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For the mid-semester essay, I want to write about Animal Farm. What I want to focus on are what I would call the three eras of rule: Major’s rule, Snowball and Napoleon’s rule, and Napoleon’s rule. More specifically, I want to focus on the other animal’s reactions and to each form of leadership. I will also focus on the transition between said eras of leadership.

Brave New World offers an interesting and fantastical take on what the effects of Communism and totalitarianism can have if it was successful in spreading around the world. Therefore, there are some parallels between the current state of society in Brave New World and the state Russia was in during the Bolshevik Revolution as described in The Black Book of Communism.

In the society of Brave New World, people are genetically engineered to be the best worker they can be. They are divided depending on what they work in, but “After all, everyone belongs to everyone else.” (Huxley, 43) Everyone is equal to each other, and everyone is kept happy. No questions arise as to how their society functions. There is a huge emphasis on stability in this environment. And they have achieved said ability through years and years of genetic engineering and conditioning. Now this way of achieving stability is extreme, but the Bolsheviks’ way of trying to achieve stability in Russia when they took over was also extreme. In the Black Book of Communism, there are numerous reports of workers and organizations revolting against the Bolsheviks as they disagreed with the new leadership by the Bolsheviks. Many of these rebellious citizens were arrested and executed and made an example of to show others what happens when you oppose the Bolsheviks. Then these citizens start to become conditioned that this government is not going anywhere and is here to say. This is one parallel I see between these two books. It is conditioning those who are ruled to remain silent and take orders. It is this stability that will drive the mission of these governments.

My next parallel I want to draw is how the Bolsheviks and the government in Brave New World picture an ideal citizen and I bring up these two quotes: “Of late the food crisis has gone from bad to worse, and the working masses are starving. They no longer have physical strength necessary to continue working…” (BBC, 89) , “Able” was the verdict of his superiors. “Perhaps” (and they would shake their heads, would significantly lower their voices) “a little too able.” (Huxley, 67) The working class under the Bolsheviks are starving, but this also means a less likely chance of disobedience. They are not “able” enough to incite unrest. In Brave New World, Bernard, while not strong, is described as able and with a “mental excess”. This is seen as undesirable amongst those in the book because no one is really supposed to question how society runs. No one questions their position in society and how it might be unfair to you or unfair to others. All they concern themselves with is work. And this is exactly what the Bolsheviks have done to the working class. The working class is supposed to work with no questions asked. Workers dying of starvation is of no concern to them as long as there are others that will keep working. This ties back into the idea of stability. To achieve stability, those you govern must stay inferior.

In The Black Book of Communism, one topic that remains relevant is violence arises from Communism and how it unjustly kills those opposed to it. Therefore, I see this in relation to the violence shown in Animal Farm and how some animals were unjustly killed and how these acts are swept under the rug. In the foreword and introduction of The Black Book of Communism, there are many comparisons being made between the actions committed Communist Regimes and actions committed by the Nazi Party. The book does make the distinction that the violent acts committed by Communist Regimes are politically influenced whereas violent acts committed by the Nazi Party were racially influenced (the main example being the persecution against the Jewish population in Europe at the time). “It is this syndrome that gives the permanent qualitative advantage to Communism over Nazism in any evaluation of their quantitative atrocities. For the Communist project, in origin, claimed commitment to universalistic and egalitarian goals, whereas the Nazi project offered only unabashed national egoism.” (xvii) But the book also makes it very clear that both projects were crimes against humanity and events we should not easily forget. We look back and never forget the atrocities of World War II, but we rarely ever stop to think about the atrocities committed by Communist Regimes. This has to do in part with communist leaders rewriting narratives to be in their favor. A person may speak out against unjust practices, but they can label them as a traitor and that is what will be written in history. Animal Farm does an excellent job in portraying this unjust violence and rewriting narratives to better suit communism and its leaders.

On page 84 of Animal Farm, multiple animals are killed by Napoleon after not complying with having to sacrifice their resources. But I want to specifically focus on the other pigs on the farm that were killed by Napoleon. So before the pigs were killed, Napoleon spreads the rumor that Snowball (one of the former leaders appointed after the first war but exiled by Napoleon after a disagreement on where to focus resources and work) was deliberately sabotaging the progress of the farm in the middle of the night and conspiring with Mr. Jones, deeming him a traitor. The other pigs on the farm couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They couldn’t fathom Snowball being a traitor this whole time and started to sympathize with him. But this sympathy would be their demise. After news of Snowball’s betrayal had spread, suspicions arose of others that could be conspiring with Snowball. Sympathy was soon twisted into betrayal and the pigs that sympathized with Snowball were executed first. Napoleon labeled them as traitors to make their deaths deserving for his political gain. The pigs sympathizing with Snowball was not really a threat to Animal Farm’s prosperity, but a threat to Napoleon’s rule. You can see how this relates to historical events such as the Great Purge where Stalin violently murdered those who opposed his rule.

