George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the classic satire of the Russian Revolution, protests the brutality of totalitarianism. Animal Farm is a story about farm animals that revolt against their human masters in order to create an ideal society based on the principle that all animals are created equal. Like many revolutions in modern society, the animals’ success is ephemeral; a new totalitarian regime soon takes power and assumes the place of the humans. Orwell exposes what really happens to the victims of failed revolutions and why these revolutions cannot succeed. He targets the methods dictators use to obtain and hold power, the gradual corruption of government, and the ignorance of people who allow these dictators to take control.
Orwell describes the cruel, iniquitous, and greedy techniques dictators use to obtain and hold power. For example, he writes, “Suddenly the dogs sitting around Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again,” to demonstrate that Napoleon uses fear of his dogs to keep the animals under control. The dogs signify Stalin’s KGB secret police, which he used to hunt down his enemies and make people fear him. Orwell ridicules the use of fear because it is an evil tool that dictators use to extort their people. Another example is how Squealer makes the animals believe that they have better lives, Napoleon helps them, and Snowball is an enemy by persuading them with arguments like, “Surely you do not want the Jones’ back?” This represents how Stalin used the Pravda to publish his brainwashing propaganda and lies about how well the Soviet Union was doing. Orwell disapproves of a dictator lying to his people to keep them happy, because a dictator taking credit for something he didn’t do is immoral. Yet another example is how Napoleon made the animals work “a sixty-hour week, with work on Sundays as well” to satisfy his greed and keep them so busy and so tired that they could not have time to plan a rebellion. This symbolizes how Stalin’s 5-Year Plans to strengthen the Russian economy were a detriment to the people of Russia and prevented them from having any time to pursue their interests or educate themselves. Orwell snubs dictators that keep their people poor, busy, and uneducated because it robs them of the opportunity to live life to the fullest. Thus, Orwell shows his contempt for the methods avaricious dictators use to hold power.
