Animal Farm Articles

In the literary criticism written by William S. Brockington Jr., Brockington discusses the importance of understanding the environment in which George Orwell wrote Animal Farm. It was a turbulent time period after the end of World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. Animal Farm acted as an allegory of the Soviet Union and the animals of the story have a counterpart in history. Although the story is rooted in history, it still has a universal message.

Animal Farm deals with the revolution by animals on a poorly run farm. The pep talking of Old Major influences the animals to do so and create a utopia for all animals. But the utopia only last for so long when they turn into cruel selfish individuals that are just as bad as the humans who took care of them prior. The time in which Animal Farm was written has a lot to do with the absence of the “happy ending”. With the deteriorating confidence many people had with the government, few people had hope for a brighter future. After all, all they had known for the last thirty years had been war and poverty. The context of the literary article discusses how the characters in Animal Farm have counterparts in history. Napoleon represents Stalin of the Soviet Union. Even though there is an alternate meaning to the actions and decisions of the characters in Animal Farm, the theme of the book can still be applied to modern day society. The idea that not all dreams of utopias are possible is a theme in the novel. In this case, the idea of a utopia failed turned into a cruel society led by atrocious rulers.

In the literary criticism by Charles E. May, May says how Animal Farm was a financial achievement for George Orwell and is called a classic. Although there is criticis...

... middle of paper ...

... people with ulterior motives. This is driven by greed, selfishness, and the desire for power and control. When given the opportunity to have a great amount of power, most people jump at the chance. But when people take advantage of the power by controlling every part of a society, that’s when problems occur. In Animal Farm, the original seven commandments were all gradually changed whenever Napoleon ran into a problem with it. For example the commandment, “No animal shall kill another animal” was eventually changed to, “No animal shall kill another animal without cause”. It was changed after a mass slaughter of animals who by Napoleon after the animals admitted to treason. The novel is appropriate for lower levels of reading who want to read for content. But it is also a fitting read for those who want to read it for its reference to people and events in history.