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  When World War II ended in 1945, the Soviet Union was thought of by many as an honorable nation. The Soviet Union had fought bravely on the allied forces, helping in the United States and Great Britain topple the evils of the such as Adolf Hitler and Germany. However Eric Blair, better known for his pen name George Orwell knew the truth about communism and about the allegedly honorable Soviet Union. In order to illustrate the evils of the Soviet Union and communism, Orwell wrote the novel Animal Farm. Animal Farm, in other words can be described as an allegory of Russian history from 1917 to 1943 in which Orwell exposes the truth about the Soviet Union and communism, which had remained unclear to many in the world (Animal...). Using a wide array of literary techniques, such as, symbolism, metaphors, and also allegory, Orwell both successfully and undoubtedly portrays the downfalls of communism and also the Soviet Union as a nation.

    All of the action in Orwell?s novel Animal Farm, initiates on Manor Farm, in the country of England. Manor Farm is like any other farm except for the fact that Mr. Jones, the of Manor Farm has been taking to drinking recently, and has of lately been neglecting his duties on the farm and also his farm animal as a whole. The lackadaisical attitude of Mr. Jones forces Old Major, the prize Berkshire boar, to call the farm animals together in order to put in plain words to them his hopes for an uprising against Mr. Jones. Old Major explains that he will soon pass away and that the animals must revolt against the tedious life they live on the farm. Old Major teaches the animals the song "Beasts of England," which talks about a day when animals rule all of England. Old Major encourages the animals to gather unity and also warns the animal not to copy or resemble man in any way. Old Major's philosophy of animalism inspires the animals not to copy or resemble man in any way. Old Major's philosophy of animalism inspires the animal to overthrow Mr. Jones.  The animal promptly seize their first chance to overthrow Mr. Jones. The animals drive out Mr. Jones, and immediately rename Manor Farm to Animal Farm. In addition they engrave the laws of animal farm on the barnyard wall for all to see.

    As expected Mr. Jones returns to the farm with a few other people in an attempt to take back Manor Farm. In what becomes known as the Battle of Cowshed, the animals fight with fortitude and unity, in order to vanquish their human enemies. After the battle Napoleon and Snowball, who were both very important in the formation of Animal Farm, get in what can be called a "political" fight.  Each of the pigs attempts to earn the support of the other animals in different ways. For instance, Snowball calls for the building of the windmill in order to make life easier on the animals. Snowball also summarizes the laws into one general law, "four legs good, two legs bad." Napoleon on the other had, takes the newborn puppies and says he is going to educate them. Napoleon, instead, breeds the dogs into secret police and using them to chase Snowball out of Anima Farm. As a result of the exile of Snowball, Napoleon is able to take full control over Animal Farm and its operations.

    Napoleon, who at first criticized Snowballs windmill plan, puts forth the windmill plan as his own. Napoleon starts the construction of the windmill and is now thought of as the leader of Animal Farm. Napoleon and the pigs do no work on the farm, while they receive more than the workers do. In addition, Napoleon and the pigs continually break the law. However, Squealer, the speaker for Napoleon, explains the law breaking by stating that the pigs must look over reports and do all the paperwork, and also that the laws must be changes with the times. The other animal, not being as clever as the pigs, accept whatever Squealer tells them. As the windmill nears completion, big storm hits Animal Farm and knocks the windmill down, thus destroying all the hard work of the animals. Napoleon, in an attempt to make Snowball look bad tells the animals that the destruction of the windmill was not due to the weather, but was in fact a direct doing of Snowball.  

    The reign of Napoleon becomes more and more fierce as the days go on. Napoleon now executes anyone who is the slightest bit out of line. For example, when funds were low on Animal Farm, Napoleon called for all hens to hand over their eggs, if any hen refused to do so, she would be executed on the spot. In addition everything done on Animal Farm is now done so that the pigs will directly benefit from the action. Napoleon has now even begun to negotiate trade with humans. Napoleon negotiates a deal with Frederick, a neighboring farmer, selling him some timber. After the deal is made, Frederick launcher a surprise attack on Animal Farm. During the attack the windmill is destroyed. The animals are devastated, and with the pigs as the only beneficiaries the construction of the windmill starts back up. It is at this time that the differences between the pigs and humans are nearly invisible. The pigs now wear clothes, drink alcohol, carry whips, and walk on their hind legs. The line between the pigs and humans has become, in sense, indistinguishable.  

