ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a literal masterpiece unmatched in its sarcastic portrayal of our exploitive political systems.
This book is mostly seen as a satire on communism, especially the Russian Revolution, but it’s more than just a satire of one particular political system. It’s a comment on human nature and power politics in general. The entire spectrum of human idiocy is portrayed in a manner so brilliantly and with such devastating wit, that no one who reads it can remain untouched.
The Plot revolves around an animal farm owned by one Mr. Jones. The animals of the farm realizing that they are being exploited by mankind for their selfish needs, without getting much in return, rebel against Mr. Jones under the guidance of PIGS – prominent among them being – Snowball and Napoleon. Pretty soon, the pigs take on the leadership mantle and began lording over the other animals of the farm. What follows next is a power struggle between Snowball and Napoleon. While Snowball relies on his brains and oratory skills, Napoleon uses muscle power of the dogs and support of the idiotic sheep to finally overthrow Snowball and becomes the undisputed dictator of the farm. What follows next, is the systematic destruction of all values and liberties of all the animals, slaughter of dissenters and consolidation of power through lies and insinuations by propaganda channels.
The brilliancy of the book lies in the masterly depiction of political machinations and how the idiocy and stupidity of the ordinary animals allow the political pigs to upsurp power and perpetuate the same exploitation that once they suffered at the hands of humans.
Though the book was written way back in 1946 and takes obvious potshots at the Russian communist system, the machinations depicted are very much similar to what we see even now in every country including the so-called democracies.
The Characters and their identifiable Human counterparts:
Sheeps – These represent the vast majority of dumb masses. Napoleon uses and manipulates them to gain power and perpetuate it. He teaches them the slogan “Four legs good, two legs bad” which they mutter, unthinkingly and unquestionably, on every occasion, some wise animal protests against the growing tyranny of the pigdom.
Their human counterparts – Obvious choice are the Americans with their “God bless America” and “If you are not with us, you are with them” brand of sloganeering.
Snowball – The fallen angel – Once a Leader who works along with Napoleon, is “transformed” into a dreaded terrorist and is blamed for every wrong that happens in the farm. Napoleon even distorts history and links him with Mr. Jones. He is a typical “enemy” created by clever rulers to keep their flock panicky and in control.
Human Counterparts – Osama, Saddam Hussein – take your pick.
Mr. Jones – Beta so jao, nahin to gabbar aeyega. Napoleon uses the fear of Mr. Jones – Do you want Mr. Jones to come back? – to change laws, pamper himself with luxuries or to get whatever he desires for himself and pigdom.
Human counterpart – Again Osama, Saddam, Pakistan-ISI or whatever enemy you can think of. Think POTA, Patriot Act etc…or any other device created to control the sheeple..er people.
The Asses and the Horses - Interestingly, the wisest character amongst the non-pigs happens to be Benjamin, the donkey – who never shirks work, neither volunteers for extra work, never laughs because there is nothing to laugh at, can read, but doesn’t because there is nothing worth reading.
And the dumbest is Boxer, the horse who lives life by two mottos – “If Napoleon says, then its right” and “I will work harder” And so he keeps on working harder and harder till he drops almost dead, and is sold to a slaughter house by Napoleon.
Squealer – The Spin Doctor – He is brilliant talker used by Napoleon to communicate with the animals and propagate his ideas, manipulate and persuade them to accept change in laws. (the seven commandments – the constitution of Animal farm)
Human counterpart – Goebbells, CNN, Fox News or any other news media used for propaganda by the establishments.
Napoleon –He is of course the principal character of the novel, a greedy power-hungry, cruel dictator.
Human counterpart - Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, George Bush or any other dictator/democrat leader you can think of.
To conclude, this is a must read book. Brilliant, Satirical, Witty and amazingly true to life. Despite warnings that writers like Orwell have conveyed through their masterpieces like 1984 and this book, the world continues to move in a delusional, self-destructive way. The Political Pigs use the same techniques that they have used from times immemorial to control people and exploit them. The sheep-like humans continue to sleep and allow themselves to manipulated, preferring others to think for them.
It is a big mistake, to assume that books like 1984 and Animal farm are nothing more than critiques of totalitarian communist systems and since communism has been annihilated, we can breathe easy. Admittedly, the inspiration of this book comes from Russian experience during Stalin’s era, but that doesn't change the basic nature of manipulation. Sadly commentators of the book have not been able to look it at from a neutral viewpoint. But on a more open-minded reading of the book, one cannot but help observe that the underlying moral of the story shows how abdication of thought and freedom by the vast majority of humans to the state results in their exploitation. And as such, it is relevant to every society, no matter what the political structure might be.
