Edited by Kavya Mittal
Originally titled ‘Animal Farm: A Fairy Story’, this novel is far from a fairy tale. Written by George Orwell, Animal Farm is sinister, sad, yet true. Inspired by real-life events of the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, this fiction piece reflects the manifestation of these events.
Orwell uses animals instead of humans as characters for his novel. The choice is particularly striking and perhaps taken to signify that any story can seem simplistic but also be extremely layered at the same time. The choice works in favour of the book as it is taken deliberately to portray how easily power corrupts leaders and can affect the people they rule over significantly. Orwell’s technique can be compared to Art Spiegelman who, in his graphic novel ‘Maus’, uses animal characters as well to discuss the Holocaust. However, unlike Spiegelman, Orwell’s characters are actual farm animals getting mistreated by humans for being animals and having human-like qualities. The book begins with the revolt of the animals against humans and ends with the animals almost becoming humans themselves. Another simplistic aspect of the book which worked for it is its setting, a quaint farm that becomes the setting for an unfolding of events that translate to be of global occurrence in the bigger picture. This also shows how anyone can be power-hungry and any place can be affected by the effects of a revolution.
The author’s writing technique aids in keeping the plot easy to grasp. It continuously provides the audience with a lust to know how the story unfolds and leaves your mind blown at the end. Exhausted from their lives under the enslavement of human beings, animals of the Manor Farm revolt against them, establish their own rules and rename the farm to Animal Farm. And once they’re released from capture, they start to formulate their own way of living. It starts with one basic rule ‘All animals are equal’ but as the story progresses, we see that this changes and some animals become more equal than others. This book shows how people’s fight for freedom can just as easily transform into a hunger for power. Orwell is clever in his writing as he plants lies, illiteracy and even a head hunt throughout the novel to elaborate on the oppression, propaganda and elaborate excuses that led to the rise of the Soviet dictatorship.
Perhaps, one of the most interesting facts about this book is that it is not only a reflection on the Russian revolution but also on any revolution that has taken or may take place. It is also a very realistic portrayal of the after-effects of revolutions. The book can be used as a supplementary text to analyze the political inward workings of a revolution, wherein those at the bottom of the power wheel reach the top, crushing the previous power holders and maybe even those they hold power over. However, it is crucial to remember that this is a piece of fiction. In contrast, Orwell implies that an uprising is a vain effort because it never leads to any real change or consequences which can affect the world positively or negatively. This implication is something to ponder over which means this book remains in the reader’s mind long after its initial reading.
Animal Farm can also be compared to other works by the author such as ‘1984’. Orwell likes “to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole“. This can be noticed in both his books in which he does not force his political ideologies down the throats of his readers. He prefers to weave them into stories. Whilst ‘1984’ seems more realistic in its narrative and plot, Animal Farm captures the essence of how a revolution with its power dynamics results in the corruption of power. It covers five traits of dystopian fiction; dehumanization, fear, restriction, conformity and control, and reading it certainly made me think of the political structures we reside in and enhanced my interest in dystopian fiction.
Animal Farm is a politically powerful book that was way ahead of its time and is very compelling because it encourages readers to think critically about the politics around us. I would recommend this book to every reader, regardless of their age and political affiliations, just to witness a fictional world that could very well be turned into reality.