American Journal of Scientific Research

ISSN 1450-223X Issue 18(2011), pp.100-106

EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2011
http://www.eurojournals.com/ajsr.htm

From Utopian Dream to Dystopian Reality: George Orwells

Animal Farm a Case Study
Bahareh Darvish
Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University
Chalus Branch, Chalus, Iran
E-mail: barbara_lo12@yahoo.com
Tel: 00989111935046
Mohammadreza Ghanbari Najjar
Department of English Language, Islamic Azad University
Jouybar Branch, Jouybar, Iran
E-mail: ghanbari1973@yahoo.com
Tel: 00989113139611; Fax: 00981243363190
Abstract
The notion of utopia as an ideal state has been deeply rooted in history of man's
culture, from the earliest of antiquity to the present time. Even in antiquity utopia was an
ideal living state as inferred from the work of Plato, the great master of the classics; and Sir
Thomas More, the great humanist and utopist. The first and the most outstanding sample of
this type of work is Plato's Republic which is in a dialogue form and envisages an ideal
state in heavenly paradise and the next is More's Utopia. More in his Utopia depicts an
ideal state in nowhere which has been the prototype of many modern utopias. But by the
passage of time it becomes clear that the happiness that the utopists aspire for is just fake
happiness and at the end it leads to horror and nightmare of dystopia.
George Orwells novel, Animal Farm, also depicts these two notions of utopia and
dystopia. The novel is a brilliant sample of utopia which turns into dystopia. In Animal
Farm, the animals wish for a dreamy farm with utopian characteristics but in the end they
are all left alone with a farm, filled with darkness, lies, conspiracy and broken dreams.
"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".

Keywords: Utopia, dystopia, George Orwell, Animal Farm,

1. Introduction
Utopia as a place for good and ideal life, from the time of Plato to the present has been associated with
knowledge, morality, virtue, happiness and pleasure. This association of a utopian world to that of our
own has been echoed so many times that this definition takes on metaphysical meanings, when the
notion of utopia comes closer to a place in heaven, in other times particularly in modernism it has
closely been associated with the notion of an ideal state with material and phenomenal cooperation,
comfort and beauty. Earlier, Plato had mentioned the same ideas. He was the first to outline a plan for
this ideal state which he called Republic. In More's Utopia the whole populace needs to work six hours
a day regardless of sex or age and everyone must be educated. In More's Utopia each citizen is given a
right to express himself in the government.

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101

Utopia is a possible response given to the anxieties and pessimistic perspective as well as to
unsatisfied hopes and dreams of people who wish an ideal and desired world. It is an ancient and
eternal dream of the human imagination because he has never satisfied with realities; he has recourse to
this mood of thinking and writing so as to satisfy his deep urges and to introduce certain changes
within reality if possible. The idea of perfect society, a society in which all people are equal and happy,
developed in reaction to the misery and hardship in which most individual have existed throughout
history.
"Fear of want, no doubts, makes every living creature greedy and avaricious and, in
addition, man develops qualities out of pride, pride which glories in putting down other
by a superfluous display of possessions. But this kind of vice has no place whatever in
the Utopian way of life". (Adams 42)
When the utopian writers tried to depict an endless happy society to human, the dystopian
writers saw through their plans and found the risk of tyranny and oppression. Dystopia is often a
deliberate attack on the idea and possibility of utopia. Dystopian writers accuse the utopists for
ignoring and sacrificing worthy ideals for the sake of unworthy desires.
The other important factor that the dystopian writers try to show is the failure of elite in
controlling the society. According to utopians in order to have a better future, the fate of the mass must
be put in the hands of elite the creative minority of the society. But in dystopian, these elite fail to
create a saner and perfect world. Dystopian literature has been characterized as a fiction that presents a
negative view of the future of society and humankind.
There are some other common themes that can be found in dystopian fictions: mastery of
nature- to the point that it becomes barren, or turns against humankind; technological advances that
enslave humans or regiment their lives; the mandatory division of people in society into castes or
groups with specialized functions; and a collective loss of memory and history making mankind easier
to manipulate psychologically and ultimately leading to dehumanization.
There are some common traits of dystopias, although they are by no means definitive, but most
dystopian literature includes at least a few of them: there is a hierarchical society where its citizens are
divided into the upper, middle and lower class (caste system); The society is ruled by an upper class
with few democratic ideals; all the programs of the society and its educational system is made in a way
to convince them into thinking that life under the regime is good and just; there is a fear and disgust of
the world outside the state; constant surveillance by the state police agencies in the state; a protagonist
who often questions the society often feeling that something is terribly wrong; the condition of living
among the lower and middle class of this society is generally poorer than in contemporary society.

