Question

What role does Mr. Whymper play in Animal Farm?

• A. He is an enemy of the animals
• B. He mediates between Animal Farm and the human world
• C. He helps Napoleon organize the rebellion
• D. None

Answer 1

Answer:

B. He mediates between Animal Farm and the human world

Role of Mr. Whymper in Animal Farm

• Mr. Whymper is introduced as a human solicitor who acts as a mediator or intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside human world.
• He is the first human the pigs allow to have contact with Animal Farm after the Rebellion, signifying the farm's shift from complete isolation to cautious interaction with humans.
• His primary role is to conduct trade and business dealings on behalf of Animal Farm, especially for necessities like paraffin, nails, string, and later, for selling farm produce like hay and the excess eggs.
• The pigs, particularly Napoleon, use Whymper to project an image of prosperity and stability to the outside world, despite the increasing hardships faced by the other animals.
• Whymper is portrayed as a rather shrewd and self-serving man who is attracted by the potential profits of doing business with Animal Farm, rather than any ideological alignment. He is not bothered by the farm's revolutionary ideals but by the practical advantages.
• His presence symbolises the farm's gradual corruption and deviation from its original Seven Commandments, particularly the commandment "No animal shall ever engage in trade."
• Through Whymper, the pigs manage to obtain necessary resources and even manipulate public opinion, as he unwittingly spreads their propaganda about the farm's success.
• His character highlights the theme of betrayal of revolutionary ideals and the ease with which external forces can be used by totalitarian regimes for their own benefit.

Key Facts about Animal Farm for Competitive Exams:

• Author: George Orwell (pen name of Eric Arthur Blair).
• Genre: Allegorical novella, dystopian fiction, political satire.
• Published: 1945.
• Central Allegory: Represents the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then the Soviet Union's early period, particularly the Stalinist era.
• Napoleon: Allegory for Joseph Stalin.
• Snowball: Allegory for Leon Trotsky.
• Boxer: Represents the loyal, hardworking, but exploited working class.
• Squealer: Represents propaganda (e.g., Pravda, the Soviet newspaper).
• Mr. Jones: Allegory for Tsar Nicholas II.
• Moses: Represents the Russian Orthodox Church or religion as the "opiate of the masses."
• Old Major: Combines aspects of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
• Theme: Totalitarianism, corruption of power, propaganda, class exploitation, revolution and betrayal.
• The novel famously ends with the line: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."