The Satire of Animal Farm by George Orwell

8/13/2019 The Satire of Animal Farm by George Orwell

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Arta Krasniqi

The Satire of Animal Farm by George Orwell

Every time a satire is written, the author has a purpose in mind that he or she is trying to

convey to the reader. Since the aim of satire is to criticize the object of attack, teaching a

moral indirectly with a humorous tone, in the animal satire, the author uses animalsinstead of human beings and places his animals in human situations. Hence, rwell is

able to attack on the political ideas he is contemptuous of and entertain the reader at the

same time! "#emenici $%&'. Some characteristics of satire that are displayed in (nimal)arm are assailing an organization or person the author considers dissolute, trying to

influence the way the reader behaves, and communicating an advisory to a tainted

civilization "*itchell +'. hrough his writing of (nimal )arm as a satire, -eorge rwellmade fun of the rulers of ussian /ommunism and communicated some of his own

beliefs.

)or e0ample, through (nimal )arm, -eorge rwell showed how the ussianrulers were selfish and cruel. (nimal )arm is an animal satire through which rwell

indirectly attacks on the ussian /ommunism 1and its leaders2! "#emenici +'. -eorge

rwell did not like or agree with the way that the ussian government was running the

country. His goal in writing (nimal )arm was to speak out against ussian /ommunismand show that the rulers were ruling cruelly. (nimal )arm also opposed the ussian

leaders because it depicted what would happen if those rulers were approved "3loom 45'.

-eorge rwell degraded the ussian dictators, Stalin and rotsky, by having pigsrepresent them. He also satirized Stalin and rotsky by having 6apoleon and Snowball,

the pigs that represent Stalin and rotsky, lead the working animals selfishly and

deviously. 7hile -eorge rwell wanted to relate the message that the ussian rulerswere unacceptable, he also wrote (nimal )arm as a satire so it would be received and

enjoyed.

8n (nimal )arm, -eorge rwell also showed a characteristic of satire by trying to

get the working class of ussia to change the way it behaved and to oppose its rulers. 8na society where people have no voice, if the ruling body with privileges such as special

education, lu0ury and titles, has absolute power, this will lead to total corruption and

disintegration of values! "#emenici +'. -eorge rwell was trying to convey the messageto the working class that they were at a disadvantage and would be oppressed if they did

not speak against the ruling class. his message was communicated through (nimal

)arm when the laboring animals9 lives became harsh after the pigs took complete controlover everything that the laboring animals did and learned. -eorge rwell realized that if

animals became mindful of the might that they possess, humans would not be able tooverrule them. )urthermore, he realized that humans take unfair advantage of animals

just as the wealthy take unfair advantage of the common people "3loom :;'.


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working class stood apart from its unfair rulers, they would be mistreated less and have

more freedom. 7hen the working animals ignorantly allowed the pigs to take advantage

of them, -eorge rwell demonstrated what the conse=uences are when people with nopower follow all the orders of the powerful, even when the powerless are being

mistreated. 3y writing (nimal )arm as a satire and using the pigs with their outrageous

method of ruling the other animals, -eorge rwell was able to communicate aconvincing and enlightening message that the ussian rulers were taking full advantage

of the laboring class.

(lso in (nimal )arm, -eorge rwell satirically illustrated that humans abusepower, and he intended for us to recognize the problem that we have when it comes to

possessing power. 8t was not the lesson that mankind had its foibles and its follies but

that all would be well in the end. 8t was more nearly a lesson of despair > the lesson that

anarchy was intolerable, that mankind could not be ruled without entrusting powersomewhere or other and to whomsoever power was entrusted, it was almost certain to be

abused! "3loom $:'. (long with making fun of the ussian rulers, -eorge rwell also

indicated that all humans are at fault. He pointed out that those with power will use the

power deceitfully to make themselves greater, and it will demoralize them.(dditionally, (nimal )arm is a compelling satire because its main matter is not with the

