“HOW SWNISH…! YET…” – A CRTICAL ANALYSIS OF GEORGE ORWELL’S ANIMAL FARM

“HOW SWNISH…! YET…” – A CRTICAL ANALYSIS OF GEORGE ORWELL’S ANIMAL FARM EA Gamini Fonseka

Although Eric Arthur Blaire, who became famous in his pseudonym “GeorgeOrwell,” published his Animal Farm in 1945, even at the end of the century itremains a source of great intellectual pleasure and political insight. Of course, itcreates a pessimistic picture of politics, but Orwell’s powerful use of humour andsatire prevents it from being a lamento. Therefore I consider it a model text for areader of literature of any standard and present the following critical analysis ofsome central issues in this very special fairy tale.

Orwell’s Treatment of the Animal Revolution The powerful political fable Animal Farm highlights thetragedy of a revolution that went wrong, but its plot hasbeen constructed in an intrinsically witty manner. TheAnimal Utopia around which the story has been invented ispreceded by a violent revolution carried out by the animalson a farm. Orwell’s effort to depict the revolution from itsembryo to its culmination has been successful because indeveloping his techniques he has made good use of what iscommonsensical about human and animal potentials andlimitations. Orwell makes a dramatic opening to the plot with a grotesqueimage of Mr. Jones, the proprietor of Manor Farm, who is acaricature of a decadent dictatorship. “[T]oo drunk toremember to shut the pop holes,” his chaotic behaviourprovides an ideal situation for a revolution. The historicalfact that revolutions can take place when the governingorder betrays big weaknesses is well exemplified in thissituation. Orwell creates a very favourable setting for asecret discussion among the animals on the subject of thetyrannical master, Mr. Jones.The gloomy situation and the master’s indifference allow theanimals to come together and make a collective effort fortheir emancipation. Major, the award-winning boar, wantsthem to listen to a dream that he has had regarding thefuture of the animals. In his suggestion that Major is “amajestic-looking pig with a wise and benevolent appearance

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in spite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut,”Orwell portrays him as a Machiavellian type politicalphilosopher. The image of violence camouflaged underkindness appearing in the antithesis made up of “a wise andbenevolent appearance” and “tushes [that] had never beencut.” This gives an ironical portrait of the type of humanswho initiate revolutions with global purposes and resort tounderhand treachery, in order to achieve private ambitions. The swinish nature of this theorist is indicative of thesituation that is to come in the latter part of the story.Unlike many animals on the farm, he has lived a long life,and, though he is going to talk about heavy labour, his jobhas been more or less easier than that of other animals:mating with the sows on the farm until he has produced fourhundred pork lings. Major admits that he has been all hislife a lucky one. But his failure to express his grief aboutthe other animals in the prime of his life and to lead arevolution by himself suggests that he is a very selfishcharacter to keep silent and enjoy life until his end hascome. At this point, Orwell indirectly draws attention toMajor’s connection to the privileged minority in his role asan “armchair revolutionary” and “champagne socialist”. The writer depicts naturalistically the animals assemblingfor Major’s address. The pigeons flutter their wings; thesheep and the cows lie and chew the cud; Boxer, the horse,and Benjamin, the donkey, graze silently side by side; andClover, the mare, lie with her front legs, forming a wall toprotect the brood of ducklings. Thus, all of them wait forthe speech to be delivered by Major while roaming in theirown worlds. Here Orwell creates a realistic portrait ofanimal behaviour. Major’s diatribe of man brings about a turning point in thelives of the animals on the farm. In fact that is what leadsto the animal revolution. In presenting Major’s views,Orwell seems to have simply got inside the mentality of ananimal with a critical attitude toward humans who makeanimal lives miserable by exploiting them in every possibleway. This shows Orwell’s immense powers of imagination.According to Major, man is the only creature who consumeswithout producing.

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He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is tooweak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough tocatch rabbits. Yet he is the lord of all animals (p. 9).

