The Seven Commandments of Animal Farm

The book Animal Farm is at first glance , totally connected to the soviet union. But, if you were to take a closer look, you might also find biblical references. the ten commandments and seven deadly sins play a large part in how the story took place. the ten commandments and seven deadly sins are seen as almost perfect examples in the seven commandments of the animal farm.

• The first of the seven commandments states that all who walk on two legs is an enemy. when this commandment is broken, it is related to the golden statue of a calf made at the base of mt. Sinai. worshiping a false figure
  The second commandment is"whatever goes on four legs or wings is a friend." This is related to acedia, a form of sloth in which you neglect to care for something you have responsibility for. in animal farm, Napoleon neglects the welfare of the animals and deprives them of their necessities.

• The third commandment is "No animals shall wear clothes." this is an example of extravagance, a form of lust in which the purchase or ownership of unnecessary things such as the clothes the pigs wear around the farm to show their own importance

• The fourth commandment bans sleeping in beds. The commandment, thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor, can be compared here. Napoleon Envies humanity and wants what they have, so he tries to become like them by taking part in hum rituals like wearing clothes and sleeping in beds.

• "NO animal shall drink alcohol" is the fifth commandment. This is compared to the sin of gluttony, a.k.a., overindulgence. The pigs overindulgence of alcohol breaks three sub-types of gluttony. The first is Nimis, or consuming to much. The second is Ardenter, consuming to eagerly. and the final one is Forente , consuming wildly.

• The sixth commandment states that the killing of any animals is forbidden. If you were to compare this to the fifth commandment in the catholic religion, it also states that any type of killing is forbidden. Napoleon is suspicious of a plot to overthrow him and questions the animals. when any animal owned up to the slightest crime, he had his personal guard dogs shred them to pieces. this results in the slaughter of over a dozen animals. His actions can also be associated with the sin of wrath, anger in it's purest form.

• The final and most important commandment of the seven commandments is that all animals are equal. In almost every religious list, pride is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins. From pride came all other sins. it is defined as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and an excessive love of self. Some interpretations state that pride is the deadliest of sins and leads to direct damnation. The best known example is Lucifer's desire to compete with god, which eventually cemented his transformation into Satan. In animal Farm, somebody breaks the commandments and replaces it with a single one, "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." meaning that all animals that were not pigs are equal among themselves, all pigs were equal,but Napoleon is of highest equality. This cements his position as ruler of the farm and his power quest is now complete

Cultural Comparison

\\\\\Animal Farm's Flag & Soviet Union's Flag

Napoleon up close.

We know Napoleon as a dictator in Animal Farm, but behind the scenes with this book, George Orwell had a meaning behind him. This character in particular, is an allegory. He was based on someone in real life named Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union for over 30 years. However, his name comes from Napoleon Bonaparte, whom George thought of as a power seeker and dictator. From the very beginning, he was a villain. He fought along side with Snowball, a fellow pig, to help free the farm from human control. After the war, he started showing strange activity such as: drinking the cow's milk that the animals had gathered, and took puppies for himself to train for his own benefits. Later, he made a meeting concerning the new windmill that Snowball wanted to build. When he did this, he arranged for an overthrow and kicked Snowball out of the farm. This is like the relationship between Stalin and Leon Trotsky.  Trotsky supported Permanent Revolution, just as Snowball advocated overthrowing other farm owners.  Stalin supported Socialism in one Country which was similar to Napoleon's idea of teaching the animals to use firearms.  After getting rid of Snowball, he wanted to build the windmill ( which he greatly opposed earlier).  This is just like Stalin when he opposed Trotsky's push for large scale industrialization, then adopted it as a policy when Trotsky was in exile), so as to show the animals that he could be just as inventive as Snowball.  But when the windmill collapses, he blames Snowball and starts a fight.  After, he ordered the executions of many animals for their "wrongdoings," and changes the Seven Commandments rules against killing other animals and sleeping in beds.  Then, he ordered the building of a second windmill, which cut the animals' rations except for the pigs and dogs. These are only a few examples of Napoleon as an Allegory...

Connections to History

Animal Farm is actually an allegorical representation of the Soviet union particularly between the 1910's and the 1940's. the animals throw out Mr. Jones and replaced him with their own as the Russians threw out old government and adopted Communism. even the changing of the name of the farm is like how Russia became the Soviet union. The hoof and horn flag of animal farm is meant to resemble the hammer and sickle of the Soviet union. the founding of animalism is founded by Old major who is an allegorical representation of Karl Marx the founder of modern communism. Marx believed that just as capitalism replaced feudalism, so must communism replace capitalism. The writing of the seven commandments in animal farm were to prevent the animals from falling victim to human vices. Napoleon, the allegorical representation of Joseph Stalin, tweaks the seven commandments to cover up his failures or wrongdoings. The changes became so major that the old and new were blended to become one and the same, a misinterpreted version of Karl Marx's Communism. Beneficial only to those drunk with absolute power, whether it be over a farm or a superpower nation.

Beasts of England

Beasts of England, Beasts of Ireland,

Beasts of every land and clime,

Hearken to my joyful tidings of the golden future time

Soon or late the day is coming

Tyrant man shall be o'er thrown

And the fruitful fields of England

Shall be trod by beasts alone

Rings shall vanish from our noses,

And the harness from our back,

Bits and spur shall rust forever,

Cruel whips shall no more crack

Riches more thand mind can picture,

Wheat and barley, oats and hay,

clover beans and mange-wurzels,

Shall be ours upon that day

Bright will shine the fields of England,

Purer shall its waters be,

Sweeter yet shall the breezes be,

On the day that sets us free

For that day we all must labor,

Though we die before it break,

Cows and horses, geese and turkey,

All must toil for freedoms sake

Beasts of England, Beasts of Ireland,

Beasts of all land and clime,

Hearken well and spread my tidings,

Of the Golden future time

Correspondent- Napoleon to Himself.

Around 3-4 weeks have passed since we fought back with Mr. Jones. We have officially names this farm, the Animal Manor. My plan is going along smoothly, the dogs have grown tremendously, the piglets have caught on very quickly with their reading and the rest of the animals are naive and give us all the food we need. The only thing standing in my way is Snowball. He is just stupid to get in my way. I mean like, seriously? Who does he think he is? I am the one worthy of controlling this farm and it's going to be mine. I have arranged for a meeting this week in which I will rid this farm of Snowball. He wants to build a windmill. How dumb is that? He is encouraging the other animals that we should build it, so we can have energy and the work would be less vigorous. So at the meeting while he is talking, my dogs are going to chase his out of this place and he won't be in my way anymore. Thus, I'm going to be in total control, it's plain and simple. This is going to be fun.

Correspondent- Snowball to Himself

It's been about 3-4 weeks since the revolt against Mr. Jones. It's been nice i guess... Everyone helps by doing their part on this farm, or as it is now called, the Animal Manor. Everybody cares about each other. The only one that I have a problem with is Napoleon. He always tries to have the last word, and always goes against what I believe in. I'm trying to build a windmill to cut the workload and we can have energy. I already made the plans to build it, but of course, Napoleon has to put in his two cents. Why can't he just let me do something on my own for a change? We talked to the rest of the animals today to see what they think about the windmill. They are a little convinced with the idea, but tomorrow, We are really going to debate wether we should build it or not. I'm so exited! I can't wait to share my ideas to everyone. Well I gotta go. I have to finish up the rest of the blue-prints for the windmill. Hopefully, this will all work out.