Animal Farm: the Failure of Communism

(a short impression)

Unlike The Great Gatsby, Animal Farm is really interesting reading for me. When I read it, I could not even put it down until I realized that I had finished it in two days. I was curious about what was going to happen with Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer, Boxer, and the Animal Farm itself. The writer is really a genius. He made me get stuck to the story and absorbed by it. This satirical novel is really well-written, and directly pointed into the target. The symbols used in it make me reflect and think a lot about communism and its failure.

Throughout the whole novel, I can see that Animal Farm symbolizes the USSR (Russia). And the names of the figures there also refer to real persons in history related to the Russian Revolution. This novel shows the irony of communism, which really has a great and positive purpose, which is to provide prosperity to the people. However, the idea turns bad when it results in dictatorship and authoritarianism.

The writing of Animal Farm is very fluent and beautiful. George Orwell arranges the events in the story almost as in real history. Therefore, I could follow the flow of the story well and imagine the setting. He described everything vividly, so that I could even believe in everything in the novel that seems impossible. For example, when it is said that Snowball fights Jones so bravely, the readers will easily believe it, while it is almost impossible for a pig to even think like those in the Animal Farm. The words used in the novel are rather simple and understandable, unlike what Fitzgerald used in his novel, The Great Gatsby. Still, there are some political terms that are used to emphasize the context and satirical meaning.

It is said in the introduction that the novel can be categorized as a fairy tale because of the tragedy it contains. The tragedy is that the dream of communism and equalitarianism among the animals never comes true. While reading, I became very angry with Napoleon and his ‘men’, and at the same time support the efforts of Snowball. I was hoping that Snowball would come back to power or the suffering animals would come up with a rebellion so that they can take over the power and live happily in Animal Farm, as Old Major had dreamed. However, the story ends without any explanation about the end of the Animal Farm. But, I can conclude that it ends terribly: the animals suffer under the dictatorship of Napoleon, which is eventually not different from human beings.

The idea of Communism is in fact a great and perfect idea for the best society, because it is based on the sharing of everything. There are no personal belongings. If we look back to the history of the Church, the early Church actually practiced this way of life. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (Act 1:44-45). They were happy with this way of life. I think this kind of farm (society) is what the Old Major dreams about. Everyone works, eats, shares in the same proportion. No one steals, no one corrupts, no one is jealous of each other. In Animal Farm, however, because of lust and greed in some people, this idea becomes a boomerang for them. The failure of the idea of communism is on the human factor (or in the novel, animal factor). The idea itself is flawless, but those who are trusted to carry out this idea are so selfish and lustful. After gaining some power, they want more and more. First, they want freedom from Jones, and they get it. Even in the early days after the revolution, this lust is already obvious through the loss of the milk. Then, Snowball and Napoleon began to spread their influence toward the animals to gain some more power. Napoleon grabs the ‘education’ of some young puppies so that his power is supported also by the physical strength of his personal bodyguards. It continues until eventually the pigs become undistinguished from human beings.

The saying “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” summarizes the story of this novel. At first, it was “All animal are equal”. At first, there is a glorious desire of a perfect and prosperous farm. Eventually, there are some animals who suffer from the hardship of work, while some enjoy the power they have by drinking, playing cards, and whipping others to work harder.

Who knows? Who cares?

(a short reflection on movie Nobody Knows/Dare mo Shiranai)

The Movie, Nobody Knows, depict the life of two boys and two girls of one mother and different fathers who are abandoned by their mother and have to live by themselves. Anak depicts the life of two sisters and one brother, whose mother leaves them to work abroad as a domestic helper. Unlike the children in Nobody Knows, these children are are cared for by their uncle and aunt. Watching these movies, I was moved and almost cried, especially as I realized that this situation still happens in our world today.

The title of the movie is Nobody Knows. It suggests that few people or even no one wants to know and care about these abandoned children. In certain sense, this is true. In this selfish and individualistic world, fewer people want to care about their unfortunate fellows. They tend to think about themselves first before thinking of others.

What does it mean to be Jesuit in this era? It means to pay attention more to those who are in need. And I think, since the number of abandoned children is getting more and more, they are one of those who are most in need. In Nobody Knows, first of all, they need money to support them economically. This is their first and primary need. However, we cannot help them in this problem. We cannot give them money, no matter how big their need is. We can help them through the rich people who we can approach to ask them to help these abandoned children. Secondly, they need comfort. They are children lacking parental love. They may also have some psychological problem caused by their being abandoned by their parents. In this kind of problem, we can and must help them.

Indeed, we are called also to do service for them. If there is no one who wants to help them, then it is then it is our vocation as Jesuits to help them because they are most in need. One example of this is when Fr. Pedro Arrupe founded JRS. He saw at that time that refugees are those who are in most need. They needed an organization totake care of them, economically and psychologically. To be sharp in intuition and analysis like Fr. Arrupe is what we need as a Jesuit. We have to be able to read the signd of the time in order to see those who are in most need. Therefore, an ability to reflect on recent situation in the world is highly needed.

What I can do now as Jesuit in formation is to train my self to reflect upon my circumstances and find out who are my fellows who are most in need. I can’t do a lot in helping those abandoned children, but I can give comfort to the children in my apostolate. I can also be compassionate with some poor people who often come to this house. I might not be able to help a lot, but I can train myself to be in sympathy and compassion with them.