Everyone has a dream. Whether your dream is to be some famous baseball player or to allow black and white people to be in the same building, dreams are for everyone. Back in 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution began. The people had a dream to overthrow the tsarist government. Similarly, in Animal Farm, Major, the elderly pig, gave a speech about his dream to rebel against humans, more specifically, their master, Jones (27-32). The thing is, on Animal Farm, Major really had a dream while in the Bolshevik Revolution their dream was really just a vision. The both had a different form of a dream, yet it helped them to achieve the same goal of overthrowing their government. Animal Farm and the Bolshevik Revolution are very similar events.
In Animal Farm, Major, the elderly pig, gave a speech about his dream to rebel against humans, more specifically, their master, Jones (27-32). When Major died and the revolution began, not one of the animals had faith in Jones, not one of them thought he was being fair, not one of them trusted him (36). They believed that he was forcing them to work in the fields to provide food for him and the other humans without repaying them (29). In a similar way, Tsar Nicholas II forced millions of peasants into World War I (The Bolshevik Revolution). Also, like Major, some of the women tried to get people to help overthrow the Tsar (The Bolshevik Revolution). Then as the revolution began, no one trusted Tsar Nicholas II, just like the animals didn’t trust Jones (Litwin).
After the revolutions ended, Napoleon, from Animal Farm, and Kerensky, from the Bolshevik Revolution, became dictators of the land they had just claimed (Litwin). They were the ones who ruled the land and gained the others’ trust. Boxer, a horse from Animal Farm, even said “Napoleon is always right!”(125). This means that the animals all trusted Napoleon because he was “always right.” Although through the winter when the food supply was low for most of the animals, Napoleon and the other pigs always seemed to have enough, but because Boxer said “Napoleon is always right,” no one questioned him. After the Bolshevik Revolution, the food supplies were low just like they were on Animal Farm through the winter. No one questioned Kerensky at this point either.
Unlike in Animal Farm where there was only one revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution was actually split into two separate revolutions (Litwin). One of the revolutions was in February and the other was in the following October. The revolution on Animal Farm was when the animals outrageously took over the farm. On the other hand, the Bolshevik Revolution in February was to overthrow the Tsar and then the Provisional Government took over(Litwin). This is like the animals defeating Jones. Then,the revolution in October was when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government (Litwin). This would be like if the animals had rebelled against Napoleon and the rest of the pigs, but they didn’t.
Clearly, the Bolshevik Revolution and Animal Farm are similar, yet different. They both begin with a dream, and in the end, after the dreams are fulfilled, the dream dies with going back to the way things were before. In this way, the dreams in these two could be compared to plants; when the seed is planted, it begins to grow eventually becoming a beautiful large plant. Then, after a while the plant dies and its seeds scatter, just like the dreams in both of these revolutions; they begin with a dream, and end back where they started.
Bibliography
Litwin, Peter. "The Russian Revolution ." 2002. 19 March 2012 <http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/russianrevolution.htm>.
"The Bolshevik Revolution." 1996. Russia and Eastern Europe Chronology. 19 March 2012 <http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/easteurope/octrev.html>.
