Question

What is the final commandment on Animal Farm?

• A. "All animals are equal"
• B. "No animal shall ever rebel"
• C. "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"
• D. None

Answer 1

Answer:

C. "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"

Animal Farm: The Corruption of Ideals

• George Orwell's Animal Farm is a satirical allegorical novella published in 1945. It serves as a scathing critique of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent rise of Stalinism in the Soviet Union.
• At the outset of the animal rebellion against human oppression, the pigs, led by Snowball and Napoleon, establish a set of principles known as the Seven Commandments of Animalism. These commandments are intended to govern the animals' society and ensure equality and freedom.
• The original Seven Commandments were:
  • Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
  • Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
  • No animal shall wear clothes.
  • No animal shall sleep in a bed.
  • No animal shall drink alcohol.
  • No animal shall kill any other animal.
  • All animals are equal.
• As Napoleon, representing Joseph Stalin, consolidates power, he and his chief propagandist, Squealer, gradually manipulate and alter these commandments to suit the pigs' tyrannical rule. This manipulation reflects the historical revisionism and propaganda used by totalitarian regimes.
• The ultimate act of corruption is when all the original commandments are erased, and only one remains, painted on the barn wall: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
• This final commandment perfectly encapsulates the pigs' complete betrayal of the revolution's founding principles. It highlights the hypocrisy and the establishment of a new, even more oppressive, hierarchy where the ruling elite (the pigs) exploit the working class (the other animals).
• Key themes explored through this progression include: the corruption of revolutionary ideals, the dangers of totalitarianism, the power of propaganda, and the manipulation of language.
• For competitive exams, remember:
  • Author: George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair).
  • Genre: Allegorical novella, political satire, dystopian fiction, fable.
  • Historical Allegory: Represents the Russian Revolution and the early Soviet Union.
  • Characters' Allegorical Roles: Napoleon (Stalin), Snowball (Leon Trotsky), Squealer (Molotov/Propaganda media), Boxer (the exploited working class), Old Major (Karl Marx/Vladimir Lenin).
  • The Significance of the Final Commandment: It marks the complete ideological collapse of Animalism and the pigs' transformation into tyrants indistinguishable from the humans they overthrew. It is a cynical inversion of the original egalitarian principle.