    Since Animal Farm is an allegory of the history Russia, it contains a plentiful amount of underlying themes and symbols regarding the history of Russia. The characters for example, are each used to represent a certain person, or people important to the history of Russia. First of all, Mr. Jones, who the story begins with, embodies Czar Nicholas II. Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate after a successful revolution, just as Mr. Jones was forced to leave after a successful revolution by the animals. Mr. Jones, as well as all the humans in Animal Farm can also be looked upon as the evils of capitalism. and the moral decline it causes. It is also important to notice the gradual transformation of the pigs into humans, this clearly shows the process by which the communist revolution?s leaders gradually became corrupted. Another very important character is Old Major. Old Major is a direct comparison to Karl Marx. Marx is the founder or communism, whereas, Old Major is the founder of animalism. Both animalism and communism intend to form utopian societies, both backfire and instead form dictatorships and tyranny. Napoleon, the boar who is also the leader and tyrant of Animal Farm, of course represents Joseph Stalin. Just like Stalin assumed the role as the communist leader of Russia, Napoleon assumed the role of leader in Animal Farm. In addition, both show similarity in ruling styles. Both rule with iron fists, executing all their adversaries in pursuit of absolute power. Snowball, on the other hand represents Leon Trotsky, Stalin's biggest rival. Both Trotsky and Snowball were smart, young political speakers whose futures looked bright. Just as Trotsky was one of the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution to overthrow Czar Nicholas II, Snowball was one of the leaders in the uprising against Mr. Jones. Another resemblance worth pointing out is how both Trotsky and Snowball were forced into exile from thwir homelands, and how both were used a scapegoats in order to explain any wrongdoing or hardship that fell upon the nation. Squealer, the pig who acts as the link between Napoleon and the rest Animal Farm, is a very persuasive speaker who it has been said can "turn black into white." Squealer signifies any form of propaganda during Stalinist Russia. Propaganda, which usually took the form of newspaper, was used as a tool by Stalin to provide little resistance on the part of the Russians. The dogs in contrast, symbolize the private army of the communist party, or in other words the Soviet Union?s KGB remained faithful to Stalin and Lenin, the remain faithful to the pigs and Napoleon?s orders. In addition it was the KGB who force Trotsky out of the Soviet Union, and almost instinctively it was the dogs who force Snowball to leave Animal Farm (David Tannenbaum's).  Another comparison is Frederick with Adolf Hitler. The deal made between Frederick and Napoleon signifies the Non-Aggression Pact make between the Soviet Union and Germany. Therefore, the surprise attack on Animal Farm represents the breaking of the pact by Germany (The Symbolism..).

    Events and places in Animal Farm, as well as characters in Animal Farm, are used to represent or signify events in Russian history. Take the rebellion against Mr. Jones for example, this event is a direct comparison to the Bolshevik Revolution. Where as the Battle of Cowshed represents, the ant-communist invasion of Russia, 1918. The last battle, the Battle of the Windmill signifies, the German invasion of Russia in 1941 ( The Symbolism...). It is also apparent to note that the Windmill itself holds a significant meaning. The windmill in fact, represents the Five-Year Plans which Stalin designed in order to industrialize the Soviet Union, just as the windmill was an attempt to industrialize Animal Farm (Animal...). The calling of all eggs by Napoleon also has a hidden comparison. This order by Napoleon can be compared to Stalin?s attempt to collectivize the farmers of Russia. Just as any hen that refused to hand over her eggs was executed, Stalin executed any farmer who refused to collectivize (The Symbolism...)

    In addition to underlying meanings and symbols of characters and events, there are also underlying themes and messages in Animal Farm. For example, one theme is the victory of evil over good. In an attempt to create a utopia, the create a savage state full of lies and murder. Another theme that Orwell attempts to express is the fact that powers corrupt and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Just as power corrupted the pigs in the novel Animal Farm, power also corrupted the leaders of the Soviet Union (Animal...). However, the main reason Orwell wrote Animal Farm was to show the incompetence of communism as a political style and its failure to provide for anyone in society. In the United States, when Animal Farm was published, there was a great fear of the spread of communism; in fact the Cold War was just beginning. By writing Animal Farm, George Orwell, whether intentionally or not, provided a sense of security the the United States. By implying that communism was bound to fail and would never succeeed, Orwell in a sense said the United States was superior to the Soviet Union. This same thinking could also be used to explain the immense popularity of Animal Farm in the United States.

The writing of Animal Farm was done for one specific reason. That reason being to expose the secrets of the Soviet Union and communism. With its great diversity of literary terchniques and also its prolific hidden themes and symbols, Animal Farm has become classic novel. Although it is classified under fiction, there is no doublt that based on its bold predictions of the futire, its assuredness that it is correct, and its historical background, Animal Farm should be classified in the non-fiction genre.