2. Discussion
The present research tries to look at Animal Farm through a different perspective which has usually
been ignored. This novel is usually categorized under the title of dystopian fiction. As a matter of fact,
the procedure of this disaster has not been discussed in detail. The researchers focus on this new aspect
of this novel that is following up the trend of shaping a dystopian society out of utopian ideals and
dreams.
Animal Farm is the story of the animals that rebel against their master in order to build a
utopian farm. At the end they are in the same situation but in the control of pigs. Orwell's Animal
Farm is a satiric portrait of a real society, an anti utopian which, by caste gating real evil, suggests
what society ought to be like" (Meyers 103).
In this novel the animals of Manor Farm transformed their farm into a utopia to suit all their
basic needs. The animals established one central belief system that everyone could understand and
follow on the farm, which they called animalism. The first thing that can deem Animal Farm as a
utopia novel is its location. As far as mentioned all the utopias occur in a far and unknown place. The
place is isolated from others and its populace tries to make an ideal place where everyone is happy, free
and equal.

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The physical location of Manor Farm is shown to be an ideal setting far a utopian
community: it is a pleasant place to look at, it is isolated from outside interferences, and
it is suitable for establishing the kind of pastoral life which Old Major dreams of. (Allen
et al, 14)
Every writer of utopian literature suggests the principles and matters which do not exist around
him and he yearns for them the same as Old Major does in Animal Farm. Old Major aspires for a kind
of land where everyone is free and equal. He has a utopian vision; his idea is a simple, agricultural way
of life, living off the products of the farm, the song "Beasts of England" describes this kind life: the
only "riches" in this song are barely and wheat and other foods for the animals. As Major describes, it
is a dream of past the same as other utopian writer's dream. Utopian writers and also Old Major feel
nostalgic for the past and yearn for the excellent future:
Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labor would be our own. Almost overnight
we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day body
and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades:
Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a
hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or
later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short
remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on that future generations shall carry on the
struggle until it is victorious. (Orwell 10)
After the first meeting, which Old Major explained his dream for the animal, Snowball and
Napoleon especially and other pigs in general take the control of animals and organize, teach and make
them ready for the rebellion. The pigs elaborate Old Major's teachings into a system that they called
animalism. Just like what Thomas More asserts in his Utopia they assemble meeting and discuss about
what they must do and Snowball and Napoleon act like the philarch in More's utopia. Before Rebellion
Snowball and Napoleon and Squealer prepared most of the work:
These three had elaborated Old Major's teachings into a complete system of thought, to
which they gave the name of Animalism. Several nights a week, after Mr. Jones was
asleep, they held secret meetings in the barn and expounded the principles of Animalism
to the other. At the beginning they met with such stupidity and apathy. Some of the
animals talked of the duty of loyalty to Mr. Jones, whom they referred to as 'Master', or
made elementary remarks such as 'Mr. Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should starve
to death.' Others asked such questions as 'Why should we care what happens after we
are dead?', and the pigs had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to
the spirit of Animalism. (16)
As it goes on animals try to do their best at the harvest despite many difficulties they
encountered. Like the utopians they try for the welfare of all and their society.
How they toiled and sweated to get the hay in! But their efforts were rewarded, for the
harvest was an even bigger success than they had hoped.
Sometimes the work was hard; the implements had been designed for human beings and
not for animals, and it was a great drawback that no animal was able to use any tool that
involved standing on his hind legs. But the pigs were so clever that they could think of a
way round every difficulty. As for the horse, they knew every inch of the field, and in
fact understood the business of mowing and raking far better than Jones and his men
had ever done. (25)
All the animals regardless of their age, like the utopians of Sir Thomas More's, and in
accordance to their strength did everything they could at the harvest:
And every animal down to the humblest worked at turning the hay and gathering it.
Even the ducks and hens toiled to and fro all day in the sun, carrying tiny wisps of hay
in their beaks. In the end they finished the harvest in two day's less time than it had
usually taken Jones and his men. Moreover, it was the biggest harvest that the farm had

