Animal Farm

Animal farm
Just thought I'd add some info on animal farm, looking at the book being probably the most successful satirical take on soviet politics. Written around the time of Stalin the book explores the catalyst for the politics that influenced the Ilya Kabakov instalation. The seven commandments of animalism are of particular interest to myself, maybe in connection with the conformity and monotony of the swivel chair scene. For example the commandments read as a chant over the sounds of typing along with the abstract movement could give the scene the sense of rigidity that I feel we are looking for.
The Seven Commandments

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
* "Though it resembles the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin, it is more meaningfully an anatomy of all political revolutions, where the revolutionary ideals of justice, equality, and fraternity shatter in the event. Orwell paints a grim picture of the political 20th century, a time he believed marked the end of the very concept of human freedom. "
* Animal Farm begins by introducing Mr. Jones, the master of the farm, who is too drunk to shut the popholes in the henhouse. The owner of Manor Farm also forgets to milk the cows, a biologically-serious omission, and is irresponsible toward the rest of his animals. (Later yet, the pigs will also forget the milking, an ironic parallel that reveals the subsequent corruption of the revolution.) One of the cows breaks into the store shed and Mr. Jones and his helpers try to fight off the hungry animals. "A minute later all five of them were in full flight down the cart track that led to the main road, with the animals pursuing them in triumph." Then, "almost before they knew what was happening, the Rebellion had been successfully carried through - Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs." Yet with the revolution secured, there are graver dangers than the threat of invasion and counter-revolution. The ultimate corruption of the revolution is presaged immediately:
"They raced back to the farm building to wipe out the last traces of Jones' hated reign... the reins, the halters, the degrading nosebags, were thrown onto the rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were the whips." Their reaction is understandable, but the desciption of the inevitable and immediate violence foreshadows the fate of the rebellion: reactionary cruelty, the search for the scapegoat, and the perversion of the ideals of the revolution.
*"Throughout the middle and towards the end of the book, when the pigs are becoming ever more like humans, the 7 commandments are broken during the struggle to gain power. For example, Old Major represents Lenin who followed the beliefs of Karl Marx, and like Old Major inspired his people with his ideas of rebellion, but died before he saw his vision completed. ‘The perfect society’ would always end up with a leader, and there was never a case where all of the citizens were happy. He explains to the animals, in less than kind words, that unless they rebel they are going to be killed to feed the enemy - humans. They also broke the rules that they had fought for. ue as an animal story, or on a deeper level – as the story of the Russian revolution, revealing the ugly reality of communism. "
* "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act"
* "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."
JESS