By Martin Ezimano
General Background:
Published in 1945, the novella ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell starts off as a simple narrative of animals living out their normal existence on the farm owned by one Mr Jones.
The said normal existence, which consisted of their lives of service to Farm Owner Jones, however took on the character of Oppression and Exploitation (hence becoming unbearable) from the night they were summoned and addressed by the oldest and most venerable animal on the Farm, a pig known as Old Major.
In his address, Old Major “opened the eyes” of the animals to the true nature of their existence : the cycle of thankless labor, cold exploitation and eventual merciless slaughter that sums up the lives of all the animal denizens of the Farm.
Let’s consider the following Excerpts :
“Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it : our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength ;and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end, we’re slaughtered with hideous cruelty…. The life of an animal is misery and slavery : that is the plain truth.
“But is this simply part of the order of things? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it?…. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole produce of our labor is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word – – – – Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever “.
Further Excerpts :
“Never listen when they tell you that Man and animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interest of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades…… Whatever goes on two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannize over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL “.
This address by Old Major expectedly sowed the seeds of rebellion against Mankind in the minds of the animals. From that point on, the animals started organizing, albeit clandestinely, for the overthrow of Man as represented on the Farm by Mr and Mrs Jones.
The story goes :
“They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. The work of teaching and organizing the others fell naturally upon the pigs who were generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals. Preeminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon… “
As Providence would have it, the discontented animals did not have to wait too long for the realization of their goal of Freedom. Farm Owner Jones negligence, on a fateful day, in attending to their welfare sparked off an unplanned uprising which saw them pursuing Jones and wife off the farm. And so the day of their their wildest imagining – – animal control of the resources of Animal Farm – – became a reality.
The reader would naturally expect that with this removal of “Man from the scene…… hunger and overwork”, as prophesied by Old Major, would thenceforth cease to exist.
The reader wouldn’t also be wrong to assume that with the overthrow of the villainous Man, an El Dorado of egalitarianism and animal fraternity or sorority as the case may be, would automatically ensue.
This was afterall the central tenet of Old Major’s vision, the very ideological foundation of the Rebellion.
Well, the reader was in for a huge shock as the story progressed.
The Reality :
Contrary to all expectations, after the initial euphoria of Freedom from the Oppression by Man, life for the animals on the Farm remained the same. In fact, the vacuum left by the expelled Mr Jones was soon occupied by the relatively advanced pigs led by the previously named Snowball and Napoleon . The duo, though rivals for ultimate supremacy, assumed the position of control of the farm, which elite position was shared by the other pigs who became exempted from all manner of labor demanded of every other animal.
Other privileges like exclusive consumption of apples and milk and residence in Jones’ quarters became also the exclusive preserve of the pigs under the new regime. Indeed unquestionable lines of distinction soon started emerging between the pigs and the other animals on the Farm. And when eventually the leadership tussle between Snowball and Napoleon got settled by force with Napoleon deploying his privately trained dogs to run Snowball off the Farm, it became a single dictatorship.
The story further goes :
“Meanwhile life was hard. The winter was as cold as the last one had been and food was even shorter….all rations were reduced except for those of the pigs and (Napoleon’s) dogs. (The animals) knew that life nowadays was harsh and bare, that they were often hungry and often cold, and that they were usually working when they were not asleep…. “
In the course of time, Napoleon took on the title of “Leader” and organized elections that had him as the sole candidate and therefore eventual winner. In the course of time, animals who were deemed to be subversive to the government of Napoleon were summarily tried and executed. In the course of time, trade relations were established with neighboring farms even though those farms were under the control of human beings. In the course of time, the pigs started learning to walk on two legs like human beings and started brewing and consuming alcohol.
In summary , all the vices that characterised Man as were deplored in Old Major’s vision were soon resurrected and practiced by the pigs under the reign of Napoleon.
This situation was perfectly emblematized in the revision of the original slogan from “All Animals Are Equal” to “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS “
And so, it was not surprising that by the end of the story, the pigs and the humans had a joint party to celebrate their common interest. The other animals, of course were barred from this fraternisation. They could only, on pain of detection, quietly observe proceedings through the window.
The book relates one important detail in the party thus :
“But as the animals outside gazed at the scene, it seemed to them that some strange thing was happening What was it that had altered in the faces of the pigs?….Twelve voices (man and pig) were shouting… and they were all alike. No question now what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again ; but already, it was impossible to say which was which “.
And on that poignant note, the story ended.
BEASTS OF NO NATION :
ANIMAL FARM is one story recommended for anyone who wishes to understand the history of so called human progress. It is a story that talks to all the grand visions of change and revolution whether in the social, economic, political or even religious sphere.
When Orwell penned his parable, his immediate reference was to the Russian Revolution that overthrew the Czar and brought in the Communists. His message was that the change in sociopolitical system and personnel had not translated to a better life for the people.
But beyond Russia, Animal Farm could have been written about the Reformation as championed by Martin Luther and co to terminate the spiritual regime of the Papacy : today, the leadingactors in “Christendom”are,arguably (with scant exceptions) operating in the same spirit of the maligned Papacy.
Animal Farm could have been speaking to the fact that all the military regimes from Africa to Latin America that toppled civilian democracies always anchored the logic of their unconstitutional interventions on the overwhelming necessity for corrective and sanitizing change only to proceed into worse villainies than their predecessors.
Animal Farm, coming home to the present milieu , could have been addressed to the fact that the ruling APC government in Nigeria has exceeded all the malfeasances it excoriated the outgone PDP government for.
In simple terms, the central burden of Animal Farm is the irony that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
This irony of change was memorably captured thus by thedeparted sage Chinua Achebe in ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH :
“The sweeping majestic visions of people rising victorious like a tidal wave against their oppressors and transforming their world with theories and slogans into a new heaven and a new earth of brotherhood, justice and freedom are at best grand illusions. The rising conquering tide, yes;but the millennium afterwards, no! NEW OPPRESSORS WILL HAVE BEEN READYING THEMSELVES SECRETLY IN THE UNDERTOW LONG BEFORE THE TIDAL WAVE GOT REALLY GOING “
CONCLUSION : We however need to insert this caveat:Let it not be imagined that in this portrayal of the dismal verdict of Animal Farm vis a vis change movements, we are somehow prescribing apathy or political inactivity. Certainly not!
Contrariwise, our position is that for as long as Man remains caretaker of the estate called earth, his duty remains to till the ground, to weed the garden, to attend to the livestock, to execute the charge assigned to him by the Owner with all the ability as he has been endowed.
This of course calls to mind the parable of the ten minas as recorded in Luke 19 :11-27 with especial attention to the Injunction :”Occupy till I come “–verse 13.
Neither the fear of failure nor the apprehension of eventual derailment and corruption should stand against our taking the steps prescribed by our conscience to correct the wrongs we are bound to see for as long as we remain in this realm.
Even as there is no denying the fact that Animal Farm is a disturbing capsule testimony of human struggles gone awry, we submit that this is true in the context of the fallen, unregenerated and unredeemed man.
One Man came and did it right and since then set aneternal standard.
Looking unto Christ, the Ultimate Moral Revolutionary, “the Author and Finisher of our Fate”
And so, finally, rather thanserve to dispirit and demoralize the revolutionary hearts sincerely desirous of betterment of the human condition, Animal Farm, could perhaps serveas a challengeand rousing call to humanity to not only dream better but DO better.
A lutta continua. Victoria a certa!