The Universality of Animal Farm

Where and How its Core Themes are Represented

Connecting the aspects
To contemporary/historical To the expressed themes of:
events in:

 Burma  Oppression
 Zimbabwe  Control
 Cuba  Propaganda
 China  Greed
 Corruption
 Censorship
Animal Farm in Burma
The Cause of Burma’s Oppression:
The Brutality of the Government
 Burma is under the rule of a military junta
 Much of the money is spent on military instead of
proper health care and food for the people of Burma

 It suppresses all dissent and has absolute power over

international censorship.
Rebellion
 The protests began as demonstrations about
living standards;
 The increase of fuel prices
 Have escalated to protests about human rights abuse.
Aung San Suu Kyi
 Aung San Suu Kyi: a living example of the absolute power the
military junta has
 Became a general secretary of the National League for
Democracy after the 8-8-88 Uprising
 The revolutionary demand of Democracy in Burma in 1988.
 In 1989 she was put under house arrest and still is today

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of

losing power corrupts those who wield it and
fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who
are subject to it.” - Aung
San Suu Kyi
 The Benefit of a Whole,
Rather Than the Individuals
 Burma is the world’s largest exporter of teak and is an important
source of jewels. Its soil is extremely fertile and has prominent oil
and gas deposits offshore.
 However, the people remain very poor.

 “French oil interests fuel oppression by co-operating with the junta

in a joint venture to exploit gas.”
 Napoleon had negotiated with other farmers that he would sells the hens
eggs to sell for grain.

 Foreign Investment:
Animal Farm benefited economically from exchanging goods with
other farms, but the"Only oldthe
lives of Benjamin
animalsprofessed to
didn’t improve at all.
remember every detail of his long life
and to know that things never had been,
nor ever could be much better or much
worse; hunger, hardship, and
disappointment being, so he said, the
unalterable law of life."
Animal Farm in Zimbabwe
 The Meetings
The Meetings: The meetings in animal farm
where Napoleon was in charge of the
animals

“According to the witnesses interviewed by

the Times, entire communities have been
forced to attend political meetings in rural
areas”
 Use of Propaganda
In animal farm Napoleon uses propaganda to
get the support of the people:
“Mr. Jones will come back”

Mugabe, 84, has held power since 1980 and

claims:
“Britain is trying to re-colonize Zimbabwe
through the MDC (Movement for Democratic
Change) and seize back the land”
 Military
Use of Military to gain power – Napoleon's “tactic”

Napoleon: Dogs
Mugabe: Bulawayo Police

Napoleon:
The hens rebelled, and Napoleon responds by killing
them. Nine hens die before the others give in to
Napoleon demands.

Mugabe:
“10 activists have been killed since the national
elections in March”
 7 Commandments

Napoleon changed the 7 commandments:

“Some animals are equal, but some animals are

more equal then others”

Mugabe:
Abolished the title of the prime minister and
changed the constitution making himself a
autocrat
Oppression
Napoleon forces certain animals to confess to
their participation in a conspiracy with Snowball
and then uses his nine dogs kill them.

“Other witnesses described MDC supporters being

evicted and their homes burned, beatings of
children and elderly people.”
Animal Farm in the Cuban
Revolution
Character Comparisons
Animal Farm Cuban Revolution
Napoleon and Snowball:  Fidel Castro:

Were the leaders of the Was the leader of the

revolution over the
humans. revolution against the
government
Farmer Jones:
Was the ruler of the farm
that the animal did not  Fulgencio Batista:
agreed with his rule
was the ruler that
Castro led the
revolution against
Character Comparisons
(cont.)
Animal Farm Cuban Revolution
Mr. Whymper: William Alexander
Morgan:

Was the farm Was one of the only

accountant and was
the only human in the
foreigner in Cuba
farm that fought for the
Cubans.
The Rebellions
Animal Farm: Napoleon and Snowball led
the takeover of farmer Jones's rule.

Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro took lead of

the revolution against the leader of Cuba,
Fulgencio Batista.
Battles
The battle on the Cowshed:
The animals are having a victory against
farmer Jones and the other farmers.

Battle of Yaguaja:
The revolutionaries had a victory against the
soldiers of the Batista government.
Animal Farm in Tibet
 Tibet, was an independent country, became under
control of China since the 13th century

 Due to the effort of China to assimilate Tibetan culture

to Chinese and suppressing of Buddhism, Tibet have
longed for independence.

 Monks protest in eagerness to gain independence.

 Tibet wants China to give “a full guarantee of

 preservation of Tibetan culture.”

 China, instead of peaceful methods, reacted to

 the protest violently with military force.
 Tibetan people are shocked by the way China reacts to their protest.

 The effort for assimilation has turned into suppression.

 China has sent its people to Tibet to inhabit. At present, the majority
of
 Tibetan population is Chinese people.

 More than a hundred monks have been killed during the protest.

 Not only did Chinese police reacted

 violently to the protest but also Indian and
 Nepalese police.

 Tibetan people suffer in a state of

 oppression.
 China accuses the spiritual leader of Tibet, Dalai Lama,
of instigating Tibetan
 people to fight for independence. Dalai Lama denied the
accusation, though.

 China has blocked Dalai Lama from staying in Tibet. He

has therefore been in
 exile for a few decades.

 Dalai Lama insists that even though he too longs for

independence of Tibet,
 the process should not include any violence.
 Comparing Snowball and Dalai Lama:
Being considered a threat, the Chinese government did not
allow his presence and exiled him from China.

 Censorship of China:
The Chinese government controls its media to show Chinese
people that their actions are justified. Also, they blocked
websites that were considered threatening enough to give
Chinese people “wrong idea”.

 Oppression of people:
Tibetan people are oppressed and suffering. China tries to
assimilate their culture to the Chinese culture, and suppress
their religion to keep Tibet as its territory.
 Works Cited
Anyand, Dibyesh. “Tibet, China and the West: Empires of the Mind”. April 1 2008. 24 April 2008.
<http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations/sovereign/sover/2008/0401tibetchina.htm>

Los Angeles Times. "Zimbabwe paramilitary targets activists." Nation & World. 22 Apr. 2008. The Seattle Times. 24 Apr. 2008
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004364757_zim22.html>.

Students for a Free Tibet. “About Tibet.” International Headquarters : 602 East 14th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY USA. 24
April 2008. <http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/section.php?id=29>

USA Today. “Burma’s Junta Has Reputation for not Budging”. October 2007. USA Today. 23 April 2008. <
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-10-10-burma_N.htm>

McGreal, Chris. "Change to constitution could let Mugabe pick successor." World News. 19 Sept. 2007. 24 Apr. 2008 <http://
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/19/zimbabwe.international>.

Gonda, Violet. "30 WOZA activists still in detention, babies released." Zanu PF Zimbabwe Disgrace to Human they Attack Woza
Mothers Babies. 30 Nov. 2006. SW Africa Radio. 24 Apr. 2008
<http://www.zanupfpub.com/>.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2007_Myanmar_protests_7.jpg
 http://www3.baylor.edu/~Charles_Kemp/Daw_Suu.jpg
http://img.timeinc.net/time/asia/magazine/2003/0623/burma_protest.jpg
 http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/files/2007/10/fall_peepshow2_23w.jpg
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3755684.stm