Summary:
Animal Farm is an allegorical novel because it includes symbols depicting events of the Russian Revolution. The beginning of the Animal Rebellion mirrors the start of the Russian Revolution, the pigs' use of propaganda is similar to the use of manipulation by Stalin and Pravda to influence the Russian people, and Mollie the cart horse and the pigs represent the bourgeoisie before and after the Russian Revolution.
Animal Farm is an allegorical novel because it depicts many events that happened during the Russian Revolution through symbolism. This is proven by discussing how the beginning of the Animal Rebellion mirrors the starting of the Russian Revolution, the pigs' use of propaganda based on the use of manipulation by Stalin and Pravda to influence the Russian people, and Mollie the cart horse and the pigs represent the bourgeoisie before and after the Revolution.
The events that lead up to the Animal Rebellion in Animal Farm is based on how the idea for the Russian Revolution first came to light.
In Animal Farm, the first evidence of the Animal Rebellion begins with a meeting of the animals surrounding a dream that the wise pig Old Major had. His dream centers on a time when animals will be able to one day overthrow the human race and live under their own rule, without the suffering and hard work they had to endure for the longest time. He eventually explains that the essence of the this forthcoming rebellion is to abolish anything and everything human made and related articles from their day-to-day lives, such as ribbons, chains, and whips. He also teaches the animals a song that his mother used to sing to him, in which he forgot about, until he heard it in his dream.
German philosopher Karl Mark, while under membership of the international workers' group, the Communist League, developed an ideal plan that blatantly told of a time when hard-working citizens across Europe would come together and start a revolution, in which utopia would soon ensue. Marx was sure that this dream of his would lead to economic equality between everyone, but, alas, working conditions throughout Western Europe and America had gone through a do-over and were now respectable to the workers' well-being and health. So it seemed like Marx's plan was of no use, until a Russian Communist party that consisted of Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, and Nikolai Lenin. Their country was full of overworked and undermined slaves who had to work for the ungrateful wealthy bourgeoisie, and, after re-working and re-wording Marx's idea of Communism, they brought the idea of the workers' revolution to Russia.
Old Major serves as the role of both Marx and Lenin. He speaks of the key essentials of the later renowned Animalism, and he passes on a song to the other animals that helps to depict his idea of animals overpowering human kind. Therefore, the teachings of how Animalism will come to be are based on how Communism was formed.
The influence over the animals by the pigs are based on the techniques that the Soviet government used to control and manipulate what the Russian people knew, saw, or heard.
In Animal Farm, Napoleon, through Squealer, uses the animals' naivete to his advantage at many times, from distorting the image of Snowball to using the animals' susceptible minds to build up on his own personal gain.
In Russia, after Trotsky was forced out of the country, every trace of him was removed (picture, newspaper articles, documents) by Stalin, whom didn't want any evidence of Trotsky left in Russian history. Also, Stalin's newspaper, Pravda, was also used to edit and control what kind of information the workers received.
The pigs on Animal Farm represent the Soviet government, with Napoleon resembling Stalin, and Squealer as his news agency Pravda, because both forms of sovereign use manipulative means to get what they want out of their civilians, either it be for their own personal gain, or w hat they wanted and didn't want the workers to know. Therefore, the pigs' rule and use of propaganda resemble the way Russia was ruled.
The bourgeoisie in Animal Farm is seen through earlier on in the book by Mollie, the pompous white mare, and later on by the pigs.
Mollie is Mr. Jones's favorite horse, and he shows it by spending an excessive amount of time grooming her, and showers her with luxuries that many of the other animals don't get, such as lumps of sugars and colourful ribbons that plait her mane. She enjoys living the way she does, with humans ogling her and spending a lot of time on her looks, and has a very narcissistic attitude, no matter what the situation. After the Animal Rebellion, however, she finds that the new living arrangements made on the farm isn't to her liking, and she leaves to be pampered by another human after conducting many secret rendezvous'. The bourgeoisie is later represented again later on in the book when the pigs use propaganda to make their lives easier and more luxurious for themselves, which include living in the farmhouse, sleeping in comfortable bed, and keeping the milk, apples, and barley just for themselves, while the rest of the animals still have to live life in the barn, on an almost scarce menu. The Russian bourgeoisie lived a pampered lifestyle while poor, undermined slaves overworked for beneficial purposes that could only serve the wealthy. They never took light on how the workers' lives could be made easier and more enjoyable, and instead spent time wrapped up in themselves, until the onset of the Russian Revolution. Then everything changed for them. The Czar government was no longer looking out for their best interests, and the new Communist government was telling of a plan where every citizen would be treated equally, and there would be no more classes. This plan caused a lot of controversy with the former bourgeoisie. The next onset of classes came to light when the Soviet government began to use propaganda to bring luxury into their lives, and equality between citizens began to diminish, as government was starting to go back to the way it used to be with Czar. The bourgeoisie began again, and the utopia that had been set out for never even began. Mollie and the pigs both represent the bourgeoisie at different periods in Russia. Mollie is symbolic for the wealthy upper classes before the onset of the Russian Revolution, and the pigs as the government went corrupt after the Revolution. Both get better treatment then their peers, and they live luxuriously. Therefore, both Mollie and the pigs represent the bourgeoisie. Animal Farm is a novel based on the events that were brought on by the Russian Revolution. This is proven by looking at such supporting evidence that includes how the early development of the Animal Rebellion was based on how the idea for how the Russian Revolution first began, how the pigs' use of manipulation over the other animals symbolized the Soviet government's use of propaganda, and how the bourgeoisie was represented by Mollie the cart horse and, later on, by the pigs.
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