Animal Farm Reloaded (Part one)
By Baba Galleh Jallow
As the overthrow of Farmer Jones and his human companions drifted further
into the past, the ‘lower animals’ on Animal Farm grew more and more
restive. Some grew very angry at what they saw as Napoleon’s treasonable and
vicious treachery and backsliding on his lofty promises. In spite of all the
assurances that the long-snouted Squealer, Napoleon’s faithful crony, that
the great leader had their best interests at heart, the lower animals just
could not be convinced any longer and grew increasingly suspicious of the
pigs’ motives. And for good reasons too.
While Clover the horse, Muriel the goat and Minimus the poet were often
carried away by Squealer’s honey-coated oratory, Benjamin the donkey, Moses
the raven, and a great number of animals maintained a good deal of doubt in
Napoleon the pig’s sincerity. Though he could not boast of such intelligence
as the pigs possessed, Benjamin the donkey was sure that something had been
going seriously wrong since Napoleon’s fierce dogs chased Snowball the pig,
a former leading figure of his regime, out of Animal Farm accusing him of
complicity with the ousted Farmer Jones at the battle of the Cowshed. Even
Toady the frog agreed with Benjamin that Snowball was the architect and hero
of that memorable battle against Farmer Jones and his bunch of human
invaders. In spite of Napoleon’s claims to the contrary, Benjamin was sure
that he heard Snowball cry attack! and saw the brave pig butt and bite Jones
himself, sending him on his heels. That Napoleon should therefore insist
that Snowball was a traitor just could not make sense to Benjamin, though
for many years, he kept mute about what he thought. When he felt really
pissed off at Napoleon’s treachery, Benjamin the donkey would turn his
backside in the direction of Napoleon’s mansion, hold his breath, and let
out a long and loud fart as an expression of his displeasure at the
ungrateful and treacherous pig.
It was not only Benjamin who grew increasingly restive and angry under the
rule of the clever pigs of Animal Farm. Many other animals were getting
increasingly worried and angry. Over the years, they had seen Napoleon
become more and more like Farmer Jones in more and more respects. They had
seen him grow more and more arrogant by the hour, more and more wealthy, and
more and more fat and confident that he could do just anything and get away
with it because he had fierce dogs guarding him and ready to execute anyone
like they executed those innumerable cows, sheep, and hens who were accused
of collaborating with Snowball. The lower animals were particularly pissed
off that Napoleon had cultivated the nauseating habit of loudly proclaiming
that he possessed supernatural powers and that he was actually some kind of
divine being in pigskin. Napoleon not only made such dubious proclamations:
he also insisted, upon pain of death and destruction that all the lower
animals accept his words without doubt or question. In spite of their
dullness of wit, Benjamin the donkey, Muriel the goat, Minimus the poet, and
indeed all the lower animals had begun realizing that Napoleon the pig had
fast become worse than Farmer Jones. Even the sheep who piped “four legs
good, two legs better” when Napoleon decided to walk on two legs, were
growing less enthusiastic about their song. Now when they sang it, they only
slightly parted their lips and half-heartedly bleated . . . ur le goo--- wo
leg mbe . . . with their eyes closed, and often dropped a few piles of dung
as they sang as a show of defiance and resistance.
Of course, Napoleon was not to be openly challenged by anyone on Animal Farm
- sheep, goat, monkey, donkey or pig. He ensured that his gang of faithful
dogs was well fed and kept as stupid as possible by criminalizing all
thinking among their ranks. Those dogs that showed the slightest signs of
displeasure at Napoleon’s rule or exhibiting any suspicious behavior were
effectively terminated. So that the recent history of Animal Farm was
sprinkled with a series of sudden and unexplained arrests, summary
executions, disappearances, and remote-controlled treason trials of dogs
formally considered loyal to Napoleon. Of course, these trials, where
Napoleon took the liberty to order their procedure, were merely put up for
show. No one was ever declared innocent at these trials. Every single dog or
other animal brought before these tribunals were declared guilty as charged.
To ensure that his plan to subdue and control all the animals worked
perfectly, Napoleon appointed his most faithful crony Squealer the Dealer,
Director of Animal Affairs. He also ordered his storekeepers to supply the
best honey and grain to Kokoliko, his faithful black cockerel, so that his
voice would become louder and clearer when he announced the numerous
exploits of the gallant Napoleon and proclaimed the verity of his divinity
on top of Napoleon’s miracle tree, the tallest on Animal Farm, every dawn,
every noon, and every sunset. This tree was designated a miracle tree and
sign of Napoleon’s divinity when it had three fruits stuck together. The
Great God Yallah, it was proclaimed throughout the land, was demonstrating
Napoleon’s near-divinity to the lower animals by causing a triplet fruit to
sprout from the belly of that tree, even though it was not pregnant. All the
other pigs at the farm were kept well fed and well clothed and some sows he
honored by taking them on as his mistresses and concubines. He ensured that
his clever dealings with Mr. Squinteyes of dubious fame filled the lower
animals with awe at his mental prowess and made them see that he was indeed
a superior kind of pig whose name was even mentioned in the holy books. To
drive the message of his invincibility and mental prowess home, Napoleon
ordered that the seven principles of Animalism be abolished and replaced
with the bold caption: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, PIGS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHER
ANIMALS, NAPOLEON IS MORE EQUAL THAN EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD!
When Napoleon sold Boxer the great horse to the horse slaughterer, he
totally lost the loyalty of more animals. Benjamin the donkey, Clover the
horse, and Minimus the poet were particularly aggrieved. Squealer’s
explanation that Boxer had been taken to a hospital in Willingdon Farm
failed to convince the animals. And when news of Boxer’s death reached their
tortured ears, their worst fears and suspicions were confirmed in no
uncertain terms. Surely, Boxer did not deserve such cruel treatment from
Napoleon whom he always insisted was always right. But because Napoleon’s
fierce dogs menacingly growled and bared their sharp, bloodthirsty teeth
when anyone asked stupid questions, the animals took Squealer’s explanation
quietly but angrily. Boxer was never mentioned in public again, but the
animals angrily whispered about him and cursed Napoleon whenever they were
in their private spaces.
Throughout that day, Benjamin the donkey ate more hay than ever before and
deliberately picked up and swallowed every piece of rubbish he could find.
As soon as darkness fell on Animal Farm, Benjamin crept quietly to a few
feet away from an open window of Napoleon’s mansion, turned his backside to
it, and let out a long, drawn, silent fart. As he walked away, he heard
Napoleon loudly coughing, spluttering, cursing, and asking what the hell was
wrong with everybody in that darned house! Benjamin the donkey, like a few
other animals on the Farm, had discovered the power of the secret weapons of
the weak, and they were going to use them generously against the tyrant
Napoleon. No help from goats!
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