The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory for Russian history with communism, where multiple key events in the story having a direct correlation to its real life counterpart. Each character and event in the book is pulled right out of history, with Old Major depicting Karl Marx, Napoleon being Josef Stalin, Snowball being his competitor Leon Trotsky, and Mr. Jones seen as Czar Nicholas II. We begin with Old Major delivering his speech after having “had much time for thought as [he] lay alone in [his] stall, and [thinks] that he understand[s] the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that [he wishes to share].” (Orwell 19) His speech about equality and revolution over oppressors is very …show more content…
Snowball is considered by the animals to be a “more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character” (Orwell 33) which is what made the people of Russia during the election between Trotsky and Stalin be in higher favor of Stalin, or in this case, animals in Napoleon after he chased Snowball out of the farm like how Trotsky escaped to Mexico after losing the election to Stalin. After taking power, both Stalin and Napoleon used and expanded upon their rivals’ ideas to progress their respective lands, with Stalin using Trotsky’s ideas about the NEP (New Economic Policy) and communism and Napoleon on the windmill. At some point in both of their rules, both Stalin and Napoleon initiate a purge of traitors to their governments. Stalin’s “Great Purge” that lasted from 1936 to 1938 to eliminate traitors and political rivals. Napoleon’s purge was only to out traitors and even force some into false confessions of crimes they did not commit only to have “the dogs promptly [tear] their throats out” (Orwell 125) and establish his dictatorial rule unquestioned and