Farm Rebellionphic Text
The farm rebellion is a didactic text in which Orwell aims to teach the reader a series of lessons on social classes, equality and inequality, power, control and corruption.
These themes are explored through the events and characters of the novel, and are an allegory of the Russian revolution.
The unhappiness of animals represents the class struggle, this leads to the rebellion that offers some equality. Then, the actions of the pigs allow inequality to return to the farm.
The theme of power and control is explored throughout the novel and stands out for the relationships of the characters on the farm. The issues are political and explore what happened within Russian society from 1917 onwards, while the moral context of each social part is taught.
It is important to remember that, although the novel is based on facts that took place in 1917, the themes remain relevant today today.
Social classes in the farm rebellion
Before the 1917 revolution, Tsar Nicolás II ruled Russia. The ruling classes had money and power, while the rest of the residents were poor, exploited peasant workers or the working class. These people lived in terrible conditions and what they cultivated were removed by leaving them in a battle against hunger and poverty.
The revolution that arrived in 1917 sought to overthrow the tsar and change the balance of society to return power to the working class. The plot of the farm rebellion is very similar to these events.
In the novel, Orwell uses animals to highlight the difficulties of working classes. Use Mr. Jones as a symbol of the emperor, to highlight how lazy and negligent that was the tsar. Animals represent each section different from society at that time;They are a metaphor of what happened to people.
Animals, like Russia’s working class, had short and difficult lives, working to produce things that the ruling class would take for itself. The rebellion on the farm seeks to change this, but the revolutionary pigs soon adopt the forms of the ruling class they were looking to abolish.
Animal difficulties
During the speech of the major pork, the difficulties that animals face, such as being fed only with the necessary food to survive, work until their ‘last breath’ and then sacrifice them with ‘frightful cruelty’ are described.
‘No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after turning a year. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the pure truth ’.
The contrast of the lack of ‘happiness’ and ‘leisure’ and the abundance of ‘misery’ and ‘slavery’ in the life of an animal helps to emphasize the difficulties of animals.
Exploitation of animals by SR. Jones
Exploitation of animals by SR. Jones in his speech, the main pig says that the MR. Jones sells animals and only he benefits.
‘… How many of those eggs have become chickens? The rest has gone to the market to bring money for Jones and their men."
The major pig uses a rhetorical question for chickens to consider how the MR. Jones has exploited them and how he has sold their eggs for their own benefit.
Exploitation of animals by pigs
Exploitation of animals by pigs The pigs take apples and extra milk for themselves, instead of sharing them with other animals.
‘It’s for your good that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if pigs do not fulfill our duty? Jones would come back!’
The word ‘you’ emphasizes to try to suggest that pigs eat food for the benefit of other animals. Pigs exploit others threatening with the return of Jones.
How is the social context in the novel show?
In the farm rebellion, social classes are exposed through:
- The difficulties of animals during the Jones government.
- The exploitation of animals by Mr. Jones.
- The exploitation of animals by pigs after they take control.
How are social classes explored in the novel?
- The difficulties that the animals of the working class support under the government of Jones.
- As part of the ruling class, SR. Jones do not take care of animals properly, take everything they produce for their own benefit and then kills them when they can’t work.
- The pigs adopt the old customs of Mr. Jones, first taking more food for them and then slowly changing the commandments to adapt to themselves, becoming a new ruling class that continues to exploit the animals of the working class.
Equality and inequality in the farm rebellion
Orwell uses animals and their actions to make the reader think about equality and inequality. Before 1917, most Russians suffered from great inequality: they had much less money and food than the ruling classes.
Also, before the rebellion in the novel, Mr. Jones takes away all possession of animals. After the rebellion, the animals are released from the tyranny of the SR. Jones and seek to establish equality between them.
One of the commandments is ‘all animals are equal’. However, this equality is short -lived and pigs begin to fold the rules until inequality returns to the farm.
Animals and humanity
During the speech of the major pig, there is talk of how ‘no animal is free’ and that life for them is ‘one of slavery’ and that ‘man is the only creature he consumes without producing’.
‘Man does not serve the interests of any creature except himself”.
This short and forceful phrase shows the opinion of the main pork on inequality between men and animals.
The rebellion
After the rebellion, the animals agree on the seven commandments for which they will now live, to ensure that everything is fair and equal.
‘All animals are equal’.
A simple but tremendously effective phrase. There is no place for discussions or debates here, the intention of animals is very clear.
