Animal Farm in Stages

Animal Farm in Stages “Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which.” In Animal Farm by George Orwell, the animals revolt against their owner Mr Jones when he fails to feed them a fair amount of food and provide a comfortable lifestyle. The Crane Brinton Theory consists of four stages: Incubation Stage, Moderate Stage, Crisis Stage and Recovery Stage. We can use the Crane Brinton Theory to better understand the stages of the revolution that occur in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. In the Incubation Stage of Crane Brinton’s Theory, there is massive economic crisis that makes the government vulnerable to a revolution, there are weak or incompetent rulers who are unable to enforce laws, intellectual reformers who speak out against the government and there are conflicts between the new and old regimes. In Animal Farm by George Orwell, the economic crisis is the lack of food for the animals. The incompetent ruler is Mr Jones who drinks too much alcohol to be able to properly look after the farm and is cruel to the animals. The prized pig, Major, is like the intellectual reformer who speaks out against the ways of humans in the old regime. During the Moderate Stage, there is economic breakdown, protests against the old regime, the rulers are unable to halt the revolution, new rulers or government take power and new constitutions and wars may arise. This relates to George Orwell’s Animal Farm, because when Mr Jones fails to feed the animals one day they chase him and his men off the farm. The pigs then appoint themselves as the new leaders and write the seven commandments for all the animals to see. Later in the book, Mr Jones returns to try and take back control of the farm, but is unable to halt the rebellion. In the Crisis Stage, a small group of reliable and orderly radicals governs, revolutionary councils become dominated by a strongman and use a harsh brand of justice, civil and foreign wars occur and regicide or political assassinations increase. During the Crisis Stage in Animal Farm by George Orwell, Napoleon, one of the pigs, dominates rule over the other pigs and the rest of the farm. Napoleon has the dogs he trained chase another one of the leading pigs, Snowball off the farm. Napoleon uses a harsh and cruel form of justice, having any animals opposed to his rule or supposedly in cahoots with Snowball brutally executed by having their throats ripped out by the dogs. The animals also get their rations significantly cut if they don’t do as Napoleon orders. During the Recovery Stage, the reign of terror ends, there is less violence, the radicals are ejected from power, the moderates return and a government resembling the old regime returns, although altered by the effects of the revolution. Peace may be made with foreign enemies or aggressive nationalism may lead to more war. The only aspect of this stage that is shown in Animal Farm is the government like the old regime returning. This is shown when the pigs begin to sleep in beds and trade produce and money with humans. The seven commandments are changed one by one to benefit the pigs. The pigs also begin to drink alcohol and walk on two legs while carrying whips, just like Mr Jones did. Starting out with a cruel leader and working to have a fair and functioning society for all to ending with another cruel leader, Animal Farm by George Orwell demonstrates the stages of the Crane Brinton Theory almost perfectly. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the animals revolt when they aren’t treated fairly by their owner, Mr Jones. Once they overthrow Mr Jones, the pigs act as government until one pig, Napoleon takes charge and rules violently. Eventually, the pigs become more and more like humans, until one night when Napoleon invites neighbouring farmers to dinner, the animals are unable to tell which is man and which is pig.