
			Social Criticism in Literature 

     Many authors receive their inspiration for writing their 
 literature from outside sources. The idea for a story could come from
 family, personal experiences, history, or even their own creativity. 
 For authors that choose to write a book based on historical events, 
 the inspiration might come from their particular viewpoint on the 
 event that they want to dramatize. George Orwell and Charles Dickens 
 wrote Animal Farm and A Tale of Two Cities, respectively, to express 
 their disillusionment with society and human nature. Animal Farm, 
 written in 1944, is a book that tells the animal fable of a farm in 
 which the farm animals revolt against their human masters. It is an 
 example of social criticism in literature in which Orwell satirized 
 the events in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. He 
 anthropomorphises the animals, and alludes each one to a counterpart 
 in Russian history. A Tale of Two Cities also typifies this kind of 
 literature. Besides the central theme of love, is another prevalent 
 theme, that of a revolution gone bad. He shows us that, unfortunately, 
 human nature causes us to be vengeful and, for some of us, overly
 ambitious. Both these books are similar in that both describe how, 
 even with the best of intentions, our ambitions get the best of
 us. Both authors also demonstrate that violence and the Machiavellian 
 attitude of "the ends justifying the means" are deplorable.
     George Orwell wrote Animal Farm, ". . . to discredit the Soviet 
 system by showing its inhumanity and its back-sliding from ideals [he] 
 valued . . ."(Gardner, 106) Orwell noted that " there exists in 
 England almost no literature of disillusionment with the Soviet 
 Union.' Instead, that country is viewed either with ignorant 
 disapproval' or with uncritical admiration.'"(Gardner, 96) The
 basic synopsis is this: Old Major, an old boar in Manor Farm, tells 
 the other animals of his dream of "animalism": " . . . Only get
 rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost 
 overnight we would become rich and free.'" (Orwell, 10) The other 
 animals take this utopian idea to heart, and one day actually do 
 revolt and drive the humans out. Two pigs emerge as leaders: Napoleon 
 and Snowball. They constantly argued, but one day, due to a difference 
 over plans to build a windmill, Napoleon exiled Snowball. Almost 
 immediately, Napoleon established a totalitarian government. Soon, the 
 pigs began to get special favours, until finally, they were 
 indistinguishable from humans to the other animals. Immediately the 
 reader can begin to draw parallels between the book's characters and 
 the government in 1917-44 Russia. For example, Old Major, who invented
 the idea of "animalism," is seen as representing Karl Marx, the 
 creator of communism. Snowball represents Trotsky, a Russian leader 
 after the revolution. He was driven out by Napoleon, who represents 
 Stalin, the most powerful figure in the country. Napoleon then 
 proceeded to remove the freedoms of the animals, and established a 
 dictatorship, under the public veil of "animalism." Pigs represent the 
 ruling class because of their stereotype: dirty animals with 
 insatiable appetites. Boxer, the overworked, incredibly strong, dumb 
 horse represents the common worker in Russia. The two surrounding 
 farms represent two of the countries on the global stage with Russia 
 at the time, Germany and England.
     Orwell begins his book by criticizing the capitalists and ruling 
 elite, who are represented in Animal Farm by Mr. Jones, the farmer. He 
 is shown as a negligent drunk, who constantly starved his animals. 
 "His character is already established as self-indulgent and uncaring." 
 (King, 8) Orwell shows us how, "if only animals became aware of their 
 strength, we should have no power over them, and that men exploit 
 animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat." 
 (Gardner, 97) What was established in Russia after the Bolshevik 
 Revolution was not true communism ("animalism"), which Orwell approved 
 of, where the people owned all the factories and land. Rather, "state 
 communism" was established, where a central government owned them. 
 Orwell thought that such a political system, "state communism," was 
 open to exploitation by its leaders. Napoleon, after gaining complete 
 control, did anything he wished - reserved the best for the pigs, and 
 treated the animals cruelly. The animals could not do anything, unless 
 they again realized their strength in numbers against their own kind.
 Unfortunately, they were too stupid to realize this and accepted the 
 "status quo." It began when the milk and apples were appropriated to 
 the pigs, and continued to when the pigs could drink and sleep on 
 beds, until finally the pigs were the "human masters" to the rest of 
