From Utopia to Dystopia:
Summary and Analysis of Class Stratification in George Orwell’s Animal Farm
George Orwell’s novella Animal Farm was published on August 17th, 1945. It depicts a satirical and fictionalized representation of the corruption of socialist movements in the Soviet Union through animals overtaking a farm. The main theme surrounds society’s tendency toward class structures and segregation.
Orwell’s story begins on Mr. Jones’ Manor Farm in England with Old Major, a pig, describing to all the animals of a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the dictatorship of humans, a philosophy he names Animalism. Following Old Major’s death, the animals are inspired to attempt to overthrow the humans and …show more content…
Throughout the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat on whom he blames all the animals’ misfortunes. The animals then focus much of their time on the construction of the windmill, which is mainly lead by Boxer, an especially strong horse, who by doing so proves himself to be valuable to the wellbeing of the farm. Even though it is contrary to the Commandments of Animalism, Napoleon arranges to meet with a solicitor so he can begin trading with neighbouring farms. When the half-finished windmill is destroyed, once again Napoleon has the animals believe it is the sole fault of Snowball and orders for it to be built again stronger than the last. Napoleon’s reign over Animal Farm continues to the point where he has his guard dogs publicly slaughter any animal that has confessed to any wrong-doing, no matter how small, even though it is also against the Commandments of Animalism for an animal to kill another animal. He and the other pigs move into Jones’ abandoned farmhouse and begin to sleep in their beds. When the windmill is completed, Napoleon sells a pile of timber to a neighbouring farmer …show more content…
This happens when a society tends to divide into segregated classes whose members have different levels of access to wealth and power, causing a cultural and economic imbalance between the different classes. This happens in Animal Farm when the pigs elect themselves as the leaders and thus all the animals outside of Napoleon’s selective circle become the working class. The new commandment suggests that the pigs view themselves as special, elite deities that the working class exists only to support and cater to the whims of the privileged. By the pigs having this mentality and the other animals remaining silent to Napoleon about this injustice, it contributes to the reason why the utopia social experiment of Animalism ultimately fell to its
Summary and Analysis of Class Stratification in George Orwell’s Animal Farm
George Orwell’s novella Animal Farm was published on August 17th, 1945. It depicts a satirical and fictionalized representation of the corruption of socialist movements in the Soviet Union through animals overtaking a farm. The main theme surrounds society’s tendency toward class structures and segregation.
Orwell’s story begins on Mr. Jones’ Manor Farm in England with Old Major, a pig, describing to all the animals of a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the dictatorship of humans, a philosophy he names Animalism. Following Old Major’s death, the animals are inspired to attempt to overthrow the humans and …show more content…
Throughout the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat on whom he blames all the animals’ misfortunes. The animals then focus much of their time on the construction of the windmill, which is mainly lead by Boxer, an especially strong horse, who by doing so proves himself to be valuable to the wellbeing of the farm. Even though it is contrary to the Commandments of Animalism, Napoleon arranges to meet with a solicitor so he can begin trading with neighbouring farms. When the half-finished windmill is destroyed, once again Napoleon has the animals believe it is the sole fault of Snowball and orders for it to be built again stronger than the last. Napoleon’s reign over Animal Farm continues to the point where he has his guard dogs publicly slaughter any animal that has confessed to any wrong-doing, no matter how small, even though it is also against the Commandments of Animalism for an animal to kill another animal. He and the other pigs move into Jones’ abandoned farmhouse and begin to sleep in their beds. When the windmill is completed, Napoleon sells a pile of timber to a neighbouring farmer …show more content…
This happens when a society tends to divide into segregated classes whose members have different levels of access to wealth and power, causing a cultural and economic imbalance between the different classes. This happens in Animal Farm when the pigs elect themselves as the leaders and thus all the animals outside of Napoleon’s selective circle become the working class. The new commandment suggests that the pigs view themselves as special, elite deities that the working class exists only to support and cater to the whims of the privileged. By the pigs having this mentality and the other animals remaining silent to Napoleon about this injustice, it contributes to the reason why the utopia social experiment of Animalism ultimately fell to its