animals "that Snowball had never—as many of them had believed hitherto—received the order of 'Animal
Hero, First Class'."
God and Religion
In the novel religion is represented by Moses, the tame raven. The clergy is presented as a privileged class
tolerated by those in power because of their ability to placate the masses with promises of rewards in the
after−life for suffering endured on Earth. Moses is afforded special treatment not available to the other
animals. For example, he is the only animal not present at the meeting called by Old Major as the book opens.
Later, the reader is told the other animals hate the raven because he does not do any work, in fact, the pigs
give him a daily ration of beer. Like Lenin, who proclaimed religion was the opiate of the people, Orwell sees
organized religion as another corruptible institution which serves to keep the masses tranquil. Moses preaches
"the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when they
died;" in that distant land "it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and
lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges."
Human Rights
In Animal Farm, Orwell comments on those who corrupt the idea of human rights by showing how the
animals deal with the issue of equality. In chapter one, Old Major interrupts his speech appealing to the
animals for a Rebellion against the humans by asking for a vote on whether "wild creatures, such as rats and
rabbits" should be included in the statement "All animals are comrades." Although at this point, the animals
vote to accept the rats, later distinctions between different types of animals become so commonplace that the
seventh commandment of Animalism is officially changed to read, "All animals are equal, but some are more
equal than others." A number of societies have historically "voted" that portions of their populations were not
equal because of their faith, their skin color, or their ancestry.
Class Conflict
Orwell saw first−hand how being a member of a lower class singled him out for abuse at St. Cyprian's, a
school which attracted most of its students from the British upper class. He had also seen how the British
ruling class in Burma had abused the native population. In Animal Farm the animals begin by proclaiming the
equality of all animals. The classless society soon becomes divided as preferential treatment is given to the
pigs. First, they alone are allowed to consume the milk and the apples which Squealer claims they do not
really want to take, but must to preserve their strength. Later, the other animals are told that they must "stand
aside" if they meet a pig coming down a path, and that all pigs had "the privilege of wearing green ribbons on
their tails on Sundays." By this time, not even an explanation from Squealer is necessary; the hierarchy in the
society is well−established. A pointed remark by Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood, who represents Great Britain in
Orwell's satire, puts the author's distaste for classes in perspective. When Mr. Pilkington and other farmers
meet with Napoleon in the novel's last scene, Pilkington chokes with amusement as he says to the pigs, "If
you have your lower animals to contend with, we have our lower classes." Orwell knew that with power came
the abuse of power and only a vigilant citizenry could prevent such abuses.
Politics
Orwell uses Animal Farm to express his deeply held political convictions. He stated in his 1946 essay, "Why I
Write," "every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly,
against totalitarianism and for Democratic socialism " Although the novel is written in direct response to his
bitter disappointment that the Russian Revolution, instead of establishing a people's republic, established an
essentially totalitarian state, its continued relevance is possible because his criticism stands against any and all
totalitarian regimes. The only protection the average citizen has against a similar tyranny developing in his
own country is his refusal to blindly follow the crowd (like the sheep), the repudiation of all spurious
explanations by propaganda sources (like Squealer), and diligent attention to all government activity, instead
of faithfully following those in power (like Boxer).
Truth and Falsehood
In the novel, the animals are often forced to examine the meaning of truth in their society. Again and again,
truth becomes simply what Snowball, and later Squealer, tells them. Any questions about past events that do
not seem to match the pigs' version of those events are either discounted or explained away. For example,
when some of the animals are executed after they confess to various crimes against Napoleon, some of those
left alive remember that the Sixth Commandment of Animalism was "No animal shall kill any other animal."
When Clover asks Muriel to read the commandment, however, it is discovered that it reads, "No animal shall
kill any other animal without cause." "Somehow or other," the narrator comments, "the last two words had
slipped out of the animals' memory." Similarly, when the pigs get into a case of whiskey and get drunk,
Muriel looks up at the barn wall where the Seven Commandments had been written and sees that the Fifth
Commandment reads, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess." She thinks the animals must have forgotten
the last two words of this commandment as well. She comes to believe that the original event of the writing of
the commandments on the wall did not happen the way she and other animals remember it. With this theme
Orwell challenges the Soviet state's—and any totalitarian state's—method of controlling public opinion by
manipulating the truth and, in particular, rewriting history.
