George Orwell. Barnyard
Mr. Jones of Homestead Farm closed the chicken coop for the night, but he was so drunk that he forgot to plug the holes in the wall. Kicking the back door, he stumbled across the yard, unable to escape the circle of light from the lantern dancing in his hand, poured himself a last glass of beer from the keg in the kitchen and went to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring.
As soon as the lights went out in the bedroom, there was a restless movement on the farm. Rumors had been going around all day that old Myer, the prize hog of Middlewhite, had had a strange dream the night before and would like to tell the rest of the animals about it. Everyone agreed to meet in the large barn as soon as Mr. Jones was completely out of sight. Old Myer (as he was always called, although the name under which he was presented at exhibitions sounded like the beauty of Willingdon) was so respected on the farm that everyone agreed without reservation.
Mayer was already waiting, as usual, comfortably seated on his straw bed on a raised platform at the end of the barn, under a lantern suspended from a beam. He was already twelve years old, and Lately he sounded rather wider, but nevertheless continued to remain the same noble hog, in whose eyes wisdom and goodwill shone, despite the terrifying fangs. By the time all the animals had gathered and arranged themselves according to their own liking, quite a lot of time had passed. The first to arrive were three dogs - Bluebell, Jessie and a pinscher, followed by the pigs, who immediately settled down on the straw in front of the dais. The chickens settled on the window sills, the pigeons jostled to sit on the rafters, and the sheep and cows lay down immediately behind the pigs and began to chew their cud. The draft horses Boxer and Clover came together. They moved slowly and carefully, trying to keep their wide, hairy hooves in as much space as possible. less space. Clover was a tall, middle-aged mare who had completely lost her weight after giving birth to her fourth stallion. Boxer's appearance evoked involuntary respect - he was more than 6 feet high at the withers, he was as strong as two ordinary horses combined. The white stripe that crossed his face gave him a rather stupid look, and he really did not shine with intellect, but he enjoyed universal favor for his even character and amazing hard work. After the horses came Muriel, a white goat and Benjamin the donkey. He lived on the farm the longest and had a nasty character. He rarely spoke, but even in these cases he usually uttered some cynical remark - for example, he once said that God had given him a tail to ward off gadflies, but he would prefer to do without gadflies and without a tail. Alone among all the animals on the farm, he never laughed. When asked about the reasons for such gloom, he replied that he saw no reason to laugh. However, he was attached to Boxer; As a rule, they spent Sundays side by side in a small paddock next to the garden, nibbling grass.
As soon as Boxer and Clover lay down, a brood of ducklings who had lost their mother burst into the barn; quacking excitedly, they began to rush from side to side in search of a safe place where no one would inadvertently crush them. Finding that Clover's outstretched front legs formed a kind of protective wall, the ducklings jumped into this shelter and immediately fell asleep. Finally, Molly, a stupid but beautiful white filly who was dragging Mr. Jones's gig, coquettishly entered the barn, crunching a lump of sugar. She took a seat in the front row and immediately began playfully waving her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons woven into it. And the last to appear was the cat, who, as usual, looked around for the warmest spot and finally slid between Boxer and Clover; here she fussed and purred incessantly during Mayer's speech, without hearing a single word from it.
Except for Moses, the tame raven, who was dozing on a pole near the back door, all the animals were now assembled. After inviting everyone to make themselves comfortable and waiting for silence, Mayer cleared his throat and began:
Dystopia is one of the most striking genres of fantasy literature. And a prominent master of this trend was George Orwell. The books he wrote are still associated with total control and state dictatorship. We will look in more detail at what is remarkable about his works “Animal Farm” and “1984”
Fantastic. A word that contains within itself the brightest genre of art. Fiction consists entirely of the amazing, the unknown, the amazing. For many decades, it has been exciting the minds of millions of readers around the world.
Unfortunately, this genre often has to endure attacks from snobs due to the fact that it is “low” creativity that has nothing to do with real works. Proponents of this view like to say that in science fiction there is nothing but robots, spaceships, scary monsters and distant planets – meaningless fantasies, that’s all! Hobbibook authors are quick to express their confident disagreement.
It’s worth putting bad literature out of the equation in advance, but the question of quality has nothing to do with the genre - the realistic direction is full of passable copies no less than the fantastic. At the very least, it should be noted that in the part where we are really talking about the vastness of the Universe, technical revolutions and alien civilizations, science fiction tries to comprehend the achievements of human thought in the field of science. This is largely why scientists often became science fiction writers: astronomer Arthur Clarke, biochemist Isaac Asimov, biologist H.G. Wells.
Soviet literary critic Yuliy Kagarlitsky in his study “What is science fiction?” makes an interesting remark:
“Once upon a time, a scientist who wanted to speak on issues outside his narrow field wrote a philosophical essay. Today he writes science fiction. Entering this field, he becomes a writer while remaining a scientist.".
