sethuarun: All animals are equal; Some are more equal than others!

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

All animals are equal; Some are more equal than others!

I just happened to read Animal Farm by George Orwell.

This seems to be a classic which highlights the nudges in any kind of Idealism. Napoleon the leader Pig can be compared to Stalin in Communism; budding evangelists of modern day America; Jihadi Leaders all over the world; Hitler with respect to the mass killings of Jews (Incidentally I happened to get to know from one of the Articles today that Nazis never advertised anything against Jews; they very intelligently provoked a General public aversion against the Jews in the garb of Fascism or anti-socialism)! In India too you can relate these things to the Dravidian/Gandhian/Karsevak politicians of this century. Animalism that Orwell refers to, can be equated to any “ism” in the world. Truly a master work, in explaining how idealism is betrayed by corruption and high-command!

In any social problem, history says that the first opposition comes from the person who is on the authority or from someone who is supposed to enjoy the benefits of bourgeois. But this is not so, in Animal farm. There was not a single pig to fight Napoleon as the complete race of pigs seems to betray the other suffering animals! Though some pigs initially show resentment there is no vehement opposition!

Though “Animal farm” can be related to any ideology, I am sure it is communism that Orwell is pointing out. Later I happened to come across the preface written by Orwell to Animal Farm from internet. Orwell had hard time in publishing the book, which openly mocked at Russia (and communism) when the whole world was worshipping it. Orwell, in his preface, with fitting statistics and analysis explains how this blind worship is going to plagiarise the intellectual thinking. Indeed the book was published, but never the preface. You can find it here: http://home.iprimus.com.au/korob/Orwell.html

The mastery of Orwell’s wit is really something that carries the book on its shoulders. Especially, the innocence of the "working class" animals kindles a kind of attachment towards them. Thus, the book is immortal, which will stand forever as a classic, as a literary masterpiece.

“One night at about twelve o clock, there was a loud crash in the yard, and the animals rushed out of their stalls. It was a moonlight night. At the foot of the end wall, where the seven commandments were written, there lay a ladder broken into two pieces. Squealer, temporarily stunned, was sprawling beside it, and near at hand, there lay a lantern, paint-brush, and an over turned pot of white round. None of the animals could form any idea as to what this meant. But a few days later, Muriel, reading over the Seven commandments to herself, it noticed there was another of them which the animals had remembered wrong. They had thought that the Fifth commandment was ‘No animal shall drink alcohol’, but there were two words that they had forgotten. Actually the commandment read: ‘No animal shall drink alcohol to excess’ “.

# posted by Sethu : 2:56 AM