© 2022 IJRAR March 2022, Volume 9, Issue 1 www.ijrar.

org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

GOERGE ORWELL’S ‘ANIMAL FARM’ AS A

TEMPLATE OF CORRUPTED POLITICS – A
STUDY THROUGH NEW CRITICISM
PERSPECTIVE.

1. R. PREMKUMAR, M.A., (NET).,

Madurai.
2. Muhammad Arif Zargar,
Research Scholar,
Guru Nanak Dev University.

3. Muhammad Aslam Najar,

Research Scholar,
University of Kashmir.

4. Mohammad Afzal Dar,

M.A. English (IGNOU).

ABSTRACT:

This paper attempts to investigate George Orwell’s novel ‘Animal Farm’ from a new criticism perspective. Animal farm is
generally said to be an allegory of the Russian revolution and its characters are the representation of leaders of the revolution. But the
New criticism approach is against the practice of bringing historical or biographical data to interpret any work. It ignores the historical
and social context within which the work was written in addition because of the author’s biographical information. So this paper
focuses on the plot, totalitarian ideas, power position, corrupted political ideas to present Animal farm as a template of corrupted
politics in the whole planet not only on the Russian revolution.

KEYWORDS: NEW CRITICISM, ANIMAL FARM, TOTALITARIANISM, POWER POSITION.

INTRODUCTION:

New Criticism was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism within the middle
decade of the 20th century. It emphasizes close reading, the particularity of the text, to discover how a work of literature functioned as
self-contained. The movement derived its name from John Crowe Ransom’s 1941 book ‘THE NEW CRITICISM’. One of the most

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influential movements in modern critical scholarship, the new criticism is the philosophy of literary interpretation that stresses the
importance of studying the literary text as a complete work of art in itself.

The most simplistic definition of New Criticism identifies it as a critical movement that propagates the concept of ‘art for art’s
sake. It had been felt, tends to distract from the text and meaning and completely neglect its aesthetic qualities in favor of teaching
about external factors. George Orwell constructed the plot of his novel Animal farm to clarify the corruption of political leaders, abuse
of power, revolution, the role of education. On the whole, it serves as a template of world politics, which suits every totalitarian
government. For the sake of literary understanding, let us consider the novel as an animated work. Each character carries certain roles
for themselves. Mr. Jones, the ambitious owner of Manor farm serves as a capitalist who leads a luxurious life by the hard work of all
the animals on the farm.

About the author:

On June 25, 1903, the British novelist George Orwell (pen name Eric Arthur Blair) was born in Motihari, India. His father
was a high-ranking British civil officer in the British Empire's India at the time. Eric's father retired on a meager pension and returned
to England a few years after Eric was born. To prepare for Eton College, he attended a boarding school that was a prestigious
preparatory institution. Eric joined the Indian Imperial Police in British-ruled Burma in 1922 after completing his studies at Eton
College in England. There, he observed injustice once more, but this time from a higher vantage point. He resigned in 1927 after five
years in Burma and returned to Europe, where he spent more than a year in Paris.

Even though he created novels and short tales. After several encounters at the bottom of society, he wrote Down and Out in
Paris and London in 1933, and it was published under the pen name "George Orwell." After a year, he released his novel 'Burmese
Days,' which was based on his experiences, in 1934. In 1935, he released 'A Clergyman's Daughter,' and in 1936, he published 'Keep
the Aspidistra Flying.' During the Spanish Civil War in 1937, Orwell, who had been presenting himself as "pro-socialist" for some
time, joined the Republican troops.

When the Communists sought to remove their far-left supporters, Orwell fought back and was injured in the process, forcing
him to escape for his life. His experiences in the battle had the greatest influence on his political thinking and later writ ings. Orwell's
Homage to Catalonia, published in 1938, chronicles his experiences fighting for the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.
Animal Farm, a modern beast-fable attacking the Russian Revolution, Stalinism, and totalitarianism, was published in 1945, and 1984,
a dystopian novel setting forth his fears of an intrusively bureaucratized state of the future, was published in 1949, both reflecting his
life-long distrust of dictatorial government, whether of the left or right. These two works gained him his initial notoriety, and they
were the only ones that generated him a profit as a writer. Orwell died in London on January 21, 1950, at the age of 47, from untreated
lung disease.

Summary of the plot

All of the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm gather in a barn one night to hear old Major, a pig, narrate a dream he had about
a future where all animals live free of their human owners' oppression. Old Major dies soon after the encounter, but the animals
organise a revolt against Jones, inspired by his Animalism doctrine. Snowball and Napoleon, two pigs, emerge as key actors and
strategists in this perilous undertaking. The revolution breaks out when Jones forgets to feed the animals, and Jones and his men are
chased from the property. The Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall, and Manor Farm is renamed Animal
Farm. The insurrection appears to be a success at first. The animals finish the harvest and get together every Sunday to discuss farm
policies. Because of their 'intelligence,' the pigs become the farm's managers. Napoleon, on the other hand, reveals himself to be a
power-hungry leader who steals the milk from the cows and a lot of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. Squealer, a pig with the
power to persuade other animals that pigs are always moral and correct in their actions, is also enlisted. Jones and his troops return to
Animal Farm after the fall and seek to reclaim it. Snowball's methods help the animals beat Jones in the Battle of the Cowshed, which
is later dubbed "The Battle of the Cowshed." Mollie, a conceited horse that only cares about ribbons and sweets, gets led off the farm
by another person as winter approaches. Snowball starts designing a windmill that would supply energy and so offer the animals more
leisure time, but Napoleon is adamantly opposed to the concept, claiming that erecting the windmill will take away time from food
production. Napoleon calls a troop of fierce hounds to drive Snowball from the property permanently on Sunday that the pigs o ffer the
windmill to the animals for a vote.

