Animal Rights
...suffered by a group of the general public. Typically a minority of the
population, in search of a better lifestyle fights back against the oppression they have
been forced to endure. History is full of countless examples of this. Two such notable
revolutions are the French and Russian movements, though they occurred at completely
different time periods they share common similarities. Many times in the course of a
revolution the initial goals of the revolting group are enjoyed and for a short period of
time a general sense of accomplishment is felt by the induction of new ideas. However as
seen in the French and Russian revolutions the leadership that was so strongly opposed is
returned to power with little change noted on the surface.
Author George Orwell in his recent novel Animal Farm writes a very effective
political allegory of not only the Russian Revolution but of movements of the same
nature. So transparent are the obvious links to the revolution that it took the acclaimed
author several publisher rejections, including his own, to finally find one who would
publish his book. Included in the reasons for rejection were the fear of the impact on
wartime needs and policies, and the opinion that Orwell's satirical view was to strong
given the present political climate. None the less the novel was published by Frederic
Warburg, and rightfully so, as the tale of the Animal Farm is written to almost perfection
and has been called by many one of the best written books of our time.
The Russian revolution is one of the only revolutions in history that can be
compared to the French revolution in size and outcome. Orwell's impression of such a
movement seems to be clouded by his negative interpretation of the actions of those in
power. Animal Farm's use of satirical attacks on the revolution...
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