Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution

Animal Farm and The Russian Revolution

Minor characters and events of the novel Animal Farm symbolize things that are related to the history of Russia. Animal Farm is a story on Stalinism and the Russian Revolution. The characters in Animal Farm all have a part in the Soviet Union meaning the Russian Revolution. The similarities of Mr. Jones and Czar Nicholas II, the leader previous to Stalin tie into each other. There was a strike wave go on in Petrograd. Over 300,000 people went through economic crisis. Factories had a lack of fuel and there were power cuts. The railways were collapsing and there was no meat, and a shortage of flour. Hunger spread through the country. The bourgeois liberals of the “Progressive Bloc” pleaded with Tsar Nicholas for reform trying to frighten him with revolution. That revolution broke into the February Revolution. Farmer Jones came home drunk one night and didn’t feed the animals making it worse than it already was as they were already starving. The animals got the image of the revolution from Old Major in their heads and attacked. They succeeded and won the battle against Mr. Jones as they drove him off the farm.

The animals were now free to do what ever they wanted and needed to pick a leader. Out of all of the animals the pigs were considered to be the most brilliant. The two pigs that stood out the most were Napoleon and Snowball. Napoleon is not a good speaker, but he can assert himself. Snowball is a better speaker because he has a lot of ideas. These two pigs did not get along, much like Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. The Russian leaders fought for power and Stalin achieved sole power and Trotsky was exiled. Trotsky escaped Stalin’s dilemmas. Stalin hated his opponent so much that he caused his name to be written simply “Judas Trotsky.” Stalin stole many of Trotsky’s ideas and methods.

Eventually Trotsky was expelled from Russia. In the same manner, Snowball and Napoleon always argued over ideas. Napoleon was already power hungry and

had a plan to get rid of Snowball after the rebellion. In the middle of this all, Snowball was planning out to build a windmill for power to energize the farm. Napoleon then directed the dogs he raised since they were puppies on Snowball and chased him off the farm. Napoleon eliminated his only enemy and was free to control the farm.

The animals began destroying all cruel objects around the farm, and they started to plan what the project would be. Napoleon brought up the windmill option again, after he refused it when Snowball was around. Stalin decides to carry out a program of intensive socialist construction. He pushes financial growth at this point to eliminate competitors within the party. Stalin recognizes Bukharin and some other party members as the "right-wing diversity" and used the party organization to remove them from powerful positions. Yet Stalin also revealed that his policy of building "socialism in one country" was similar to which Trotsky had originally supported earlier. In other words, Napoleon refused the windmill idea and wanted no part of, and then when Snowball was gone he was all for building it, making it the main project on the farm. Stalin's model of a planned economy supplies no center for communism. Trotsky worked out the First Five-Year Plan for intensive economic growth. Stalin began to apply this plan. Napoleon had stolen Snowball’s plan.

The Sunday morning meetings were unnecessary Napoleon thought, so he wanted to get rid of those. He figured out that all questions relating to the work of the farm would be

settled by a special committee of the pigs. This is related to Stalin’s policy because he had made a Command Economy, where the government made all economic decisions.

Old Benjamin, is an elderly donkey who over the years has not changed. He does not get too excited, or too disappointed about anything that has gone on. He symbolizes the older generation, the opponent of any new rebellion. He’s so skeptical that he no longer needs look at his leader for help, or guidance.

Muriel is also a knowledgeable goat, his purpose on the farm is to read the commandments for Clover. Muriel represents the minority or working class people who are educated enough to decide things for themselves. They find serious and deceitful problems with their leaders. Unfortunately, Muriel is not forceful enough to take on Napoleon and his dogs.

As Stalin gained more power, it was very important for him to eliminate any who might challenge him, and also to keep his bodyguards around him to prevent any harm coming to him. Also that he assigned a secret police to eliminate people who were against him. This special army was known as the KGB or the Committee of State Security. Napoleon needed his personal army also. The