Saturday, January 30, 2010

Hail to the Chief

With Barack Obama now celebrating his one-year anniversary, I dedicate this review to the current president of the United States of America.

George Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegory for the death of Lenin and the rise of Stalin as he brought about totalitarianism in the U.S.S.R. In the very first chapter, the aged pig Old Major is dying. He represents Vladimir Lenin, the communist who essentially started the whole demise of the nation. He passes on his blessings to the farm, telling everyone to try to start a rebellion.

The rebellion occurs, and it works perfectly. The farmer, Mr. Jones, runs away, and the Manor Farm is changed to the Animal Farm. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, soon take control. They write up the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the seven morals by which all animals should live their lives. The seventh and most important of these is "All animals are equal." The Seven Commandments represented the hope that the animals had for a better future.

Snowball starts teaching the animals how to read and write, while Napoleon makes speeches in front of the animals to instill principles of Animal Farm. The two pigs each try to gain more power than the other. One day, Snowball declares the idea of building a windmill, and Napoleon attacks his idea and chases him off with dogs. Soon after, he said that building a windmill was his idea all along, and Snowball just stole his idea. After this, things started getting worse around the farm.

Snowball is the character who represents Leon Trotsky, commander of the Red Army and one of Lenin's successors. Snowball's departure from the farm signifies Trotsky's exile from Russia to Mexico. His skill with writing reflects Trotsky's actual character as well. Napoleon represents the cruel leader Joseph Stalin. Stalin used his power to inflict cruel policies on the people of Russia, while Napoleon also did terrible things to the animals who trusted him.

Animal Farm is an excellent depiction of the fall of Russia and the rise of communism. Orwell's novel seems hauntingly realistic in the fact that everything starts out well, but eventually grows worse. It should be used as a warning to our government today. Mr. Obama should take heed so that America does not turn into a mess like the Manor Farm did.

http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Farm-Centennial-George-Orwell/dp/0452284244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264913449&sr=8-1

Grade: 9