The animal farm is centered on
the life of animals in the Manor Farm owned and run by Mr. Jones. One
night, one of the older boars calls the animals to a meeting to convey a
message he received in a dream of a farm managed by animals without humans benefiting
from their labor. He explains to them how the life of an animal is nasty,
arduous and full of anguish; a state brought about by their subjugation to man.
He calls for animal comradeship with a goal of achieving emancipation from the
domination of human beings. The idealism is rich and the animals are all fired
up and the phrase “four legs good and two legs bad” is quickly coined. There
couldn’t have been stronger unity among the animals than at this point, they
even learn and sing a song which works to embolden the dream their freedom.
When the old boar dies, two
young ambitious pigs—Napoleon and Snowball—decide to carry on the dream of
attaining animal freedom. Unexpectedly and without much planning, the animals
stage a revolt and manage to kick Mr. Jones out of the farm, finally gaining
their much-awaited freedom. There is jubilation and song, the event is so
emotional that most of them weep. They write down the seven rules of the animal
farm, key of which is “All animals are equal”.
With their new-found
enthusiasm, the farm is more efficient as the animals work together towards a
common goal. However, it is soon noted that the pigs do not do much manual
labour which they claim is due to their role as the think-tank of the farm.
Napoleon and Snowball take over the organization of the affairs of the farm but
cannot seem to agree on anything. Napoleon ends up chasing Snowball from the
farm using dogs reared for that purpose. The animals are told that Snowball was
the enemy of the revolution, he is said to be in collusion with humans to
defeat the animal cause. From then on, although excommunicated, anything bad
that happens on the farm is attributed to Snowball and any animal suspected to
be his associate is promptly killed and paraded as a means of deterring
rebellion. We often see, in the real world, in the excuses given to sanitize
the injustice meted out on independent minds. The independent thoughts are
often attributed to
perceived influence from external and rebellious characters like
Snowball.
The book is a satirical
allegory about the abuse of power which I still find applicable today. It is a
story of “pretend” revolutionaries who are in actual oppressors. In recent
African history, we have seen dictatorships begin with idealistic and
revolutionary leaders who slowly surrender to their selfish and personal
interests. The author uses different animals to mirror real-life roles people
carry out for their leaders. “Squealer”, a pig, is Napoleon’s right hand man
and chief propagandist. When "enemies of the revolution" are killed,
he promptly comes up with a story of how the animal committed a crime against
the ideals of the animals. He concocts a story of how Snowball was a traitor to
the cause. Squealer is a prime example of the intelligent members of society
who use their intelligence for selfish purposes to distort facts in order to
prop up authoritarian or repressive leadership. What a waste of talent!
In the book, the sheep bleat
whatever Napoleon through squealer tells them. They are manipulated into
thinking that they must protect Napoleon as one of their own without noticing
their being used as and when required. Echoing to a great extent the tribal
nature of our local politics in elections and organizations where people are often
mobilized to “protect their own”. The sheep are initially taught to bleat ‘four legs good and two legs bad’ as a means of shushing any opposing
views or questions whenever the rules are changed. Finally, when Napoleon
decides to walk on two legs like a human against the rules of the farm,
Squealer easily brainwashes them to bleat ‘four legs good two legs better’.
Ring a bell?
Napoleon uses the dogs, which
he reared away from the other animals to intimidate and undermine his
opponents. Whenever threatened, he deploys his loyal dogs to the ground to
defend or attack. They do get some extra biscuits for their dirty work of
course but they remain dogs to be used by Napoleon whenever and however he
wishes. What truly puzzles me is their blind loyalty and failure to realize
that they could be more than dogs, they could be Napoleon! It makes you wonder
what makes this animal or a human for that matter be so subdued and surrender
its power so easily.
Benjamin the cynical donkey
refuses to be influenced by the events surrounding him. He believes change of
leadership does not affect his life. Of all the animals, he alone understands
and documents the changes that take place but is unwilling to intervene.
Benjamin is the stereotypical “middle class” Kenyan, an intellectual who
instead of taking any action airs critical views on social media including
arguing against voting or supporting inept leadership in a workplace because
they believe that regardless of the regime nothing about their status will
change. One might even argue that the Enron scandal was the
organizational quintessence of the Animal Farm. Some of the animals were
considered as more intelligent and formed a clique that governed through hubris
refusing to be advised by those they deemed less worthy eventually leading to
the downfall of the company. The donkeys in the Enron farm who thought nothing
could affect their status quo learnt too late that this was not the case.
Boxer is a rather magnificent
animal, a fine horse of incredible strength, loyalty and energy and who plays a
key role in the construction of a windmill, the farm’s priority project. His
efforts however amount to naught. To him, his twin motto ‘I shall work
harder’, and ‘Napoleon is always right’ is the solution to all problems. He is
avoidant and fails to think independently, naively relying on the decisions of
the pigs. He over-exerts himself holding on to the belief that his arduous work
shall be rewarded once he attains the age of retirement and is offered a space
on the farm on which he will graze on for the rest of his days.
Unfortunately, once his muscles are worn out and he collapses Napoleon
sells him for his hide despite promising to send him to the veterinarian for
treatment. A few days later, Squealer reports that Boxer died in the hospital
while receiving the “best possible care.”
Over the years, much like its
human mirror, the seven rules the animals set are either watered down or
broken. At times, it is made to seem that the rules are for the ruled and not
the rulers or their cronies. Napoleon is quick to mention that other animals
should endure food rationing despite the intense physical labour they are
engaged in on the farm for the sake of the prosperity of the farm. He, on the
other hand does not apply this to himself, the pigs and the dogs as they
partake of animal products including eggs, milk and cheese that other animals
are prohibited from eating. Ring a bell?
In the end, the pigs evolve
to be more and more like human beings, walking upright, carrying whips, and
wearing clothes. The seven principles of Animalism inscribed on the side of the
barn are reduced to one “all animals are equal, but some animals are more
equal than others.” Napoleon declares his intent to ally himself with the
human farmers against the laboring classes of both the human and animal
communities and changes the name of Animal Farm back to the Manor Farm. Looking
in at the party of elites through the farmhouse window, the common animals can
no longer tell which are the pigs and which are the human beings.
Animal Farm is a brilliant
book worth a read that you can relate to on so many levels currently. While
reading, try to pick out which animal you are in the farm and hence your role
in society. It will not disappoint.
