Orwell's "Animal Farm" Synopsis and Comments - A masterful satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism
This time we present "Animal Farm," published by George Orwell in 1945.
I read "Animal Farm" translated by Fumio Takahata, Kadokawa Shoten, 2011, 60th printing edition.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
The animals on the farm, who are being treated well by the humans, revolt. The animals, led by an old pig, expel the humans and build an ideal society where "all animals are equal. However, the pigs who became leaders want power, and the animals suffer a life worse than before. ...... This 20th century Aesop's Tale satirizes the Russian Revolution and takes a hard-hitting look at socialist fascism.
Kadokawa Shoten, George Orwell, translated by Fumio Takahata, Animal Farm, back cover
I am1984."As with the first book, I read this work for the first time when I was a student about 10 years ago. I still remember the shock I felt at that time.
I was particularly shocked by the scene in the final part of the story where the pigs march on two legs, and I still vividly remember my surprise at that moment.
Reading the book again after studying the history of the Soviet Union over time, I realized what an excellent work it is: the skill with which it so well describes and satirizes the movements of the Soviet Union from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the Lenin and Stalin regimes is nothing short of astonishing.
The story begins with a speech by a pig named Old Maeser, reminiscent of Lenin. Let's look at some of it.
Why must we continue to groan over this miserable life? It is because almost all the harvest of our labor is stolen by man. Here, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It can be summed up in one word: "Man. Man is our only true enemy. Expel man from the farm. Then the root of hunger and overwork will be removed forever. Man is the only animal that consumes without producing. He does not produce milk, he does not lay eggs, he is not strong enough to pull a plow. He has no strength and cannot pull a plow. They cannot run fast enough to catch a hare. Nevertheless, they reign over the animals. They make the animals work, give them the bare minimum to starve to death, and then leave them all to themselves.
Kadokawa Shoten, George Orwell, Animal Farm, translated by Fumio Takahata, p. 11
If we replace "man" in this speech with "capitalist" and "animal" with "worker," it would be exactly like the speech of Lenin, the Marxist.
Comrades, if we look at it this way, is it not as clear as crystal that all the ills that haunt our lives are born of the tyranny of mankind? Banish them, and the fruits of our labor will be returned to us. Almost overnight, we can become rich and free. What, then, should we do? Needless to say, there is no other way than to work day and night with all our might and devotion to strive for the overthrow of the human race! Comrades, this is my message to you. Rise up! I do not know when that day will come. It may be a week from now, or it may be a hundred years from now. But I know, as surely as I see this straw under my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done.
Kadokawa Shoten, George Orwell, Animal Farm, translated by Fumio Takahata, p. 13-14
Create an enemy, and once you have defeated it, an ideal world will come to you. That is what he tells the animals. And that it is justice.
I have little more to say. I will only reiterate. I will only repeat that we must never forget our duty to hold on to our resentment toward mankind and all their dealings with us. Anyone who walks on two legs is an enemy. And whatever walks on four legs or has wings, it is our ally. Furthermore, in fighting against humans, we should keep in mind that we should not become imitators of humans. Even after you have conquered humans, do not fall into their bad habits. No animal should ever live in a house, nor sleep in a bed. They should not sleep in beds. They should not wear clothes. They should not drink alcoholic beverages. Do not smoke cigarettes. Do not touch money. Do not do business. All human practices are vices. And above all, no animal should ever dare to be even remotely violent toward his fellow man. The weak and the strong, the wise and the foolish. They are all brethren. No animal should kill another animal. All animals are equal.
Kadokawa Shoten, George Orwell, Animal Farm, translated by Fumio Takahata, p. 15-16
As I am sure you are all dimly aware, all the noble ideals and rules mentioned here will be broken later on. The pigs talk about noble ideals, show their dreams to the animals, and say that an ideal world will come to them once they have defeated their hated enemies. However, after defeating the farmer, it is the pigs who end up in his place, and the animals will live the same, or even worse.
As I read this "Animal Farm," I realized that we must be careful of sweet words and words that incite hatred. What I also notice is the strength of the pigs' storytelling. Their eloquence makes the farm animals feel that something is "wrong" with them, but they are easily seduced. And by the time they realize it, they are dominated by violence. And despite this, they still continue to be deceived by their clever tricks of disguise.
I would like to introduce here a book that gives an excellent explanation of this subject. I will introduce this book in the next article.Rhetoric and Sophistry."Animal Farm" was introduced in the book "Animal Farm" as follows.
At the manor farm owned by Mr. Jones, the overworked animals revolted under the leadership of Snowball the pig and Napoleon, who banished Mr. Jones. They changed the manor farm to an animal farm, established its Seven Commandments, and tried to create their own utopia under the slogan "All animals are equal.
But as early as the next day, things started to go wrong. The milk that had just been milked from the sows had somehow disappeared. It turned out that the pigs had been feeding themselves secretly, but the other animals began to complain that the pigs were trying to monopolize not only the milk but also the apples that had fallen in the wind. So Napoleon dispatched Squealer, a pig with a good tongue, as his spokesman.