But there is another feature of science fiction. A writer, using fantastic categories, can pose pressing questions about the problems of contemporary society. Thus, with the help of allegory, he gets the opportunity to indicate social problems that concern him. One of the absolute expressions of social science fiction can be called dystopia. And here, having overcome the lengthy but necessary introduction about the genre as a whole, we approach the subject of our conversation - George Orwell, Animal Farm and 1984.
Strictly speaking, only the novel “1984” can be called a fantastic dystopia, because “Animal Farm” by the same George Orwell is much more a parable, but these two works should be considered in close connection with each other. And we will see this below.
George Orwell, biography
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair, known to readers under the name of George Orwell, like the one we have already talked about, lived in an extremely turbulent time for the entire planet Earth.
During his lifetime, two world wars occurred, a series of revolutions and civil wars (including in Russia), Cold War(the term, in fact, was invented by Orwell).
The future writer was born in India, then still a British colony, in the family of an official, and early childhood spent there. But already at the age of 8 he ended up in the UK. In his youth he attended the famous Eton College. Then fate brought him to Burma, where he served in the colonial police until 1927.
At the end of the 20s, Orwell nevertheless returned to Europe. It was then that his desire to engage in literature was already formed. Having started writing, George first supported himself with odd jobs in Paris, then moved to England. Europe didn't indulge him too much.
No, and there can be no doubt that personal biography and the brightest shocks of history had a decisive influence on the personality of the young man. He quickly became politicized. The process of moral evolution reached the point that in 1936, Orwell and his wife went to Spain, engulfed in the Civil War *, and joined the militia of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (also known as POUM).
While fighting alongside him, Orwell saw first-hand the internal struggles on the left in this conflict. He also witnessed the actions of the Comintern (controlled by Stalin), which were regarded by many as treasonous towards the Spanish Republic. Having been shot in the throat, George Orwell returned to Britain with already formed socialist and anti-Stalinist views.
For reference
*Spanish Civil War– a clash between the democratic government of the Second Spanish Republic (the Popular Front) and the fascist military-nationalist rebel dictatorship led by General Franco, supported by Germany, Italy and Portugal. The war began in 1936 and ended in 1939 with the defeat of the Popular Front and the victory of Franco. On the side of the Spanish Republic in Civil War, besides Orwell, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Koestler, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Ilya Ehrenburg, John Dos Passos took part .
Here we come to the most interesting moment in the writer’s biography for the author of this article. He becomes a political author.
In his essay “Why I Write,” the writer quite accurately formulates political motives in creativity. According to George Orwell, books cannot be apolitical at all, because “even the opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is already a political position”.
In the same essay, he poses the problem of combining a political statement and a literary work. George Orwell is interested in how one can designate one's civic views, and at the same time get something called art. Orwell was engaged in the development of such a specific and, of course, complex issue until the end of his days.
Upon returning from Spain, he first wrote the documentaries “In Memory of Catalonia” and “Remembering the War in Spain,” but then moved on to his most important artistic experiences: “Animal Farm” and “1984.”
Animal Farm book by George Orwell. Analysis of the work
Without Animal Farm, Orwell would never have written 1984. And from the subjective point of view of the author of these lines, “Animal Farm” has more artistic merit.
The story was definitely born due to the fact that the socialist Orwell looked with great bitterness at what was happening in the Soviet Union: the “Great Terror”, the distortion of history, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact *, the cult of personality of Stalin. And the writer found a great way to express his heartache.
The plot of the story is quite witty. On a British farm, the animals, inspired by the old boar Major, stage a revolution and drive out the drunken farmer Mr. Jones as an exploiter. The animals, led by the pigs Snowball and Napoleon, establish their republic in the barnyard and establish seven commandments by which they must all live.
After this, it would seem, the kingdom of freedom, equality and happiness should come. But quite quickly a demarcation arises among animals. The level of class consciousness varies among each individual barnyard citizen. But the main problem is different - a power struggle arises between Snowball and Napoleon, which will lead to very disastrous consequences for the young republic of animals.
For reference
*Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact– non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany of August 23, 1939. Attached to it was a secret protocol, according to which spheres of influence were delimited in Eastern Europe, if territorial and political reorganization occurs. The pact was unofficially named after people's commissar Foreign Affairs of the USSR Vyacheslav Molotov and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.
In order not to spoil the fun, we will not reveal all the details of the story that the book “Animal Farm” contains. George Orwell uses apt allegory to paint a satire on revolutionary society. On how a revolution arises and how it then degenerates into a bureaucratic oligarchy. Here Orwell, of course, appears as a consistent critic of Stalinism.
In the image of Napoleon, his methods and behavior, the personality of Comrade Stalin is obviously visible. Snowball, depicted in the story with both irony and sympathy, is quite consistent with Leon Trotsky (one of the leaders of the October Revolution, later expelled from the country by Stalin).
