Animal Farm
...nation. Orwell hoped to write a novel that exposed the truth of the Soviet System. He created a story to show a truth that remained unclear to many. Animal Farm introduces its readers to a wide assortment of characters, each serving as a symbol to the real-life equals they seem to represent.
Each character in Orwell's novel could be interpreted to have a larger meaning. For instance, Farmer Jones stands for the Russian Czar Nicolas II who was forced to step down from his title after the successful February Revolution (Rodden 113). Mr. Jones also symbolizes the evils of capitalism and the moral decline of men under this type of society. The humans stand for the capitalists, who take advantage of the weak. The transformation of the pigs into human-like creatures represents the process by which the revolution's leaders became corrupted (115). Many people believe that Orwell made Old Major a symbol for Karl Marx, the father of the Communist belief system. Both Old Major and Karl Marx serve as the founders of a revolution, and both die before the revolutionary events they predict will happen. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky (121). Like Trotsky, Snowball is a smart, young speaker who dreams of making life better for all animals. One of the early leaders of the "October Revolution", Trotsky was banished from the Soviet Union. While abroad, he was repeatedly thought of as a traitor by his native country, and lies were invented to harm him. Trotsky was eventually killed in Mexico by the Russian internal police.
Napoleon is not as clever as Snowball. Napoleon is also cruel and selfish. Napoleon is most clearly representative of Joseph Stalin, who, like Napoleon, ruled with an iron fist and killed all those who opposed him (133). He also represents the human weaknesses which eventually weaken even the best political intentions. In much the same way that...
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