Fellow comrades!" he exclaimed. You don't think that we pigs, with our gruffness and our air of privilege, are going to have all the milk and apples for ourselves, do you? To tell the truth, most of us hate milk and apples. I hate them too. The only reason why we eat such things that we hate is to maintain our health. Milk and apples (science has proven it, comrades) contain ingredients that are absolutely essential for the welfare of pigs. We pigs are engaged in brain work. The management and organization of this farm rests entirely on our shoulders. Day and night, we are devoted to the welfare of our comrades. Therefore, it is for the sake of our comrades that we drink the milk and eat the apples. Do you know what would happen if we, the pigs, were unable to fulfill that duty? Jones will come back! Yes, the Joneses are coming back! That's it, comrades," Squealer exclaimed in an almost pleading tone, hopping from right to left and busily wagging his tail. Not one of you wants Jones to come back, do you?
This decisive line worked. The animals were absolutely certain that if there was one thing they did not want Jones to return, it was that they did not want him to return. When he said it like that, they couldn't say anything else.
Squealer got a taste of the success of this argument. Later, when the animals were upset by Napoleon's ousting of Snowball, the leader of the revolution, in a power struggle, he was sent back to frighten them with the same argument: "Fellows, discipline! Discipline, fellow comrades, discipline, iron discipline! This is our watchword today. If we make a mistake, our enemies will attack us at once. Listen, none of you want Jones to come back, do you? Do you?" -Again, no one could refrain from making a sound in this discussion.
Chikuma Shobo, Hidenobu Kasai, "Rhetoric and Sophistry," p. 86-88
This is a text that explains the characteristics of "Animal Farm" in full. The relationship between the pigs and the animals is like this from beginning to end. How about it? Isn't it getting more and more frightening? This is not a fiction, but an actual Soviet experience, and it could happen anywhere in the world today. In fact, the environment that surrounds us today could be just like this.
Try applying various words to the "Jones" part of this phrase. Do you see a gruesome reality?
This is scary because it can happen anytime, anywhere.
Let's continue to look at the explanations.
Or when the pigs were exposed sleeping in beds, in violation of the fourth of the seven commandments, he repeated it again. For the pigs, sleeping in beds is necessary for their health. No one wants us to be so exhausted that we cannot do our duty. We are not going to have any of you wishing for Jones to come back, are we? -When this was said, the animals had nothing to say.
The ludicrousness of the argument used by Squealer here should be obvious. He asked, "Do you gentlemen wish Jones to return?" he asked the animals. Of course, their answer was a resounding "No." But this declaration of intent becomes approval for the pigs to keep milk and apples to themselves, for them to sleep on beds in violation of the commandments, or for Napoleon to become dictator.
This is because Squealer's question was based on the causal assumption that Jones would return if the pigs were not allowed to monopolize milk and apples, sleep in beds, and Napoleon's dictatorship. So, the animals, who were not smart enough to think about it, went up in smoke and accepted this premise, but if there were those who did not want Jones to return but also did not accept the privileged behavior of the pigs (i.e., they were not convinced of the causal connection between the series of privileged behavior of the pigs and Jones's return), then he would have been the first to admit that Jones would return. ), he cannot answer "yes" or "no" to Squealer's question. Since he does not want Jones to return, of course he cannot answer "yes". But if he answered "no," it would thereby be taken as an approval of the pigs' actions.
Chikuma Shobo, Hidenobu Kasai, "Rhetoric and Sophistry," p. 88-89
Rhetoric and Sophistry" by Hidenobu Kasai is, as the title suggests, a book that explains what "sophistry" is.
This "Animal Farm" was presented as one of the best examples of this sophistry.
The book continues to provide detailed explanations, but this is the end of the article.
However, as you can see from what I have read so far, their eloquence is basically sophistry. They put up a list of things that cannot be easily refuted and use a strong tone of voice to get at the listener.
They also talk about pleasant-sounding ideals that they have no intention of defending, while inciting hatred by incessantly counting up the bad points of their opponents. They stir up hatred, anger, and anxiety so that listeners cannot make calm judgments, and they say, "Comrades, stand together! Stand up!" and make them act without saying whether they want to or not.
They talk about ideals and say that the world will be a better place if we let them defeat the bad guys.
It seems to me that such a trend has been growing even in recent years. History has shown that when the economy is in trouble and discontent in the world is high, this trend increases.
We should beware of those who create enemies, incite hatred and discontent, and thereby promote the defeat of our enemies. What happens after the enemy is defeated, "Animal Farm" tells us, is what happens after the enemy is defeated.
Animal Farm" is a short work of about 150 pages. The writing style is easy to read and you can read it in one sitting. It is such an easy-to-read work, yet it contains a surprisingly concentrated essence.
It is true that "1984" is a large work, and it is also true that it is difficult to read in terms of content. Many of you may have been frustrated. For those people, I would highly recommend this "Animal Farm". Of course, it is best to read it in combination with "1984," but I can assure you that this one book alone will be a shocking read.
This is a highly recommended book. It is a must read for now.
This is "Orwell's "Animal Farm" Synopsis and Comments - This is how people are fooled. A masterful satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism".
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