There is also a place here for the allegorical representation of entire layers of society: the hardworking horse Fighter - workers; ribbon-loving horse Molly – emigrant intellectuals; raven preacher Moses - religious figures; skeptic donkey Benjamin – the remaining intelligentsia in the republic, etc. Many other life events will also be touched upon figuratively. Soviet Union– for example, the Great Patriotic War.
Thanks to the chosen form of the parable, George Orwell manages to create a satire that is amazing in its accuracy, revealing all the vices of a degenerating revolutionary society in a tragicomedic vein. The substitution of revolutionary ideals under Stalin finds its place in the writer’s writing of animal commandments. This is the commandment "All animals are equal" during Napoleon's dictatorship, eventually turns into a legendary “All animals are equal, but there are those who are more equal”…
There is evidence that Orwell dreamed that Animal Farm would one day fall into the hands of citizens of the USSR. And he got there, but only during the years of Perestroika.
The book "1984", George Orwell.Analysis of the work
Finally, the parabola of George Orwell's creative development led him to his most famous and, unfortunately, most last work– the novel “1984”. Probably, having created “Animal Farm”, the writer realized that he wanted to reflect not only the real state of affairs, but also to trace what a similar balance of power could hypothetically lead to in the future. It was here that Orwell entered the territory of fantasy, which we talked about for so long at the beginning of the article. And he created one of the most famous dystopias in the history of literature.
As the title suggests, the year is 1984 (for Orwell - the future, since he worked on the text of the novel in the late 40s). The world by this time was divided between three huge states: Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. These countries are in an endless war with each other. The novel takes place in Oceania, where back in the late 50s a revolution triumphed and established the ideology of the so-called Ingsoc (“English socialism”).
The ruler of Oceania and the head of the only governing party is a certain Big Brother, a hero of the revolution, an infallible leader beloved by the entire nation - his face looks at the citizens from posters and screens hung everywhere. The image is always accompanied by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you.”
Local television regularly broadcasts either about victories on the war fronts or about the successes of production and the economy. Periodically means mass media organize “hate moments”: the screens show recordings of a man named Emmanuel Goldstein, who “once upon a time, a long time ago (so long ago that no one even remembered when), he was one of the leaders of the party, almost equal to Big Brother, and then he took the path of counter-revolution, was sentenced to death and mysteriously escaped, disappeared".
There is a rumor that there is a secret terrorist organization, the Brotherhood, led by Goldstein from Eurasia, and permanently planning to overthrow the government in Oceania. During the “minutes of hatred,” party members become hysterical, infuriating themselves, shouting insults and curses at Goldstein. To top it all off, although this is hushed up, Oceania lives in conditions of acute commodity shortages - sometimes you can’t get razor blades or anything else needed in everyday life.
Big Brother is watching you
An ordinary party member, an employee of the Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith, has to live in this unfriendly, paradoxical world. He belongs to the few people who still retain the ability to reason. Reflections generated by the insane totalitarian reality that he observes every day lead Smith to realize the need to fight for his own opinion, for personal freedom. In Oceania, such a position is deadly, because... there is a special thought police, and the most terrible violation of the law here is called thought crime.
It's a bleak picture, isn't it? It is clear that George Orwell is preoccupied with the limits of the capabilities of the totalitarian states that emerged in the mid-twentieth century - including Hitler's Germany and the Soviet Union. He does what he discussed in the essay - he puts his political views into the form fantasy novel. But this has the effect of perhaps diminishing the impact of 1984 on modern readers. Because many of the problems that Orwell refers to in his dystopia were reality for him, while for a person of our day they are already turning into details of history. And the reader, as we know, may not know history well. So many strokes of the work clearly hint at the USSR. Let's say this is the description of Big Brother's appearance:
“... the face of a man of about forty-five, with a thick black mustache, rough, but masculinely attractive”
Almost certainly this means Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. Moreover, the period of Stalin’s rule in the USSR was characterized by the widespread appearance of his portraits. One could write this off as a funny coincidence, if not for the appearance of the “traitor” Emmanuel Goldstein, written by the author:
“A dry Jewish face in a halo of lungs gray hair, goatee - a smart face and at the same time inexplicably repulsive; and there was something senile in that long, cartilaginous nose with glasses that had slid down almost to the very tip.” .
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin 
Lev Davidovich Trotsky
Of course, before us is a verbal portrait of Lev Davidovich Trotsky.
This interpretation is also confirmed by the fact that among the dissidents of Oceania, Goldstein’s book “The Theory and Practice of Oligarchic Collectivism” is passed from hand to hand, fictitious quotes from which Orwell gives when Winston Smith reads it - most likely, he is referring to the work of L. Trotsky “ The Betrayed Revolution" (the second title is "What is the USSR, and where is it going?").