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ever seen. There was no wastage whatever; the hens and ducks with their sharp eyes had
gathered up the very last stalk. (25-6)
Although the harvest and other works of the farm were very difficult for animals, but they were
happy and satisfied, because they see their own food that is produced by themselves is for themselves
not for worthless parasitical human beings. According to More "fear of want" threatens both individual
and social security. But it does not threaten citizens of Utopia where "there is plenty of everything and
no reason to fear that anyone will claim more than he needs" (Utopia 42). In this regard Raphael
inquires that: "Why anyone would be suspected of asking for more than is needed, when everyone
knows there will never be any shortage?" (Robert M. 42). So the same thing happens in Animal Farm.
Because every animal has enough food and they know that everything belongs to them not to human
beings any longer. Nobody stole, nobody grumbled over his rations, the quarrelling and biting and
jealousy which had been normal features of life in the old days had almost disappeared. (Orwell 27)
After the Rebellion, animals assemble meeting every Sunday. Like the utopians they debate and
consult about their society as More suggested in his Utopia that people discuss different things and
then the philarch informs Archphilarch.
On Sundays there was no work. Breakfast there was a ceremony which was observed
every week without fail. First came the hoisting of the flag. Snowball had found in the
harness-room an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Jones's and had painted on it a hoof and a
born in white. This was run up the flagstaff in the farmhouse garden every Sunday
morning. The flag was green, Snowball explained, to represent the green fields of
England, while the hoof and born signified the future Republic of the Animals which
would arise when the human race had been finally overthrown. After the hoisting of the
flag all the animals trooped into the big barn for a general assembly which was known
the Meeting. Here the work of the coming week was planned out and resolutions were
put forward and debated. (28)
More like other utopian writers emphasized on having the law or rules. He insists that in order
to have an ideal state every utopian people must obey these rules. As it is seen throughout the novel
Snowball and Napoleon give rules to the other animals and they obey even Napoleon's, the dictator,
selfish rules because they do not want to destroy their utopia and see that Jones is back! But the
animal's utopia like Sir Thomas More's utopia has very few laws. They believe that because they have
a utopian state, so there is no need for more laws. Later it is revealed that the pigs studied through the
past three months and finally they succeeded in reducing the principles of Animalism to Seven
Commandments.

3. Change from Utopia to Dystopia in Animal Farm

Animal Farm is a book which centers on the expectations of the animals of particular farm in order to
have an ideal society. The book opens in an optimistic mood: Old Major in his speech describes a
simple, natural farm in which all the animals are free and equal. This mood is seen from the beginning
of his speech, good-natured and sympathetic relations between the animals: Boxer and Clover enter the
meeting place, "walking very slowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there
should be some small animal in the straw" (6). Clover, the "stout motherly mare,"(6) protects like a
mother the brood of ducklings. Above all, Major's vision of the future and his song, "Beast of England"
are optimistic. This meeting ends with the singing the song. Animals sing energetically "right through
five times in succession, and they might have continued it all night if they had not been interrupted"
(14). But gradually this energetic and positive mood is disappeared after the Rebellion, as the
difficulties of the animals become progressively worse, and as their leader becomes more and more
cruel and selfish. So at the end the Farm is the opposite of Major's optimistic dream; the majority of the
animals are neither free nor equal and they live in misery.
The movement from a utopian vision to dystopia reality in this novel is also an ironic reversal.
Old Major's vision is a dream of a perfect world in which man has been eliminated, in which all

