Animal Farm As A Social Criticism Essay Example For Students

Animal Farm As A Social Criticism Essay Writers often use social criticism in their books to show corruptness or weak points of a group in society. One way of doing this is allegory which is a story in which figures and actions are symbols of general truths. George Orwell is an example of an author who uses allegory to show a social criticism effectively. As in his novel Animal Farm, Orwell makes a parody of Soviet Communism as demonstrated by Animal Farms brutal totalitarian rule, manipulated and exploited working class, and the pigs evolution into the capitalists they initially opposed. Totalitarianism is a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of life. It was used by Stalin and the Bolsheviks in Russia during the 1920s and 30s and is parodied in Animal Farm by Napoleon, the almighty leader, and his fellow pigs and their ridiculous propaganda and rigorous rule. In the book, Napoleon is deified and made superior to all other animals on the farm, for exampl e he is called emperor or leader while everyone else was referred to as a comrade, and all the pigs were given higher authority then the rest of the animals. An inequality between the pigs and rest of the farm was that the pigs lived in the farm house while the other majority had to sleep in pastures. A certain pig Squealer who could turn black into white was in charge of propaganda, and he would often change the commandments of the farm so that they would fit the actions of Napoleon or the upper class of the farm which was supposedly classless. For example, at one time a commandment read No animal shall drink alcohol(P. 75), but soon after Napoleon drank an abundance and almost died the commandment was changed to No animal shall drink to excess. which made it seem as though Napoleon was within the rules. Another instance where Napoleon showed severe rule was when everyone on the farm who had either pledged for or showed support at one time for Snowball, the exiled former leader, wa s executed on the spot. This act was a humorous resemblance of The Great Purge in Russia where all opposition was killed off. The governing system of the Animal Farm was truly corrupt, but it did not stop with the propaganda and executions.At first on the Animal Farm, it was promised to the majority of the animals who were neither Napoleon or a pig, or the so-called working class, that from each according to his ability to each according to his needs, no more, no less. In other words, if all the animals worked to their capabilities they would get the work back in rations. This system worked for a while, but stopped when Napoleon and his Totalitarian government took over, and the system was manipulated. Napoleon and his fellow pigs gave the animals unfair hours of labor and unfair rations for their work which corrupted the system. Napoleon attempted to keep the animals intact by inspiring them with slogans, Napoleon is always right. and I will work harder.(P.40) This seemed to work b ecause no animal would refuse to do their job because of the fear of their food supply being cut as a penalty. As an example, Napoleon announced that all animals would have to work voluntary Sunday afternoons, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his ration reduced by half(P. 42). Napoleon gave the animals long, many hour days so that the farm could move toward industrialization with the building of a windmill, much like The Five Year Plan of Russia. This act was made comical because much like in Russia the plan kept on failing, but the government proceeded in actions anyway. The so-called working class of the Animal Farm which at first had a bright future was turned into more of a slave class. Animal Farm started with a dream, a dream of old Majors which was for the animals of England specifically the Manor Farm to rebel against the humans, take over the farm, and live at peace amongst themselves. This dream soon became a reality for the animals of .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e , .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .postImageUrl , .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e , .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e:hover , .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e:visited , .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e:active { border:0!important; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e:active , .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u949602a5985cf2329b640cf2bef0e26e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Pizza: Restaurant " href="https://essays.artscolumbia.org/order?utm_source=artscolumbia.org&utm_medium=ch_sh&utm_campaign=sample-page&utm_term=top-custom_order-now&utm_content=order" rel="nofollow" class="content-banner first-banner-content">