Major’s criticism of man is utterly questionable because inhis job description there is no mention about the laborioustasks that he has commented on. Therefore it is not hislegacy to lament the worries of the other animals caused bytheir duties. But what is necessary to take intoconsideration is how intelligently Orwell has selected ananimal for the role of the hypocritical Major, a pig whoclearly deserves to be charged for leading a cushy lifewithout doing any work. He talks to the animals in a menacing manner, rousing theirblood heat. A real politician appears in the image of Majorwho manages to motivate the animals to get organised for anoverthrow of their human master. The speaker’s constantreference to the current political unrest, the destiny ofthe future generation, the necessity of a revolution, andthe way in which it should be carried out shed light uponhis strategies and advances in political acumen. Slogans such as “All men are enemies; all animals arecomrades!” and songs such as “Beasts of England” are veryeffective in mimicking political campaigns. Orwell hasemployed the general characteristics of a political rally,in order to depict the process of this revolution. Theresult of Major’s address is clear in the animals’stimulated behaviour. Their voluntary effort to practise thesong in their respective ways shows how cleverly politiciansmanage to establish collective feelings in their audiences,although they do not belong to the class of people theyrepresent. Orwell is very realistic in showing the sudden dispersal ofthe animals in reaction to Mr. Jones’ gun. The animals’awareness of their condition and the gravity of the taskthey have to perform are clear in their quick reaction, andat the same time it shows the conditioning they have beensubjected to. In the death of Major just three days after his menacingspeech, Orwell carefully sums up the destiny of mostpolitical philosophers who have died without seeing their

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political visions materialise. His death is symbolic of whathappens to political theories after their founders’ deathtoo. Major’s great speech, the sensitive reaction of the animalsafter listening to it, and the later developments afterMajor’s death, all contribute effectively to a powerful timebomb ticking before exploding at a crucial moment so as tocreate hell for their leadership. Orwell ironically capturesthe process in which the revolution is carried out throughthe characters of Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer that areits leaders. Napoleon has a reputation for getting his ownway. Snowball is not considered to have the same depth ofcharacter but is a very talented organiser. Squealer, thepropagandist, another leading role, is very persuasive andcan turn black into white. The pigs’ dominance is clear from the very beginning of theAnimal Revolution. It is they who lead, and it they whoundertake to hand down the compendium of “Animalism” the newpolitical philosophy for animals. Orwell’s scepticism ofpolitical revolutions emerges through the controversiesraised by the other animals. By showing the general andsimple attitudes of the other animals to the new system, hemakes a careful survey of the political intelligence of thecommon people. Some animals doubt whether they would getfood after Jones’ departure; some are worried about theirgifts of sugar and ribbons; and some even ask naïvely whatwill be the difference after the revolution. Orwell creates a dramatic situation for the time bomb toexplode. Jones deteriorates both physically and mentally; hegets addicted to liquor and becomes very absentminded; hisemployees neglect their duties and do not bother aboutfeeding the animals until it is late evening; as a resultall the animals become rebellious in a state of frustrationand fury. Their rebellious anger culminates in a violentattack on the human beings on the farm. The men on the farm retaliate by whipping the animals, butthe situation goes out of control. The animals overpower themen and chase them all including Mr. Jones away from thefarm. Mrs. Jones too vanishes through the back door. Now thefarm becomes an animal-dominated farm. No more are theanimals the slaves of humanity. Orwell has given a

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spectacular record of this dramatic event, using hisexperience as a reporter of battles, revolts, socialupsurges, and political cataclysms. Distorting the spirit of the revolution, the animals turn tovandalism. In a state of euphoria, they destroy most thingsowned by the Joneses. Then they start celebrating theirvictory by visiting each and every place of importance.Later they convert the farmhouse to a museum. Orwellpresents the Animal Revolution in the light of a Communistrevolution. Once the situation calms down, the animals decide to draftthe Animal Constitution. Orwell quite systematically showsthe simplifications made by the crafty literate pigs. Theyreduce the dogma of Animalism into seven commandments, theadherence to which makes them into a group of beings sharingidentical feelings about social, economic, and politicalrights. The pigs’ literacy and alacrity endow themprominence and leadership. Here Orwell indicates the mundanepersonal aspects of revolutions in general. The Seven Commandments that function as the basis ofAnimalism will play an important part in the story. Theinfringement of these commandments exemplifies the moraldeterioration of the pigs and the injustice, discrimination,and numerous iniquities the other animals suffer from. Orwell does not delay in hinting at the sad plight of theother animals caused by the dominance of the pigs. The cowsstart struggling as their udders are about to burst and needto be milked soon. The pigs see to it immediately, but themilk disappears. Later, it is found that the pigs have keptthe milk for their own consumption. The implication of thisact is that they have become corrupt. The story of theanimal revolution ends in this anticlimax, which is of greatsignificance in terms of the literary craftsmanship as wellas the political awareness of the author. It poses the oldquestion, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who shall watch thewatchers?). Orwell is very serious in pointing out that at the veryinception of the new era corruption begins to dominate allgood principles. He gestures at what all the poor souls onthe farm will face after all these incidents. The revolution

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eats up her own children – Orwell’s strong opinion aboutrevolutions in general is cleverly exemplified here. Justbecause they do not think twice, the other animals toleratethe milk fraud, but this incident makes them lose theirgusto and confidence in the face of this new era soon afterthe revolution. Orwell makes use of this situation toexpress his disillusionment with all revolutions, which is ahighly questionable matter. He uses the story of the milkfraud to subvert the hierarchy that emerges as a result of arevolution.

