Animal Farm
LITERATURE
THE NOVEL THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. READ IT AND MAKE PARALLELS, WRITES MUHAMMAD KAMRAN SHAMSHAD
George Orwell's novel ‘Animal Farm’ written during the World War II introduced to me a writer who writes astonishingly simple yet breathtakingly profound.
The book which is a satire on the communist Russia is set in the fictions Manor Farm. The author has used animals as allegory to depict how the Communist Revolution came in Russia. The story starts in “Manor Farm” with a Mr. Jones as its owner. One day, the oldest and wisest animal on the farm, a boar, tells his fellow animals about his dream—to establish ‘Animalism’ on earth with animals taking care of themselves and their needs without human masters. He also warns them about not adopting the vices of man e.g. trading, money, drinking, and smoking. Old Major dies before his vision is seen, but two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, take up the cause, flesh out his vision, and convince the animals that it's possible. The next time the owner Jones lashes out with cruelty, the animals rebel, drive him and his wife off the farm, and take over its reigns.
The rebellion is an amazing success. The farm animals feel delirious and quickly change everything in the farm. Seven basic principles are drawn up:
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs or has wings is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.
Post revolution animals efficiently do their tasks and work collectively. The harvest they reap is the best and everyone has more food and leisure. But we know power corrupts and that is exactly what happens. Things soon start to degenerate, and the pigs take almost dictatorial control, with the famous line that "all animals are equal but some are more equal than others". They gradually start to adopt practices which they abhorred and become tyrannical like the previous masters they had replaced. A wise animal, Snowball, dreams of making a windmill which would improve the conditions on the farm. However his dreams are thought revolutionary and he is attacked and chased out of Animal Farm by Napoleon and a pack of ferocious dogs. Squealer—the propaganda manager, convinces animals that Snowball was in fact, a traitor, and it was Napoleon who exposed him and chased him out for that sin. Slowly they convince animals that they have to work while others will look after it. They try to innovate but fail because they had no expertise. Meanwhile the more equal animals change the early rules to suit to their taste.Four legs good, two legs better.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.
Orwell, like any other intellectual, had a foresight and had visualized the collapse of Soviet Union when it was at its peak. Because the order which the proletariats came to change, now they succumbed to the same vice. That is the story of every political order in the world which sloganeers for change. The characters are universal. The book is both a specific satire and a general commentary on revolution and government. Orwell’s Animal Farm stands the test of time.
(Feedback at skamranmuhammad@gmail.com).
Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST
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