The first parallel between ‘Animal Farm’ and the Russian revolution is important because they are the problem that stirs up the revolution. Tsar and Jones. Tsar was the leader of Russia in the times before the revolution. Russia was in a terrible state; there was poverty, very little money and poor living conditions. Tsar and his wife, however, lived in luxury. He had plenty of money; riches, food and he lived in a fine house with plenty of comforts. Jones is the parallel in ‘Animal Farm’. Whilst times are hard on the farm Jones always has his warm house to return to. The animals sometimes starve because he forgets to feed them and their living conditions in the old barn are poor. This is the same state that Russia was in, Jones and Tsar lived in luxury at other people’s expense.
This sparked off the next parallel. Old major from ‘Animal Farm’ with two people in the Russian revolution, Marx and Lenin. Marx believed that private ownership was wrong and everyone should be equal. It was Lenin who adopted Marx’s ideas and he said that the middle class exploited the workers and should be overthrown. He understood that for his ideas to catch on he needed short sharp slogans. ‘Animal Farm’ has Old Major. He inspires the animals with a speech he gives one night in the barn. He has the dream and then gets the audiences support by the same way as Lenin did. Short phrases that the animals could remember, for example, ‘All men are enemies’ and ‘all animals are equal’. These phrases can be remembered and he captures the animal’s emotions. Both people realise what could happen if the revolution and go about telling the others about their ideas.
Another parallel in the book is Snowball and Trotsky. Trotsky and Snowball were brilliant public speakers. Trotsky and Lenin managed to overthrow the government in October 1917 and Trotsky set up the people’s commission. Lenin was the president and Trotsky was the commissar for foreign affairs. This is where they are different for Snowball. Snowball also set up different comities for different animals but Old Major had already died so he did it alone as he got no support from the other pigs. Both snowball and Trotsky had their opposition. Trotsky had Stalin and Snowball had Napoleon. In the book if snowball made a suggestion or had an idea Napoleon would oppose it, in Russia if Trotsky made a proposition for the country then Stalin would have opposed it.
Napoleon and Stalin also act in connection. Both of them had their opposition banished from the country. Stalin secured his country and made sure that the country could defend itself if attacked, this was the opposite of what Trotsky wanted to do. Napoleon also did this. He ensured that the farm was ok within itself rather than spreading the ideas of the revolution to the neighbouring farms. Both Stalin and Napoleon found their opposition very useful once banished because they could blame everything that went wrong on them.
Squealer was Napoleon’s sidekick. He did all the talking and the propaganda. Politburo was the same in the Russian revolution. They both made all the public speeches and they both persuaded the audience that their leader was right, even if they weren’t. The dogs were also Napoleons sidekicks as they did all the dirty work for him. They were his bodyguards and the inside spies. In Russia Stalin had the Cheka / OGPU / MKVD / KGB. These were various groups who were Stalin’s secret police whilst he was in power.
Boxer represent the common labours from Russia who joined in with the revolution because they genially believed that their leader was right and would bring what was best to their country. Mollie is an example of the people in Russia who did not agree with the revolution and who fled the country because they did not agree with its ideals and plans. The sheep represents the blind followers. In the book the sheep just go along with whatever they heard about last. There were people like this in the Russian revolution that just carried on following what everyone else, and most importantly, what the leaders said and did.
Another parallel from the book to the Russian revolution is between the hens and the Kulaks. The Kulaks were the landowners. They were often peasants and when the revolution started they were forced to give up their farms. From 1929 onwards Stalin started to murder them as a class. In animal farm the same things happens. Napoleon forces the hens to surrender their eggs for trade and they refuse. They refuse by laying their eggs on the roofs so that they all smash. Napoleon therefore has then killed by the dogs for disobeying his orders.
The windmill also represents the Russian revolution as they decide to build it to aid the life on the farm. It is a five-year plan. Also during the revolution there were five-year plans known as economic plans from 1927 to 1932. The purpose of these was exactly the same as the windmill in the book, to improve industry.
Germany and Great Britain – Frederick and Pilkington. This is also a common parallel because it symbolises neighbours and allies. Frederick (Germany) tricks Napoleon by paying him with fake money then he and his men blow up the windmill. During the Russian revolution the same things happened, an unprovoked attack. Russia occupied the eastern side of Poland whilst Germany had the rest, then in 1941 June 22 Germany attacked Russia who were allies. After this in both the Russian revolution and the story they both turn to be friends with their other neighbours. Russia allied with Britain and the USA and the Tehran conference in 1943 created the Soviet Union to be allies with Britain and the USA. However by the end of the Second World War the Soviet Union was an enemy again. The same happens in the book as once Napoleon and Frederick fall out Napoleon turns to Pilkington. The two become friends and allies against Frederick but they too fall out when they both play an ace of spades on the same turn in a card game.
Mollie is the last connection between the Russian revolution and the story ‘Animal Farm’. She represents everyone who did not agree with the ideas and principles of the revolution. She does not like giving p her ribbons and working for less food. She also cannot stand not having treats and decides to run away to a new owner where she can wear ribbons in her mane and be fed treats. Many people did this in the Russian revolution too. They couldn’t stand not owning anything for themselves and everyone being equal so they left and moved to countries where the ideas of the revolution hadn’t or were not likely to catch on.
All of the points made in the essay show the direct links between the Russian revolution and George Orwell’s book ‘Animal Farm’. They show that without this understanding and level of knowledge you cannot understand the full message that Orwell is trying to portray. He is showing that the revolution cannot work no matter how hard people try. Because there will always be someone to take the power for themselves. Each person who made a difference in the Russian revolution is portrayed as an animal in the book and each ‘class’ of people is shown by a different breed of animals, for example leaders pigs, labours as horses. If you do not understand the Russian revolution then you cannot read ‘Animal Farm’ anything more than a children’s story with talking animals in it!
