The OCTOBER REVOLUTION IN ANIMAL FARM.
The October Revolution marked the official change in power to communism. The Russian monarchy had been brought down in February, and between February and October different parties struggled to gain control of the government. The ‘revolution’ was quick and quiet, the communists’ occupied key points throughout Petrograd and the other parties had no choice but to surrender or flee the country (SparkNotes Editors, 2005). The point in Animal Farm which mirrors the October Revolution is the animals chasing out the farmhands and the Joneses. They do not mirror one another completely, but are similar in that it was the change of power.
The difference between the two revolutions is that although the animals knew they wanted to rebel, they did not plan for the overthrow to take place when it did, whereas the Bolsheviks planned extensively and strategically. Orwell has consistently written the characters and events to be similar to the actual events of the Russian Revolution, hence this lapse is definitely deliberate.
In the October Revolution, the Bolshevik troops were stationed and occupied at influential government buildings days prior to the event. It was planned in advance by Lenin and Trotsky and the rebellion itself occurred at night, and everything that had been planned to happen came into realization. This is the difference between the events of the Russian Revolution and the animals of Animal Farm.
The difference between the two revolutions is that although the animals knew they wanted to rebel, they did not plan for the overthrow to take place when it did, whereas the Bolsheviks planned extensively and strategically. Orwell has consistently written the characters and events to be similar to the actual events of the Russian Revolution, hence this lapse is definitely deliberate.
In the October Revolution, the Bolshevik troops were stationed and occupied at influential government buildings days prior to the event. It was planned in advance by Lenin and Trotsky and the rebellion itself occurred at night, and everything that had been planned to happen came into realization. This is the difference between the events of the Russian Revolution and the animals of Animal Farm.
Was orwell successful?
Orwell chose to have preparation for the rebellion instead of a detailed plan of events and action perhaps to show the sincerity and good intentions that the animals had. That it was not an attack or ambush, but something out of necessity and instigated by the farmhands and Jones. This display of good nature hits the reader harder later on in the story and works seamlessly for Orwell’s message. The honest beginnings and gradual corruption of the pigs contrast starkly in the reader’s mind, and through their own realization, it further emphasizes Orwell’s message that there is fault in socialism, tyranny and the state of the government itself.
Sources.
SparkNotes Editors. (2005). SparkNote on The Russian Revolution (1917–1918). Retrieved March 14, 2013, from http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/russianrev/