The entire novel “Animal Farm” is a satire of the Russian Revolution. That is one reason why it is one of the most memorable books of all time. It is represented by events happening on the farm and the animals actions being very similar to those of important figures in the revolution. Each animal represents a different person. Mr. Jones is Czar Nicholas ll, Snowball is Leon Trotsky and Napoleon is Joseph Stalin. A pivotal character in the novel is Old Major. He is the reason all the other animals start the revolution against Mr. Jones/Czar Nicholas. Old Major is the Animal Farm equivalent of Karl Marx, a German Philosopher. Old Major represents him in the way that Old Major creates animalism, does a speech at the beginning of the novel, disagrees with the current authority, teaches communism and equality, dies before his ideas were put into action and then his ideas were discarded after the rebellion. All of these things represent Karl Marx’s actions and life. It presents a very interesting way of thinking about the Russian Revolution and Old Major’s connection is one of the most memorable parts of the book.
Old Major’s speech at the beginning of Animal Farm is very similar to Karl Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto”, a memorable and powerful part of history. The communist Manifesto is a political pamphlet that talks about his plans for a communist government (aka; Animal Farm) and the overthrow of the current capitalist government.The Communist Manifesto was considered to be one of the most influential political works of all time. Old Major disagrees with the leader of the farm, Mr. Jones. Karl Marx disagreed with This is reminiscent of how Old Major tells the other animals that a rebellion is coming. They must stand up to overthrow the current capitalist government (Mr. Jones) and free themselves to become a comunist government (the animals work for themselves). Karl Marx Knew that eventually the working class would become so poor and overworked that they would revolt against the government. He didn’t know when this would happen, but neither did Old Major. This is shown when Old Major tells the other animals that the rebellion may not happen in their lifetime, but they have to prepare the future generations for it. This is memorable because it shows how far people will go to ensure freedom, even when that freedom may not be their own, but the future generations. Karl Marx was a powerful influence and so was Old Major, being able to say a few words and have all the animals prepare to risk everything. It is an example of sacrifice that stuck in my mind and was one of the most empowering messages in the novel. George Orwell uses the speech to create the plot, and makes it memorable by having it be the first thing happen in the novel.
For political ideas in the novel, Animalism is one of the most prominent and memorable. The term “Animalism” is very similar to Marxism, created by Karl Marx. Animalism is the idea that all animals are equal and should do equal labour, get fed the same and have the same rights. Marxism is a system where there are no governments and no classes. Everyone is equal. Both ideas are basically the same. Marxism was created by Karl Marx while the idea of Animalism was created by Old Major in his speech. The animals named it this after discussing it later. Animalism is the stepping stone for the revolution, a communist idea that compelled the other animals to act. It is a powerful thing, making other people do something through words. Marxism was to ensure equality much like Animalism. Both were invented because the current ruler (Animal Farm; Mr. Jones, Russian Revolution; Czar Nicholas ll) was unable to meet the needs of the animals. Karl Marx believed that if the people were pressured too much (trying to live without good food and living conditions for long periods of time), they would eventually stand up for themselves. This perfectly portrays what happens in animal farm. Mr. Jones gets drunk and decides not to feed the animals. They get hungrier and hungrier until finally they snap and take over the farm. They are trying to achieve Animalism as they make the 7 commandments on which every animal must obey. The connection between Animalism and Marxism is memorable because it is an insight for what is to come if you know the Russian Revolution and is the set up for the story.
Although Old Major was a pivotal character in Animal Farm, his memorable part to play was short lived, much like his ideas. He dies at the beginning of the second chapter before his ideas were even put in action. This is yet another similarity to Karl Marx who also dies before the revolution begins. From here, the animals took Old Major’s speech into action, and began the rebellion. Over the next few years, the animals thought they were developing a democracy, the main point of animalism where everyone works for themselves. Unfortunately, this was just a ploy by the pigs to create another dictatorship. At the end of the book, the pigs are in total control, with the other animals having no hope. This is a parallel to what happened in the revolution. Once the Russian Revolution was over, the ideas of Marxism were discarded and they went back to a dictatorship (although they called it a democracy). Stalin had taken over leadership of the country, exactly how the pigs had taken over the farm. This is memorable because it shows how you can only control something for as long as you are in power. Old Major could only control the animals and what they believed in while he was alive. Once dead, the pigs had free reign. George Orwell made this memorable by making the last scene based around the pigs. You see them playing cards with Mr. Pilkington and one of them is cheating. The animals watch on as they realise the truth of the farm. Because this is the last scene, you are left wondering what exactly happens to the animals. George Orwell does this on purpose to make this memorable.
To make his book memorable, George Orwell made Animal Farm a satire of the Russian Revolution. This is already a memorable subject, but to make it better, he created many links between characters and actions. One of these was the pivotal character Old Major’s connection to Karl Marx. He is one of the most memorable characters in the book because of his very important role and his speech at the beginning of the book. He is the creator of Animalism, the cornerstone of the novel. His life (or at least the end of it) parallels to Karx Marx’s. He is the most memorable character in the novel.
