Animal Farm

            George Orwell's, Animal Farm, was written to illustrate the events of the Marxist Revolution of 1917. He wrote this book during the time of the German attack against Russia. During this time, a popular belief that the Soviet Union was an honorable country concerned Orwell. He was fearful that they would forget the past, so in order to jog their memories he wrote Animal Farm. The animals in the story portrayed humans during the Marxist Revolution of 1917. It was very evident that the actions associated with the characters in the story were those of their human counterparts. Snowball clearly depicted Leon Trotsky in Animal Farm, through Snowball's actions, Trotsky's factual history, and a comparison of the two characters will justify the thesis.
             Snowball was the most sympathetic animal that could be leader of the animal farm. He had the ability to lead as well as the passion for the betterment of Animal Farm. He believed in Old Major's vision and wanted to help make it a reality. For example, in Chapter III after the harvest, under Snowball's leadership the animals held meetings on Sunday's to plan for the next week's work and to discuss any decisions previously made (Orwell pg. 43). This example shows how Snowball was more inclined to work toward improving the Animal Farm, rather than just looking out for himself like Napoleon and the pigs. Snowball is genuine in his leadership to the extent that he organized reading and writing classes, so all the animals could make informed decisions when they voted or were part of the committee meetings (Orwell, pg 45). Snowball was not only sympathetic to the needs of the animals to improve their lives, but he also understood the strategies of war. In Chapter IV when the pigeons had delivered word that there was a mob of humans ready to attack Animal Farm, Snowball knew just how to handle the situation (Orwell, pg 55). Without Snowball's leadership the animals may not have survived the human attack.