Napoleon declares that no more arguments will be held; he also informs them that the windmill will be erected, after all,
claiming that it was his own idea that was stolen by Snowball. For the rest of the story, Napoleon makes Snowball the victim, blaming
him for all of the animals' misfortunes. The following year will be devoted to the windmill's construction. Boxer, a really powerful
horse, proved to be the most valuable animal in this venture. Jones, on the other hand, abandons the farm and relocates to another
section of the county. Napoleon employs a solicitor and begins dealing with adjacent farms, which goes against Animalism's beliefs.
When the half-finished windmill is toppled by a storm, Napoleon inevitably blames Snowball and tells the animals to begin repairing
it. Napoleon's desire for power grows to the point that he becomes a totalitarian dictator, forcing innocent animals to make
"confessions" and then having the dogs slaughter them in front of the entire farm. He and the pigs take up residence at Jones' home
and begin sleeping in his beds. The animals are getting less and less food, while the pigs are becoming fatter and bigger. Napoleon

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sells a pile of lumber to Jones when the windmill is finished in August; Frederick, a local farmer, pays for it with fake money.
Frederick and his men attack the farm and blow up the windmill, but they are thwarted in the end. The text of the Commandments is
amended when more of the Seven Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs: for example, after the pigs get drunk one
night, the Commandment "No animals shall consume alcohol" is modified to "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess." Boxer
sacrifices his might once again to assist with the construction of a new windmill, but when he falls from exhaustion, Napoleon sells
the loyal horse to a knacker.

Boxer was actually transported to a veterinarian and died a peaceful death at a hospital, according to Squealer, and the
animals believe him. Animal Farm increases its limits after Napoleon acquires two acres from another local farmer, Pilkington. All of
the animals' lives are difficult, with the exception of the pigs. Pigs gradually learn to walk on their hind legs and adopt many of their
human captors' features. The Seven Commandments are simplified to a single commandment, "All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are
More Equal Than Others." Pilkington drinks with the pigs in Jones' house towards the end of the story. Napoleon renames the farm
Manor Farm and has a quarrel with Pilkington over a card game in which they are both attempting to play the ace of spades. Other
animals outside the window are unable to distinguish between the pigs and the human Corrupted Politics in Animal Farm.

Corrupted Politics in Animal Farm

Orwell’s s Animal Farm was not the first work to talk about the idea of totalitarianism, corrupted politics, and the quest for a
perfect society. It began from Socrates, Aristotle who hated democracy and began to spread their ideas of a perfect society. Later
Thomas More wrote ‘Utopia’ describing his own imaginary city and criticized the excessive power of monarchs and cruelty of
landlords towards tenant-farmers. Jonathan Swift wrote ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ attacks the contemporary society, but the various places
Gulliver visits are satiric renderings of aspects of English society. Old Major, The pig is the one who knots the bell within the cat's
neck. The thought of revolution began with his speech. He addresses the roles of the animals on the farm and their future. In every
society which came across a revolution for being oppressed, there was an individual who serves the major idea of the revolution. But
the ideology which was proposed by the leaders of the revolution was changed by the later leaders according to their comforts.

There comes the following generation of leaders who succeed their processors. The ideology of the revolution gets a
mediocre drift over their succession. Napoleon and snowball are successful leaders after the death of the old major. According to
Snowball, he’s honest and desires to spread and abide by the commandments led by the ancestors. But as far as Napoleon is taken into
account, he is the instance of a forerunner who corrupts the complete system and alters the principles to their comforts, which ends up
in the downfall of the movement. The commandment ‘NO ANIMAL SHALL DRINK ALCOHOL’ was led during the start of the
rebellion and at the end, it was changed to ‘NO ANIMAL SHALL DRINK ALCOHOL IN EXCESS’. Napoleon slaughtered all the
animals who began to have different ideas after they are forced into false confessions. This led to the failure of the commandment that
reads ‘NO ANIMALS SHALL KILL ANY ANIMAL’. After the slaughter it was changed to ‘NO ANIMAL SHALL KILL THE OTHER
ANIMAL WITHOUT REASON’.

Finally the soul of all seven commandments, ‘ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL’ was disobeyed gradually from the beginning,
and later at the end it was changed to,

‘ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL

BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE
EQUALTHAN OTHERS’
(pg. 109, Animal Farm)

By this commandment, the soul of the rebellion was overthrown. The pigs became the superior animals of the farm as they
accommodate the administration of the farm. Other commandments like ‘FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD’, No animals shall
sleep in bed, No animal shall wear clothes were also rewritten for the sake of good living of the leaders of the farm.

Any revolution around the world is impossible without its blind followers, who obey the orders of the leaders as prophecy by
seers which will lead with to eternity. They follow the orders without any protest, even if they arise any question they are convinced
with one major slogan, ‘For the well being of the Nation’. This was mirrored in animal farms. Whenever none of the commandments
was rewritten, the bewildered animals were consoled by Squealer with the slogan. The illiterate animals who cannot read anything
beyond alphabets were easily consoled by wise speeches. They offer titles like “Animal Hero, First Class” to increase their fame and
establish their existence. The Boxer with abundant strength without education got less importance.

CONCLUSION

The animal farm could be a mixture of assorted ingredients and may be classified into various perspectives. The New Criticism
lens is a template that suits all the rebellion across the planet with a totalitarian mindset. They differ from diplomacy, caste politics,
language, discrimination. But the bulk of these diverged from their actual laws that are led at the start and ended up in disappointment.

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WORK CITED

1. Orwell, George. Animal Farm, Rupa publications,2010. Print.

2. https://literaryenglish.com/plot-overview-of-animal-farm-short-summary/

3. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/03/

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