The Characters of Napoleon and Snowball and the Conflictsbetween themAccording to Orwell, Napoleon and Snowball are the two youngboars pre-eminent among the pigs that are the cleverestamong the animals and have the responsibility to teach andorganise the animals against man. Orwell has preciselyportrays these two animal heroes, using irony.

Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshireboar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of atalker but with a reputation for getting his own way.Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quickerin speech and more inventive, but was not considered tohave the same depth of character (p. 15).

These two characters make the story dramatic with theirideological differences, controversies and frequentconflicts over almost every management and development issueon the farm. Their personalities are very much like twoactive politicians in human society. The name “Napoleon”obviously alludes to the character of the 19th Century Frenchdictator, and the name “Snowball” figuratively suggests “aquick growth in size and importance.” While “Napoleon”represents sheer despotism that continues to exist as thepractice of an upper-class clan, “Snowball” represents amilder but a subtler version of it developed by a cleversomebody connected to a lower class. Both these characters play very vital roles in achieving theAnimal Revolution they have been planning since Major’smenacing speech and in gathering importance for the pigs’clan at the dawn of the new era. They both preside over atevery discussion that takes place among the animals, fight

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fearlessly against their human enemies during the actualrevolt, jointly approve of the concealment of the milk forthe pigs’ consumption, cooperate with each other indesigning the Animal Constitution, and join in declaring theSeven Commandments. They even take equal pains in motivatingthe other animals to harvest the crops before the men havedone it. Thus a great similarity is seen in the ideas andattitudes of these two at the dawn of the Animal Utopia. But, once the Animal Utopia has been proclaimed, bothNapoleon and Snowball start disagreeing with each other onalmost every matter they discuss. Orwell has described theabnormality in their tendency to disagree with each other inthe following words:

Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in thedebates. But it was noticed that these two were never inagreement: whatever suggestion either of them made, theother could be counted on to oppose it (p. 28).

The management strategies of the two differ to a largeextent. Snowball goes on organising a variety of animalmovements. The Egg Production Committee of the hens; theClean Tail League of the cows; the Wild Comrades’ Re-education Committee of the rats and rabbits; and the WhiterWool Movement of the sheep are some of them. These movementsfunction under the guidance of Snowball and shed light onhis efficiency as a political strategist. Although theseventures are meant to make all the animals rally round himin separate groups, there is no doubt about his applicationof divid-et-impera while addressing them on various issues. What Napoleon does in reaction to Snowball’s concept oforganising numerous social movements on the farm issignificant of his maturity as a military dictator. As heunderstands that these movements are of some advantage toSnowball, he publicly expresses his repugnance to the wastethey involve. Instead of organising anti-Snowball politicalmovements, he forms a private army. In the revival ofeducation and culture, he finds an opportunity to keep thenine sturdy puppies born to Jesse and Bluebell in suchseclusion that the rest of the animals forget theirexistence. This is done in order to organise a special taskforce against Snowball that is a matter that he has alwaysoverlooked. Thus Napoleon emulates Snowball as a dictator

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cum political strategist because of the defence strength hehas gathered in this way. Quite understandably, whatever ideological differences existbetween Napoleon and Snowball, they all vanish whendecisions are to be taken in favour of the pigs’ monopoly.They both approve of reservation of the milk and windfallapples for the pigs to enjoy. They even jointly contrive aplan to persuade the other animals that only the pigs shouldnecessarily consume such luxuries, as they are the brainfolk. They both have an equally great instinctive concernfor the pigs’ welfare, but for popularity and power theyfiercely compete with each other. Of course Napoleon follows certain methods of Snowball thathe considers intelligent. In spite of his enmity anddisagreement with the latter, he joins in sending pigeons toother farms in propagating the story of the rebellion, andto teach the animals there the tune of ‘Beasts of England.’At the Battle of the Cowshed, Snowball demonstrates histalents in warfare. He successfully operates the animal armyaccording to the tactics of Julius Caesar that he had learntfrom an old book. Snowball’s warlike nature is vivid in hisadvice to Boxer, “War is War, No sentimentality, Comrade!”Napoleon confirms his respect for what he could adopt fromSnowball by conferring on him the honour and title, “AnimalHero First Class.” Thus, as he finds the latter to be veryuseful to the farm, Napoleon tolerates Snowball for aconsiderably long time. However, the power struggle between the two causes violentdisputes at the Sunday meetings. Orwell ironically relateshow both of them use their discourse skills at thesemeetings:

Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliantspeeches, but Napoleon was better at canvassing inbetween times. He was especially successful with thesheep. … It was noticed that the sheep were liable tobreak into “Four legs good, two legs bad” at the crucialmoments in Snowball’s speeches (p. 43).

