Mr. Banick 6th hour
World History
19 April, 2014
One of George Orwell’s goals in writing Animal Farm was to portray the Russian Revolution of 1917 as one that resulted in a government more oppressive, totalitarian, and unequal than the one it overthrew. Mr. Jones is based on Tsar Nicholas II, who was the last Russian emperor. During his rule, the Russian people experienced terrible poverty and uproar, marked by the Bloody Sunday massacre in 1905 when unarmed protesters demanding social reforms were shot down by Nicholas' army. As the animals under Mr. Jones lead lives of hunger and reforms, the lives of millions of Russians worsened during Nicholas' reign. Also in Tsarist Russia, there is little to no industrialization. It’s a time where society is increasingly dependent on agriculture to stimulate their society. In Animal Farm, Mr. Jones farm is run mostly by using a horse and plow, showing its lack of industrialization. Tsarist Russia also suffered for financial failures. The Russians lost the Russo-Japanese war, causing severe financial crisis. Mr. Jones didn’t take care of the farm or the animals and was constantly in debt to other farmers who have helped him pay for supplies on the farm multiple times. George Orwell’s Animal Farm represents the changes that occurred during the Russian Revolution. Old Major is the animal version of Karl Marx. As Old Major outlines the principles of Animalism, a theory holding that all animals are equal and must revolt against their oppressors, Leon Trotsky, who is modeled by Snowball, was inspired by Karl Marx's theory of Communism, which urges the "workers of the world" to unite against their economic oppressors and work for the common good. As Animalism pushed for a world where all animals share in the prosperity and equality of the farm, Communism argues that a "communal" way of life will allow all people to live lives of economic equality. Old Major dies before he can see the final results of the revolution, as Marx did before witnessing the ways in which his followers carried on the work of his reforms. Leon Trotsky ,another Marxist thinker who participated in a number of revolutionary demonstrations, put the solutions into actions .Snowball, who, like Trotsky, felt that a series of rebellions was necessary to achieve the revolution's ultimate goals. Snowball's plans for the windmill and programs reflect Trotsky's Marxist character and ideas about the best ways to transform Marx's theories into their way of life. Trotsky was also the leader of Lenin's Red Army, as Snowball directs the army of animals that repel Jones and the other farmers. Eventually, Trotsky was killed by the agents of Joseph Stalin, as Snowball is chased off of the farm by Napoleon , Orwell's model for Stalin. Like Napoleon, Stalin was unconcerned with equality and ideas. Instead, he valued his own power over everything else and by 1927 had gained total control of the Communist Party through acts of terror and manipulation. Napoleon's dogs are like Stalin's secret police that he used to eliminate all who opposed him. As Napoleon gains control under