George Orwell's Animal Farm: An Outcry Against False Revolutionary Leaders

The present research study attempted to provide an interpretation of George Orwell's Animal Farm as an outcry against false revolutionary leaders who go back on their promises and turn into dehumanized dictators even worse than the dictators against whom they and their fellow revolutionaries rebelled. To achieve that objective, the researcher read the novella critically within its socio-political context and traced the transformation of the leading character, Napoleon, who stands for such revolutionary leaders. The data of the current research were all extracted from Orwell's Animal Farm. The researcher used content analysis to analyze the selected data and developed an analytical comparison through which he closely examined Napoleon's character before and after the revolution. The findings of the study revealed that Napoleon was an opportunistic revolutionary who used the revolution to an evil end. Napoleon's dramatic transformation from a noble revolutionary into a ruthless, corrupt ruler proved that Orwell's novella can be read as an attack on false revolutionary leaders who become dehumanized despots, far worse than the dictators whom they aspired to replace with democratic leaders.