The Russian Revolution of 1917 Through Symbolism and Allegories in Animal Farm

Twenty-two years after the Russian Revolution ended, George Orwell published his world-renowned novel, Animal Farm. The novel itself attracted an immense amount of attention and became a commercial success over the years that followed. Orwell’s intention while writing Animal Farm was to depict the Russian Revolution of 1917 using clever symbolism and allegories that accurately portrayed the events of the revolution. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. The similarities between the characters of Animal Farm and people that played an important role in the Russian Revolution is an example of George Orwell’s use of allegories throughout the novel.

The novel itself takes place on Manor Farm, which is governed by Mr. Jones, the temperamental tyrant that owns the farm. Mr. Jones represents Tsar Nicholas II, the last ruler of Russia. Both Tsar Nicholas II and Mr. Jones lived lives of luxury while others struggled to survive under their rule. While the animals are harassed, starved, and worked to the bone, Mr. Jones and his men continue to live their lives comfortably. Much like how the animals were treated under the rule of Mr. Jones, the people of Russia were forced to endure great poverty and disorder under the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. Tsar Nicholas was the ruler of Russia during the time period before the revolution. However, he was overthrown during the October Revolution, and it was decided that the dictatorship system was to be replaced with a communist system instead, it symbolized that the Bolshevik Party had taken control. The equivalent to this event in the novel Animal Farm, was when Mr. Jones was chased off of the farm by the animals, and soon after Manor Farm became Animal Farm. The animals declared that the victory would be remembered as the Battle of Cowshed.

When one pig, Old Major, decides that the system is unfair, he begins to tell tales of a new system called animalism, a philosophy that would allow animals to live in peace without humans. Old Major was the character corresponding to V.I. Lenin. V.I. Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik Party. Much like how Old Major brought up the idea of Animalism, V.I. Lenin introduced the idea of Communism to the Russian Empire. While Animalism supported the idea of equal rights for all animals, Communism supported equal rights for all people. Both systems’ goals were to end poverty and make sure that everyone had an equal amount of power and say in what the government did. This meant that the government was controlled by the people and animals. However, both V.I. Lenin and Old Major died before they could see the ensuing effects of their ideas. Another similarity between the two was how passionate they were about their cause. In the end, Old Major was the reason for Manor Farm’s transformation into Animal Farm, just as V.I. Lenin was responsible for Russia becoming the Russian Soviet Republic.

Another character with a major role in the novel Animal Farm is Snowball. Snowball was the animal representation of Leon Trotsky. Leon Trotsky was another one of the main leaders during the time of the Russian Revolution. Leon was a communist and loyal to the ways of V.I. Lenin just as Snowball accepted the ideas of Old Major and worked hard to make them a reality. Leon Trotsky also worked hard for the good of the people but he was exiled and declared a traitor by Joseph Stalin, the second leader of the Soviet Union in 1929. In the novel Animal Farm, Snowball was also chased off of the farm and exiled by Napoleon’s dogs when Napoleon became greedy and hungry for more power. Although both were intellectually better candidates for their roles as leaders, Trotsky and Snowball were caught up in the fight for power and unfairly punished for it.

Like Napoleon, Joseph Stalin valued nothing but power. He forced people to work for him and falsely advertised his intentions in order to earn the trust of others. Stalin had anyone and everyone who opposed his ideas killed by his secret police during the “ShowTrials”, just as Napoleon had his dogs intimidate and kill the animals that started to openly rebel against him. As Napoleon and his fellow pigs slowly got fatter and fatter, the other animals on the farm started to starve once again, even though the idea behind animalism was that everyone would be treated to the same amount of food and services on the farm. Napoleon’s new lifestyle represented how Stalin got richer and richer until it became clear that Russia was once again in the same situation they had sought to get out of.

Later on in the novel, the animals’ windmill is attacked and destroyed. Although the animals won the battle, they still lost all of their work. The animals called it the Battle of Windmill, and it represented Russia’s involvement in World War II. By the end of the novel, the remaining animals on the farm look through a window only to find that they can no longer tell the pigs and the humans apart. This is a direct allegory to how the Russians finally realized that the new system was no better than the one they had originally grown to despise.

Cite this page