Animal farm authored by George Orwell in 1945 is an allegorical novella written in satire. It depicts the animals’ overthrow of their owner and establishing their control over the farm to live freely and happily; contrary to that, they fall to outright corruption and abject slavery even in their own rule. Set in the countryside of England, the 105-page book consists of 10 chapters. Additionally, it also contains a preface titled The Freedom of the Press, in which the author has criticised as well as lamented the Pro-Russian attitude of the English press. Chapter 2 depicts the much-talked-about revolution while the subsequent chapters relate the occurrences of the farm in which naive animals are deceived by their so-called great leader and his cronies.
The book opens with a secret meeting of the animals of Manor Farm (after the rebellion they change it to Animal Farm and later when Napoleon has absolute control over others he replaces the new with an old one) that starts shortly after their owner, Mr Jones, goes to sleep. A word is sent to all animals during the day that Major, an old boar, had a strange dream the previous night which he wants to communicate to others. All animals are asked to attend the meeting. When it is made sure that all attendees have shown up, Major reveals the purpose of their gathering and starts his emotionally charged speech.
In his speech, Major says that since he would not live for long, he would share the knowledge and experience that he has accumulated over the years with other animals. He asks them questions and makes them realize that they lead hard, laborious and short lives, which is just because of human beings. He blames humans as the cause of their miserable existence. And for animals to lead a comfortable life, they need to be free from human slavery. He, therefore, urges them to rebel against their master Jones. The meeting concludes with Major singing a poem The Beast of England.
The way Napoleon eliminates Snowball out of his way is a typical feature of many self-professed leaders even today.
Fast forward, Major dies, and shortly after his death, a rebellion breaks out, and the animals under the leadership of two boars, Snowball and Napoleon, successfully overthrow their master. They then start living freely and by their formulated “Seven Commandments” or principles. The more famous among them are “What goes upon two legs is enemy” and “All animals are equal.” They, under the guidance of Napoleon and Snowball, live quite happily until a controversy starts between the two. And the former gets rid of the latter with sheer cunning and then begins to assert himself like a powerful dictator, though initially with some deference.
The author while using allegory tries to unveil the cunning of a corrupt leader or politician. The way Napoleon eliminates Snowball out of his way labels him a traitor, and holds him responsible for all his failure and misfortune is a typical feature of many self-professed leaders even today. Such leaders, like Napoleon, systematically dupe innocent and naive masses. They come up with excuses for their failures and try to justify their privileges through propaganda and excuses.
The book, regardless of the political conditions of the time wherein it was written, is still relevant today. The intriguing characters of the book can still be found in modern states. For instance, the propaganda ministers like Squealer are a hallmark of almost all governments. They can be seen justifying the cunning acts of their leaders and are experts at winning the sympathy of the public through their political rhetoric. They have become so much crucial that a government can’t continue in power without them. The book contains various instances where Squealer prevents rebellion. For example, when the animals led by Benjamin, a donkey portrayed as serious and somber of all animals, realize that their most hardworking companion Boxer, a horse, is taken to slaughterhouse under the pretext of treatment, they are on the verge of rebellion. But Sequeler once again prevents it by framing the story that the hospital had bought a wagon from a slaughterhouse just recently, and thus had not had the time to repaint it. In another incident, Sequeler modifies almost all of the commandments on the sly and during the night. For example, he amends the article which says “all animals are equal” to “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.”
The book in the form of allegory gives an interesting account of how a cult of people turns corrupt when they are given unchecked power and how an aristocracy is formed, which curtails the freedom of the masses and tailors the rules to their advantage. For instance, initially, it is promulgated that no animal would consume alcohol. But when pigs taste it and develop an addiction, they alter the rule by adding “to excess” to it on the sly. Moreover, it also shows that to rule over others, one needs to have a long-term plan. It demonstrates this through Napoleon’s preparing his army of a pack of dogs.
To sum up, anyone interested in knowing how corrupt leaders dupe their masses will surely find this book fascinating. The all-time favorite book will keep such readers occupied all along until they finish reading it. And after they have read it thoroughly, they will be able to see through the rhetoric of corrupt leaders and will be able to discern whether their deeds are in congruence with their rhetoric.
The writer is student of BSc at Shah Abdul Latif University. He can be reached at [email protected]