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animals are well-fed and comfortable, in which all animals are equal to one another. The animals begin
to work toward the goal proposed by the dream, and they are enthusiastic about it. Indeed, their initial
enthusiasm and the brightness of the vision keeps them plodding along even when the vision begins to
slip away from them. The reader, of course, can see in every new chapter how Animal Farm is moving
away from that ideal, how precious rights and privileges are being abused. The reader can see the
situation becoming steadily more dystopian as the pigs take more and more power and privilege into
their own hands and give less and less thought to the animals. Reader can see, and understand, how
miserable the situation has become for the animals, while the animals themselves feel only a vague
sense of loss and hopelessness. The utopian vision that begins the novel and the dystopian reality that
end it are diametrically opposed. (Allen et al 53)
The first hint of dystopia is when the pigs secretly add the cows' milk to their own mash and
Snowball assent to this first act of inequity. Here it will be known that Napoleon from the beginning is
only concerned what he is going to get out of new way of life. After the Rebellion on Sunday there is
no work, they instead talk and decide about what they must do next week but in the meeting "it was
always the pigs who put forward the resolutions" (Orwell 25) and Snowball and Napoleon can never
agree. After Napoleon takes control, he immediately repeal all democratic running of the farm,
canceling the Sunday Meeting and telling the animals that the pigs would now be in control of all farm
matter. There is some protesting but this is immediately quashed by growling of the dogs. Later
Squealer goes round the farm to justify Napoleon's behavior and emphasizes the importance of
discipline.
The whole book moves in a descending line from that initial scene. The first meeting is an
optimistic and energetic meeting which offer Utopian farm. Old Major wants to free the animals from
human rule, and to give the animals a comfortable standard of living. First he pictures the unhappy lot
of animals in England and then struggles that England could support many more animals and provide
them a much more better life if it were not for men. In continue, he describes many vices of Man and
his cruelty to animals, and he tells them that he envisions a future happy time in which Man has been
removed. And he warns that animals all the time must be careful not to listen to Man's false and
misleading arguments if this future is to come to pass in some unspecified time. In the middle of his
speech, he then asks the animals to vote on whether the rats are brother and equal as to other animals.
At the end he lists the things - the vices- that belong to Man and asks the animals to avoid these vices if
this future free state is to be achieved.
The next important meeting which occurs in chapter five is the assembly called to decide on the
windmill. This meeting is the critical point in the change of mood: there is rivalry between Snowball
and Napoleon. Napoleon suddenly calls his bodyguards (nine fierce dogs who are the puppies whom he
has raised); they chase Snowball from the Farm. For the first time after the Rebellion this chase
suggests the bloodshed. Then there is another important meeting that Napoleon calls for it. This
meeting is the opposite of the one called by Major. The meeting is a trial, at which rebellious animals
are, one by one, condemned and the trial sent shivers down the animals' spine. They all cowered
silently in their places, seeming to know in advance that some terrible thing was to happen" (72). After
each confession, "the dogs promptly tore the throat out'' (73) of the rebels. The details of the rest of the
scene recall the details of Major's meeting. And after trial Clover goes to hillside and recalls that first
meeting: As Clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears . These scenes of terror and
slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old major had first stirred them
to rebellion. (75)
And then all the animals burst out into "Beasts of England," (the song they had sung joyfully at
the earlier meeting, five times in succession). This time, they sang it three times over - very tunefully
but slowly and mournfully, in a way they had never sung it before" (76). When they had finished it for
the third times, Squealer with two dogs come and declared that Napoleon has abolished this song; it
has been replaced by another. After these scenes there is no return to the optimism of early scenes;
instead there is a growing mood of despair and disappointment, " the habit, developed through long