 the animals. Orwell criticized Germany, representing it as Pinchfield 
 Farm, which betrayed Animal Farm by paying for lumber with counterfeit 
 money. In real life, this represents the Soviet-Germany non-aggression 
 pact during World War II which Germany eventually broke. Eventually, 
 towards the end of the story, the term, "absolute power corrupts
 absolutely," is proven, as the pigs, who retained all the privileges 
 for themselves, have evolved into a different caste from the other 
 animals. Orwell's implication is that "real" communism cannot exist in 
 the countries which claim to be communist. The ruling class - 
 politicians - own everything and ironically are therefore in total 
 control.
     A Tale of Two Cities is a love story which chronicles the lives of 
 Charles Darnay, a Frenchman who renounced his link with the 
 aristocracy, and Sydney Carton, a wastrel who lived in England. Both 
 these characters fall in love with Lucie Manette, the daughter of Dr. 
 Alexandre Manette, unjustly imprisoned in France for 17 years. Though 
 Lucie marries Darnay, Carton still loves her and in the end, gives his 
 life to save Darnay for her. Dickens, who was fascinated with French 
 history, especially the French Revolution, begins by criticizing the 
 aristocrats' treatment of the poor people of France. In the seventh 
 chapter of book two, the Monsieur the Marquis had accidentally driven 
 his carriage over a young child, killing him. Instead of worrying 
 about the child's welfare, the Monsieur's reaction was to worry about 
 his horses: "One or the other of you is for ever in the way. How
 do I know what injury you have done to my horses."(Dickens, 111) He 
 deemed their lives inferior and insignificant, as illustrated when he 
 threw a gold coin to the child's devastated father as compensation. 
 The Monsieur the Marquis revealed his true sentiments to his nephew: 
 "Repression is the only lasting philosophy. . . fear and slavery, my 
 friend, will keep the dogs obedient to the whip. . ."(Dickens, 123) 
 Dickens makes it abundantly obvious that the aristocrats are to meet 
 doom, with symbolic references to fate and death. For instance, as the 
 Monsieur the Marquis rides through the country, a glowing red
 sunset appeared over him, signifying his bloody death. In the words of 
 the author, ". . . the sun and the Marquis going down together. . 
 ."(Dickens, 114) Madame Defarge's knitting is also a symbol of 
 impending doom, as she records the names of all those who are to die 
 when the revolution takes place.
     Dickens also expresses his disillusionment with some of the 
 outcomes of the French Revolution. He believed that the people did
 not just liberate themselves, but also took vengeance towards the 
 aristocracy. This is confirmed in the conversation between the
 revolutionaries: " Well, well, but one must stop somewhere. After all, 
 the question is still where?' At extermination,' said 
 madame."(Dickens, 341) Madame Defarge embodies this attitude, as she 
 wants to have Charles Darnay killed, not because he has done something 
 wrong, but because he is related to the Evrmonde family, which killed 
 her relative. Though "Dickens seems almost to regard violence as the 
 one way to bring about social change,"(Lucas,288) he then began to 
 denounce the actions taken by some of the revolutionaries. The 
 citizens let their righteous cause turn into vengefulness. Even 
 servants and maids to the aristocrats were beheaded, although they had 
 not really done anything wrong.
     Animal Farm and A Tale of Two Cities were written to express their 
 authors' disenchantment with the state of evolution of human nature. 
 They seem to be saying, that even when we begin with honourable 
 intentions, there will be some of us who will let their base instincts 
 take control. Orwell, in Animal Farm portrays this nature by parodying 
 events in real history. Given the right conditions, those events could 
 happen anywhere - a leader becoming overly ambitious, to the point of 
 harming his people for morepower. In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens 
 examines the inner soul, and shares with us how people are driven to 
 the valley of human emotions, where desperation and anger reign, and 
 what could happen afterwards if we let these emotions build up inside. 
 Every human being is capable of becoming a ruthless, opportunistic 
 being like Napoleon or Madame Defarge, if placed in the right place, 
 at the right time. 

 --

 King, Martin. Students' Guide to Animal Farm.
 Scotland: Tynron Press, 1989.

 Lucas, John. The Melancholy Man: A Study of Dickens' Novels.
 London: N.P., N.D.

 Orwell, George. Animal Farm.
 London: Penguin Books, 1985.

 Shelden, Michael. Orwell: The Authorised Biography.
 London: Mandarin Paperbacks, 1992.
 