Although Napoleon’s techniques do not satisfy the ethicalconditions of argumentation, they help him to maintain his

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position as a politico. He gets all the beings on the farmto boycott Snowball’s addresses by vociferating slogans. It is the windmill project that draws the climax of theirconflicts. Snowball designs the windmill and with hismarvellous technical drawings wins everybody’s supportexcept Napoleon’s who expresses his antagonism in the mostswinish manner possible – by urinating over the drawings.The debate over the windmill aggravates the enmity betweenthe two. It further leads the animals to get divided intotwo factions under them. This is clear in the most dramaticway in which the final session of their debate ends. At themost crucial moment, Napoleon orders his special task forceto operate;

At this there is was a terrible baying sound outside, andnine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars camebounding into the barn. They dashed straight forSnowball, who only sprang from his place just in time toescape from their snapping jaws. In a moment he was outof the door, and they were after him (pp. 47-48).

To everybody’s excitement, the dogs chase Snowball to anunseen distance, and no more is Snowball a member of theAnimal Farm.Once Snowball is out, it is Napoleon’s government. It isnoticed that Napoleon gives no more opportunity fordiscussion and debate. No more are the so-called democraticproceedings followed on the farm. The farm is entirely underthe dictatorship of Napoleon. Only the pigs’ clan that formsa special social class with enormous privileges in enjoyingthe material benefits from the farm has the right to voteresolutions. Whatever goes wrong is obviously attributed toSnowball, although Napoleon borrows his ideas in theimplementation of the windmill project and many othermatters related to administration and development.

Napoleon’s DictatorshipIn Orwell’s words, “Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, notmuch of a talker but with a reputation for getting his ownway” (p. 15). This precise introduction is enough toidentify Napoleon as a creature born to be a powerfuldictator. In fact what Orwell indicates in this portrait of

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Napoleon becomes evident when he appears as the sole leaderof the farm. First he tactfully makes use of his mortal enemy Snowball, aclever organiser and orator with tremendous skill, in orderto achieve the Animal Revolution that paves way for theAnimal Utopia. Then he gets the latter’s support to win theBattle of the Cowshed that causes the slightest humaninfluence on the farm to disappear. But, when Napoleon getsestablished, he develops clashes with Snowball on baselessgrounds, and with the help of his special task force heousts the latter from the farm. By and by the crafty,powerful, cruel, and ambitious Napoleon becomes the absolutedictator of the Animal Utopia. His totalitarian leadership serves the pigs’ junta butleaves the other animals in abject poverty. While Napoleonmakes all decisions, the pigs enjoy all the benefits of thefarm. Day by day the lives of all the other animals arebeing jeopardised by the ruthless decisions he makes. Thereis no more room for debate and discussion, and all those so-called democratic proceedings vanish. Orwell has exemplifiedthese facts in the grievances of the animals whose situationgoes daily from bad to worse. Astute propaganda, terrorisingrumours, subtle manipulation, hideous intimidation, andbrutalised capital punishment for those who contradict arethe major features of Napoleonism. Napoleon is aMachiavellian on the one hand and a Chauvinist on the other.Napoleon employs Squealer for all kinds of propaganda andmedia control on the farm. Each time he violates the SevenCommandments, Squealer distorts the relevant statements byrephrasing the original text in favour of Napoleon and hisswinish clan. The windmill breaks down owing to bad weather,and later is blasted by Mr. Frederick. He cheats Napoleonwith forgeries and gets his men to attack the animals. Onsuch occasions when the other animals notice Napoleon’sinefficiency, Squealer charges for all that, Snowball whohas been absent from the farm since his exile. His soleintention is to protect his master Napoleon. The fear of Jones that Squealer has inculcated in the otheranimals also functions in favour of Napoleon. The meremention of Jones’s name is enough to frighten the animalsand give up their curiosity about corruption. Thus

