Orwell’s Theme of “Absolute Power and Corruption”

Pages:327-328
Pardeep Kumar (Haryana Institute of Technology, Bahadurgarh)

The story of Animal Farm, when paraphrased, might sound pedantic: It is so simple yet evocative that it also defies narration. The broad outlines of the fable are in the sense of exploitation made known to the animals of Manor Farm by the old Major. But an important thing to remember is that Orwell was very purposely focusing on the individuals involved in the rise to power of the communist government in the USSR and the various contentions and problems within that government. Orwell conceptualized ‘democratic Socialism’ without social privileges to the leadership; but the revolutionary ruling class of Animal Farm arrogated to themselves prerogatives and entitlements. Orwell`s socialism is rooted not in ideas or dogma, but in the fusion of relationships. The book is not just about power but about how the various people interacted and his view of, for example, Trotsky being driven out because he was in fact too concerned with helping the average person. The theme that one should always keep in mind is that history is bound to repeat itself if one is ignorant to the past. The animals had disregarded their prior knowledge of the events that had occurred and the emotions that conveyed those events, so history was set into the same cycle once again. Never be ignorant to the past, or you can’t help yourself in the future. The aesthetic purpose of Animal Farm is substantiated by the style which is the model of good English prose. Animal Farm and Koestler’s Darkness at Noon are the two present day works of fiction which critics adulate in the words of Tom Hopkinson.