Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution.
The events that occurred in Russia after the Revolution clearly carry out the events in the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. Orwell's novel was written and published in 1946. It is about a farm in England in which the animals are irritated by the way they are treated so they start a revolution. Animal Farm, known at the beginning and the end of the novel as the Manor Farm, symbolizes Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist Party rule. But more generally, Animal Farm stands for any human society. The revolution started by the animals parallel the Russian Revolution in its communist ideas and the power of corruption. .
The resemblance of animals to the political leaders and other persons involved in the Russian Revolution clearly stand out to this day. Old Major, a prize winning boar who started the ideas of the revolution died just before the revolution. Old Major was based on the political economist Karl Marx who also died before the Revolution. Both Marx and Old Major thought that workers should unite and work. Old Major also symbolized Lenin. Old Major was the idealist who dreamed up a wonderful government where animals were equal and the humans must be pushed out. Although his dream never became reality due to his death. Then there was Mr. Jones the farmer who ran Manor Farm. Jones was a drunk who never really paid any attention to the animals and was very unkind to them. He can best be based on the Czar Nicholas II. Both were irresponsible, sometimes cruel and kind. The pig who emerged as the leader of Animal Farm once the humans had fled the farm was Napoleon. Based on Joseph Stalin, both were not good speakers, cruel, selfish, and cared for nothing but power and would kill anyone who would get in their way. The pig who challenges Napoleon for control of Animal Farm after the rebellion was Snowball. Snowball would parallel Leon Trotsky. Trotsky and Snowball both wanted to make life better for others.