Animal Farm Essay

Animal Farm is more than just a book about pigs taking control over a farm, it’s an allusion to the Russian Revolution. Boxer, like the Russian working people, is betrayed despite his loyalty to Napoleon. Snowball being chased off by the dogs emulates the exile of a popular Russian political figure. Additionally, the events of Animal Farm can be applied to modern day dictatorships. Animal Farm is a reflection of the time period it was written in and serves as a warning to future generations.

Boxer reflects the ignorant working class of the Russian Revolution. The working class under Stalin believed Stalin was a true communist, like Marx and Lenin, who would fix Russia (“Stalin, Leader of the Peoples, Man of the Masses”). Additionally Boxer is shown to have extreme trust in Napoleon, “Boxer, who had now had time to think things over, voiced he general feeling by saying: ‘If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.’ And from then on he adopted the maxim, ‘Napoleon is always right’” (Orwell 51). Boxer and the Soviet working class both believed their leaders to be infallible as shown by these examples. This blind faith leads to their demise as Napoleon sends Boxer to be slaughtered (Orwell 108), and Stalin lets the working people starve (Ghosh). Boxer also believed that Napoleon upheld Animalism in the same way the working people believed Stalin was a communist. However, some might argue that Boxer could represent ignorant people in general. He is said to be not very bright on several occasions (Orwell 28), and trusts the propaganda that Squealer spreads (Orwell 51). Boxer

doesn’t have to represent a worker as there ae ignorant people who do not work. Nonetheless, Boxer distinctly represents the working people, since his motto is “I will work harder” (Orwell 25), and he puts in extra hours to build the windmill (Orwell 57). He is also shown to reject Squealer’s ideas unless Napoleon supports them, showing that Boxer trusts Napoleon’s word above all else (Orwell 73).

Snowball being chased off of Animal Farm mirrors Leon Trotsky’s exile from Russia in 1928. Trotsky criticized Stalin and disagreed with him on the Communist movement. Trotsky was accused of plotting against Joseph Stalin, and was exiled (“On This Day: Trotsky Expelled From Communist Party”). Right before Snowball in banished from Animal Farm this exchange takes place, “By the time he had finished speaking, there was no doubt as to which way the vote would go. But just at this moment Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered a high pitch whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before” (Orwell 48). Snowball and Trotsky were both exiled for disagreeing with their leaders. Stalin exiles Trotsky for defying him and Napoleon calls the dogs to chase Snowball off of the farm when it is clear Snowball threatens his position of power as Snowball has convinced the other animals to follow him. However some might say Snowball being chased off the farm could emulate anyone that had been exiled by Stalin. Many people were cast out of Russia for disagreeing with Stalin, not just Trotsky (Ghosh). Except Snowball’s banishment reflects Leon Trotsky’s exile from Russia predominantly. Snowball was originally