There are multiple scenes I want to talk about in High Noon. I’m starting from 37:04 going to about 45 minutes. And all these scenes I will talk about revolve around the people of the town not wanting to join Marshal Will Kane in stopping Frank Miller and his gang from taking hold of the town.The first scene is when Will Kane walks into the saloon and asks the men inside to join him and become deputies, but no one is willing to do so. One man explains that Will had 6 of the toughest men as deputies, but now he only has two and that no one else is as tough as them. Then Kane goes to see an old colleague of his (I’m assuming they used to work together) and he hides from Kane. Then Kane goes to the local church and asks for help from the people there. There is a bit of a dispute why they should or shouldn’t help but they decide to not help. Across all these three instances, every single person acknowledges Frank Miller’s presence and is fearful about it, but they do not do anything about it. They fear the retaliation of Frank Miller and his violent tendencies and turn a blind eye, similar to how Soviet Spies were treated during the Cold War. Those working as spies in the government turned a blind eye whenever someone disappeared, and it is this fear that kept people working for the Soviet Union. The fear instilled in both the townsfolk and spies kept them reluctant from helping. And this ties to how the film expresses sympathy for those oppressed by the totalitarianism in Communism with Frank Miller, the oppressor, and the townsfolk, the oppressed. 

This is very different from Rio Bravo and its view on communism as a threat. I want to compare how the townsfolk respond to Joe Burdette’s capture and what some do to profit off of it. At about the 40 minute mark, Dude and Sheriff Chance chase down a man who shot someone who was on patrol to a saloon. They enter the saloon and are immediately suspicious of the men inside. Just then, Dude spots the shooter and kills him on the spot. It is revealed that he was paid to kill the sheriff and those working with him to free Joe. But Chance goes on and finds out that it is not only him, but everyone else in that saloon is a gun for hire. Very different from how the townsfolk in High Noon respond to the situation. In Rio Bravo, they are willing to turn against the law and righteousness, similar to how communism and communist spies were viewed during the Cold War. This film responds to communism and its totalitarianism by villainizing it as an ideology and villainizing those who join. During the Cold War and especially during the Hiss Case, calling someone a communist was a huge accusation and one with a negative connotation. So I see this film as adding to this negative connotation.

What was really interesting in this section of the book were the implications of religion and how they played a major role in influencing Chambers’ decisions during the Hiss Trials. Because of Chambers’ devotion to Christianity after breaking from the Communist Party, he views this unveiling of the truth to, in a sense, be his service to God and the people. “At the heart of the crisis of our times lies the cold belief of millions, avowed or unavowed, that the death of religious faith is seen in nothing so much as is the fact that it has lost its power to move anyone to die for it. I sensed that the deepest meaning of the Case, and the meaning of my life for myself and all other men, was the degree to which I could be so moved to act.” (p. 617). The religious implications here are enormous. Chambers has found purpose and a clear set goal to fight against Communism. And it is this persistence that reassures the definition of Communism in the Soviet Union and that it is a form of totalitarianism. Throughout the section I read, Chambers frequently describes Communism as “evil” and is something that he has seen through as is now whole heartedly against. Another interesting quote Chambers brings up is, “The God who made iron grow– He wanted no slaves.” (p. 625) He relates this to his statement reaffirming that Alger Hiss is a Communist and may still be one. I’m still trying to see what the meaning behind it is but I’m leaning towards how it contrasts Hiss’s motives to being a Communist versus Chambers’ motives. 

And what is even more interesting is what kind of problem Communism represents to Chambers in an interview he was a part of. “The problem of Communism is not an economic problem. The problem of Communism is the problem of atheism.” (p. 625) Chambers has taken it a step further in what I’m interpreting as Communism being something that goes against the ideals of the church. But at the same time, Chambers knows the risks he is taking fighting against the evils of Communism. He risks his livelihood, his safety, the safety of his family. But at the end of the day, Chambers’ devotion to stopping said evil is paired with his devotion to God. Chambers is a man who wants the truth to be known. He also makes that clear in this section. All he wants to reveal is the truth, yet the world likes to twist the narrative in matters like this. What was supposed to be a fight against Communism turned into a standoff between two men, both trying to bring each other down. Chambers didn’t want it to be this situation but Hiss forced his hand. Now he catches attempts from both sides of the situation; good and bad attention. But he is devout to the cause as he is to his religion because in his eyes, Communism is an evil in this world.