The political fable, “Animal Farm”, written by visionary George Orwell, was published on this day in history, August 17, 1945.
The plot of “Animal Farm” is based on the story of the Russian Revolution and its betrayal by Joseph Stalin and is considered allegory, according to Britannica.com
The short story tells the story of a group of barnyard animals who overthrow and hunt their exploitative human masters – and create their own egalitarian society, according to the same source.
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As “Animal Farm” opens, Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, is drunk and heads for his bed.
“The animals gather in the barn as Old Major, a wild boar, tells them that he has thought about the brutal life that farm animals live under human servitude and is convinced that a rebellion must come. soon,” notes Encyclopedia.com.
Author George Orwell finished writing the draft of “Animal Farm”—originally titled “A Fairy Story”—in the summer of 1944. A number of publishers initially rejected the book. It was finally published in August 1945. (Ullstein Image via Getty Images)
Eventually, the “power-loving rulers, the pigs, overthrow the revolution and form a dictatorship whose servitude is even more oppressive and heartless than that of their former human masters,” Britannica.com pointed out.
The original book jacket describes the book as follows: “In this good-natured satire on dictatorship, George Orwell uses the technique honed by Swift in ‘The Tale of a Tub.’ It is the story of a revolution gone wrong – and of the excellent apologies that were offered at every step for every perversion of the original doctrine,” recounted The Orwell Society.
Orwell said “Animal Farm” was the first book in which he attempted “to merge political and artistic goals into one whole”.
Orwell finished writing the draft, originally subtitled “A Fairy Story,” in the summer of 1944, according to the official British Library website.
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After a number of publishers rejected the book, “Animal Farm” was finally published in August 1945, the same source said.
Orwell is noted as saying in his essay, “Why I Write”, that “Animal Farm” was the first book in which he tried “to merge political and artistic purpose into one whole”, according to multiple sources.
“Animal Farm” is studied around the world, and it has been adapted into several films and stage productions. Its themes and characters have become part of the global cultural lexicon. (Stock)
The plot analysis explores themes of authoritarianism and corruption.
“Orwell uses the setting of an uprising of animals against their human masters on an English farmhouse as an indirect representation of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the totalitarian Stalinist era to follow,” Carnegie Mellon University said.
“The work explores and comments on the dangers of authoritarian control and the personality cult inherent in it, and reminds us that even the noblest causes can be overthrown by power and greed.”
“Even the noblest causes can be overthrown by power and greed.”
It is described as an “allegorical fairy tale about the dangers of authoritarianism and how ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’,” the same source quoted.
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Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903 in India.
He was the son of a British colonial official and was educated in England, according to the BBC.
George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903 in India. He was the son of a British colonial official and was educated in England, according to the BBC. (Getty Images/Bettmann/Contributor)
He took the name Orwell in the 1930s.
His writing credits include several works of non-fiction and fiction.
Orwell is also known for the book “1984”, a story about political oppression in a dystopian society.
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Orwell died of tuberculosis on January 21, 1950.
“Animal Farm” has become a classic of modern literature.
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The book is studied around the world, and it has been adapted into several films and stage productions.
Its themes and characters have become part of the global cultural lexicon, according to The Mentoring Club.
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“The book’s final message, that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, remains as relevant today as it was when Orwell wrote it,” the same source said.