The Role Of Animalism In George Orwell's Animal Farm

Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is, no doubt, a notable piece of classic historical fiction and fantasy, and an elaborate allegory of the Russian Revolution. The story unfolds on an average farm, inhabited by oppressed animals under the ruthless rule of the farmer, Mr. Jones. Never had they thought to act upon their poor treatment, until Old Major, one of the prized pigs on the farm, dreams that the animals unite to overthrow the humans and lead the farm on their own. The animals are overjoyed at this idea, and label it “animalism”. Inspired by this philosophy, the farm, led by two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, chase Jones away from the farm and begin the animalist revolution. The animals are ecstatic at their victory, and the pigs, deemed the wisest animals on the farm, create seven commandments to ensure the happiness and equality of all creatures on Animal Farm, including rules such as “whoever goes upon two legs is an enemy”, “no animal shall

kill any other animal”, and “all animals are equal”. Though the animals thrive at first, complete equality is impossible to maintain, and the inhabitants of the farm begin to notice a rising unbalance in power.

Though Snowball was a fair leader who truly believed in the raw ideas of animalism, Napoleon was a corrupt, sly tyrant, who would stop at nothing to achieve complete dominance over the farm. He takes advantage of the naivety of his comrades and slowly crawls his way to power, first by driving Snowball away from the farm and tricking the animals into believing that Snowball had malicious intentions, and then by steadily altering the rations of food so that the pigs result with the most. He breaks every commandment and entirely alters the definitions of animalism and equality, as the pigs are treated as higher beings than the others. The animals are helpless against Napoleon’s cunning wit, and before they can put a stop to the tyranny, Napoleon has already taken complete control of the farm, stating that “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than

others.”
At the beginning of Animal Farm, Napoleon had truly agreed with Old Major and his philosophy. He had led the animals in peace and harmony with Snowball, and they had brought joy to the farm and tastes of glory. However, the power of leadership appealed so much the Napoleon that it became all he could think about. He stole the newborn pups belonging to one of the farm dogs and raised them as his own army, teaching them to do nothing but obey his orders without question. The corruption led him to use his dogs to drive away his partner so he could be in total control, and things only went downhill from there. As many dictators do, he shut himself away from the public, creating a mystery of fear and threat, and spoke through his assistant Squealer, who had a way with words and used his gift to brainwash the animals in the farm into thinking that everything was alright. By the end of the book, Napoleon, the pigs, and the dogs had broken every single commandment, completely taking after the humans and brutally murdering any animal who dared to oppose his commands.
The way Napoleon manages to use his smarts to completely take control over the farm is both horrible and fascinating, and every chapter leaves me wanting more. The fact that the occurrences on the farm can almost exactly be compared with those of the Russian Revolution - such as how the idea of communism, inspired by Karl Marx, originally had good intentions, and how it ended in Stalin having complete power - is terrifying, and realising that the horrible acts of trickery and murder done by Napoleon have happened in the real world and can definitely happen again is shocking. It also brought me to think how propaganda can easily change how a community thinks and what side they choose to side with through lies and exaggerations, shown by how Squealer constantly falsely reassured and lied to the animals about how everything was fine, the farm was doing well, and that Napoleon was the true good guy, and Snowball had been a thief and a villain. Overall, the story is captivating and emotional, and the lengths that Napoleon goes to to achieve dominance can really shock the reader.