Not to mention the fact that Trotsky’s surname at birth is Bronstein, which is consonant with the surname Goldstein. After all, Orwell himself had already confirmed his interest in the political duel between Stalin and Trotsky in Animal Farm.
Theory and practice of oligarchic collectivism 
Revolution Betrayed
There are also victims of the local “great terror” here - former leaders parties Aronson, Jones and Rutherford, convicted of treason, then publicly repented and were destroyed anyway. Perhaps Orwell had Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin in mind, but here the similarities are not as obvious as in the case of Trotsky and Stalin. Perhaps the writer brought out collective images of the suffering “old Bolsheviks”.
The sinister Thought Police deserve special mention. Here, of course, Orwell brings to the point of absurdity the work of the intelligence services of totalitarian regimes - such as the Gestapo or the NKVD. The thought police hunt for “thought criminals” using widespread surveillance, provocations and a well-developed system of denunciations. Thus, many parents are afraid of their children (local pioneers), because in schools they receive an education that will not stop them from denouncing their father or mother. The story of Pavlik Morozov immediately comes to mind.
Winston Smith himself, working in the Ministry of Truth, is constantly editing history. The tasks coming down to him from above require the correction of undesirable facts in the printed materials of past years. For example, a mention of awarding an order to a comrade who was later recognized as an enemy of the people cannot remain in the newspaper - it must be edited. Thus, the history of Oceania is falsified at all levels. Again, you can’t get rid of the parallels with Stalinism (hello to the “Short Course on the History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)”).
The entire system that has developed in this fictional society requires from the citizen unconditional submission and faith in the imposed ideals. Any doubt (even logically justified) is immediately qualified as a thought crime. The hero will write in his diary: “Freedom is the ability to say that two plus two equals four.”. And even such an obvious thesis can be changed at the request of the party.
In the world after the release of the novel “1984,” there were immediately many critics and readers who dubbed the book an anti-communist work. However, is it only Stalin's USSR scared Orwell?
Let us pay attention to the fact that in the plot of “1984” Oceania is at war either with Eurasia or with Eastasia, but the media claims either that “Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia”, or that “Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia”, depending on situations. What was George Orwell's inspiration for when he came up with this? Let us turn to his essay “The Suppression of Literature”:
“Take, for example, the various, polarly incompatible positions which the English Communist or “fellow traveler” was forced to take in relation to the war between Britain and Germany. Until September 1939, for many years he was supposed to be indignant at the “horrors of Nazism” and curse Hitler with every written word; After September 1939, he had to believe for a year and eight months that Germany had suffered more injustice than it did itself, and the word “Nazi,” at least in printed text, was completely thrown out of the dictionary. No sooner had our English communist listened to the latest news on the radio at eight o’clock in the morning on June 22, 1941 than he had to believe again that the world had never seen a more monstrous evil than Nazism.”
As we see, there is no Soviet Union. Only European, completely civilized Great Britain, changing its official position from enviable consistency. In the same fragment there is also the phrase “completely thrown out of the dictionary” - and this has its own, taken to the absolute, illustration in “1984”. Scientists are preparing Newspeak for the population of Oceania - a language that will be spoken by the entire population in the future. And entire categories of words and their meanings are constantly removed from it, so that a person’s very possibility of thought crime disappears. He simply will not have the verbal tools to think “wrongly.”
Some argue that “1984” is extremely similar to one of the first dystopias - the novel “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin. But it’s difficult to talk about influence definitely. Orwell read “We,” which is a fact, but apparently, the Russian emigrant’s book fell into his hands when the idea for “1984” had already taken shape and work was underway. However, the Briton even wrote his own review of Zamyatin’s work.
In the subjective opinion of the author of the article, George Orwell greatly overestimated the capabilities of a totalitarian regime. During the twentieth century, totalitarianism in the form in which the British science fiction writer feared it ceased to exist - it turned out to be unviable in the long run. But this does not mean that modern society is safe. The tasks posed by a totalitarian state according to Orwell are realized in other ways, more comfortable, but by no means more humane. Although this is a subject for another discussion.
"1984" - film adaptations
Like most cult literary works, Orwell's novel has its own screen versions. In the case of “1984”, as many as 3 copies appeared.
The first had a television format and aired on the BBC in 1954, shortly after the death of George Orwell. Unfortunately, Hobbibook didn't have a chance to review it, but it stars Peter Cushing (known to Star Wars fans as Governor Tarkin).
The second adaptation, and the first as a film, appeared 2 years later, in 1956. Directed by Michael Anderson. Winston Smith was played by Edmond O'Brien. Unfortunately, the serious problem of the picture is that it extremely primitives the literary original. Actually, in Michael Anderson’s film adaptation there is no sense of the main thing - a totalitarian society. Because of this, everything else instantly becomes completely unconvincing.