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propaganda epitomised by Squealer becomes Napoleon’s mostpowerful political organ. Napoleon seems to have forgotten his true nature as ananimal also on the occasions when he imposes capitalpunishment on his disloyal subjects. The pigs arguing forthe Sunday meeting, the ring leaders of the hens leading arebellion in protest against the Egg Contract, and the twosheep killing a ram, are ruthlessly put to death. Thus heuses death sentence to intimidate his subjects. For thispurpose he even passes in absentia death sentence onSnowball. In solving political problems, Napoleon greatly depends onhis battalion of dogs. They protect him wherever he goes andimmediately act at his command. Even Squealer is providedwith this facility in case he has to announce something orappease the other animals when they start asking questionsabout the injustices happening to them. So the animals areall forced to listen to him, repress their feelings, andabstain from questioning. To a large extent manipulation is used to cover up thereality behind the farm. The sheep are manipulated to talkas if they were contented during the famine; the rebellioushens are manipulated to confess that they were obsessed bySnowball in their sleep; and Squealer a willing tool ofNapoleon, is himself manipulated to conduct all relevantpropaganda campaigns. He even gets caught with a paintvessel trying to alter the Commandments written on the farmwall. Except by manipulation there is no other way toestablish in the other animals such slogans as “Napoleon isalways right,” and “We pigs are brain workers. The wholemanagement and organisation of the farm depend on us.”Moreover, Napoleon holds commemoration ceremonies, birthdayparties, orgies, the Napoleon felicitation recitals, theAnimal Hero award ceremonies, banquets at the farm house,and processions composed of his trumpeter, his specialcanine task force, his retinue of pips, and the otheranimals who compose the proletariat on the farm. All theseactivities show how a dictator camouflages his corruptoppressive self by means of tamashas and displays ofspectacular grandeur.

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Apart from the pigs, under Napoleon’s reign, the animals onthis particular farm become the most miserable in the world.Their master is a tyrant who has no regard for theirwellbeing. Boxer’s sad destiny to be sent to the knacker isan outstanding example of this precarious situation. Oneclause effective on the farm reads as follows: “Sundayafternoon … work was absolutely voluntary but if any animalabsented himself he would have his ration reduced by half.”(See p. 53.) Thus the rules and regulations which areintroduced to the farm are very illogical, incomprehensibleand misleading. Therefore exploitation through confusiontakes place on a dreadful scale. All these help to establishthat Napoleon governs the farm by using wickedly illogicaladministrative policies.The pigs’ junta is shown to develop in every respect, andpower gets accumulated and concentrated in their hands whileall the other animals undergo a period of abysmal servitude.This is the most precarious feature of Napoleon’sgovernment. He becomes more oppressive, more corrupt andmore perverse than Jones. On the other farms men work withanimals on a relatively equal scale, but here the pigs donot do any work at all. The pigs have simply becomeparasites in the disguise of brain folks. The way in whichthe pigs’ population increases is also a threat to the otheranimals, as the number of rulers would then be larger thanthe number of subjects. This will further intensify thepressure of Napoleon’s dictatorship. As Napoleon correctsthe others at the card game, under his dictatorship, AnimalFarm again turns to be Manor Farm, with enhanced practicesof exploitation and suppression.

Napoleon’s Attraction to a Sophisticated Secular Pattern ofLife The historical speech made by Major who is considered by allthe animals on the farm to be a prophet lays the foundationfor Animalism which later takes the form of a religion to befollowed by all of them for gaining salvation from servitudeunder humans. The Messiahs of swinish blood – Napoleon andSnowball – strive to get the prediction made by Majoractualised. After the animal revolution they articulate theconcept of Animalism in terms of Seven Commandments. Sincethen they have appeared as the chief priests of Animalism.

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Notwithstanding the sympathy and support they have receivedfrom the other species of animals and birds on the AnimalRevolution, they centre all their concern upon the welfareof the pigs and forget about the other animals. As soon asNapoleon manages to oust Snowball from the farm, he startsdeteriorating from Animalism. Orwell cuts a new dimension inhis caricature of Napoleon by depicting his gradualdeterioration exemplified in the violation of the SevenCommandments. In the course of his deterioration his imagematures as that of an egocentric, hypocritical and corrupttyrant. His total abandonment of Animalism and his eternalattempt to imitate humans in whatever way possible shedslight on his attraction to a sophisticated secular patternof life. At the dawn of Animal Utopia, Napoleon gives prominence totamashas, in order to keep the other animals unconcerned andoblivious about their own wellbeing. Thus he buys time toget established as a dictator. The Sunday programmeaccommodates rituals described as the hoisting of the flag;the gun salute; paying homage to Major’s skull; eulogiesrecited in honour of Napoleon; and reading of statisticalrecords and announcements by Squealer. They are meant todistract the animals from their natural ways and their basicconcerns of life. At the same time the Animal Hero awards,banquets, various sign boards, memorial plaques, andmemorial portraits on this animal-governed farm serve toalienate these animals from the rest of the world. Napoleonrejoices in all these proceedings as they signify hispersonality as a powerful dictator. As soon as he gains power, Napoleon takes heed to strengthenthe defence strategies on the farm. His defence policiesfurther confirm his sophistication and secularity. He buildsup a special task force out of nine sturdy dogs. Althoughhis defence expenditure is somewhat extravagant, he seems tobe using his investments in a manner profitable to him. Hisarmy is ever ready for a coup de main.

