Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution Quiz

Animal Farm and Russian Revolution Parallels

• Animalism, a belief in equality for all animals, is spread by Major, paralleling Karl Marx's invention of Communism.
• Snowball, a true believer in Animalism, is chased away by Napoleon's dogs, paralleling Leon Trotsky's exile and murder.
• Napoleon, a rival of Snowball, becomes a power-hungry tyrant, paralleling Joseph Stalin's rise to power and tyrannical rule.
• Squealer, an expert propagandist, convinces animals through fear and manipulation, paralleling the role of Stalin's propaganda department.
• Dogs, used to enforce Napoleon's rule through violence and fear, parallel Lenin's secret police, the KGB.
• Moses the Raven, used by Napoleon to control the animals, parallels the use of religion by Stalin to pacify the population.
• Boxer, a loyal worker betrayed by Napoleon, represents the dedicated but deceived supporters of Stalin.
• Sheep, mindlessly loyal to Napoleon, represent the masses swayed by propaganda in Stalin's Russia.
• Benjamin, skeptical of the Revolution and its leaders, represents the cynics in and outside of Russia who doubted the success of Communism.
• The slaughtering of animals who confessed parallels the Moscow Purge Trials, where confessions led to executions under Stalin's rule.
• The windmill, meant to exhaust animals and keep them busy, parallels Stalin's Five Year Plan to increase productivity but at great cost to the people.
• The Hen Rebellion and resistance of the totalitarian regime by peasants reflect the real-life resistance and consequences faced by those opposing the Soviet government.