Revelation of Animal Farm: How Russia government is using propaganda to blocking news of the war

Book “Animal Farm” starts by narrating animals’ rebellion to overthrow the control of humans, live off of the central doctrine of rule, and build a new world in which all animals are equal. It is a miniature of Soviet Union history, from its transformation of Communism, which held high idea of “equality,” to totalitarianism, in which a single dictator and his chief propagandists exploit its civilians. 

As the story develops, we also witness the collapse of “idealism.” In the very beginning, the leaders of the animals, the pigs, claimed: “all animals are equal.” While with they gradually abuse their power, impose their will on other animals, and make them work harder and harder. In contrast, those pigs thus live more extravagantly. First, they did not do laboring work but directed and supervised the others. They command other animals as a human being used to do it. The missing apples turned out to be mixed into the pig’s daily mash, for they assert themselves need milk and apples to process those brain works. Here, it suggests that the working class is being manipulated and exploited, while their steadfast belief in governance makes them blind to their situation. 

 

For me, it is incredible to see that a book with merely 152 pages can portray the whole picture of ruling from ambition to deception. One of the most important commitments of animal farms, “all animals are equal,” ends up being revised for the dictator’s interest to “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The book illustrates the peril of government that people all have to face. If we stay apathetic, like the donkey Benjamin, who always holds a cynical attitude to the governance and believes that “nothing will change,” we’ll eventually be used as bargaining chips in the fighting of power.

Reading how the pigs use propagandists to control their regime reminded me of a debate held in our school. The discussion invited international students to share their opinions about the war between Russia and Ukraine. Students all have different thoughts about this issue, but what impressed me the most was a Russian girl in the debate. She told us that most Russians actually didn’t get the complete and correct information about the war. The Russian government uses propaganda to justify their deeds, proclaiming that Russian soldiers are decorous and careful about preserving Ukrainian civilian life, and Ukrainians greet those soldiers as liberators. With further realization about how Russian is using propaganda to cloud Russians’ understanding of the war, I also found that the country is cracking down on free speech, which means many independent media outlets have to leave the country, shut down, or they’ll face prison terms. 

   What struck me is that, after the book Animal Farm was released almost 80 years, the plots in this book are occurring again nowadays, corruption, exploitation, deception, etc. History repeats itself, and it seems that we are all animals somehow on the animal farm. Different animals symbolize different classes and kinds of people. At the same time, what remains the same is that being indifferent and blind to what is happening around the world is just a behavior awaiting our doom. 

History background of animal farm

Hello guys! How is your spring break? 

I am still reading the Animal Farm, and am currently in chapter 5. So far, animals have successfully overthrown human being. They build up a new system and enact seven commandments.

1.        Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2.        Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3.        No animal shall wear clothes.

4.        No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5.        No animal shall drink alcohol.

6.        No animal shall kill any other animal.

7.        All animals are equal.

When I read these commandments, I think they all look ideal. It’s like the core of any kind of value or pursuit starts from things that those seven commandments. We humans set up rules out of the interest of each member in the group, refuse kinds of stuff that lead to corruption, and call for unity. While the most important part is, that we advocate that every person is the same. Nonetheless, what usually happened is that with the development of the systems or the bigger ambition and aspiration of leaders, ideologies end up being deformed or even collapsed. Characters in animal farms actually imply such a thing.

The prototype of Mr. Jones, the original owner of the animal farm, is actually Nicholas ll, who is the last tsar of Russia, and the rebellion of animals stands for the first overthrow of the system of autocracy. There were 3 main causes for the Russia Revolution: political, social, and economic. Politically, people at that time were dissatisfied with the existing autocratic system, which culminated in the Bloody Sunday massacre. Thousands of unarmed Russian workers were shot by the Tsar’s troops when they were trying to plead for justice. Socially it formed the centuries of oppression towards the lower classes by the regime at that time as well as Nicholas’s failures in World War I. Economically was because of the outdated economy in Russia at that time, when its agriculture was largely relied on independent peasants instead of modern machinery.

Aside from the background of the book having something related to authentic history, other animals are actually the miniatures of real historic people. 

Old Major, the key character who inspired the rebellion, is actually based on Lenin, the leader of the Russian revolution. And then his successors, Napoleon, Snowball, represented Stalin and Trotsky, respectively. Horses actually imply the working classes; they believe the government, and are willing to devote themselves for the government. Ravens are the intellectual classes, they realized what the government tries to achieve, and even the schemes of the government, while they don’t really speak up for that. 

I always enjoy the process of reading the book first, and then finding out the profound meaning and historic background behind the book. It’s amazing to realize that such a slim book conveys so many things that are worthy to further investigate and get to know. Also, it’s also a great opportunity to realize history this way!

Review for Animal Farm Chapter1,2

One day, after Mr. Jones fell asleep, a white boar named “Major” gathered all animals of the Manor Farm. He said to the animals that it is the time for them to break free, curb their miserable condition of being controlled and exploited by human beings, and build a new world where “all animals are equal.”