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105

years, of never complaining, never criticizing, and no developed through long years, of never
complaining, never criticizing, no matter what happened." (113)
It is in this mood of despair and ignorance that the book ends. The last assembly that occur, in
the last scene of the book and the animals are not called to it. This is a party between six most
important pigs and neighboring humans.
There are two pairs of scenes that can be considered as a hint for the change of the mood of the
novel from utopia to dystopia. The first two scenes taking place on a hill overlooking Animal Farm.
The first occurs just after the successful revolution: A little way down the pasture there was a knoll that
commanded a view of most of the farm. The animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round them in
the clear morning light. Yes, it was theirs! In the ecstasy of that thought they gamboled round and
round, they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement. (20-21)
The scene expresses their pride and optimism in new society. The second scene takes place
after the executions of the animals during Napoleon's trial: When it was all over, the remaining
animalscrept away in a body. They were shaken and miserable. They had made their way on to the
little knoll where the half-finished windmill stood, and with one accord they all lay down as though
huddled together for warmth. (74)
This perfectly balanced scene underlines the failure of their hopes and dreams of ideal society.
There are a few scenes regarding Boxer which pictures how devotedly and whole heartedly he
toils for the sake and welfare of his comrades: Nothing could have been achieved without Boxer,
whose strength seemed equal to that of all the rest of the animals put together. Clover warned him
sometimes to be careful not, overstrain himself but Boxer would never listen to her. (54-5)
This scene should be compared with the later scene in which Boxer continues the same way,
despite his failing health:
Boxer worked harder than ever.In nothing that he did or said was there any sign that his
strength was not what it had been. It was only his appearance that was a little altered. Sometimes on
the slope leading to the top of the quarry, when he braced his muscles against the weight of some vast
boulder, it seemed that nothing kept him on his feet except the will to continue. (100)
The once-powerful Boxer will soon fall, never to regain his health.
Through the novel pigs change little by little the whole Commandment according to their
benefits. The first Commandment that was "No animal shall sleep in a bed;" when the pigs move into
the house, they add; "with sheets." The next is the rule "No animal shall kill any other animal; "After
Napoleon holds the trial and executes the animals, this is added: " without cause." Then, to the rule,
"No animal shall drink alcohol," is added: "to excess," after the pigs taste the whiskey for the first
time. The summary of the first two Commandments, "Four legs good, two legs bad, "is changed when
the pigs begin to walk on their hind legs: "Four legs good, two legs better." The most chillingly ironic
change of all is that made in the last chapter to the Commandment reading, "All animals are equal."
The new dictator pigs add: "but some animals are more equal than others."
The only one of the Seven Commandment which has not been broken and transformed by this
time is the one reading "No animal shall wear clothes." The pigs do not even bother to rewrite this
Commandment on the wall. If did not seem strange Not even when the pigs took Mr. Jones' clothes,
Napoleon himself is appearing in a black coat ratcatcher breeches, and leather leggings, while his
favorite sow appeared in the watered silk dress which Mrs. Jones had been used to wear on Sundays.
(115)

4. Findings
Considering Sir Thomas More as a humanist and his masterpiece Utopia and his idea of ideal state, and
the notion of dystopia presented by modern philosophers and novelists, the researchers depicted a
modern masterpiece, Animal Farm by the eminent writer George Orwell in order to study it in detail
and find the answers to the questions which were the triggers for this study.

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According to More, utopia is a place with important features such as justice, security and peace.
More like anyone else had the dream of utopia and also was influenced by the rising rationalism of his
time. In his work More pictures an ideal place which is every ones desired place, an Eden-like garden
deprived from poverty and misery. Being familiar with the ideal utopia, Orwell confronts us with the
reality of modern western society which in fact is opposite to that ideal utopia which is called dystopia.
Man finds himself responsible for.
By focusing on the elements of utopia in Animal Farm we can find a number of similarities
between utopia and the promised land or farm pictured by pigs at the beginning of the novel. As the
novel moves forward the utopian ideal promised by pigs little by little changes toward dystopia where
animals find themselves in a worse condition than before. Although the characters of the novel are
animals we should not forget that the work is a fable, and these characters resemble human beings.
Longing for an ideal place where there is justice, peace and equality has been with man from
his exile from the Garden of Eden. Because he could not fulfill his longing, planned a different garden
and called it Utopia. He also transferred this longing to his writings in order to satisfy his deep urges
and passion for perpetual happiness. He got up from his sweet dream and faced the realities that
surrounded him and were frightening and horrible. He thought that he got up from his nightmare but
that was the plain truth. Once he was an innocent optimist who sought an opportunity to amend all the
injustices and follies. But now, he has changed to an experienced pessimist who forecasts his dystopian
hellish future.

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