Animal Farm, G. Orwell

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Categoria:	Inglese
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Data:	24.05.2007
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Animal farm:
Animal Farm is one of the most famous book of the English writer George Orwell. Published in 1944, the book was started from 1937 , but only in 1943 achieved a real form.
Plot:
The animal of the Manor Farm, mistreats and exploits from the agriculture farm manager Jones, came to know (of) Old Major’s dream, an old and wise boar. The dream spoke about a time in which animals will free, creators of their destiny, without the interference and human’s exploitation. Old Major died, but his dream is keeping alive by pigs like Napoleon and Snowball. A day, urged by anger and hunger, animals, leaded by the two pigs, rebelled and expelled from farm Mr Jones and his collaborators. .The animals changed farm’s name in animal farm, and created seven commandments inspired from Old major’s dream, to whom decided to obey. The seventh and most important is "all animals are equal."
Napoleon took care of the education of some puppy, isolated from other animals. They costituted his secret police. But developed conflicts between Napoleon and Snowball, in fact Snowball wanted to extend revolution also to other farms, while Napoleon is annoy because he’d like to rule alone. Meanwhile animals toiled together, took like inspiration Boxer’s great efforts, which motto is: "I must work more." They found study very difficult and largely of they abandoned these. Jones, helped by neighbouring farm, tried to take again his farm, but he came defeat in Cowshed’s battle, managed by Snawball. The final conflict between Napoleon and Snawball was when Snawball convinced animals of need to build a windmill that supplied electricity to farm. Napoleon accused him to betray revolution and with his secret police’ help, forced him to flee. Took on total control of the farm, Napoleon proved to be a boss most cruel than Mr Jones. Began the construction of the windmill , that was presented like a Napoleon’s idea. Arrived a storm that destroyed the windmill, but Squealer, salesman of Napoleon, told animals that was a sabotage made by Snawball. Seven commandment were rewrite and then eliminated. In the end remained the one that declared: “All animals are equal, but some are most equal than others”. Napoleon and other pigs started to deal with humans, took on their attitudes and their behaviours, which had despised and condemned in revolution’s time. They sold timber to Frederick, one of the contiguous factor, but he paid their with forged money and then he attacked the farm. Animals defeated Frederick and his men, but they suffered. Meanwhile pigs became most corrupts and most e similar to men. The novel finished with Napoleon and his gang that playing card with other factory in Jones’ house. During a toast Napoleon strayed from all revolution’s ideals, condemned these. When then exploded a quarrel for the card, the animals undernourished that saw disturbed the scene from the window they don’t succeeded to distinguish men from pigs. Old major’s dream was converted in a nightmare.
The story, as in old fairy tales of Esopo and Fedro had like protagonist some animals, can be read as an allegory of Russian revolution, in which every event and every characters coincided to an accurate event or character of historical reality. Besides, as in all fairy tales, also this had a moral.
Main characters:
Old Major
Old Major represent both Marx and Lenin, in sense that he introduce the most important theory and ideals on which revolution had to base. A Marxist theory express by Old Major is that animal’s work produced most values than the one that in necessary for his maintenance, and the surplus is stolen by the parasite man.
Napoleon
Napoleon represent in many way Stalin. Still, like many suggest, he has characteristics in common with many historical’ s dictators. Despite he hasn’t moral scruples, he has quality for which he emerge compared with other pigs, also before the revolution. Napoleon is a political opportunist, which cruel determination compensate for intelligence’s lack, as in many dictators.
Snowball
Snawball represent Trotzkij. He is a brilliant speaker and give intellectual inspiration to revolution, he’s more intelligent than Napoleon and work altruistically to help others animals. He isn’t still perfect: in fact, together with others pigs, steal apples and milk assigned to animals. He is a sincere revolutionary that is putting aside by a more cruel and cunning. He begin haunting for the windmall and he don’t perceive that others animals don’t understand his idea to renovate the farm. He don’t realize neither Napoleon plot to turn upsite down him, and when the inevitable happen he flee without fight. His ideas are taken by Napoleon, that besides will blame fugitive pig for every negative things happened in the farm.
