The Political Symbolism in Animal Farm

Abstract

Orwell opposed dictatorship and similar attentions of power because he assumed that they abolish, or at least corrupt, those values, love, friendship, and meaningful work, which he most esteemed. His belief that this was in essence an age of politics underlies his conviction that political selection embodied the central ethical act of his time. The abuse of power and the demoralizing effects of poverty caused the major moral evil in the lives of his generations, and since the single man in his private capacity cannot cope with these evils. Political act became the most effective method of ethical action for responsible men. Politics, then, for Orwell, is the moral imagination recognizing itself in an effective deed. He was keenly aware of the failure of politics in his time. This awareness gave rise to the prominent elements of satire and criticism in his writing. What he opposes is always clear, but the shortage of much published criticism on Orwell is that it repeats what he opposes and fails to attract attention to the positive values underlying his criticisms.