Animal Farm by George Orwell, is a satirical novella analysing the Russian political climate of 1945. With England’s increasing contact with the Soviet Union, during the rise of Joseph Stalin and brewing of the Cold War, Orwell sought to vent his frustrations through his art. Orwell, being a prescient writer (Kennedy 2017), was able to contextualise the events of, and immortalise, the Russian Revolution, whilst alluding to the result of the Communist agenda that took power during his lifetime.
Perhaps the most powerful literary device Orwell employs in Animal Farm is his use of allegory to characterise different parties of the Russian Revolution. For example, the tyrannic Mr. Jones can be seen as an allegory for Tsar Nicholas II, the overthrown …show more content…
Boxer, the workhorse, can be related to the proletariat people of Russia at the time, with his faithful attitude, always chanting “I will work harder” (Orwell 1945, p. 22). Through his satirical use of these characters to embody those involved in the Russian Revolution, Orwell is able to provide his own summary, commentary, and predictions of the Russian political climate.
Orwell utilises juxtaposition of characters as another literary device to further emulate the allegory he aims to portray. For example, he frequently contrasts Snowball and Napoleon by almost never mentioning one without the other. He introduces Napoleon as “a large, rather fierce−looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way” (Orwell 1945, p. 5), then Snowball as “a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and …show more content…
It is through this portrayal that the inherent qualities of human nature can truly be presented to readers. One of the most obvious representations of human nature is through the pigs’ rise to power, leading to inevitable epicureanism (Gazur 2015). This, at first, begins quietly with the pigs mixing milk into their mash and taking the harvested apples for themselves. These actions lead the pigs down a path of procuring the best and the most food for themselves, even indulging in whiskey (Orwell 1945, p. 32). Furthermore, three of the Seven Commandments – no animal shall wear clothes, no animal shall sleep in a bed, no animal should drink alcohol (Orwell 1945, p. 8) – are broken by the pigs in favour of their new hedonistic lifestyle, seeking the pleasure enjoyed by humans. This is Orwell’s way of depicting the pitfalls of giving in to materialistic desire and the possible consequences that might
Perhaps the most powerful literary device Orwell employs in Animal Farm is his use of allegory to characterise different parties of the Russian Revolution. For example, the tyrannic Mr. Jones can be seen as an allegory for Tsar Nicholas II, the overthrown …show more content…
Boxer, the workhorse, can be related to the proletariat people of Russia at the time, with his faithful attitude, always chanting “I will work harder” (Orwell 1945, p. 22). Through his satirical use of these characters to embody those involved in the Russian Revolution, Orwell is able to provide his own summary, commentary, and predictions of the Russian political climate.
Orwell utilises juxtaposition of characters as another literary device to further emulate the allegory he aims to portray. For example, he frequently contrasts Snowball and Napoleon by almost never mentioning one without the other. He introduces Napoleon as “a large, rather fierce−looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way” (Orwell 1945, p. 5), then Snowball as “a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and …show more content…
It is through this portrayal that the inherent qualities of human nature can truly be presented to readers. One of the most obvious representations of human nature is through the pigs’ rise to power, leading to inevitable epicureanism (Gazur 2015). This, at first, begins quietly with the pigs mixing milk into their mash and taking the harvested apples for themselves. These actions lead the pigs down a path of procuring the best and the most food for themselves, even indulging in whiskey (Orwell 1945, p. 32). Furthermore, three of the Seven Commandments – no animal shall wear clothes, no animal shall sleep in a bed, no animal should drink alcohol (Orwell 1945, p. 8) – are broken by the pigs in favour of their new hedonistic lifestyle, seeking the pleasure enjoyed by humans. This is Orwell’s way of depicting the pitfalls of giving in to materialistic desire and the possible consequences that might