Authors use animal characters to bring out themes that affect people in their daily life. The exploit of familiar objects or animals helps readers to understand the ideas that a writer wishes to put across. One of the authors that have used animals is George Orwell, in his novel titled Animal Farm. The book features animals that unite to eject humans from their property. The plot of the book has many similarities to the Russian Revolution. The characters in the book share multiple resemblances with individuals who spearheaded the revolution. This essay will compare characters in Animal Farm to people involved in the uprising. They are Old Major to Karl Marx, Napoleon to Stalin, and Snowball to Trotsky.
One of the characters in the book is Old Major (pig) who is compared to Karl Marx in the Russian Revolution. Karl Marx was a renowned political thinker and philosopher. He is credited with the invention of communism (Fitzpatrick 46). According to him, the world would be a better place if people united and worked together for the common good (Fitzpatrick 46). He encouraged workers to team up to overthrow an oppressive regime. On the other hand, Old Major came up with the idea of animalism (Orwell 17). As per Major, it would have been difficult for animals to overcome oppression without being united (Orwell 17). Old Major mobilized animals to revolt against the rich who kept all the money despite the former doing all the work. Both Karl Marx and Old Major did not live to see the fruits of their activism. Karl Marx died before the end of the Russian Revolution. Conversely, Old Major passed on before the animals could liberate themselves.
In Animal Farm, Napoleon (pig) is likened to Stalin. In the beginning, he had the interests of other animals at heart. At some point, he oversaw the distribution of biscuits and corns and made sure that all animals got their share (Orwell 25). Nevertheless, as he started to gain power, his leadership style changed. A leader who believed in justice and fairness started to impose rules on his followers. He no longer believed in egalitarianism and was brutal to any animal that tried to go against his decrees. Similarly, Stalin believed in inequality during the early stages of the Russian Revolution (Fitzpatrick 51). However, he changed into a dishonest and tyrannical leader after gaining power. Stalin became increasingly evil and self-centered. Fitzpatrick posits that Stalin orchestrated the banishment of Trotsky to ensure that no one threatened his leadership (52).
The Animal Farm compares Snowball to Trotsky. The animals did not consider education as essential. Also, learning was not valued during the Russian Revolution (Fitzpatrick 61). Snowball introduced the idea of education after coming across spelling books (Orwell 31). He developed an interest in learning where he taught himself, and later his fellow pigs. Snowball encouraged others animals to learn how to read and write. On the other hand, Trotsky was concerned with the wellbeing of the Russians during the Revolution (Fitzpatrick 61). He dedicated his time to teaching the public as a way to improve people’s lives (Fitzpatrick 63). Both Snowball and Trotsky were viewed as a threat by their leaders. Hence, they were exiled as a way to prevent them from staging mutiny.
The author succeeds in using analogies and metaphors to depict the absurdity of the Russian Revolution. The book’s relationship to the Russian Revolution is quite straightforward and reveals the lives of individuals who participated in the uprising. Napoleon’s greed, just like Stalin’s made it hard for animals to coexist peacefully and achieve common goals. The effort made by Snowball helped animals to know about their rights. Similarly, Trotsky introduced education, enlightened the Russians leading to them demanding their rights. Eventually, he was seen as a threat, thus expelled.
Works Cited
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. 4th ed., Oxford University Press, 2017.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. 1st World Library, 2004.