"The only good human being is a dead one"
The October Revolution (Battle of the Cowshed)Historical event
The historical event that Orwell wanted to showcase writing Animal Farm was the October revolution during 1917 that brought about a more oppressive and controlling government. Imperial Ruler During the time, Tzar Nicholas the Second was the ruler of Russia. Terrible poverty ensues during the Tsar's reign and peasants starved to death. The Tsar's counterpart in the novel Animal Farm is human farmer Mr Jones, who exploits the animals work labour and doesn’t reward them for their production (Opalinska, 2011). The October Revolution and Battle of the Cowshed The October Revolution occurred after the overthrow of the Tsar happened during Stalin and Trotsky’s alliance. Forces that were loyal to the Tsar who were against Communism, cooperated together to invade Russia, but thanks to Trotsky's quick wit and brilliant command of the army, the revolutionaries stayed in power. The revolution paralleled the Battle of the Cowshed in the novel, in which Napoleon and Snowball defend against the human farmers and Snowball leads the animals to victory, winning himself an ‘Animal Hero First Class” medal ("Animal Farm By George Orwell Critical Essays The Russian Revolution", n.d.). Orwell's purpose By the incident of awarding the medals, Orwell shows that some animals have already a higher status than others, highlighting inequality and violation of Major's ideology, signaling Orwell's displeasure by his sarcastic tone. Snowball's great commanding, planning and most importantly his own bravery is significant in the winning of this war, thus he is the undeniable hero in this battle, a sign that Orwell agreed with the revolution in the beginning. Winning the medal is the only moment where Snowball shines in the novel, since after this event, his greatness is slowly washed away by Squealer's convincing to the animals that he was always a traitor. Here, Orwell is hinting at what the future of Animal Farm could have been like for it had been under the reign of Snowball, who's actions actually benefit the farm. This whole description of the Battle of the Cowshed and ridiculous awarding of medals shows Orwell's criticism towards the way dictator Napoleon is slowly seizing control over the animals, representing the way dictators slowly gain their power. The brutality of the humans is also portrayed in this chapter when they take advantage of Jones’ drunk situation, and here, Orwell once again reminds us that the animals are fighting for a good cause, contrasting this event with the later events in the book. This revolution contrasts against the battle of the Windmill, where the animals are barely succeed, yet Squealer pretends that the animals have something to feel victorious about, even though they have not gained anything different to what they originally had. The Battle of the Cowshed is commemorated by the firing of Jones's gun, and as we see later on after the Battle of the Windmill, there is also a celebration, but not a celebration of success but an event to make the animals forget about their pain and loss. |