by Shirley Lendway

Created on: October 28, 2010

George Orwell was disillusioned by his decision to be a soldier in Spain. The romanticized propaganda that England praised the Russians with gave way to an understanding of communism. Well-disguised as a “fairy story,” Animal Farm was the attempt by Orwell to explain the danger of conceding to a totalitarian government. Part of this danger lies with the necessity of creating a scapegoat. Using a scapegoat helps totalitarianism to gain a foothold by spreading fear.

Orwell explains the anatomy of totalitarianism by exploring how it is established through transforming tyranny. If people are dissatisfied with the quality of their lives under a tyrant, they’ll jump for the chance of a government which promises them a shared good life of equality. It is when this shared good life is provided by the workers with the masters profiting and the workers witnessing a rate of diminishing returns from their efforts that a totalitarian government is firmly in place. As workers see that the government is reneging on its promises, fear of retaliation when this is brought to the government’s attention is achieved by producing a scapegoat.

Plot Summary

Before the pig, Old Major, dies, he prevails upon his fellow animal residents of Manor Farm to get rid of the owner, Mr. Jones, in order to enjoy the fruit of their labor. “Is it not crystal clear then, comrades, that all the evil of this life of ours springs from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labor would be our own (Orwell 30).”The sheep enthusiastically bleated the motto,” Four legs good, two legs bad (63)!”

Two pigs fought for control as leader once Old Major died: Snowball, Trotsky in pig’s clothing, and Napoleon, Stalin, of the same persuasion. Seven commandments were posted after Mr. Jones was run off the farm at the Battle of the Cowshed.

The original doctrine of the new system at first appeared to be benevolent. Manor Farm became Animal Farm with Snowball organizing animal committees.

Nine puppies were taken by Napoleon and the milk and the apples from the farm were solely the property of the pigs to preserve their health. The pigs explained that they were the brain workers, using their brains to perform duties and prevent Jones from coming back. The specter of Jones’s return struck terror in the hearts of the other animals.

Napoleon spread a lie that Snowball fought for Jones at the Battle of the Cowshed. When the wind

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