In many fairy stories animals play the main parts and often adopt human characteristics e.g. The Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The animals help to make the life within the stories seen more straightforward and simple and also enable the reader to easily distinguish between the main characters. Authors are also able to stereotype animals by giving them certain characteristics e.g. the sly fox or the greedy pig, which is easier and often less offensive than labelling groups of humans. Orwell's use of animals also creates a strong feeling of sympathy for the lower and working class Russians as animals naturally provoke strong feelings within humans. Orwell uses pigs to play the leaders Napoleon and Snowball, which represent Stalin and Trotsky respectively and cart horses, symbols of strength, to play Boxer and Clover. Boxer's "strength seemed equal to that of all the rest of the animals put together" representing a type of worker known as a Stakhanovite (named after a legendary Soviet miner) who unthinkingly worked for the good of the new nation but did not realize that he was being exploited. The selection of the different types of animals seriously affects the meaning of the story. In the end of the book the leaders (Napoleon and the other pigs) stand upon two legs. At this sight the animals, “in spite of everything – in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining never criticizing, no matter what happened – they might have uttered some word of protest” but were silenced by the bleating of the sheep. This suggests that the poor and downtrodden Russians were animals that were stupid, incapable of criticism or independent thought and easily silenced yet the leaders of the revolution were intelligent and superior. This is symbolized in Animal Farm by the phrase, “Four legs good, two legs better!” This suggestion could possibly have aroused negative feelings towards Orwell's story within the working class Russians. In 1945 when Russia was a strong ally of Great Britain, the Ministry of Information warned Jonathan Cape against publishing the book as they felt that it would be disloyal to publish a book in which Russian politicians were represented as pigs.
Orwell uses his farm to symbolize the communist system. The book begins with the rebellion against Mr. Jones, who represents the Tsar. The pigs and dogs take on most of the responsibility of the running of the farm and the rest of the animals accept this with the input of some persuasion from Squealer. Squealer tells the rest of the animals, “We pigs are brain-workers. The whole management and organization of this farm depends on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare.” But power corrupts the pigs and they turn on their fellow animals, eliminating competitors through propaganda and bloodshed. In Animal Farm Snowball is chased away by the dogs and Napoleon and Squealer blame all the problems the farm experiences on him including the shortage of food. As in the Russian Revolution, blood is shed on Animal Farm. In one show trial “the dogs bounded forward seized four of the pigs by the ear and dragged them squealing with pain and terror, to Napoleon’s feet. The pigs’ ears were bleeding…” Three hens, three sheep and a goose were also slaughtered at this trial. This is a reference to Stalin, who had Trotsky deported and murdered many of his own people in order to maintain his dictatorship of Russia. As the book progresses Napoleon adopts nearly all of Jones' principles and harsh mistreatment of the animals. This proves to the reader that communism is not equality but just another form of inequality. It also proves Orwell's intended point that it is impossible to escape the rule of a government. In the later chapters of the book the commandments are slowly altered for example, the commandment “No animal shall drink alcohol” is changed to “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess” and the commandment “No animal shall kill any other animal” is changed to “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause”. This symbolises the re-writing of the past ten years of propaganda within the Russian Revolution. Eventually the commandments are removed from the barn wall. This represents the whole concept of communism beginning destroyed.
Animal Farm contributed to most of the Western World finally realising the danger of communism. Soon a Cold War began between the world’s greatest superpowers – the Soviet Union and the United States. In the end, America would prove that capitalism and democracy could outlive a system of unequal equality. Orwell recognises the danger of inequality within communism and refers to this in Animal Farm with the phrase, “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS”.
I believe that Orwell was extremely successful in warning of the dangers of communism through a ‘fairy story’ as although the book can be appreciated as a story in which a group of animals try pathetically to behave like humans and fail there are clear parallels between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution. Unlike the many political warnings wrote in the 1940's Orwell was not ignored.
