time to express his thoughts, he decided to write Animal Farm, which showed the hatred he had gained for inequality and political lying.

In the beginning of the novel, the animals were treated with no respect, and the people ran the farm as a dictatorship. The animals decided this was unfair, and planned on taking over the farm. After a long battle between the animals and the people, the animals eventually won. They made a list of seven commandments that all of the animals had to follow. The last one on the list stated, All animals are equal. All of the animals respected the pigs because they were very intelligent. These commandments were followed for a short period of time, until the pigs started to take control. The pigs eventually turned on the other animals, even though they had promised the others that they would follow the commandments. This situation is similar to Orwell s experience in the Spanish Civil War. The pigs, as well as the comrades, treated their peers as equals until they had a chance to take control (Scott-Kilvert 280).

Orwell s hatred for political lying was also shown throughout this book. After the rebellion, the pigs use their cleverness to be somewhat in charge of the farm, even though all animals are supposed to be equal. At first, they take all of the milk and new apples for themselves, saying that they need the food for brainpower. The pigs declared that without their brainpower, farmer Jones might come back and take over the farm. However, they were just being greedy. Later, the pigs move into the farmhouse, and start to sleep in the beds. Even though this was contrary to the fourth commandment, the pigs said it was absolutely necessary for the farm to run smoothly. The main pig, Napoleon,

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kills four young pigs, three hens, and a goose, followed by even more farm animals. This violated the sixth commandment that stated, No animal shall kill any other animal without cause. After another battle with the people, the pigs celebrate by drinking, which again broke another commandment. One day, one of the animal s named Boxer was working tirelessly, and suddenly collapsed. The pigs told the animals that they were taking Boxer to a hospital to get him treated. However, the pigs were really taking him to a horse slaughterer because he was no longer needed on the farm. In honor of Boxer s death, the pigs hold a banquet, and use some of the money earned to buy another case of whiskey. Towards the end of the novel, the pigs start walking on their hind legs, which was prohibited by the commandments. The pigs then changed the commandments, to say, All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. The pigs continuously lied to the animals to gain power. In the beginning, the pigs knew they weren t going to follow the commandments, but set them up to make the other animals happy. By lying, the pigs earned the trust of the animals, and took advantage of it to get what they wanted (Barron s Booknotes 8).

The novel, Animal Farm, was written to show how inequality and political lying can corrupt a society (Fores 1). Orwell s hatred for these two things was expressed through the unfairness of the pigs. He turned his own, awful experiences during the Spanish Civil war into a political satire to convey his feelings (Scott-Kilvert 270). This is how Orwell s own experiences with inequality and political lying affected the novel.