Pigs taking control
When pigs take control, they move to the farm and sleep in beds, which creates inequality between them and the other animals,
‘They wouldn’t steal our rest, right, comrades? Wouldn’t they have too tired to fulfill our duties? Surely none of you want to see Jones back ’. It is argued here that without ‘rest’ pigs cannot do their job and that is why Mr. Jones will return. Personal pronouns are used to create a difference between pigs and other animals.
How is the theme of equality and inequality in the novel show?
Equality and inequality are taught through:
- Inequality between animals and humanity.
- The equality that animals seek to establish after rebellion.
- The inequality that begins again after pigs take control.
How is equality and inequality explore in the novel?
- The inequality that exists between animals and SR. Jones:
Mr. Jones spends their time drinking while animals do not feed. He is the only one who benefits from his hard work.
- When animals scare SR. Jones, there is the possibility of equality after rebellion:
‘All animals are equal’ is one of the commandments that animals decide. There are indications that this type of equality could be difficult to establish: animals are not sure to include rats in their camaraderie and pigs clearly have a better quality of life than other animals, even under the government of Jones.
- The opportunity of equality is lost when pigs come to power: they begin to change the rules, they eat more and enjoy more free time until life on the farm is filled with as much inequality as before the rebellion.
The power and control in the farm rebellion
Power and control is one of the most important themes of the novel. Orwell explores political power: Jones owns the farm and animals and uses his men and whips to keep them under control and maintain their power.
Orwell shows that animals have the power to challenge the control of jones and take over the farm, using power in a positive way. Then explore how pigs use rhetoric and propaganda to settle in power and take control of the farm. It is interesting that work animals, especially the Boxer horse, have great physical power but do not use it to free themselves from pig control.
The major pig is based on Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Karl Marx, was a German philosopher who lived during the 19th century. His ideas formed the basis of communism;His ideas are known collectively as ‘Marxism’, as ‘animalism’ in the novel. He developed theories about how power structures in society keep people under control. Vladimir Lenin was a Russian revolutionary who established a form of ‘Marxism’ in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
Orwell explores the idea that power leads to corruption. Many of the characters in the novel are eventually corrupted by the power they have, particularly pigs, while manipulating their leadership position to exploit other animals.
Mr. Jones
The greater pig teaches animals a song called Beasts from England in response to Mr. Jones treating them badly. The song is about animals that overthrow the man and are free.
“Spots and spurs will be prey to the rust and never more cruel whips will hear their restals.".
Animals sing about the objects that Jones use to maintain their power. The ‘bites and spurs’ and ‘whips’ are used to cruelly keep animals under control.
The rebellion
Animals fight against men and take control of the farm.
… This sudden uprising of creatures who were accustomed to hit and mistreat as they wanted, scared them almost out of their trial.
Animals surprise men with their ‘sudden’ behavior change: men are afraid to see animals use their power.
Pigs taking control
The pigs take over and begin to control the other animals. Napoleon uses the squeaky pork and dogs to stop the questions of animals about the wind mill.
"The Chillón pig spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs that were with him growl so threatening that they accepted their explanation without more questions.".
Between the squeaky pig they are so ‘persuasive’ and the ‘threatening’ dogs, the pigs control the animals preventing them from questioning their decisions.
How is the theme of power and control in the novel show?
It appears to power and control through:
- Mr. Jones exploiting his power and treating animals badly.
- Rebellion and how animals use their power to seize the farm.
- Pigs and how they skillfully control other animals.
How is power and control explore in the novel?
- Mr. Jones use its power over animals. It is assumed that Mr. Jones use physical violence to maintain animals control: they sing about the ‘restalize’ of his whip in the song ‘Beasts of England’.
- Animals use their own power to take control of the farm. They come together against Jones and their men and throw them out of the farm.
- Pigs use the power of persuasion or rhetoric to maintain their control over other animals.
- Napoleon uses fear to control the farm.
conclusion
When the farm rebellion ends, Pilkington and some human farmers go to the farm for dinner with pigs. Other animals look out the window and discover that they cannot distinguish the pigs of humans. Pigs look exactly like humans.
The final image of the novel expresses the understanding of animals of why pigs have become as cruel and oppressive as human farmers. The end also argues that although the power is the same, whatever the owner or any ideology that is used to justify it. Powerful people will be cruel and selfish, whether pigs or human, communists or capitalists. It is vital to highlight that it is concluded that every powerful person is cruel and selfish.
The end offers a raw view for the reason that a viable political system with real equality for all.
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