Animal Farm Chapters 3-4

All of the animals worked with the greatest care and honesty, all except Mollie and the cat. The animals of the farm were able to gather the hay two days faster than Mr. Jones and his men, and none of the animals worked as hard as Boxer who woke up earlier than everyone else to perform the hardest tasks. On the other hand, Benjamin refused to behave any differently, he worked just the same as he had during the time of Mr. Jones. The pigs functioned as the brains and the supervisors of the farm as they rarely performed any physical labor. The farm held a meeting every Sunday, which began with the raising of a flag for the Republic of Animals that Snowball had designed. All of the animals knew how to vote but none of them had the intelligence to draft resolutions, which was something only the pigs seemed to be able to do. There was a certain enmity between Napoleon and Snowball for they always opposed each other’s motions. Snowball started several committees with various animals but none of them saw any significant level of success except the committee for educating the animals about literacy. By autumn most of the animals had acquired the ability to read to some extent however not all animals had the intelligence to remember all the commandments of Animalism. Snowball then came up with a much shorter maxim that he believed communicated the Animalism ideology. The maxim he came up with was “Four legs good, two legs bad.”

Napoleon claimed that the education of the young animals was of paramount importance and took into his custody nine puppies that had been whelped by the dogs on the farm. He stowed them away and did not allow any of the other animals to interact with them. As the apples began to ripen, the animals of the farm were disappointed to learn that the apples were to be reserved for the pigs, who had also been taking the milk produced by the cows. Squealer went around to explain to the animals that the milk and apples were not a privilege but rather a necessity for their work since the pigs were the brain workers. Squealer claimed that Mr. Jones would return if the pigs were not able to function properly, and none of the animals wished for that to occur. Mr. Jones’s neighbors had at first attempted to downplay the occurrences at Animal Farm, but the continued existence of a farm run by animals served as inspiration for the other farmers. The pigeons had carried word of the rebellion very far and wide, and so Mr. Jones aided by other farmers attempted to retake his farm. The other men carried sticks and other implements while Mr. Jones held aloft a gun. Snowball was responsible for the defense of the farm, and he was aided by a book he had read about the campaigns of Julius Caesar. Snowball successfully thwarted the attack as he was able to ambush the farmers and he was injured as he tackled Mr. Jones to the ground. Boxer was a sight to behold as he lashed out at the farmers with his iron-shod hooves, but he later regretted his actions for he thought he had killed one of the attackers. The retreating Mr. Jones left his gun, which was then used as an artillery piece to be fired on important occasions. A ceremony was held to honor the heroes like Snowball of the battle of the cowshed, which was the official name of the battle.

Analysis

The characters of Animal Farm represent real factions that existed during the Russian Revolution. The farm itself is called Manor farm and thus alludes to being previously owned by an aristocrat, and Mr. Jones thus resembles Tsar Nicholas II, the monarch of Russia who was ousted by the revolution. Animal Farm may seem to offer ideological support to capitalism since it presents such a depressing picture of a communist government, however, a closer reading easily dissuades that notion. The capitalists are represented mostly through the human farmers who are just as bad as the pigs if not worse. The pigs represent the Soviet Intelligentsia that betrayed the ideals of the Russian Revolution to abuse the benefits of power and control. Their decline is first exhibited in their theft of milk and apples with the claim that they require those additional luxuries due to their status as brain workers. In this way, Orwell introduces another crucial theme of Animal Farm, that of the natural inclination towards class stratification, wherein the animals begin to divide themselves into a ruling class and a ruled class quite organically.

Mollie is a young and pretty mare that is only concerned with the luxuries and benefits that she receives, which is why she is seen to be the representation of the Burgoise class. On the other hand, animals like Boxer, who follow the directions of their leader with fervor represent the proletariat class. The novella doesn't just deal with the corruption that accompanies power, but it also examines the faults of the working class that allows itself to be exploited. Characters like Boxer, Benjamin, and the others refuse to apply their faculties to examine the actions of the pigs more carefully. Orwell explains that the onus of the deteriorated conditions under a regime lies not only with the rulers but also the ruled who allowed themselves to be exploited.