I have read the book “Animal Farm” by George Orwell for the first two chapters. When I got this book, I was overwhelmed with excitement and curiosity. I always heard people talking about how famous this book is and how significant its existence is for the critique of the history and rhetoric of the Russian Revolution. With the opportunity to read books whatever we want, I thus choose this animal fable.

Since I haven’t finished the whole book, I would like to share several points I regard as attractive about this book.

1) The background of Animal Farm

The author, George Orwell, was an England born in India in 1903. The working experience of being a police in Myanmar after graduation from college made him resent Imperialism. Thus, when he returned to the UK, he hoped to pursue writing as his career. However, similar to most writers, he couldn’t make a living simply by writing. He was impoverished, and the condition of living underclass made him be inclined to support Socialism. In 1936, he joined the Trotskyists in Spain's civil war, witnessing the tyranny of communists and how they oppressed Trotskyists after they controlled the government. At the same time, the Soviet Union vigorously promoted and accused the ill of Trotskyist. The author knew the smear campaign of the Soviet Union after the experience in Spain. More importantly, it dawned on him “ how easily totalitarian propaganda can control the opinion of enlightened people in domestic countries.”

    When he returned to the UK from Spain, he found many proletarians and even intellectuals easily believed in the hypocritical image that the Soviet Union built. He regarded their misunderstanding toward the Soviet Union would bring out severe consequences in developing Socialism and diplomatic policies in the UK. Consequently, he hoped to write a story to reveal the truth of the Soviet Union, and that was also the birth of this book, Animal Farm.

2) Why it is called Animal “Farm.”

After realizing the book's background, I started to wonder why the author used “ farm” to title the book and what it implied. The animal farm symbolized Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist rule.

3) Reviews for reading chapters 1 and 2

 Major did a successful work to evoke each animal's aspiration to rebel against their master. He blew the pain point of each animal, directly hit their appeals. From individual profits to collective pursuits, I saw how smart and persuasive Major was. While from another point of view, these animals seemed to be so easily convinced. They deemed Major as their leader, so they believed in whatever he said. Major might somehow use his influence to control those animals to the aim he wanted to achieve. What appeared in my mind was that this plot was what would happen in our world. When we blindly followed somebody's advocacy, we might end up being used as a tool. 

When Major died, the strong ambition to revolt against human beings seemed to be weakened. Probably was out of the existence of the chief, the true value of their plan started to have different explanations by different animals, and also, the illustration of belief was not as central as when Major was still alive.

In the meantime, the behaviors of some animals were also ironic. They were originally planned to launch a great revolution, with a beautiful blue map, and an ambitious goal. However, some animals started to doubt the necessity of the rebellion, focusing on the short-term profit they can enjoy despite the fact under the ruling of human beings. Take the mare Mollie, for example, she only cared about whether she could still wear ribbons in her mane, or whether there still be sugar after the rebellion. I think these behaviors reflect two things: 

1) Their faith in rebellion is weak.

 After the head disappeared, their belief also faded away. No matter how vigorous and devoted they used to be, that kind of passion was built on the shaky foundation with ignorant awareness of their own behavior.

2) The disregard for mutual prosperity.

The plot might imply that no matter how crucial and precarious the situation is, there will always be people who rather choose to sit back and give up resistance. Major had told those animals they were exploited by human beings, and they would even be killed eventually. While after Major died, it seems that some animals show no cares for their authentic and long-term self-interest. They are short-sighted and lacked the willingness to build a prospective future for their descendants. 

Reflection part 2 on " the stranger on the lifeboat": Belief in good will always prevail evil

Reflection part 2 on " the stranger on the lifeboat": Belief in good will always prevail evil

Some truths on the life raft were uncovered. There was a scheme, which was plotted long before the yacht's voyage. Dobby, the cousin of Benji, who is the protagonist of this novel, sneakily brought a bomb onto the vessel. Dobby thinks the world is unfair. It only favors a group of people, those with wealth, status, and privileges. Ordinary people like him would never have the chance to fight for their own fates, for those men of note tightly grasped their destinies. Since little, Dobby has borne this grudge in his mind, and he eventually takes the last action to throw his criticism of this world by blowing up the ship. Dobby asked Benji to assist him, for he knew pretty well that Benji was also desperate and disappointed in this world as him.

 

    Benji refused his request, while he didn’t stop Benji the last time he saw him. He assumed what Dobby said would not going to happen. While eventually, Dobby literally implemented this felony. So far, Benji is the accomplice of this tragic accident. He missed and even gave up the opportunity to stop these horrible things from happening. He just sat back shielded himself from the fear of the unknown.

Nonetheless, this novel also reveals two opposite sides of humanity, good and evil. In our eyes, Benji has been the sinner for the sinking yacht, and he is far from being a “victim” of this incident. When Dooby told him his plan, he was in deep fear. He knew all the people would die from the bombard, including themselves. He trembled when thinking about the outcome, and there was always a voice telling him not to consider all these sinful deeds when Dobby tried to induce him. He seethed and told Dobby, “You are talking about killing people,” and he shook his head toward Dobby. Benji was also suffered from the sink of his morality and struggled with the choice of maintaining humanity and surviving. When other people on the boat asked Benji to catch the bird on the flap of the canopy, he prayed for it to fly, save itself, save him. The man doesn’t even dare to kill a bird when facing a life-and-death matter, how come he would be willing to heartlessly kill hundreds of people? Benji kept pacing up and down in the doorway of irredeemable hell, while he never really turned the door handle of falling.

