Honors Novel #1: Animal Farm

Contrary to popular belief, being an animal is not exactly the easiest thing in the world. They have to sit around all day and wait until some stupid human comes around to tell them what to do, only to be worked to the bone for no reward other than a small amount of food and shelter. The anxiety from standing under a leaky wooden roof wondering when they’ll be slaughtered is too much for anyone to bear, biped or quadruped. That slop they get to eat can’t be very tasty, either. All these horrifying truths are exposed in George Orwell’s concise and telling novel, Animal Farm. This book focuses on not one, but many characters, who are all forced to question their own lives and identities when a wave of misery and suffering washes over their farm.

Although the book doesn’t have one main character, it can be said that Napoleon, the boar who appoints himself leader of Animal Farm, is the antagonist of this story. He decides that he will become leader and force all of the other animals into oppression, just as the humans had done previously. His rule is very demanding and strict, and causes dissension among the animals on the farm. The oppressed don’t even begin to realize that something is wrong with the perfect life that Napoleon says they are leading until they are all so hurt and confused that there is no way they will be able to stop Napoleon’s rule. He constantly beats the animals into submission and does not allow them to be individuals or form their own thoughts.

The tyranny of Napoleon causes the animals begin to wonder if their lives are worth anything at all. Before Napoleon usurped the humans as “king” of the farm, the animals felt oppressed and worthless, and were willing to let anyone come in and take away power from those two-legged fiends. They were fine with Napoleon and Snowball being the dual leaders of the new revolution. They were even fine when Napoleon drove Snowball out of the farm and became the all-powerful ruler. But all the while they were questioning themselves and questioning their existences. With no reason to live except to meet the needs of Napoleon, the animals began to feel useless as they did before. They have no identity; they are all just one big mass of slaves for the all-powerful Napoleon.

In the middle of this story, the animals do seem to start trying to develop their own places within the farm. Boxer, one of the horses on the farm, is the strongest and hardest worker thanks to his mottos “I will work harder!” and “Napoleon is always right!” However, his identity, because it is based around the selfish boar dictator, is not his own. Boxer is not creating one for himself; he’s creating one so that he can please Napoleon. In reality, none of the characters in this story are able to find a true identity because they are faced with situations they’ve never experienced before and are unable to cope with the speed that Napoleon changes things. To keep themselves alive, the animals make up their own identities.

No one in this book is able to find their own place in life except Napoleon. Napoleon so quickly shows his true identity. From the moment he tells the rest of the animals about his plans to overthrow the humans and make a better life for animals you can see his true colors shine through. He has a fully developed identity that he hides until the perfect moment. The other animals, on the other hand, are left hollow and yearning for a true meaning, with nothing to show for their incredible efforts. For their entire lives they are emotionless workers who will never be able to break free of their shackles.