Background information for George Orwell’s Animal Farm
Animal Farm is a satirical novella1 (which can also be understood as a modern fable or allegory2) by George Orwell, ostensibly3 about a group of animals who oust4 the humans from the farm on which they live. They run the farm themselves, only to have it degenerate into a brutal tyranny of its own. The book was written during World War II and published in 1945, although it was not widely successful until the late 1950s.
Animal Farm is a satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism5. Orwell based major events in the book on ones from the Soviet Union during the Stalin era. Orwell, a democratic socialist, and a member of the Independent Labour Party for many years, was a critic of Stalin, and was suspicious of Moscow-directed Stalinism after his experiences in the Spanish Civil War6.
Synopsis
When the farm’s prize-winning pig, Old Major, calls a meeting of all the animals of Manor Farm, he tells them that he has had a dream in which mankind is gone and animals are free to live in peace and harmony; his ideals can be compared to Anarchist Communism7 or even some aspects of Leninism. He compares the humans to parasites, and then proceeds to teach the animals a revolutionary song, “Beasts of England.”
When Old Major dies a mere three days later, two pigs - Snowball and Napoleon8 - assume9 command, and turn his dream into a full-fledged10 philosophy. The starved animals suddenly revolt11 one night and drive the farmer, Mr. Jones, his wife, and his pet raven, Moses, from the farm. The farm is then renamed “Animal Farm.”
The Seven Commandments12 of the new philosophy of Animalism are written on the wall of a barn for all to read. The seventh and most important is “all animals are equal.” All animals work, but the workhorse, Boxer, does more than his fair share and adopts a maxim13 of his own — “I will work harder.”
Animal Farm begins well: Snowball teaches the other animals to read and write (though few animals besides the pigs learn to read well), food is plentiful due to a good harvest, and the entire farm is organized and running smoothly. Meanwhile, Napoleon secretively takes the pups14 from the farm dogs and trains them privately. When Mr. Jones tries to re-take control of the farm, the animals defeat him at what they later call 15the “Battle of the Cowshed.” However, Napoleon and Snowball begin a power struggle16 for leadership of the farm. When Snowball announces his idea for a windmill, Napoleon quickly opposes it. A meeting is held, and when Snowball makes his passionate and articulate17 speech in favour of the windmill, Napoleon retorts only briefly and then makes a strange noise to call in nine attack dogs, which burst in and chase Snowball off18 the farm. In Snowball’s absence, Napoleon declares himself the leader of the farm and makes instant changes. He announces that meetings will no longer be held as before and a committee of pigs alone will decide what happens with the farm.
Napoleon changes his mind about the windmill, claiming (through Squealer, Napoleon’s mouthpiece) that Snowball stole the idea from him and the animals begin to work. After a violent storm, the animals wake to find the fruit of their months of labour utterly annihilated19. Though neighbouring farmers scoff at the thin walls, Napoleon and Squealer convince everyone that Snowball destroyed it. Napoleon begins to purge20 the farm, killing many animals he accuses of consorting with21 Snowball. In the meantime, Boxer takes a second mantra22, “Napoleon is always right.”
Napoleon begins to abuse his powers even more, and life on the farm becomes harder and harder for the rest of the animals; the pigs impose more and more controls on them while reserving privileges for themselves. The pigs rewrite history in a way that villainizes Snowball and glorifies Napoleon even further. Each step of this development is justified by the pig Squealer, who on several occasions alters the Seven Commandments on the barn in the dead23 of night — for example, “No animal shall drink alcohol” becomes “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.” The song “Beasts of England” is banned as inappropriate, now that the dream of Animal Farm has been realized, and is replaced by an anthem glorifying Napoleon, who begins to live more and more like a human. The animals, though cold, starving, and overworked, remain convinced that they are still better off 24than when they were ruled by Mr. Jones, the previous (human) owner of Manor Farm.
Mr. Frederick, one of the two neighbouring farmers, swindles Napoleon by buying lumber with forged banknotes, and then attacks the farm, using blasting powder to blow up the recently restored windmill. Though the animals of Animal Farm eventually win the battle, they do so at a great cost, as many of the animals, including Boxer, are wounded. However, Boxer continues to work harder and harder, until he finally collapses while working on the windmill. Napoleon sends for a van to take Boxer to the veterinarian25, but as Boxer is loaded up and the van drives away, the animals read what is written on the side of the van: “Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler.” Squealer quickly reports that the van with the old writing had been purchased by the hospital, and later that Boxer had died in the hospital, in spite of the best medical care. In reality, Boxer had been sent to his death so the pigs could get more money to buy whiskey.
Many years pass, and the pigs learn to walk upright, carry whips26, and wear clothes. The Seven Commandments are reduced to a single phrase: “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” Napoleon holds a dinner party for the pigs and the humans of the area (in the adjacent27 Foxwood Farm, run by Mr. Pilkington), who congratulate Napoleon on having the hardest-working animals in the country on the least feed. Napoleon announces his alliance with the humans, against the labouring classes of both “worlds.”
The animals discover this when they overhear28 Napoleon’s conversations, and finally realize that a change has come over the ruling pigs. During a poker match, an argument breaks out between Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington when they both play an Ace of Spades, and the animals realize that they cannot tell the difference between the pigs and the humans.
Source : http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/animal-farm-background-info.htm
- 중편소설 [본문으로]
- 풍유법 [본문으로]
- 표면적으로는 [본문으로]
- 내쫏다. [본문으로]
- 전체주의 [본문으로]
- 스페인 내전, 1936년~1939년, 조지오웰뿐만 아니라 헤밍웨이도 참가하여 "누구를 위해 종은 울리나?" 등의 작품을 썼다. [본문으로]
- 공산무정부주의자 [본문으로]
- 이름이 가지는 상징으로 인해 프랑스에서는 시저로 번역되었었다. [본문으로]
- 떠맡다. [본문으로]
- 깃털이 완전히 난 → 완전한 [본문으로]
- 폭동을 일으키다. cf) rebel 반란을 일으키다. [본문으로]
- 모세의 10개명에서 따와서 7개명이라고 함. [본문으로]
- 좌우명, 격언 여기서는 좌우명 [본문으로]
- = puppies [본문으로]
- = so-called 소위 [본문으로]
- 권력투쟁 [본문으로]
- 딱부러지는 [본문으로]
- chase sb off ~를 내쫒다. [본문으로]
- 완전히 없어지다. [본문으로]
- 숙청하다. [본문으로]
- 어울리다. [본문으로]
- 진언, 주문 [본문으로]
- 어두컴컴한 [본문으로]
- well off 잘살다. [본문으로]
- 수의사 [본문으로]
- 채찍 [본문으로]
- = neighboring [본문으로]
- 엿듣다. [본문으로]