Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin (1879–1953), is the premier of the Soviet state and also leader of world Communism. He became the leader of Russia after the death of Lenin. He also joined the group of the Bolsheviks when The Social Democratic Party was split into two fractions in 1903. The Bolsheviks was headed by Lenin, and the other fraction, named the Mensheviks opposed Lenin's thoughts. He also took the lead after Lenin passed away ("Stalin Joins the Bolsheviks", 2013). Stalin is well known for his ruthless dictatorship rule, however, the Soviet Union was transformed into a major world power under his lead ("Stalin, Joseph", 2013).
Joseph Stalin in Animal Farm
In the novel Animal Farm, George Orwell chose to use a pig as an allusion to Joseph Stalin during the Russian Revolution, and Napoleon is the character that is used to represent Stalin. Through Orwell's lively descriptions of the character Napoleon, the character traits of Napoleon shows the link towards the dictator Joseph Stalin during the Russian Revolution. A few actions from Napoleon reflects the acts that Stalin did in the modern history. From the beginning of the novel, Old Major, who is an allegory of Lenin, started to lead a rebellion aiming towards the belief of "animalism." After his death, party leaders fought for power and Stalin took the lead/power. And in the novel, it reflected his rise of power and his dictatorship.
NapoleonActs:
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StalinReflecting acts:
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How is it Presented
At the end of the novel, the acts and behaviors of Napoleon have become so much like humans.
"It was noticed that they (Napoleon's dogs) wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had been used to do to Mr Jones." -Chapter 5, pg 36. I think this quote shows that Napoleon and Jones have not much a big difference, the author wanted to tell us how the Russian Revolution was not a success, the rebellion has ended and animalism has not brought to a change. Napoleon treated the dogs like what Mr Jones did.
Animal Farm is a fairy tale, and I really appreciate how George Orwell incorporated the "Bookshelf" method in this novel. The starting and the ending bookshelves are just like the reflections of the beginning and the ending of the story. The beginning starts with the poor rule of Mr Jones, where men collects the money and the animals do all the work. And the ending bookshelf ends with the one commandment: "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others." The farm was turned back to the original "Manor Farm." The lives of the "workers" still have not changed and they have not accomplished the goal of the Rebellion and Old Major. There are still statuses within the farm society and the pigs are more privileged than the others.
I think George Orwell used the image of a pig to symbolize Stalin very well, it highlighted the role and personality of Stalin during the Russian Revolution. My own image of pigs are that they are very dirty and a bit brutal within the other farm animals, which is just a right fit for the dictator Stalin. In the short novel, Orwell vividly described the cruel acts of Napoleon. From using different methods to clear all the opposing forces to his rise of power and finally showing his selfish personality. The pigs are the ones who are more intelligent within the farm animals, Napoleon does not do any labor but owns the power and gains the profit. From Napoleon's dirty acts of using his dogs, we can see from the beginning that he was planning to rule the whole farm. I really remember the scene where Snowball had drawn plans on the farm ground and Napoleon walked passed and urinated on it, this shows Napoleon's hatred towards Snowball, just like Stalin's hatred towards Trotsky, but the author chose to describe it through the acts of a real animal. I think the author was very successful on shaping Napoleon's image, when Napoleon chased Snowball out of the farm, I can feel the evilness in Napoleon, and I did not like his character. Seeing how the rebellion is crooked under his rule allows the readers to understand the real character that Napoleon plays in the modern history, and also understanding how Orwell feels about the revolution by his descriptions of different characters.
"It was noticed that they (Napoleon's dogs) wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had been used to do to Mr Jones." -Chapter 5, pg 36. I think this quote shows that Napoleon and Jones have not much a big difference, the author wanted to tell us how the Russian Revolution was not a success, the rebellion has ended and animalism has not brought to a change. Napoleon treated the dogs like what Mr Jones did.
Animal Farm is a fairy tale, and I really appreciate how George Orwell incorporated the "Bookshelf" method in this novel. The starting and the ending bookshelves are just like the reflections of the beginning and the ending of the story. The beginning starts with the poor rule of Mr Jones, where men collects the money and the animals do all the work. And the ending bookshelf ends with the one commandment: "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others." The farm was turned back to the original "Manor Farm." The lives of the "workers" still have not changed and they have not accomplished the goal of the Rebellion and Old Major. There are still statuses within the farm society and the pigs are more privileged than the others.
I think George Orwell used the image of a pig to symbolize Stalin very well, it highlighted the role and personality of Stalin during the Russian Revolution. My own image of pigs are that they are very dirty and a bit brutal within the other farm animals, which is just a right fit for the dictator Stalin. In the short novel, Orwell vividly described the cruel acts of Napoleon. From using different methods to clear all the opposing forces to his rise of power and finally showing his selfish personality. The pigs are the ones who are more intelligent within the farm animals, Napoleon does not do any labor but owns the power and gains the profit. From Napoleon's dirty acts of using his dogs, we can see from the beginning that he was planning to rule the whole farm. I really remember the scene where Snowball had drawn plans on the farm ground and Napoleon walked passed and urinated on it, this shows Napoleon's hatred towards Snowball, just like Stalin's hatred towards Trotsky, but the author chose to describe it through the acts of a real animal. I think the author was very successful on shaping Napoleon's image, when Napoleon chased Snowball out of the farm, I can feel the evilness in Napoleon, and I did not like his character. Seeing how the rebellion is crooked under his rule allows the readers to understand the real character that Napoleon plays in the modern history, and also understanding how Orwell feels about the revolution by his descriptions of different characters.