Szurkus 1 Alex Szurkus Ms. Musk Block 4 15 December 2021 How Appropriate is Animal Farm for Children? George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a historical allegory of the Russian Revolution that uses animals to represent citizens and the farm they live on to represent their nation. At the beginning of the story, the animals are in disarray and the farm is an authoritarian dystopia. The animals attempt to implement the ideas of Old Major, the elderly pig who acts as the equivalent of Marx, in an attempt to fix the farm. Animal Farm is an appropriate text for use in an elementary school library because the story gives many reasons to develop a patriotic view of America, encourages resistance to authoritarian leaders, and teaches different modern types of government and how they work in a well-simplified way. Animal Farm gives many reasons to develop a patriotic view of America. It does this by contrasting capitalism with the two other major forms of government in the 1960s, authoritarianism and Marxism. While Orwell himself does not explicitly state that those two are being compared against capitalism, we as citizens of a capitalist society subconsciously compare them. We know what living in a capitalist society is like because we live in one. We also understand what authoritarianism is like because of how long it has been around and its simplicity. For example, many kids can understand authoritarianism because of the way that most families work, the parents act almost as dual monarchs. What we do not understand, and what Orwell is warning against, is how this new idea of Marxism is exploited by leaders. In the book, we see a tyrannical farm transform into a Marxist one and then slowly devolve into the Szurkus 2 most authoritarian government possible, void of freedom for its citizens. For example, the seventh commandment established by the Animals after their successful rebellion is “All animals are created equal” (Orwell 3). Yet, by the end of the book, the only commandment left is “All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 40). This makes us proud of our country and the freedoms that we have. But why is this important? Why is being proud of America a positive thing? History has shown that during times of patriotism, we succeed as a country more. Sadly, each generation that goes by, we lose patriotism. 81 percent of Baby Boomers, 66 percent of Generation X, 54 percent of Millenials, and only 46 percent of Generation Z would describe themselves as patriotic (Hockstein). We, as a country, are in dire need of patriotism; and teaching Animal Farm at a young age would be one way to instill it early. Animal Farm encourages resistance to authoritarianism. It does this by showing us the effect of authoritarianism on the citizens of a nation. We, as American citizens, subconsciously contrast this with democracy. In Animal Farm, we watch as the animals’, or citizens’, freedoms and privileges are slowly withered away. They are taken away so slowly that the animals cannot tell that they are losing them until they are all gone. Their freedoms evaporate to reveal an image that should be frightening to any human being. It is frightening to most, if not all, readers of this book. Animal Farm is like a large flashing red sign screaming, “Watch for authoritarianism!” Why is this important? In recent years, we’ve seen a large rise in the power of the executive branch and our government at large. This is perfectly fine as long as we hold our democracy and this expansion is created by the vote of the people. When this crosses the line and becomes authoritarianism is when it is no longer grounded in democracy. Animal Farm acts as a healthy and necessary warning to keep in mind what could happen to our freedoms if we, the people, lose control of the direction in which our government goes. Szurkus 3 Animal Farm also teaches different modern types of government and how they work in a well-simplified way. In the book, we watch as an authoritarian nation attempts to move radically in the opposite direction and fails, leading to an even more authoritarian government than previously. It teaches us what happens when a country is distraught because of its authoritarianism. It shows us what happens when the nation attempts to implement Marxist ideas when selfish individuals are a part of the society. It educates the reader on many different ways that an authoritarian government can occur and presents them in a way that even a first grader can understand. The largest example of this is Orwell’s choice to use animals to represent important figures and farms to represent nations. Orwell describes Old Major as “so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say,” drawing a perfect parallel to Marx (1). This not only blinds us to our possible predeveloped biases but also helps the reader to better understand the different types of government displayed in the book. This is very important because the ideas discussed in Animal Farm are highly complex and, in many cases, need proper simplification to be well understood. Why do we need to understand them? Many politicians have tried to change the type of government that the United States is. Understanding the way that different governments work and interact is crucial in order for future voters to make the right decision. Animal Farm is an appropriate text for all age groups. This includes elementary school students. The book gives many reasons to develop a patriotic view of America. It encourages resistance to authoritarianism. And, it teaches different modern types of government and how they work in a well-simplified way. All of these are important in an elementary school library because they are the values that we would like to see in future generations. We, as Americans, need future generations to have a patriotic view of America, we need them to have a resistance to Szurkus 4 authoritarianism, and we need them to understand how different modern types of government work. The sooner that they understand these things, the better. Szurkus 5 Works Cited Hockstein, Katie. “Quick Chart: How Patriotic Are Gen-Zers and Millennials?” Collage Group, Katie Hockstein Https://Www.collagegroup.com/WpContent/Uploads/2021/04/Collage-Group-Main_167-Space.png, 2 Jan. 2019, https://www.collagegroup.com/2016/09/27/patriotic-gen-z-millennials/. Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Guidelines, 1989.