Finally, the third film adaptation of 1984, directed by Michael Radford, was released in 1984. She is closest to original text, and it definitely has the spirit of Orwell's monstrous world. But at the same time, call her good movie does not work. It gives the impression of a mechanical transfer of the work to the screen. Radford's film does not produce any insight and does not take into account many new historical data. “1984” in this version simply becomes a beautiful and atmospheric illustration of the novel, nothing more - this is not enough to be called a full-fledged cinematic work.
The line with Emmanuel Goldstein does not receive any noticeable development at all in any of the film adaptations.
The allegorical story-parable "Animal Farm" was written by George Orwell in 1945. It appeared on the shelves of domestic readers only four decades later. Not surprising, since the sharp anti-Stalinist satire simply could not have been published earlier. “Animal Farm”, also known as “Animal Farm”, “Animal Farm”, “Animal Farm”, “Animal Corner”, became the ideological predecessor of the most famous creation of the English prose writer - the dystopian novel “1984”.
The realities of Soviet reality and the main historical figures of the Land of the Soviets are described by Orwell so clearly that it is not difficult to unravel the artistic codes of the story. Animal Farm/Animal Republic is the USSR, the Leader, the author of the philosophy of bestialism is Lenin, the exiled leader of the newly formed republic of Collapse is Trotsky, the leader and tyrant Napoleon is none other than Stalin. The inhabitants of the farm are simple people dreaming of a bright future, hard-working, devoted, narrow-minded, blind, naive, and therefore deceived a thousand times by their ideological leaders.
George Orwell devoted most of his life to exposing the policies of Stalinism and Bolshevik terror, which he vehemently hated. He argued that the bright ideas of the revolution had been betrayed and vulgarized. Orwell considered the all-Union leader Joseph Stalin to be the main liar and source of evil. “There were few people the Soviet press spoke of with such hatred for forty years,” recalls one of the first translators of Animal Farm, Ilan Polotsk, “as George Orwell. She spoke little, and only through clenched teeth, choking on anger.”
Behind the Iron Curtain
Orwell died in 1950 from tuberculosis. The writer, alas, did not live to see the time when his works reached the main addressee - the Russian reader. Today it is not difficult to buy a volume of Animal Farm, but half a century ago it was found, secretly passed from hand to hand, and read overnight.
Let's remember how the revolution was born and died according to Orwell.
This night in the Lord's Yard - Mr. Jones's private farm - did not seem to foretell trouble. Her owner, as usual, got very drunk and was dead asleep in the house. Neither he, nor his wife, nor the workers suspected that a secret meeting of the four-legged inhabitants of the farm was taking place in the barn.
Everyone was here: the draft horses Boxer and Kashka, the pretty filly Molly, the old donkey Veniamin, the yard dogs Rosa, Kusay and Romashka, gilts and sows, the owner’s pet raven Moses, numerous sheep, chickens, ducks and even a cat, which, as usual, , a little late. The meeting was headed by the old hog Leader.
The inhabitants of the farm revered the old Leader. He has already turned twelve years old - a rare animal lives to such an old age. Lying in his cubbyhole for many years, the hog changed his mind and came to the conclusion that the source of all troubles for animals is man. He alone consumes and gives nothing in return, mercilessly exploits four-legged animals to satisfy his personal needs, lives in satiety and prosperity, while his workers receive just enough rations not to die of hunger, and work until they sweat. Moreover, it is a rare inhabitant of the farm that lasts longer than a year. They are born to be killed. And given your length of service, there is no point in dreaming about legal rest. The lot of old people is knackers.
Only by expelling a person can you live happily. In the fight against the two-legged oppressors, the Leader adjured his followers, do not become like the vices of the enemy. Houses, beds, clothes, alcohol and cigarettes - all these are attributes of human vulgarity. Animals under no circumstances dare to adopt them. And most importantly, “no animal should oppress another. Weak and strong, cunning and narrow-minded - we are all brothers. No animal should kill another. All animals are equal."
So spoke the old hog named Leader on that great night in the barn of the Lord's Court. He passed on to his followers his philosophy and the song “Beasts of England,” which became a symbol of the coming changes.
Three days later, the Leader passed away peacefully in his sleep. However, the animals did not forget the teachings of the venerable boar. They had "Beasts of England" memorized by heart and hummed the song whenever possible. The thought of an uprising pleasantly warmed hearts, but no one suspected that it would happen so quickly and spontaneously.
Mr. Jones drank heavily, his workers became unruly and often forgot to feed the animals. This time too, the living creatures, exhausted from the day’s work, were languishing from hunger in the barn. Patience ran out. The animals knocked down the doors and rushed for food, and when people with whips came running in response to the noise, the cattle lost control and went on the attack. The enormity of everything that was happening frightened the workers so much that they threw down their whips and clubs and rushed along the country road. Mrs. Jones, who was hiding at home, quietly slipped out the back door. The farm was empty. It was a victory.