Napoleon’s interest in commercial ventures is also very muchindicative of his materialistic bent. He conforms to themethods of his human predecessor by seeking for artificialmaterials such as paraffin oil, dog’s biscuits, nails, pins,and iron for horseshoes. For this purpose he keeps in touch

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with Mr. Whimper who often visits him to bridge the gapbetween the farm and the humans. He talks about businesswith Napoleon who tends to cut a figure not better than thatof a cruel businessman. This is vivid in his attitude to theEgg Contract. His initiative in brewing and distilling alcoholic beveragesis another factor that contributes to his resort to asophisticated secular lifestyle. He uses the wine made byhim to entertain Mr. Whimper, Mr. Pilkington, and all thebusinessmen and farmers around and strengthens his ties withthem. Thus his alcoholic products help to maintain abourgeoisie on the farm operating in collaboration withdifferent kinds of capitalists in human society. With Napoleon’s blessings the pigs’ junta thrives in everyway. They start like a privileged minority but quiteparadoxically their number increases at such a gallopingspeed that they later become the privileged majority. Theirmembership of the pigs’ cooperative farm allows them toenjoy milk and apples that are luxuries prohibited forothers. Their blood relationship with Napoleon alone issufficient for them to win his goodwill and to take part inthe banquets, cocktails and orgies that often take place inthe farm house. Orwell wittily illustrates the pigs trying walk on theirhind legs to the recitation of “Four legs good: two legsbetter!” made by the sheep. This situation is symbolic ofNapoleon’s attempt to transcend his identity as an animal.His desire to resemble a human on two feet leads him tofollow not only some norms and concepts of humanity but alsoto adapt himself physically to typical human behaviour. A dip into Napoleon’s personal life gives more clues to thisspeculation. His inclination to polygamy demonstrated bykeeping four wives seems to be related to his sending ofSnowball into exile. Maybe he has felt a kind of sexualjealousy of the latter. His concern about what is considered sartorial elegancesheds light on another aspect of his mentality. Hedistinguishes his most favourite sow from the others bydraping her with Mrs. Jones’s gowns while getting himdressed in Mr. Jones’s outfits.

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His dining room etiquette that involves the employment of abutler cum food taster exemplifies another dimension of hisimitation of the bourgeoisie. Pinkeye tastes his food beforeNapoleon eats in order to prove that it is safe. This showsthat Napoleon imitates the traditional aristocrat andautocrat particular about his health and suspicious ofgetting poisoned. The Crown Derby dinner service and theCrown Derby tureen from which Napoleon takes his food add tothe meaningful absurdity of his ideology. As Napoleon considers literacy an advantage to a ruler, hemakes effort to educate his offspring with the books thathad belonged to the children of the Joneses. He keeps hisown kids away from the other pork lings in the hope ofbuilding up a ruling class among the pigs themselves. Maybehe is interested in founding a Napoleon dynasty. At the climax of the story Napoleon tries to eradicate thelast sign of Animalism by getting the Seven Commands erasedfrom the farm wall, by getting Major’s skull re-interred,and by renaming the farm “Manor Farm.” The pigs’ juntaadopts the lifestyle of the Joneses and lives like asophisticated subhuman company, while Major’s philosophy isgetting buried with his skull. After all, there is no principle that one animal should begoverned by another animal. The animals on the farm supportthe Animal Utopia in the hope of eliminating all kinds ofruling over their natural ways of living. They all wantfreedom. However, in order to exploit the other animals,Napoleon starts conforming to the standards of the Joneses.As a result the Animal Utopia disintegrates into anoppressive despotic regime manipulated by the pigs’accomplished propaganda. This ironically implied at the endof the story where men and pigs drink together and playcards that is sometimes a class game in human society. Therea mistake committed by Napoleon in the card game leads to adispute between the men and the pigs, and the angry faces ofthe pigs and the men look identical and leave a shockingimpression in the other animals. Nevertheless, Napoleon’smistake in the card game symbolically implies his inabilityto become human however much he tries. All these facts stand for Napoleon’s crude conformism thatmuddles up his self-consciousness as an animal. His

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adherence to the rationale of a sophisticated human societymakes him even more of an oppressive ruler, ambitious tolead a life puffed up with paraphernalian values and secularinterests.

