Symbolism And Satire In George Orwell's Animal Farm

Of all the literary classics, Animal Farm (Orwell, 1945) takes the cake in terms of symbolism and satire, which is definitely conspicuous and unambiguous. Any reader familiar with any revolution -> tyranny story will silently chuckle to his/herself as they read. The story takes place on Manor Farm, owned by Jones, who, like other landowners, is an absolutist. The disgruntled animals attend a meeting held by Old Major, who gives a stirring speech concerning animalism and revolution. Within a few weeks, the rebellion is carried out, and there is a brief bit of sheer joy. The seven commandments are created (see attached) and Manor Farm is renamed to Animal Farm. Jones returns to retake his farm, and is kicked out again. The pigs begin to fulfill their role as the leaders, and a rivalry between two pigs (Snowball and Napoleon) emerges. Napoleon eventually kicks out his rival, condemns him as a criminal, and

After the revolution, the pigs slowly gain control over the course of the book, and begin to “bend the rules”, so to speak (i.e. trade). All of these personified animals have a specific role in your standard revolution. The animals start out as abused serfs, and they rebel. It is stated that all animals are equal, but the pigs appear to be rising as the new privileged class, using their literacy and clever brains to fool the other animals. Squealer, the tricky pig who could “turn black into white”, looks like any other propaganda-spreader. It can be assumed that Napoleon (the “leader”) will become the new dictator, and his nine enormous dogs represent his secret police. Boxer, the strong-but-stupid workhorse, (mottos: “I will work harder”, and “Napoleon is always right”), is similar to a brainwashed hardworking “comrade”, a proletariat (Russian working class) if you will. If overused symbolism is your kind of thing, then I might as well say that Napoleon and Snowball represent Stalin and