Victory! Victory! For half the night, the animals, distraught with happiness, rushed across the expanses of the farm, tumbled in the ground, ate double rations, sang “Beasts of England” seven times in a row, and then fell asleep and slept as sweetly as never before in their lives.
In the morning, the Lord's Yard was solemnly renamed the Animal Farm, and on the wall of the barn they inscribed 7 commandments of the new animal society, which formed the basis of the Leader's philosophical teaching, called scotism. The commandments read:
- Anyone who walks on two legs is an enemy.
- The one who walks on four (or who has wings) is a friend.
- The animal does not wear clothes.
- The animal does not sleep in the bed.
- The animal does not drink alcohol.
- An animal will not kill another animal.
The commandments were formulated by the pigs Obval and Napoleon, who, being smarter than other inhabitants of the farm, were able to master literacy. What was written was ordered to be memorized and strictly observed. From Mrs. Jones's old tablecloth they made a flag - a horn and a hoof on a green background. It was solemnly raised to the flagpole every Sunday to the collective performance of “Beasts of England”.
Pigs are actively involved in eliminating illiteracy among animals. True, not everyone was given this difficult science. The draft horse Fighter never progressed beyond the letter G. The pretty fool Molly only learned her name and lovingly built it out of twigs on the ground. The sheep turned out to be hopelessly stupid, so that for them even the commandments had to be reduced to one simple statement: “Four legs are good, two are bad.” They selflessly bleated this simple slogan all day long.
To rebuild the newly formed Scotch Republic, one had to work until one’s sweat. However, the work was a joy for the inhabitants of the farm, because now they were working not for a person, but for the sake of their bright future. Only pigs, as intellectual workers, have taken on the difficult responsibility of managing a farm. They were given a separate headquarters, organized in a stable, apples and milk, which stimulated brain function. The animals did not resist - more than anything else, they were afraid of Mr. Jones's return.
However, the enemy did not keep himself waiting long and soon attacked the Animal Farm along with his workers. Thanks to the knowledge that Landfall gleaned from the Notes of Julius Caesar and the bravery of the farm's inhabitants, the animals managed to repel the attack. This day went down in the history of the Scottish Republic under the name of the Fight under the cowshed. Landfall and the Fighter, who fought selflessly, were awarded the Hero of the Animal Farm awards of the first degree, and the dead sheep was posthumously awarded a similar title of the second degree.
"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others"
Little by little, relations between the leaders of Animal Farm - Landfall and Napoleon - began to become complicated. Any initiative proposed by Collapse caused sharp rejection on the part of Napoleon. Napoleon came to the vote on the construction of the mill, which was designed by Obval, accompanied by nine vicious dogs. While still puppies, he took them from Rose and Chamomile and raised them into cold-blooded fighters. The collapse was overthrown and put to flight. The time of Napoleon's dictatorship has come at Animal Farm.
The way of life in the Bestial Republic began to diverge more and more from the philosophy of bestialism laid down by the Leader. First, the pigs moved into the old manor's house and began to sleep on the beds. The animals thought for a moment, but then reread the fourth commandment. Strange, now it read: “The animal does not sleep in the bed ON THE SHEETS”.
Then Napoleon started trading with neighboring farmers - Culmington and Frederick. With the money raised, the pigs began to buy alcohol for themselves and have nightly feasts. It was now written on the barn “The animal does not drink alcohol UNTIL it goes unconscious”.
The collapse was recognized as the enemy of the people, and everyone who showed self-will was automatically equated with his secret agents. Public bloody reprisals were carried out against traitors. And for some reason an amendment was added to the sixth commandment "An animal will not kill another animal WITHOUT A REASON".
One day Napoleon came out into the courtyard wearing Mr. Jones's cap and riding breeches, walking on two legs and holding a whip. Nearby, in the same way, still a little awkwardly, other pigs walked, curled around vicious dogs, and the sheep selflessly bleated: “Four legs are good, two are better.” The animals rushed to the barn - the seventh commandment was dark on its wall - “All animals are equal, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL than OTHERS”.
Years passed. Animal Farm flourished. A mill was built and a second one was planned. The first bricks of an elite school for piglets were being laid. There were very few eyewitnesses of the uprising left - the blind mare Kashka, the donkey Benjamin, and even a couple of old-timers.
That night Kashka and Veniamin could not sleep. They crept up on former home Mr. Jones and looked out the window. The pigs played cards together with the farmers, glasses clinked, pipes puffed, and drunken swearing was poured out.
Napoleon, who had grown fat and had three chins, hugged people like brothers. He talked about his immediate plans to rename the Animal Farm to the Lord's Farm, because this befits his status as a master, and to remove the horns and hooves from the flag, leaving only a green canvas.
Kashka squinted her old eyes, but could no longer distinguish who were people and who were pigs - they became so similar. Animal Farm was no longer the place they had so fondly dreamed of as they floundered in the fresh soil the night after the uprising.
