Animal Farm

Stalinism Vs Trotskyism
By: Samuel Nayarez and Abigail Bromley
 George Orwell
● Born on June 25th, 1903 in
Motihari, India.
● George Orwell is a pen name,
his actual name is Eric Arthur
Blair.
● Mainly known for 2 works
1984, and Animal Farm.
● Born to a military family.
● Lived most of his life in
poverty.
● Died January 21, 1950 in
University College Hospital,
London, United Kingdom.
 Animal Farm Summary
The novel begins in a pastoral farm setting. One night Mr.Jones had forgotten to feed his farm
animals for the night which sparked Old Major the pig to recruit everyone that night. He shared with
everyone ideas and philosophies about how they are mistreated and overworked. All animals cling
onto his ideas of possibly revolting. Two nights later Old major died peacefully in his sleep. Two
pigs named Snowball and Napoleon naturally take on the role of leadership in the farm and
successfully revolt. They rename the farm to Animal Farm and create the Seven Commandments
of animalism. Napoleon and Snowball are contending for leader of Animal Farm and Napoleon
uses his guard dogs to chase Snowball off of the farm. With no competition Napoleon wins by
default. For some time afterward the farm is prospering and all is well. Squealer who serves as the
voice for Napoleon keeps spreading propaganda about Napoleon so animals aren’t suspicious of
Napoleon. Slowly the Commandments are skewed in favor of the pigs and dogs after the windmill
is destroyed, and animals that are suspicious are either not at Animal Farm or are killed off.
Napoleon secretly trades with the animals’ sworn enemy, humans. One day Napoleon invites
neighboring humans over to look at the barn. The pigs have picked up human mannerisms and the
animals looking inside cannot tell the difference between human and pig. All seven
Commandments are reduced to just one, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal
than others.”
The Seven Commandments
Clip
 Stalinism Vs Trotskyism
● Conservative side of
communism.
● Emphasis on power of state.
● Rapid industrialization through
careful planning.
● Dictatorship giving all the
power to one leader (Stalin).
● Forced collectivization of
agriculture and removal of
landowners to keep the State
‘pure’.
● Is more of a totalitarian
regime.
● Liberal side of communism
● Supported a vanguard party of
proletariat and proletarian
nationalism
● Favored permanent revolution
● Argues that countries like
Russia had no “enlightened”
bourgeoisie
● Proletariat were to take up the
burden of instituting
revolutions
● Wanted to spread
Communism worldwide.
Character Parallels in Historical Context
● Mr. Jones: Represents Tsar Nicholas who lead prior to the Russian Revolution.
● Old Major: The oldest pig on the farm who had great influence over all of the animals up
until his death. Represents Karl Marx/ Vladimir Lenin.
● Napoleon: A pig and leader of the rebellion uses his secret attack dogs to
attack/intimidate other animals. He represents Joseph Stalin who was the primary leader
during the Russian Revolution.
● Snowflake: Fought alongside Napoleon until his ideals conflicted and he was then run
off the farm. Represents Trotsky who opposed Stalin and his communist party in favor of
● Moses: A raven who came to the farm for food and spread false tales about freedom to
the animals. Represents organized religion/ the Russian Orthodox Church and its
misgivings about Heaven.
● Squealer: Napoleon's right hand and was the spokesperson for his propaganda.
Represents Pravda (“truth”) the newspaper used by the communist party to help spread
their ideals and gain support from their readers.
● Napoleon's dogs: Became Napoleon's bodyguards and acted as a disciplinary force on
the farm. Represent the KGB who Stalin used to eliminate his opponents.
Character Parallels Cont.
● Boxer: A hard working horse who helps with labor work and the construction of the mill.
Represents the Boxer Rebellion in China that signaled the beginning of communism in
Russia
● Benjamin: Elderly donkey who remains uninterested and apathetic to either side of the
rebellion. Represents Orwell’s critique of communism and the older generations who
didn't completely embrace the revolution.
● Pigs: LIve in luxury while the rest of the animals suffer to provide for them. Represent
Stalin’s communist loyalists and friends.
● Frederick: Had relations with Napoleon to make deals for food and resources but
eventually became an enemy of Animal Farm. Represents Germany who was once an
ally to Russia but lost it in favor of the Allies
● Pilkington: One of the rival farmers vying for the farms resources. Represents the
Allies in WW1 who Russia later sided with.
Critiques
● The first and foremost critique Animal Farm has is that it serves as an allegory
and satire of the Russian Revolution. Critiquing specifically the way in which
Communist leaders carried out Democratic Communism, and how it is
impossible because of contact to the outside world. Displaying how
Democratic Communism shifts into a Totalitarian Regime.
● Other critiques include how gullible the mass society is. How all you need to
sway the public is consistency and a feeling of dissatisfaction.
● How in order for the Bourgeoisie to thrive there must be a poor Proletariat
class.
Critiques Cont.
● The raven Moses not only serves as an allusion to the religious figure Moses
but serves as a critique on how politics and religion don’t mesh.
● Mollie the mare represents the small bourgeois class around the time of the
Russian Revolution who fled.
● Squealer the pig is the voice of propaganda. Critiquing how news sources will
twist their words in order keep the public under their control.
 Discussion Questions
1. What is the significance of the final Commandment, “All animals are equal,
but some are more equal than others.”?
2. How essential is the setting to the story? Could the same theme/moral be
concluded with a different location?
3. The animals constantly sacrifice in order to build and rebuild the windmill.
What symbolic meaning does the windmill have, and why is it so important to
Napoleon that it is built?
4. Other than the pigs, which animal has the most importance symbolically?
5. What is George Orwell trying to say about class? Can we see elements of
Animal Farm in contemporary life?