George Orwells
allegorical novella, Animal Farm is a satirical retelling of the
events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the rise of
Stalin. After the animals rebel against Mr. Jones and his
employees, they set up a government constituted by Animalism,
which in its raw state parallels the basic principles of socialism.
In order to govern them, they create basic laws meant to unify them
known as, The Seven Commandments, which they write on the outer
wall of the barn. However, the pigs begin to disobey the
commandments and change them to get away with it. None of the other
animals notice due to their illiteracy, so Napoleon continuously
exploits this fact to get what he wants. As a result, the farm that
was meant to be utopic
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They were meant
to keep the harmony between all animals and only discriminated
against humans, stating that, Whatever goes upon two legs is an
enemy; Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.
(Orwell 43). The commandments were also created with the intent
that no animal would ever act like a human, lest the animals would
fall into the same hierarchy held by man, saying, No animal shall
wear clothes; No animal shall sleep in a bed; No animal shall drink
alcohol; No animal shall kill any other animal. (Orwell 43). The
last commandment, All animals are equal(Orwell 43), arguably the
most important, signifies the most basic idea of Animal-Socialism.
Once this commandment is altered, there is no hope for the animals
because the farm has fallen completely to totalitarianism. The
Seven Commandments were meant to unify, and the animals take this
to heart, causing them to remain ignorant, allowing the farm to
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The first
alteration was a simplification of the commandments by Snowball so
that the animals having difficulty remembering all seven could
understand the main idea of Animalism. This oversimplification is a
huge mistake on Snowballs part because it allows Napoleon to
brainwash the rest of the animals and convince them of whatever he
needs them to think. The rest of the alterations are by Napoleon
attempting to cover up his human-like actions that break the
commandments. As the Seven Commandments are continuously shortened,
Napoleon continuously breaks them. First, Napoleon decides to
engage in trade with humans, despite the commandment saying,
"Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy." (Orwell 43). Then he and
the pigs move into the farmhouse and sleep in the beds. To cover it
up, Napoleon insists that the commandment prohibiting this was
actually, "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets (Orwell 79),
and stating that they removed the sheets from the beds. Things like
this continue happening, but any suspicions the animals have are
snuffed out until there is a bloodbath, and Napoleon has the dogs
kill multiple animals who, 'confess' to conspiring with Snowball.
Though the causes shock and misery amongst the animals (Orwell 93),
Napoleon still gets away with it by claiming that the sixth
commandment actually says,
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