Animal Farm as a Political Satire In Animal Farm, George Orwell tells the story of a revolutionled by the pigs on a farm that went wrong owing to internalpower struggles and descent into dictatorship. In dealingwith this theme Orwell has to call upon not only histechnical skills as a novelist but also his politicalawareness and sympathy towards those who suffer from all theiniquities of bureaucratic machination, corruption,mismanagement, exploitation, and tyranny. However tragic thestory is, its exposition is full of wit and humour. Orwellhas presented all the events chronologically, and thereforethe narrative has unity and coherence throughout. The dark night that accommodates Major’s rally is symbolicof the tragic nature of the period that is going to dawn. MrJones’s absentminded behaviour resulted in by his addictionto alcohol is illustrative of an already decadent politicalleadership. Then comes Major’s speech, full of fallacies,contradictions, and reckless emotive expressions, thatmirrors Major’s character as a Machiavellian philosopher. Hehas the tone of a real rabblerouser in a human politicalarena. Ironically enough Major represents a group, in whichhe is a non-entity. He does none of the tasks that he refersto, nor faces the hardships that the other animals face. Yetthey respond to his speech with enthusiasm and gusto forthey are made to dream of a Utopian alternative to thepresent situation. In their behaviour Orwell vividlyportrays the nature of public opinion that is liable tooscillate according to various political views germinated insociety from time to time. Thoroughly stimulated by Major’sspeech, the animals start longing for a revolution. Orwell establishes a harmonious chronology between all thecircumstances that contribute to the Animal Revolution. Mr.Jones’s lethargic and eccentric attitude, his employees’careless negligence of their duties, the animals’frustration and fury caused by starvation and heavy labour –

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all echo the reasons for great upheavals in human societiessuch as the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution. The rebellion achieved by the animals in the Animal Farm isspectacularly comparable to the Trovskyan Revolt in Orwell’sHomage to Catalonia. What happens in the farm alludes to allthat might happen in a political revolt; leaders’exploitation of a mass movement, police interference,gunfire, bloodshed, vandalism and so on. Even the post-revolutionary condition could lead to ananarchic situation in human society. Destroying all tracesof the former leadership, seizure of property with only achange of hands, celebration of the take-over with patrioticrecitals, political rallies, memorial speeches, andpropaganda shows – these all feature the dawn of a newphase. Orwell has used plenty of irony in this situation. The conversion of Manor Farm into Animal Farm is anotherevent suggestive of nominal changes in a new state. Ceylonbecame Sri Lanka; Rhodesia became Zimbabwe; and Burma becameMianmar after various political changes. As the constitutionis the backbone of a political state the animals need a newconstitution. The Seven Commandments that representAnimalism seem to answer this need. The designation ofAnimal Farm as a republic and Napoleon’s promotion as thepresident with absolute legislative and executive powersgive a clue to the way in which political leaders getestablished in their positions. The power struggle betweenNapoleon and Snowball opens up another dimension of humanpolitics. Their tactics, strategies, policies, and plansrepresent the pernicious nature of the politicians who aresaturated in ambition and power hunger and material gains.Napoleon’s special task force is suggestive of paramilitaryforces employed by political leaders, whose function is toexterminate anti-government tendencies and punish theirrivals. Snowball’s formation of numerous committees suggeststhe application of the divide-and-rule principle and thewell-known habit of procrastination. The ideologicalconflicts between the two leaders that upset all the Sundaymorning meetings are effective in depicting state assemblieswhere the parliamentarians fight. Thus all kinds of humanfrailties appear in these two creatures.

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The formation of the pigs’ monopoly that has the power totake decisions, make resolutions, superintend the work andmanage the farm is also of great symbolic value. The mainweaknesses the pigs expose are tyranny, corruption andexploitation. Orwell vividly exemplifies this in severalpost-revolutionary developments. The pigs set aside allwindfall apples and milk for their own use, drive the otheranimals to labour for the construction of the windmill,appoint Mr. Whimper to carry out all secretarial duties,occupy the farmhouse that is prohibited for the otheranimals, initiate brewing and distilling, and maintaincommercial transactions with Mr. Frederick and Mr.Pilkington. These developments focus attention on what isknown as corrupt junta activities. Propaganda that is powerfully used on the Animal Farm is aninevitable instrument of politics in society. Squealer doesa great service for Napoleon by carrying out propaganda atevery juncture, for reconciling the animals, forsafeguarding the position of the pigs, and for winningprivileges for the pigs’ clan. The farm as a whole isdevoured by propaganda. There is also the manipulation ofthe sheep to utter, “Four legs good: two legs better,” whenthe pigs trot on their hind legs and to talk as if satisfiedeven when there is a famine on the farm. It is symbolic ofthe behaviour of the mass media under a smug dictatorshipbenefiting the privileged few. Napoleon’s desire for a sophisticated materialistic patternof life ties him up with our human politicians. All that hasbeen prohibited for other animals is welcome in Napoleon’spersonal life. His egoism clarifies the reality behind thelives of the most of our political leaders. The Crown Derbydinner service from which Napoleon takes his food and drinkshows the lifestyle of a corrupt politician blind withclass-consciousness. Napoleon distinguishes his offspring from the rest of thepigs on the farm by tying ribbons on their tails. He marriesfour wives and drapes his most favourite sow with Mrs.Jones’s clothes. He keeps company with the affluent farmersaround. The complete reversal of the Manor Farm ideals andits retrogression to its original state in an even worseform are powerful ironies suggestive of a deterioration of a

