why is Animal Farm, written by george orwell an allegory?

Question

animal farm written by george orwell, why is it an allegory?
how is it a politcal satire?

Answer 1

The farm animals throw out the ruling class (humans) who are corrupt and cruel. They take over and run the farm as a commune. As time passes, the workers make more and more sacrifices for the good of all, but those in power live in comfort. Ultimately, the most powerful become so corrupt and cruel,that they become indistinguishable from the humans they replaced.

The story is said to have paralleled the events in the former USSR, in which the ruling class became as corrupt and indifferent to the masses as the czar had ever been.

Some see elements as being broadly symbolic of the ruling classes in the US, too. For this argument, look at the boards here, and what passes as Q and A. Someone makes a political point that others don't like. Instead of discussing the facts, one side bleats "Cons are baaaaa-aad" and the other side bleats "Dems are baaaaa-aad." The only difference is who whips them into a herd.

The book should be required reading, but since the passing of the USSR, I think it has lost some of its appeal in the classroom.

Answer 2

A quick note...While Karen is correct about what the events represent, she may not have made it clear that an allegory is a story in which characters and events represent or symbolize events in the larger world. I also see modern parallels in the story, but at the time the story was written, it was widely seen as a condemnation of the failure of the Soviet system. It was written about the same time that the "cold war" between the west and the USSR was having more and more influence over contemporary politics in western societies.

The Russian czars were thrown out of power in a revolution that caused Russia to pull out of World War I to tend to business at home. During World War II, the US, Britain, and the west were allied with the Soviet Union, but it was an uneasy alliance. At the end of WWII, the tensions became more and more overt, and the division of Germany cemented the hostility between the USSR and the western governments.
Animal Farm was written shortly after WWII. I don't remember the exact publication date, but it was within a decade, and probably less.

Answer 3

An allegory (from Greek αλλος, , "other", and αγορευειν, agoreuein, "to speak in public") is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal.


so why is animal farm a politiacl satire?

well,because the story represented the revolt in russia. it is saying that the leaders of the peasants who rebelled will become just like the people they got rid of.

i cant explain this very well, even though i read the book so go to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_farm

it explains all. hope it helps.

Answer 4

I know about the allegorical messages inferred by the book, but my own experience with it was different. I took it much more personally. I can't count the number of times I worked with a group of people to achieve a certain goal and was horrified to learn that I had become part of something which I didn't like, couldn't support, and wanted to get away from. We always think that the grass is greener somewhere else without appreciating the grass we're standing on. Before you waste a lot of energy tossing out the current situation, you had better make sure that you have something of value to replace it.

Answer 5

I hope you read the book and definitely read the intro so you get what the satire is about. I understood who most of the characters were but I didn't understand who Moses the Raven was supposed to be until I read the wikipedia article on Animal Farm. If you understand in general what Russia was like going from its Czars to Lenin and then to Stalin then most of what happens will make sense.