George Orwell's story "Animal Farm": summary
5 (100%) 1 voteThe story "Animal Farm" was first published in 1945. One day Orwell witnessed a scene common to village life: a little boy he drove a huge horse with a thin twig. The writer suddenly came up with the idea that if animals realized their strength, people would not be able to rule over them. He created the work “Animal Farm” on this topic. A summary of the book is presented in this article.
George Orwell
The first book by the British writer and publicist was published in 1933. During World War II, Orwell worked as a presenter for the BBC. The debut work of the prose writer is the autobiographical book “Rashing Pounds in Paris and London.” In French capital He spent several years doing odd jobs, mostly working in restaurants as a dishwasher.
In 1945, the book “Animal Farm” was published. A summary of this work reveals the philosophical and political views of the author. The famous dystopia depicts the birth of revolutionary programs and principles. “Animal Farm,” a summary of which is presented below, is a parable that tells about revolutionary events in Russia. Another one worldwide famous book George Orwell - "1984". “Big Brother is watching you,” an expression that has become a catchphrase, was first heard in this work.
"Animal Farm": chapter-by-chapter summary
This work was created more than half a century ago, but is still relevant today. It exists outside of time and space, reveals the basic laws of society, the behavior of people determined by the economic and political situation. This is a wonderful book that tells the story of the power of influence that an individual can have on the mass consciousness.
Even after reading the summary of Animal Farm, one can appreciate Orwell's satirical talent. In addition, the retelling will answer the question of why the work of an American writer has been popular among Russian-speaking readers for several decades. We will present a brief summary of Orwell’s “Animal Farm” according to the following plan:
- Major's speeches.
- Creation of the idea of animalism.
- Insurrection.
- Principles of animalism.
- Battle at the barn.
- Snowball's expulsion.
- The machinations of the pest.
- Repression.
Major's speeches
The heroes of the work are the inhabitants of the farm of Mr. Jones - a man who drinks quite often and manages the farm poorly. One day, the animals, among which pigs are especially smart, hold a meeting in the barn. Old Major is speaking. He calls on his friends to overthrow the power of the man who keeps them in unbearable conditions. A few days later, the Major dies, but his ideas wander unseen around the barnyard. The content of the speech that Major made will be remembered by the animals for a long time.
Creation of the idea of animalism
After the death of the Major, preparations for the uprising begin. Nobody yet knows when exactly it will happen. The leaders of the movement, which will soon gain momentum, are Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer. The first boar is cunning, cunning and power-hungry. The second one is extremely smart. Squealer demonstrates amazing oratorical talent.
Any revolutionary movement impossible without an idea. For animals, animalism becomes an inspiring idea. It is based on a lack of contact with people, a way of life that has nothing in common with the human. The inhabitants of the farm should not sleep in beds, drink alcohol, trade, and so on.
Insurrection
One day Mr. Jones forgets to feed the animals, they angrily throw him out of the farm and thus gain freedom. The summary of the story “Animal Farm” can be summarized as follows: animals get rid of human power, fight for independence, and learn to live without people.
Orwell describes a coup d'état, but the events take place not among people within a country, but among animals living on a farm. There is an ideological boar among them who convinces the others that their life is bad, people are using them, they are not feeding them properly. Life can be much better if you just overthrow the power of Mr. Jones - this is what the untimely departed Major claimed, and Vladimir Lenin is easily discernible in his image.
Principles of Animalism
A new happy life begins on the farm. Thanks to the uprising, the animals got rid of human tyranny. But they have to exist independently of people, and this is not easy. The guiding principles for them are the principles formulated by the leaders. However, these postulates become increasingly distorted over time.
The main principle is “all animals are equal.” After Napoleon's power is established, this commandment loses its meaning. But the “leader” does not call for abandoning it. Any postulate can be slightly edited - “all animals are equal, but some of them are especially equal.”
Battle of the Cowshed
No revolution takes place without bloodshed. People will make more than one attempt to regain power. The first of them will end with a real battle, which the animals will reverently call “The Battle of the Cowshed” for a long time.
How are the days of the company residents going? From dawn to dusk they work. Amazing hard work is characteristic of the old horse nicknamed Boxer. But he is incredibly naive. Boxer does not notice that under both Mr. Jones and Napoleon he is cruelly exploited. The horse's favorite phrase: "I will work even harder." When he becomes too old and weak to work, he is sent to the slaughterhouse. This image personifies the Stakhanov movement. In the evenings the animals hold meetings, which invariably end with the singing of the hymn “The Cattle of England.”
After reading a summary of George Orwell's Animal Farm, you may not understand the hidden meaning of this work. Napoleon, a cruel and power-hungry boar, is called the leader by the animals. What kind of historical figure is hidden behind this literary image? Possibly Joseph Stalin.
