Animal Farm
(George Orwell)
George Orwell?s Animal Farm
In George Orwell?s classic, Animal Farm, the government of the animals is formed in rebellion against a totalitarian state created by humans. This reactionary government, although born socialist, reverts to totalitarianism in the course of the novel. Where revolution overcame totalitarianism in its founding, its ultimate fate, as an evolved totalitarian state was the product of many forces- of which the greatest was the ability of government to unify the masses. The paradox of a united, socialist populace under the banner of a totalitarian state is reconciled only through a close reading and examination of the tools employed by the totalitarian state. By examining the forces of revolution and suppression in Orwell?s Animal Farm, it is seen that the unifying force in a totalitarian state is not ideological propaganda but overwhelming, nonsensical political language- the instrument that disrupts the momentum of rebellion.
Seemingly contradictory, the achievement of a totalitarian state completely under the auspices of a socialist minded populace can be viewed as the product of many forces of control exercised by the totalitarian government. In Orwell?s Animal Farm, overwhelming political language is the force by which revolutionary momentum within an ideologically disunited people is dissipated. The inability of the animals to united, more than anything in the novel, characterizes it as a warning and nothing more. Animal Farm is not a treatise on government types- none of the government types in it actually succeed justifiedly. Totalitarianism is portrayed as oppressive, democracy as selfish, and socialism as ironically ignorant of its own totalitarianism. Instead, Animal Farm is best read as a warning to adherents of all political views- a warning to defend one?s views with vigilance, unity, and enlightenment before the choice to choose is ironically removed and the voices of protest drowned out in tremendous bleating.
Resumos Relacionados
- Animal Farm
- Animal Farm: Centennial Edition
- George Orwell
- Animal Farm
- Animal Farm
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