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Animal Farm Revisited

Posted by admin, on 25 July, 2011, to Andrew Brons' BNP Ideas web site

By Clive Wakely


Stalinism in one party

GEORGE ORWELL wrote “Animal Farm” as a satire on Stalin and communism—however it has recently been suggested that it could equally be regarded as a satire on more contemporary events closer to home.

Orwell’s allegorical novel was published in the UK in August 1945 and is generally accredited with reflecting on events leading up to and during the Stalin period prior to World War II.

The novel addresses a number of themes – not least the corruption of a revolution by a greedy self-serving leader, unscrupulously exploiting the goodwill of the led.

Picking up the story line following the successful revolution we find an animal community with two boars, Napoleon and Snowball, providing leadership of sorts.

That the animal community at that stage embraces some elements of democracy is exemplified by decision making through “public” consent at meetings.

However it quickly becomes evident that Napoleon has his own agenda, one that does not include power sharing; one, which effectively has him established as dictator for life.

To consolidate his position Napoleon surrounds himself with a compliant posse of handpicked “management” pigs and a security squad of vicious dogs; and all debate over how the farm is run is brought to an abrupt end.

“Napoleon, with the dogs following him, now mounted on to the raised portion of the floor where Major had previously stood to deliver his speech. He announced that from now on the Sunday-morning Meetings would come to an end. They were unnecessary, he said, and wasted time. In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a special committee of pigs, presided over by himself. These would meet in private and afterwards communicate their decisions to the others.”

Napoleon’s first victim is his archrival Snowball, upon whom he sets his attack dogs.

Having expelled Snowball from the farm, Napoleon embarks upon a campaign of vilification, branding him a “traitor” and accusing him of working with the enemy.

A similar fate awaits four young dissident pigs that make the mistake of uttering mild criticism of their leader’s conduct in public.

Thereafter it becomes porcine policy to hold Snowball and his numerous alleged collaborators responsible for all ills that subsequently befall the farm and its animal community.

Having achieved absolute control over all aspects of the farm’s affairs Napoleon then embarks on an ambitious programme.

He claims it will reinvigorate the dilapidated farm, thereby putting it on an equal footing with nearby rival farms run by hostile human farmers.

Animal Farm’s animal community rises to the challenge and contribute all they can; in every way they can; give “until it hurts” appears to be the order of the day.

They enjoy some success – their first harvest is gathered in, much to the surprise of detractors, in record time.

Buoyed by this success Napoleon announces an even more ambitious plan – to build a windmill, one fully equipped with all the latest equipment; a modernization program that will both provide the farm with all the electricity it needs and place it firmly in the farming mainstream.

However the cost of the project is substantial, a cost that will require every single member of the farm community to contribute; as the specialist state-of-the-art equipment needed for both the farm and its windmill were not cheap.

Once again the hard working and loyal animal community buys into the project donating even more of their precious time and energy into bringing it to fruition.

However whilst the animals toil to fulfil their leader’s ambitious plan an undercurrent of unease and concern gradually takes hold amongst them, principally over the activities of the management pigs.

The hens, for instance, revolt on discovering that their precious eggs are being stolen and sold off for money, a revolt that is quickly and savagely put down by the leader’s attack dogs on his instructions.

The cows are outraged over the theft of their milk, outrage barely assuaged by the explanation proffered in response:

“Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty?”

Matters then go from bad to worse.

The almost complete windmill is subsequently destroyed and, true to form, the “traitor” Snowball is held responsible.

Then each of the tenets of Animal Farm’s “constitution”, painted large at one end of the barn, are subject to inexplicable amendment; but no one dares criticize for fear of being denounced as one of Snowball’s creatures.

Unknown to the rest of the animal community, Napoleon and his “henchpigs” sell off most of the crops grown on the farm for overwinter feeding; along with eggs, timber and other assets.

According to the leader the proceeds from these transactions are ostensibly needed to pay for the equipment, being part and parcel of the farm’s modernization and abandoned windmill projects.

To deceive both the animal community and outside detractors, as to the real extent of the farm’s resulting and growing deficit in terms of animal foodstuffs, Napoleon orders:

“the almost empty bins in the store-shed to be filled nearly to the brim with sand, which was then covered up with what remained of the grain and meal.”

Although not expressly stated, a clue as to how Napoleon may have utilized the proceeds from the sale of farm assets can be ascertained from the final chapter of Orwell’s work.

The downtrodden and by now deeply disillusioned animal community is one day alerted by sounds of partying and merriment coming from the old farmhouse in which Napoleon and his porcine entourage have taken up residence.

Pressing up against the windows they discover Napoleon and his piggy pals engaged in some serious junketing with the avowed enemy – the owners of adjacent and rival farms.

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

In other words the leadership of their farm, far from offering a real alternative to the “old gang”, had sold out and were now part of the very same “old gang” they claimed to despise, to the extent they were indistinguishable from it.

The sense of betrayal felt by Animal Farm’s animal community can only be guessed at.

To what extent Orwell’s great work can accurately be said to be an allegory for contemporary events is, in the final analysis, very much a matter of personal opinion.

So what do you think?