Snowball's Banishment
The farm is run by boars. Squealer performs the following role: he conveys new rules and laws, sometimes crazy, to the inhabitants of the farm. Essentially, Napoleon and Snowball rule. But as I said great commander, only one sun can shine in the sky. By the way, Stalin liked to repeat this phrase. While Snowball is developing a scheme for building a mill, Napoleon is hatching an insidious plan. One day, with the help of his faithful dogs, he drives a competitor out of the farm.
The machinations of the pest
Under Śnieżka, Napoleon criticized the plan to build a mill. After his expulsion, he assured the animals that he was the author. A long, complex construction began. The animals were unable to build a mill under the influence of weather conditions and other factors. For all the failures, Napoleon blamed Snowball, who, allegedly, after being expelled, enters the farm at night and commits sabotage.
Repression
One of the commandments of animalism says: “No animal will kill its own kind.” But this principle has also been violated. At the next meeting, Napoleon accuses some of the company's inhabitants of dissent. The unfortunate have no choice but to admit their guilt. That same evening they are sentenced to death. Napoleon's dogs act as executioners.
Let's finish the presentation summary book "Animal Farm" with a description of the last scene. Napoleon establishes diplomatic relations with the owners of other farms. He now lives in Mr. Jones's house, drinks wine, wears his clothes, sleeps on his bed. One day the animals, exhausted and hungry, look out the window. They see a strange picture. Napoleon and other grunts drink wine and play cards with people. And now it is no longer clear where the animal is and where the person is. Where is the revolutionary, and where is another tyrant?
Orwell very colorfully and accessiblely, without unnecessary words, shows how the promised equality turns into totalitarianism, to How the laws (the seven commandments of animals) are rewritten in favor of the ruling elite, how lies are presented as truth.
The pigs voluntarily took on the role of leaders. It's no surprise that they get the best. The remaining animals starve and work hard. Unnoticed, it becomes very sad on the farm. “Fairness” and “equality” become empty words.
Title: Animal Farm
Writer: Janet Fitch
Year: 1945
Publisher: AST
Age limit: 16+
Volume: 200 pages.
Genres: 20th century literature, Foreign classics
About the book "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
The book “Animal Farm” is an incredibly educational story-parable that touches on pressing political issues in the form of a joke. No matter how much we would like to believe in the happy future that politicians promise, such dreams will not come true. To gain power, people are able to describe a paradise that will be built under their “sensitive” leadership, and even make others believe in this miracle. And when these people achieve what they want, all promises will be forgotten. Politicians are always the same. Yesterday's revolutionaries, having come to power, will somehow miraculously turn into inveterate conservatives. And now they will fight the new rebels, forgetting about their rebellious past. It is precisely such metamorphoses of people in power that will be discussed in George Orwell’s dystopian novel.
In this fantastic, at first glance, story, everything is imbued with symbolism and veiled sarcasm towards power. The characters in the book "Animal Farm" are animals, but how similar are they to human society... some are idealists, believers in fairy tales, naive, kind or stupid, others are cunning manipulators, but in fact cruel, selfish creatures.
George Orwell's Animal Farm tells the story of a farm where animals rebel against humans. The owners of the animals created poor living conditions, forced the animals to work a lot, and fed them extremely poorly, and one day they even forgot to do this altogether. And now there is a reason for an uprising. Hog Clever, considered the brain center of these animals, proposes to overthrow human power and establish an equal society of animals in which no one will oppress anyone. The revolt was a success, the current government was overthrown. However, Egghead dies and is replaced by the cruel boar Napoleon. Pretending to be a pig who laughs for his charges, he builds a totalitarian society with a harsh apparatus of repression on the farm. Surprisingly, the animals are blind and do not see what is happening; many feel content and happy, despite the fact that they work from morning until dawn. But pigs are a caste of untouchables, they lead easy life. Their mission is only to control the crowd. All the old commandments about equality and brotherhood were now forgotten by the new government. Previously, people were considered enemies of animals, but now pigs cooperate with people, drink alcohol, sleep in beds, kill others, even walk on two legs like humans. They brazenly trample all the laws that were drawn up by them, inventing all sorts of excuses for themselves. Those of the other animals who are not zombified by politics, who soberly see what is really happening on the farm, prefer to remain silent...
The book “Animal Farm” is best read by those who still believe in a happy, idealistic future, who think that honest politicians still exist in the world. In his work, the author went through the behind-the-scenes of those in whose hands all power over the people is concentrated. The prototypes of the main characters are real historical figures such as Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and even images of the intelligentsia, religion, the Stakhanov movement and much more. In a narrow sense, this work is a caustic satire on the USSR during the times of repression, in a broader sense - on any totalitarian society in any country and in any time frame. Are you sure that your government is not deceiving you for its own benefit? Are you sure that the real truth is not hidden from you? Read George Orwell’s book and take an even closer look at the surrounding reality, maybe then you will see what the ruling elite is keeping silent about...
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