Squealer
Squealer is Napoleon’s propagandist, and represent mass media that presented government version of facts in URSS as in others dictatorship. He supply illusions that help workers to bear strong existence. His aim is to fog fact’s understanding and consciousness, so that anticipate every threat to pig’s power.
Boxer
Boxer is one of the most popular characters. He is a Shire horse. Boxer is the tragic avatar of the working class, or proletariat: loyal, kind, dedicated, and the most physically-strong animal on the farm, but naive and not clever, never progressing beyond the fourth letter of the alphabet. His ignorance and blind trust towards his leaders led to his death and their profit.
Benjamin
Benjamin, a donkey, is a cynical, one that doubt of sincerity of who stay near him. He’s also sceptical, because he doubt of many theory’s or facts’ truth. He learn to read, but refuse to put this ability to others animal’s service. Only in the end he accept to read animals only commandment left behind. Benjamin represent disengaged intellectual, that don’t use his wisdom to no useful aim. He’s also most senior animal of farm, and don’t have to forget his loyalty towards Boxer and his desperate attempt to save him.
Clover
Clover, the mare, is the maternal figure of the farm, that show kindness and liking. She get upset more than others for abuse of power of pigs, but still remain a source of strength and comfort for the oppressed animals. As Boxer, Clover represent ordinary people, that come unaware manipulated and exploited in any dictatorship
Mollie
Mollie is a younger horse: she mustn’t revolution and she like to wear bows. She’ll flee from farm and returned to live with Mr. Jones .Represent aristocracy , that live a comfortable life under the Zar’s power.
Moses
Moses, the domestic rook tell animals of eternal life that wait for their before death. He represent Ortodox church, that, in collusion with political power, supply illusions to worker to induce their to bear exploitation.
Minimum
Minimus, the poet pig, that decant Napoleon’s deeds. He represent the intellectual submitted to political power , that put on service of propaganda his culture.
Dogs and sheep
Dogs and sheep are deal like a group not like individuals. They represent two group many important in Soviet society and in every dictatorship: the secret police, that repress oppositions across fear and intimidation, and the easily manoeuvrable masses that let to shock thanks to regime’s slogan.
Mr. Jones
Mr. Jones represents the deposed Tzar Nicholas II. There are also several implications that he represents an incompetent and autocratic capitalist, incapable of running the farm and looking after the animals properly.
Mr Frederick
Mr. Frederick is the tough owner of Pinchfield, a well-kept neighbouring farm. He represents Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler.
Mr Pilkington
Mr. Pilkington is the easy-going but crafty owner of Foxwood, a neighboring farm. He represents the western powers, such as Britain and the U.S. The card game at the very end of the novel is a metaphor for the Tehran Conference, where the parties flatter each other, all the while cheating at the game. The irony in this last scene is present because of all of the Pigs being civil and kind to the humans, defying all they had fought for. This was present in the Tehran Conference with the Alliance that the Soviet Union formed with the United States and Britain, capitalist countries that the Soviet Union had fought so hard against in the early years of the revolution. At the end of the novel, both Napoleon and Pilkington draw the Ace of Spades (which in most games, is the highest-ranking card) at the same time and begin fighting loudly, symbolizing the beginning of tension between the U.S and Soviet superpowers.
Eventi narrati ed eventi storici:
Every telling event in this novel represent a specific historical event:
Animal’s revolution and Jones’ expulsion represent Russian revolution of 1917 and upsetting of Zar.
-Il conflitto tra Napoleon e Palla di Neve riguardo all’estensione della rivoluzione alle altre fattorie rappresenta il conflitto tra Trotzkij, che voleva esportare la Rivoluzione fuori dalla Russia, e Stalin, che invece sosteneva la teoria del Socialismo in un solo paese.
