Huge Morale Booster

The Manor Farm, which resides in England, is just your typical country residence. You’ve got the field for hay, the barn for animals to spend the night in, and of course the house for humans to live in. Why, none of this would be there if it weren’t for humans to make it possible. The field would most likely not be present, for trees would still stand tall, blocking the sunlight from reaching the grass below. That’s not to say that fields don’t occur naturally - don’t get me wrong, they do - but for the most part, trees and other vegetation would cover this earth undeniably. The barn, well, is pretty self-explanatory. Humans cut the trees down in order to create lumber, a valuable resource used in the making of buildings. In construction, steel is also a building block for structures, due to its strength and durability over time. This, like many other things evident on the farm, is mined from the ground using human-made machines and tools. Without the wit of humans, skyscrapers (or buildings, in general) would cease to be among the entirety of the planet. Similar to the barn, the household in which the humans spend their time outside of work is also constructed by themselves. A little more luxurious than the barn one could say, for the house has running water and electricity, but nonetheless is a symbol of human power and integrity.

On the other hand, from the point of view of a human, animals are typically not communicable amongst other species unless they are given some sort of wizardry by God (which, to this day, has not happened). Now, there is some form of communication in the form of orders or commands made by humans, which can be understood to a certain degree by animals such as dogs and horses. Over time, however, we have trained these animals to be the best they can possibly be by domesticating them over a long period of time. In fact the earliest encounters with domestication were the use of cats (personal animals) and camels (methods of transportation and service) by the Egyptians. All of this, from the human point of view, is changed when you read Animal Farm. It provides a unique way of conveying animal’s thoughts through the minds of the animals themselves, varying from pigs to horses to cows. I hope you’re not too discombobulated to keep reading after my explanation about the narrative perspective.

From a historical point of view, animal farm was published during the midst of 1945, a turning point in many countries known as the end of World War 2. Residing in England at the time, George Orwell (his real name being Eric Arthur Blair), was well aware of what was going on around him. The Third Reich had begun showing weakness, which was a huge morale booster for the Allied powers. While things were settling on the battlefield, Orwell was writing his book, which can be seen as a parallel to some aspects of history and of his current time period. Although the Soviet Union was on the allied powers, it was clear to the public who was in charge - Joseph Stalin. In fact, Stalin killed more people in his lifetime than Hitler did, contrary to what a lot of people think.

All the while, George probably noted this and wanted to establish a book about it in the most ingenious way he could, that being Animal Farm. What I have noticed from reading the book is that the revolution by the animals, led by the pigs, symbolizes the Russian Revolution. They even have similar principles; communist Soviet Union believes all social classes should be eliminated - and the animals think akin, establishing the seven commandments to be followed after the humans no longer occupy the farm. As the book progresses, it becomes evident that the pigs are becoming abusive of their abilities and start to establish a different form of government, slowly but surely so that the other animals don’t take notice. Over time, the pigs start to show similar traits to that of the leader of the Soviet Union, a dictatorship. The horrific actions Stalin did to his own people prompted Orwell to write about it, producing Animal Farm. The historical events occurring around him at the time most certainly affected his writing in the way that his entire book is a parallel to the Soviets. 

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