Context: Russian Revolution & Orwell's Purpose
Why Did Orwell Write Animal Farm?
George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair, 1903) was a democratic socialist who believed passionately in equality and freedom. His experience fighting in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) was pivotal: he witnessed Soviet-backed communists attacking their own allies, showing him that revolutionary ideals could be betrayed by those seeking power. After Spain, Orwell became fiercely opposed to totalitarianism in all its forms.
Orwell wrote Animal Farm (published 1945) specifically to show how Stalin had corrupted the ideals of the Russian Revolution. Crucially, Orwell was NOT attacking socialism itself — he was attacking its corruption under authoritarian rule. This distinction is essential for AO3: Orwell’s target is tyranny, not equality.
Animal Farm is subtitled “A Fairy Story” — deliberately ironic, since the content is anything but light-hearted. Orwell chose the form of a fable to make complex political ideas accessible. By giving human qualities to animals, he could satirise Stalin’s regime without naming it directly, reaching a wider audience than any political essay could.
The Russian Revolution: Essential Background
Before 1917, Russia was ruled by Tsar Nicholas II, who held absolute power over a country where most people lived in extreme poverty. Two revolutions occurred in 1917: in February, protests forced the Tsar to abdicate; in October, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power. They were inspired by Karl Marx, who argued that the working class should overthrow the ruling class and share wealth equally.
After Lenin’s death in 1924, a power struggle erupted between Leon Trotsky (an intellectual who wanted to spread revolution worldwide) and Joseph Stalin (a pragmatic operator who wanted to consolidate power in Russia). Stalin won. He exiled Trotsky (who was later assassinated in Mexico in 1940) and established a dictatorship characterised by purges, show trials, a secret police (the NKVD) and a cult of personality. This is the precise historical sequence that Animal Farm allegorises: Old Major = Marx/Lenin, Snowball = Trotsky, Napoleon = Stalin.
Propaganda and Control
Stalin maintained power through propaganda — the state newspaper Pravda (meaning “truth”) printed only what the government approved. History was rewritten: Trotsky was erased from photographs. Citizens were encouraged to report “enemies of the state” — even family members. Orwell mirrors this through Squealer, who represents the propaganda machine, and Napoleon’s dogs, who represent the secret police.
Napoleon = Stalin (dictator who seizes power through fear). Snowball = Trotsky (intellectual rival, exiled). Old Major = Marx and Lenin (the revolutionary thinker whose ideas are corrupted). Squealer = Pravda/Soviet propaganda. The dogs = NKVD/secret police. Boxer = the exploited working class.
Allegory, Satire and Fable
Animal Farm combines three literary forms. As an allegory, every element maps onto the Russian Revolution. As a satire, it uses dark comedy to expose the absurdity of totalitarianism — the pigs sleeping in beds then changing the commandment to add “with sheets” is both funny and chilling. As a fable, it delivers a moral lesson through animal characters. Understanding all three forms is essential for OCR.
Orwell struggled to get Animal Farm published. During World War II, the Soviet Union was Britain’s ally against Nazi Germany, and publishers feared offending Stalin. T.S. Eliot at Faber rejected it. It was eventually published in August 1945 — just as the war ended and the Cold War began. The timing was perfect: Britain was beginning to recognise the dangers of Stalinism, and the novella became an instant bestseller.
For the modern prose question, this context is essential. Part (a) asks you to compare a printed extract from Animal Farm with an unseen modern prose extract. Part (b) asks a related question on the same text. AO3 (context) requires you to connect Orwell’s choices to the Russian Revolution, his political beliefs and the literary forms he uses.
Orwell was attacking the corruption of revolutionary ideals under Stalin’s totalitarian regime. He was NOT attacking socialism itself — he was a democratic socialist who believed in equality. His target was tyranny masquerading as liberation. This distinction is the most important AO3 point for Animal Farm.