-Il mulino a vento invece rappresenta l'industrializzazione, e il conflitto tra i due maiali riguardo alla sua costruzione simboleggia il conflitto tra Trotzkij, che sosteneva l'industrializzazione della Russia, e Stalin, che al contrario puntava sullo sviluppo agricolo.
-La Battaglia del Chiuso delle Vacche rappresenta la guerra civile che oppose i bolscevichi alle armate bianche controrivoluzionarie (aiutate dalla Gran Bretagna e dalla Francia proprio come le fattorie vicine aiutano Jones) che si concluse nel 1920 con la vittoria dei bolscevichi.
-La progressiva corruzione dei maiali e lo stravolgimento dei comandamenti rappresentano la deriva verso un dispotismo tirannico a cui andò incontro la Russia sotto il regime di Stalin

I temi
Rivoluzione e corruzione
L'Animalismo, la dottrina rivoluzionaria adottata dagli animali, è basata sugli insegnamenti del Vecchio Maggiore come il Comunismo è basato sugli insegnamenti di Karl Marx.A causa dei suoi riferimenti precisi 'La fattoria degli animali è stata spesso considerata una satira nei confronti del solo Comunismo Sovietico.Secondo una lettura critica dell'Ideologia Comunista, il Vecchio Maggiore, nonostante le buone intenzioni, non capisce un elemento cruciale: è convinto che le sue idee siano valide e moralmente elevate, e che la declinazione operata sia solo attribuibile agli individui corrotti che troveranno comunque il modo di piegarle ai loro scopi, mentre per alcuni critici ci sono altri motivi.La corruzione è evidente attraverso la modifica dei comandamenti: l'unico rimasto, totalmente stravolto, mostra quanto elitari siano diventati i maiali, e come gli ideali dell'Animalismo appartengano ormai al passato.
Propaganda ed educazione
Lungo tutta la storia, gli eventi vengono riscritti a seconda delle esigenze dei maiali. Il passato viene rappresentato peggiore di come realmente era, così da far sembrare meno scioccanti le brutalità compiute dai maiali.La propaganda è la diffusione di una particolare idea, fatta in modo da influenzare le persone. Per ingannare gli animali al punto da elevare Napoleon al rango di un semidio i maiali utilizzano gli strumenti della dittatura: la manipolazione delle emozioni, la disinformazione, il controllo del cibo e dell'educazione. Sono propagandistici tutti i discorsi di Clarinetto, quelli di Napoleon, le poesie di Minimus e i discorsi del corvo domestico Mosè.L'educazione è un tema fondamentale, in quanto gli animali credono ciecamente alla propaganda proprio perché ignoranti. L'ignoranza è dunque un'arma preziosa nelle mani di qualsiasi dittatore, in quanto permette di far credere al popolo ciò che si ritiene più utile.
Il messaggio
Il messaggio della favola, la sua morale, è che qualunque rivoluzione che si proponga di instaurare un'utopia è destinata a fallire e a trasformarsi in tragedia, infatti, “tutto il potere corrompe, e il potere assoluto corrompe in modo assoluto”.
Le reazioni all'opera
Le chiare allusione critiche all'URSS costarono all'autore una certa ostilità negli ambienti della sinistra inglese del tempo, ma il libro ebbe lo stesso un notevole successo, seppur trovò qualche iniziale difficoltà ad essere pubblicato. Nell'articolo "la libertà di stampa", a commento del libro, Orwell afferma di aver spedito il manoscritto a vari editori e di aver ricevuto risposte negative perché l'opera "avrebbe offeso molta gente, soprattuto per il fatto di aver scelto come classe dominante i maiali" e insiste sui vari tentativi fatti anche dalla critica e dagli intelettuali in generale, per spingere il pubblico a non acquistare il libro. La ragione di questa accoglienza negativa è anche da ricondurre al clima storico del momento: Inghilterra e Unione Sovietica erano in quel momento alleate contro la Germania. Un'opera simile poteva dunque essere vista come un segno di scarsa lealtà da parte dell'Inghilterra.