 

    We are human beings, and good and evil are fluid. They composed the complexity of human nature. Even though evil exists and might always exist, the faith of trusting the power of goodwill eventually prevails over evil and empowers the belief in men's goodness.

The stranger in the lifeboat by Mitch Albom

Recently, I started to read a book called “a stranger in a lifeboat.” In this novel, a spectacular and fancy yacht, “Galaxy,” exploded during its voyage; nothing was founded after the rescue team came, not even the debris of the yacht. It soon became breaking news, for it was the billionaire named Jason Lambert who built up this breath-taking and great stuff, where he held something like a global summit on it. Leading figures and big names in different fields are invited to this vessel to spark new invention ideas or the well-being of human society. People guessed it might be a conspiracy intended to shake the world economically and politically. However, nobody would know. The gigantic thing disappeared entirely for people on the land, with no clues or hints. While there was an adrift raft, lost direction in the boundless Pacific Ocean, ten people escaped from that deadly explosion struggled to survive, including Jason Lambert, guests and crews from the yacht, and a strange man called himself “Lord.” 

 

   

Why is this novel so intriguing? The accident made everything people originally have, wealth, talent, fame, and social status vanish. After the explosion, nothing worldly was left behind; they were all stuck in a life raft, feeling starving, thirsty, physically and mentally suffering. They are the same creature that is eager to survive. While the strange man appeared, called himself “Lord,” and said until all people on the boat believed him could he save them. It might sound ridiculous initially, while things that happened at sequence gradually suggested that the man was not average at all. He could stop the bumpy waves and even roused a seriously injured woman from the explosion. While is that man truly Lord? It still hasn’t been unraveled.

 

Initially, I considered it a typical motivational book, while the more I am in the story, the more I start to contemplate what the story wants to convey. The stranger in the vessel told the victims he could save them. Some of them scoffed at what he said, regarding he was just insane. Others start to doubt he might be the god here to save them from torture. What these plots enlighten me is when we are all under a matter of life and death, will we still believe in belief and faith? Belief is untouchable and obscure, unlike money and other material stuff. The capriciousness of fate might disperse all the savings of a frugal life at once, while something deeply rooted in our heart and thoughts eventually become clear and vital to support us. The belief might be not only our religion but also the pursuit, the insistence, and prospect. The explosion is probably the metaphor of any predicament we encounter in life. The strange man, the Lord, might suggest the belief of ourselves. The awful survival situation put people of the same height, which has nothing to do with fame and gain. 

 

Since I haven’t finished the book, I cannot tell who is the strange man exactly is. While I do wonder what my belief is now, what supports me to work hard and pick up new challenges? And What if I don’t have any belief as Lambert? 

 

Reading and My Childhood Memories

     

    Hello guys! I am Mia Liu. This is a reading and writing class, so I want to share my related stories with you first.

   

    Since I was tiny, reading has seemed to be the biggest hobby in my life. My parents were busy at work, which caused the slim chances they took me out to travel or even just went to the park. They had high expectations of me, so they also banned me from watching too much TV or spending time playing with toys. Since then, reading has been a way for me to escape to an imaginary world. I couldn't travel, while I could witness how stunning the world is through the author's description and colorful images of books. When I stayed at home alone, funny plots in story-telling books were things that accompanied me to go through those boring times. I guess that might be the enlightenment of reading for me. However, despite that, I still don't recognize myself as a reader.

    My whole childhood is about reading, and there was once a competition that the school held to see which students could read most books and give the reflection of each book ( I not only did such thing in college, but also in elementary school, and to be honest, I enjoyed it a lot at that time! lamo). I won that competition in the end. While ever since I went to junior and senior high school, the time I had spent reading was gradually replaced with cram school and tons of exercise papers. I didn't conclude any valued ideas or impactful thoughts from books on my own anymore. Instead, I got them from textbooks. The balance of my own interest and academic grade tilted, which was terribly irreversible. I forgot the happiness of reading; I no longer read a book because I loved it, but 

because it would help my academic grade. It turned out that the loss of passion for reading was unpleasant, for after I finished my test, I forgot all things I memorized or learned from books. 

    Not until I went to college did I thus have more time to pursue my own interest, while developing a hobby is not that easy, especially when the pursuit was once be twisted to something dull and meaningless to me. Besides, I hadn't found any starting point to pick up reading again. I lost reading for such a long time, while I still remembered how it influenced me and how much I loved it. 

    Through our first class, I learned how essential reading is once again. It is a repository of imagination and creativeness. Fortunately, I am in this class, which can be my starting point to "love" reading again, and I appreciate that. 

    I hope this class will be an eventful journey for me, evoke something from my childhood memory, and possess it again.