Animal Farm Essay, Research Paper
Czar Nicholas vs. Mr. Jones
The book Animal Farm by George Orwell was written in comparison to the way that the Russian revolution had taken place. The main idea of the book was that the petite bourgeoisie s (the middle class people) were the ones who took advantage of the revolt. The petite bourgeoisie moved up the social tower to be the bourgeoisie (the noble class). The proletariat (peasants) did not want to rebel because they were to worried about what they were going to eat the next day.
Mr. Jones the owner and farmer of the Manor Farm from the book Animal Farm symbolizes Czar Nicholas II, leader of Russia during the revolution. Jones represents the old government, the last of the Czar s. Czar Nicholas II was a poor leader at best, irresponsible with his public duties, cruel and at one time Czar Nicholas and Mr. Jones were actually decent leaders of their own affairs.
Animal Farm begins describing how Mr. Jones did not really care about his farm. Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen houses for the night, but was too drunk too remember to shut the popholes (Orwell 3). The chickens could have gotten loose, or a stray animal could have reached the chickens and killed them. Czar Nicholas believed that certain events were bad omens, which in my opinion symbolized his poor leadership and irresponsibility towards Russia. Just like Mr. Jones not shutting the pop holes was symbolic of his bad leadership and irresponsibility towards the farm.
Born on the day of the Russian calendar assigned to Job, a biblical character who endured many hardships, Nicholas often expressed a wry, fatalistic attitude about life. Various events seemed to him bad omens, meant to confirm his feelings of dread. For instance, at his coronation, an important ceremonial symbol worn by czars during this ceremony fell from his shoulders and hit the floor (Sherrow 35)
Dr. W.H.C. Smith, in his book The Last Czar, describes how Nicholas II disliked public life and public duties (31). He also states, It was in his private life, in the role of husband and father, that Nicholas excelled. He loved his wife and his children and indeed made the small world of his own family his entire world (Smith 31). Jones also left the farm unattended which lead to hardships for the animals; just as Czar Nicholas II left Russia unattended also.
On Midsummer s Eve, which was a Saturday, Mr. Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk that he did not come back till midday on Sunday. The men had milked the cows in the early morning and then had gone out rabbiting, without bothering to feed the animals. When Mr. Jones got back he immediately went to sleep on the drawing room sofa with the News of the World over his face, so that evening came and the animals were still unfed (Orwell 13-14)
Czar Nicholas II and Mr. Jones are both poor leaders and irresponsible when it comes to their duties.
Mr. Jones was cruel, leaving the animals with small rations of food. The animal could not have bared it any longer, knowing that the food was there but Mr. Jones would not feed them. After Mr. Jones irresponsibility of not feeding the animals, he comes out and whips them for opening the store-shed which stored the animals aliment.
At last they could stand it no longer. One of the cows broke in the door of the store-shed with her horn and all the animals began to help themselves from the bins. It was just then that Mr. Jones woke up. The next moment he and his four men were in the store-shed with whips in their hands, lashing out in all directions. This was more than the hungry animal could bear (Orwell 14)
Czar Nicholas II is cruel to his people also. When a Czar of Russia was to be coronated it was a custom that free gifts were to be given out. But rumors started that there wasn t going to be enough for everyone, which caused the crowds to get out of control. Some were hurt and some were killed. The worst part about it that when Nicholas II was going to do something for the people killed in that riot, he easily
Far worse was the tragedy that occurred after the coronation, a huge crowd of five hundred thousand people had come to Moscow for the traditional open air feast that would be held in a field outside the city. Free beer would be distributed, along with small souvenir, mostly enameled cups stamped with the imperial seal A rumor spread that there were not enough gifts and beverages to go around, which set off a stampede of people . Hundreds of people were trampled to death, and thousands of others were injured.
The czar and czarina were upset and told their family they would go to pray at a monastery to mourn the event. Instead the czar s uncles insisted that he attended a lavish coronation ball being given for him by the French embassy (Sherrow 35).
Father Gapon was an Orthodox priest who ministered strikes at factories. The strikes did not grab the government s attention do he decided something exorbitant.
On 21st January, 1905 He wrote to Nicholas, Do not believe the Ministers. They are cheating Thee with regard to the real affairs of state, the people believe in Thee. They have made up their minds to gather at the Winter Palace tomorrow at 2 p.m. to lay their needs before Thee Do not fear anything. Stand tomorrow before the people and accept our humble petition (Smith 42-43).
No one knows if Czar Nicholas ever received the letter. But when the people got
there Papa Czar as Smith states did not show up (Smith 31).
When the marchers appeared before the Winter Palace, unarmed, singing hymns, and carrying religious pictures and pictures of the Czar, they expected to find their Father Czar prepared to hear them. They did not find, Nicholas, who had gone to his palace at Czarskoe Selo outside the city. Instead they found soldiers and armed police who fired at them at point blank range. Over five hundred were killed and several thousand wounded (Smith 43).
At one point of his reign over the farm Mr. Jones was doing a good job. When Mr. Jones was still at the farm things were going better. The animals had to do less work and had more privileges than when the pigs were taking over the farm. A similarity with Czar Nicholas II was when power went to the Bolsheviks. There was a food shortage when a revolt broke out on the Bolshevik government, men were drafted in to the military and inferno broke out in Russia.
After the Bolshevik revolution, instability and confusion marked daily life in Russia. People found themselves controlled by different forces . After the revolution, many people had hoped for a government made up of elected representatives of workers, peasants, merchants, and minorities (Sherrow 74).
After the windmill was destroyed in Chapter 7 of the book Animal Farm, Clover one of the horses, is becoming aware that it was not the reason that the revolt had occurred.
As Clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. If could have spoken her thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race. These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked for (Orwell 60).
Similar to Russia, people did not revolt to become less united. People in Russia were in need of being one and learning to work as one.
After the revolution, many people had hoped for a government made up of elected representatives of workers, peasants, merchants, and minorities . Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving and the rest he keeps for himself”. So Jones and the old government are successfully uprooted by the animals. Little do they know, history will repeat itself with Napoleon and the pigs. (Animal Farm)
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