Animal Farm: Napolean-Stalin

             Animal Farm Research Paper
             Animal Farm is one of George Orwell's most controversial pieces of work. One would say that Animal Farm is an allegory of Stalinism, growing out from the Russian Revolution in 1917. Because it is cast as an animal fable it gives the reader/viewer, some distance from the specific political events. The use of the fable form helps one to examine the certain elements of human nature which can produce a Stalin and enable him to seize power. In this case Napoleon was the Stalin of the book. Many elements of the book indicate this very subtly at times and clearly at other times.
             Napoleon, like Stalin, uses methods to make him look favorable by simply altering the rules to his needs at the time. Squealer is responsible for most of this transgression. All of the Seven Commandments of Animal Farm are eventually broken before the commandments are revised to establish that the pigs did nothing wrong. In the eighth chapter, the commandment that strictly forbids animals to kill one another was cunningly changed to "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause" (Orwell 63) after a series of executions of supposed traitors and probable Snowball followers. Napoleon forced confessions and eliminated these probable traitors under the newly revised rule. The new rule favored his popularity, respect, and increased his hunger for power. Stalin did virtually the same: "Stalin even turned against members of the Communist party and the Red Army. He removed them from positions and then, like all the others he thought were disloyal, had them either shot or sent to labor camp in icy Siberia" (Smith 27). After all, "Stalin did not believe in leaving officials for very long in a position from which they might build a power base" (Ulam 375).
             Both Napoleon and Stalin instilled a fear in the people using the notion that if you did not do their bidding you would be punish...

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Animal Farm: Napolean-Stalin. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 19:47, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/37132.html