Role Of Pigs In Animal Farm Essay

, Research Paper

Pigs In Animal Farm

The pigs are perhaps the most interesting characters in the novel, Animal Farm, written by George Orwell. The pigs have certain characteristics, which shape the way this book starts and concludes. They bring conflict and perceive as the most important animals in their Animal Revolution and most important people involved in Russian history. The pigs have the most important role of all. They change throughout the story while paralleling with aspects of Russian history. Throughout this fairytale, they become what they had hoped to destroy.

The role of the pigs in this story is that they are true leaders. A leader is defined as one who is in charge, or in command of others. That basically states the entire role of the pigs. They represent the Bolsheviks of Russia. They are the highest in the animal society structure and highest in the level of intelligence. The pigs led all animalism activities such as planning how to do away with Mr. Jones, and strategic ways to fight in wars and defeat any invaders. They make all choices about animal life, despite calling for majority votes. Due to lack of intelligence and mentally persuaded minds, the other animals did abide by the rules of all the pigs. Pigs were the ones who built this revolution, and turned out to be the ones who would destroy everything they fought against. However, all the pigs weren’t exactly the “bad guys,” as what they appear to be.

The most important pigs in this novel are Old Major, Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer. Old Major is a very important character in which that the revolution took place because of his desires, and his virtue making other animals feel comfortable under his rule. He taught and preached Animalism and the greatness of freedom to the common animals. He showed this when he recalled this song from a dream, Beasts of England. It gave the common animals a feeling that they were being treated poorly and they deserved better than what they got. It was truly important because what he told the common animals came from his heart and was the truth. Old Major paralleled Karl Marx. Marx invented communism and was a great enthusiastic on telling the topic to the common people, just as Major told to the common animals. Both died before the revolution that they practically started. A true follower of Major became of Snowball. Snowball was a young and smart motivational speaker. He was a character that really wanted to make life better for the animals in an exact way that Old Major wanted. Snowball was the better pig that was in a power struggle with Napoleon to run the Animal Revolution. He paralleled Leon Trotsky who was pure communist believer and wanted to make life better in Russia. Between Old Major, and Snowball (Marx, Trotsky), it could have been a smooth revolution.

Napoleon and Squealer is a totally different pair. Napoleon is power crazy and is very egotistic. He is cruel, brutal, selfish, and devious. He kills for his own benefit. He plays a great part in the creation of this revolution, but an even bigger factor for destroying it. He symbolizes Joseph Stalin, who in the Russian Revolution, killed many people for his own benefit. Napoleon was a terrible pig that eventually would go against everything that all the common animals wanted. He would not have gotten far however, if it wasn’t his acquaintance, Squealer. Squealer was a propagandist for Napoleon, even if he believed in otherwise against Napoleon. It was his duty to make people mistakenly support the unknown cause of Napoleon. Squealer benefited from this harsh treatment. He was historically, the propagandist committee for Stalin. An example of this propaganda he set forward was in this quote. “Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure. On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?” Together, they made the perfect, evil, couple. They are against all values and what is right.

Changes in the pigs take place throughout this novel. Evil dawns on the souls of all these “innocent” creatures. Good becomes bad. Smart becomes stupid. It becomes a stupid game to some of the pigs, and “Stupid games are for stupid people”(N.F.G 1998). They went from good leaders to lazy ones. The fact that there was nothing to do with the human race ended up being completely demolished from life. Every one had to follow this principle set by Old Major. “Your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest….we must not come to resemble him…No animal must ever live in a house or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade.” Napoleon and all the little pigs drank whiskey, slept in beds, wore clothes, and engaged in trade. The pigs also changed the theme song, Beasts of England to Comrade Napoleon. Trade emerged between estates. They made everything that should have been open to the public, sneaky and unlawful. They actually went as far as changing what they believed in. “Four legs good, two legs bad,” to “Four legs good, two legs better.” That totally opposed everything the animals and Old Major fought for. Even more disturbing had to have been when the seven Commandments were abridged for the last time, reading, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Animalism as we know it was destroyed. What once was Animal Farm…is now back to Manor Farm.

The pig’s role of leadership is incoherently fading. They go from being a leader of the people to a silent rude awakening of the common animals. They changed dramatically throughout, being not positive about even just one of there choices that they make as a leader. They were wobbly and uncertain about everything. What brought about this change was their own conscience. At first they wanted to do what was better for the civilization. After realizing that the power was in their hand, they became greedy by self inflicted power crazy schemes. They realized everything that the human race took advantage of, they could too. It got to a point in which they were going to realize this, because a leader is someone who is in charge, but sometimes that leader can get out of hand with leading. They lead to a point where there is nothing left to do for their economy for a while, and it is at that moment that they realize the power they control. Most leaders will use that to their own benefit. This has occurred in mankind all the time in the history and present.

Orwell emphasizes human characteristics through the ways of the pigs. He tells the reader that humans can corrupt just like everything else in this world. The human mind is world of total sickness. Humans will take stuff to new levels just to benefit themselves. This is shown in Stalin, Castro, Hussein, and Hitler. When backed up, humans can go way too far over petty issues. Humans are capable of lying, stealing, faking, and just about everything to try to get someone to be on their side. These pigs are power crazy, egotistical maniacs. Aren’t we all sometimes?

The pigs in this book serve a moral purpose and lesson in learning about our civilization and the way people are. Orwell tries to tell all of us today, how to avoid situations where bad things can happen through the means of this novel. Pigs change, humans change. Everything changes. People must control over bad starts before they actually occur. The animals in Animal Farm and Russia however, didn’t.