It has been widely acknowledged that George Orwell wrote Animal Farm
with the express purpose of indicting Communism as a solution to social
problems. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union it can, therefore, be
argued that the work has lost its relevance, except perhaps, as a
children's fable. To write the novel off in such a fashion would, however,
be a mistake because a closer examination of the plot structure and the
caricatures of various characters will reveal that the work has a timeless
relevance. Indeed, if one were to disregard any preconception that Animal
Farm should be interpreted as a satire on Communist Russia, it can be
argued that the novel's main purpose is to highlight the negative effects
of power structures in terms of suppressing and exploiting the weaker
sections of society. The abuse of power, as a central theme, is especially
apparent in the manner in which the characters of Boxer and Mollie are
portrayed. Although the two possess diametrically opposite personalities,
they share one thing in common and that is, they both reveal an inherent
weakness, which ends up being exploited by the powers-that-be. Thus, it can
be said that the characters of both Boxer and Mollie are used by Orwell to
establish that as long as power structures exist, the freedom of
individuals to pursue life, liberty, and happiness will always be
Like most satires, Orwell uses allegory and irony to allow the reader
to interpret the parallels being drawn between the personality trait in a
particular animal character and human nature. However, Orwell does not
merely stop at that. He also uses the plot structure in Animal Farm to
establish that human society will always be a case of "all animals are
equal, but some are more equal than others," (Orwell, p. 114) irrespective
of arguments or claims to the contrary. Thus, Animal Farm begins with Old
Major advising the animals that thei...