Animal Farm Essay

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a leader alongside Napoleon and had won “Animal Hero, First Class” in the Battle of Cowshed (Orwell 39). This mirrors Trotsky being cast out of Russia, because before Stalin stripped him of his power, Trotsky was a hopeful successor to Lenin and an important political figure (“Stalin Banishes Trotsky”).

The events in Animal Farm also mirror modern day North Korea. North Korea has a system of prison camps that are similar to Nazi death camps and Russian work camps. People are sent to these places for defying Kim Jong Un’s rule. They experience forced labor, starvation, torture, and other deplorable conditions (Scholte). Napoleon is shown to be equally brutal, “And so the tale of confessions and executions went on until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown since the expulsion of Jones” (Orwell 76). Napoleon murders the animals that admit to disobeying his complete control over the farm. This is similar to Kim Jong Un’s treatment of conspirators and criminals. They are both cruel and implement harsh punishment in order to enforce their power. Conversely, most dictators express cruelty but this doesn’t indicate a connection between Napoleon’s management of Animal Farm and Kim Jong Un’s rule over North Korea. Moreover, the animals confessed willingly to Napoleon, he didn’t force them to (Orwell 75-76). However, North Korea also uses propaganda to glorify their leader and control the general population (Scholte), which parallels the way Squealer keeps the other animals distracted with misinformation and half-truths (Orwell 71-72). Furthermore, Napoleon threatened the animals with the dogs to get them to plead guilty, the four pigs had their ears torn before they admitted to helping Snowball (Orwell 74).

The novel Animal Farm emulates the period that George Orwell wrote it in and was meant to warn future generations. Boxer reflects the working class of Soviet Russia. Snowball being chased off of Animal Farm mirrors the exile of Leon Trotsky. Additionally, Animal Farm’s message can be applied to dictatorships and communist countries of today. Animal Farm is much more than a book about animals revolting against humans. It alludes to real world revolutions, corruption, and propaganda.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Austin Texas: Harcourt, 1946. Print.

“Stalin, Leader of the Peoples, Man of the Masses.” Marxist Internet Archive. The Communist International. January 1940. Web. 09 March. 2017.

Ghosh, Palash. “How Many People Did Joseph Stalin Kill?” International Business Times. IBT Media Inc. 05 March. 2013. Web. 09 March. 2017.

“On This Day: Trotsky Expelled From Communist Party.” Finding Dulcinea. Dulcinea Media Inc. 12 November. 2010. Web. 09 March. 2017

“Stalin Banishes Trotsky,” History. A&E Television Networks. n.d. Web. 09 March. 2017.

Scholte, Suzanne. “North Korea Under Communism 1948-2014.” Victims of Communism. Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. 2014. 09 March.

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