Animal Farm By George Orwell?

Question

I am 13 and I have to do a project on symbolism in Animal Farm, and it was kind of confusing to me, so do you know anything about the symbolism in Animal Farm, or do you have a website or something? Thank You!

Don't tell me to read the book or do my own homework, because I did and I really tried but it didn't make sense to me.

Answer 1

Symbols

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Animal Farm

Animal Farm, known at the beginning and the end of the novel as the Manor Farm, symbolizes Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist Party rule. But more generally, Animal Farm stands for any human society, be it capitalist, socialist, fascist, or communist. It possesses the internal structure of a nation, with a government (the pigs), a police force or army (the dogs), a working class (the other animals), and state holidays and rituals. Its location amid a number of hostile neighboring farms supports its symbolism as a political entity with diplomatic concerns.

The Barn

The barn at Animal Farm, on whose outside walls the pigs paint the Seven Commandments and, later, their revisions, represents the collective memory of a modern nation. The many scenes in which the ruling-class pigs alter the principles of Animalism and in which the working-class animals puzzle over but accept these changes represent the way an institution in power can revise a community’s concept of history to bolster its control. If the working class believes history to lie on the side of their oppressors, they are less likely to question oppressive practices. Moreover, the oppressors, by revising their nation’s conception of its origins and development, gain control of the nation’s very identity, and the oppressed soon come to depend upon the authorities for their communal sense of self.

The Windmill

The great windmill symbolizes the pigs’ manipulation of the other animals for their own gain. Despite the immediacy of the need for food and warmth, the pigs exploit Boxer and the other common animals by making them undertake backbreaking labor to build the windmill, which will ultimately earn the pigs more money and thus increase their power. The pigs’ declaration that Snowball is responsible for the windmill’s first collapse constitutes psychological manipulation, as it prevents the common animals from doubting the pigs’ abilities and unites them against a supposed enemy. The ultimate conversion of the windmill to commercial use is one more sign of the pigs’ betrayal of their fellow animals. From an allegorical point of view, the windmill represents the enormous modernization projects undertaken in Soviet Russia after the Russian Revolution.

Answer 2

Umm, I thought the point of the story was that the animals looked more like the farmers who were the antagonist, in this book? From the climax of the story? ''The pigs and farmers return to their amiable card game, and the other animals creep away from the window. Soon the sounds of a quarrel draw them back to listen. Napoleon and Pilkington have played the ace of spades simultaneously, and each accuses the other of cheating. The animals, watching through the window, realize with a start that, as they look around the room of the farmhouse, they can no longer distinguish which of the cardplayers are pigs and which are human beings. Throughout the novella, Orwell has told his fable from the animals’ point of view. In this chapter, we see clearly the dramatic power achieved by this narrative strategy. The animals remain naively hopeful up until the very end. Although they realize that the republic foretold by Old Major has yet to come to fruition, they stalwartly insist that it will come “[s]ome day.” These assertions charge the final events of the story with an intense irony. For although Orwell has used foreshadowing and subtle hints to make us more suspicious than the animals of the pigs’ motives, these statements of ingenuous faith in Animal Farm on the part of the common animals occur just before the final scene. This gap between the animals’ optimism and the harsh reality of the pigs’ totalitarian rule creates a sense of dramatic contrast. Although the descent into tyranny has been gradual, Orwell provides us with a restatement of the original ideals only moments before the full revelation of their betrayal.

Answer 3

Animal Farm is George Orwell's critique of the Communist Revolution in Russia. ((This was way before you were born, but Russia used to be a Communist state, and wanted to subvert its neighbors to its ideology, ad even invaded and took over certain countries to enforce its ideas))

The idea of the pigs taking over the farm and then becoming even worse at running the farm than the farmer is the central point. Also, the pigs become little dictators, getting the best food and places to sleep and all the while insisting to other animals that they are all "equal". Some just More equal than others...

That is also what happened in the old Soviet Union. One set of 'bosses' was deposed and the new ones promised everyone would be equal in wealth and possessions, but used their power to keep the good bits for themselves.

Answer 4

ANIMAL FARM was supposedly an allegory on early 20th Century Russia, and has lots of characters--each serving as a symbol, like Old Major is karl Marx, Snowball is Trotsky,

They are listed in detail on the following site:

Answer 5

That was a fabulous book. It is all about the Cold War, particularly the tensions of capitalism and communism. Research various figures during the Cold War and then try to match their characteristics to that of the animals in the book. For example, animalism is comparable to communism, and old Major would be Karl Marx. This is evident in multiple aspects including the other animal's feelings on the new lifestyle and Old Major's position regarding the implementation of this new lifestyle. We had to do the same thing last year, and for me it was really easy. Good luck, and I hope this helps. Yay for allegories!

Answer 6

You can say Animal Farm is symbolic of Communism. It is about the animals taking control of the farm and sharing everything equally. In the end, the pigs on the farm take back power and it is as if they have restored Capitalism.

Answer 7

This is a pretty good website that tells you examples of symbolism in the novel.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/animalfarm/themes.html

Make sure you're not cheating though.