affairs of history that it satirized but rather with the importance of the corrupt nature ofhumans "$4'. he method in which -eorge rwell addressed the condition of humans

possessing power was astonishing, and it drew great attention to his concern with the use

of power. 8n order to e0emplify the issue, -eorge rwell had pigs take power, distort allthe laws they made, and force everything to work for their desires without caring about

the animals that worked arduously to fulfill their orders. 8n the area of dealing with

power, -eorge rwell tried to have the leaders become aware of how they ruled because

he believed that the leaders should have been capable of ruling with more e=uality. (nother way that -eorge rwell was able to make fun of the ussian leaders was

by writing humorously and using animals. he surface gaiety, the seeming good humor

and casualness, the light bantering tone are, of course, part of the convention of beastfables, and (nimal )arm would be a very bad tale indeed if it did not employ these

devices! "-reenblatt +5'. -eorge rwell used animals to add more humor to his satire

and to represent different people involved in the ussian evolution. (long with addinghumor to (nimal )arm, the animals also amplified the satire and its nature.

(lthough (nimal )arm has a discouraging lesson, it is read and not rejected because

-eorge rwell wrote it in an amusing and pleasant manner "3loom $:%$$'. he moral

of (nimal )arm is dark because it mocks the leaders of ussia that ruled during theussian evolution and proves a serious flaw that numerous humans have, but (nimal

)arm is not considered too imposing or offensive because -eorge rwell cleverly

presented it. Some readers regard (nimal )arm as a classic because it teaches a lesson ina entertaining way. 3ecause (nimal )arm was written in a comical and entertaining

form and it opposed the ussian /ommunism at the same time, it is a great e0ample of a

satire. (nother way that -eorge rwell satirically attacks the ussian /ommunism is

with irony. 3efore his death, ld *ajor instructed the animals?

(nd remember also that in fighting against *an we must not come to resemble him.

Even when you have con=uered him, do not adopt his vices. 6o animal must ever live in

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a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch

money, or engage in trade. (ll the habits of *an are evil. (nd above all, no animal must

ever tryannise over his own kind. 7eak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers.6o animal must ever kill any other animal. (ll animals are e=ual. "rwell ;'

-eorge rwell displayed irony by having the pigs that took dictatorship over the other

animals completely reverse ld *ajor9s principles and do the opposite of what ld

*ajor told them to do. his irony ridiculed the ussian leaders because it compared thepigs9 absurd authority to the actions of the ussian leaders. 8rony is also e0hibited when

the Seven /ommandments are altered by S=uealer "#emenici $'. he modification of the

Seven /ommandments caused the animals to follow rules that went against the originallaws which had dictated the entire purpose of the animals9 revolution against man.

8nstead of the animals trying to unite together against man, the pigs with power misled

the animals so that the power%hungry pigs could reap all the benefits of being in control.

hese e0amples of irony make the ussian rulers look dishonest in the way that they ledtheir people.

-eorge rwell once said, (nimal )arm was the first book in which 8 tried, with fullconsciousness of what 8 was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one

whole! "3loom $+'. (nimal )arm had many purposes that were accomplished.hrough (nimal )arm, -eorge rwell was able to speak out against ussian

/ommunism, encourage the lower classes of people, and share some of his beliefs.

3ecause he wrote (nimal )arm as a satire, he communicated these purposes in a way thatthe reader would enjoy. 8n conclusion, (nimal )arm is a meaningful book, was written in

an e0cellent manner, and proves to be a successful satire.

7orks /ited?

#emenici, (lev. (nimal Satire in (nimal )arm.! theorwellreader.com. $@ Aan. :@@;.Bhttp?CCwww.theorwellreader.comCessaysCyemenici.html>

*itchell, Dhilip. /haracteristics of Satire.! dbu.edu. )eb. :@@;.

Bhttp?CCwww.dbu.eduCmitchellCsatire+.htmlF

rwell, -eorge. (nimal )arm. rlando, )lorida? Harcourt 3race and /ompany, +4.

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The Satire of Animal Farm by George Orwell