Critical analysis of contemporary issues and frameworks

Cynicism and perpetual repression in humanity in "Animal Farm" by George Orwell

George Orwell lived in interesting and radical times: he began his career as a political writer during the Second World War, he published his satirical novel "Animal Farm" in 1945, and created controversy from it as he addressed in his novel issues about socialism, repression, and implicitly, cynicism. In this famed novel ("Animal Farm"), Orwell looked into the dynamics behind the creation of a totalitarian society, as well as the continued repression that prevailed in human society despite the changing social order that occurred -- that is, shift from capitalism to socialism and eventually, to totalitarianism. All of these themes, of course, were explicated and illustrated through animal characters, making the novel categorized as an "animallegory."

By utilizing animal characters in the novel, Orwell presented two important theses that helped develop the progress of the novel, which involved human realities portrayed through 'animal interaction.' The first thesis presented in "Animal Farm" is that in all social orders created and developed by human societies, suffering and repression continue to prevail, thereby making these so-called social orders (as in the case of the novel, capitalism, socialism, and totalitarianism) ineffective. The second thesis is connected with Orwell's first point: with the perpetuation of repression and suffering in human societies, cynicism is the only way in which these can be alleviated. These positions ultimately led to Orwell's generalization that humanity's pursuit for a Utopian social order would only lead to further or a new kind of suffering and repression; thus, there must always be vigilance that suffering is always present and humanity must do the best it can to alleviate this in its own terms. In effect, suffering and repression can never be eradicated, but it can at least be decreased at some level.

In developing his first thesis, Orwell presented three conditions in which the prevalent social orders promoted in human societies proved to be ineffective in eradicating suffering and repression among humans (Rodden, 2003:70). These three conditions were the order in Animal Farm when they were still under the order of capitalism, then shifted to socialism, and eventually developed into a totalitarian society. Three characters in the novel also represent these social orders: Farmer Jones from capitalism, Old Major represented socialism, and Napoleon embodied totalitarianism. These three leaders and social orders failed to eradicate repression in Animal Farm, in the same way that these social orders have failed humanity to achieve its ideal of an egalitarian, Utopian-like society.

Capitalism under Farmer Jones had been inefficient because the animals experienced suffering, as they were forced to do hard labor without getting their due compensation. As a human, it was natural that there was inequality in the farm: Man was in charge, while the animals were subjugated. Symbolically, Farmer Jones was the powerful elite class in a capitalist society, while the animals represented the working or proletariat class. This distinction was evident in Major's speech as he related his vision of a new world order where animals (i.e., working class) will reign over Man, marking the abolishment of both the elite class and capitalism. In the novel, Major attested: "Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever...Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free...That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion!" Thus, because of the persistence of poor working conditions in Animal Farm, the capitalist social order that Farmer Jones had implemented was abolished when he was thrown out of the farm by the rebel animals.

Under the socialist social order, Major had indeed made sure that his vision will come true. With his death, Napoleon and Snowball became the leaders of the animal farm. Each had distinct characteristics that made them endearing to the animal members in the farm. In this social order, animal farm members became idealistic and hopeful, adopting the political slogan, "Four legs good, two legs bad." However, this social order was also considered as a transitory phase in the shift of animal farm from being capitalist to totalitarian, because at this stage, Napoleon and Snowball were shown to subsist to different ideals. While Napoleon believed that a strong, peaceful, and stable animal farm was based on a strong military and massive political propaganda, Snowball believed in the provision of education and basic social services for the animals: "Until now the animals had been about equally divided in their sympathies, but in a moment Snowball's eloquence had carried them away..." This event led to the full transition of animal farm into a new social order, that of totalitarianism. In effect, Major's vision of a perfectly socialist order failed with Snowball's death and Napoleon's reign in animal farm.

Under Napoleon's leadership, Animal Farm became totalitarian. Animals no longer worked for the sake of their community, but rather, for the sake of Napoleon and his military of dogs, as well as the privileged 'class' in the farm -- the pigs. This social order was once again proved ineffective because of the oppressive nature of Napoleon's leadership. Ironically, Man, the enemy of animals, began establishing good relations with Napoleon and the pigs, an occurrence that proved how the farm had once again returned to its first social order (capitalism) under a new leader and regulations (Lenhoff, 2001). In fact, conditions in the farm worsened than ever before, with the animals working now as slaves only for the sake of Napoleon and his 'comrades': the pigs and humans. Thus, at the end of the novel, the dominant political slogan was "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others," signifying the end of Animal Farm's pursuit for an ideal society and social order.