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politician. The card game and the drinking party whereNapoleon corrects Mr. Pilkington by declaring that AnimalFarm is once again Manor Farm vividly shows his thoughtlessbetrayal of his political dependents. While the otheranimals suffer, the pigs have all the facilities to enjoylife. This is the reality behind the politics of manycountries. The destiny of Boxer who falls sick as a result of overworksymbolises the destiny of the common masses under a despoticregime. “Sunday afternoon work is absolutely voluntary but,if anyone absented himself, he was liable to get his rationreduced by half.” Contradictory regulations which developfrom this type of illogical practices; the Egg Contract thatdemands the hens to act against their nature; and capitalpunishment on those who rise against the government are alsofeatures of a cruel dictatorship. The animals’ conditiongoes from bad to worse, and their position is similar tothat of the Filipinos under Marcos or the Ugandans under IdiAmin. Orwell has proved his understanding of animal nature in theselection of his characters. There are no better animalsthan pigs for the roles of Major, Napoleon, Snowball, andSquealer. A horse, generally considered a creature ofelegance, dignity, love, faith, and endurance, is anexcellent choice to play the role of Boxer. Molly, Muriel,and Clover, with their genuine feminine qualities, appearwell as mares. The dogs have been wisely recruited forNapoleon’s Army as dogs are faithful watchers and warlikefighters. A donkey for the role of Benjamin is an aptselection with his naïve and monotonous views about life.The funny character of Moses in a raven figure with hisstories of Sugar Candy Mountains also constitutes adepicting religion. Orwell makes a grand exposition throughthese characters highly packed with symbolic value. There isno surprise about the human roles echoing the subhumancondition of corruption and tyranny in the jungle ofpolitics. Thus a variety of human frailties are exemplifiedthrough these exciting personalities. Orwell ends his story again with a juxtaposition of somepeople and the pigs. The other animals find no differencebetween their angry faces at the card game. Here the story

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reaches its climax, and Orwell makes his greatest attack onpolitics. The humans and the animals in the scene aretreated alike, considering that their swinish nature is thevery element that drives them into corruption, the root ofall evils. The story as a whole is a forceful political critique.Orwell has summed up various political rackets in humansociety through the wide range of incidents that manifestpower struggle, usurpation, intimidation, manipulation,exploitation, and victimisation that indicate deteriorationto dictatorship and eradication of the peace, liberty, andsecurity of the common people. However picturesque the themeis, Orwell has made his work amusing and interesting throughhis excellent literary devices of wit and humour and a senseof variety and detail. There is a refreshing quality inevery incident. Orwell’s rhetoric is well chosen. He hassatirised the world of politics sharply and richly and madethrough his work an invaluable contribution to the world’spolitical awareness.

Conclusion However, the danger in a political critique that takes theform of allegory, farce, or caricature – and Animal Farmbasically is that – is simplification and sometimes grosssimplification. The methods of animal allegory and farcicalcaricature cannot be carried far, wide, or deep. YetOrwell’s intention is highly didactic. The picture given inthe story is not only simplified but also over-emphaticallyone-sided and over-generalised. Orwell, in fact, betrayssomething like contempt in the very selection of animals asrebels, as politicos, and as the oppositions of Jones, thehuman ruler of the set of animals who are the oppressed.Jones, though corrupt and failing, is human to begin with.There is no such consolation for the mass of the ruled. Eventhough Orwell rightly exposes the hypocrisy and corruptionof the ruling classes in whatever from they may appear(human and animal) and illustrates well the principle thatpower per se could be corruptible. He has not bothered tofully get down to the nature of the ruling establishmentthat precedes the revolution in the first place. Hisanalysis of the rebellion and the developments thereafter,takes rather a predictable form and this when tied to a

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rather rigidly structured animal allegory can cheek and evendistort one’s understanding of a human experience of greathistorical value.Yet, however tragic and disillusioning the developments inthe story are, they all support the statement in theintroduction that Animal Farm remains a source of greatintellectual pleasure and political insight. To the presentreader this is meant to give significant motivation to readthe original text that is written in a very clear, simple,and readable type of language. It may prove to be a text tobegin one’s reading of literature with.

PUBLICATION:SIHOUETTE 1998-1999: General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy Journal. Sri Lanka

NUMBER OF WORDS: 7335

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