~Romir Vishwanath, Class of 2025

Dear Snorters, 

These past few months have brought many new elements to the farm. Old Major told us of a dream he had, and what he wanted for the animals on the farm. He expressively spoke of the unspeakable actions that man has inflicted upon us. He had a vision of an utopia, in which all animals were treated equally, animals kept their own produce and where man was the enemy. He then sang an old song called Beasts of England, rejuvenating all of the animals with the powerful tunes it carried. His vision of a world where man is our one and only enemy gave me immense motivation as I simply cannot stand how horribly we are treated by man. 

Soon after Old Major spoke of his vision, which the animals called Animalism, he passed away. Us animals knew that we had to rebel against the farmer, Mr. Jones, but we did not know when.  We were eventually pushed over the edge when Mr. Jones did not feed us one morning. By evening, we still weren’t fed. The rebellion started as Mr. Jones was asleep. Though Mr. Jones and the other farmers fought back, we were able to drive them away from Manor Farms, and we were also able to lock the gates behind them. Man, as always, started seeking revenge against us animals because of our rebellion. However, we knew this, and ambushed them when they came to our farm ready to attack us. All of us fought man in every possible way, causing them to scramble back, regretting the actions they took. This was called the Battle of Cowshed, and our showing of power upon man bolstered Old Major’s vision and showed our independence from man. 

At first, all of the animals wanted to work toward the vision. Although this seemed to be a daunting task, all of the animals agreed to cooperate. But what happened next, my friend, was a variety of changes that came to the farm. Some that Old Major would have wanted and some that he would not have wanted. To begin with, animals who have any friendly contact with man are to be punished and thrown off the farm. Quite recently, a horse named Clover thought that he saw a mare named Mollie being friendly with a man. Clover said, “One of Mr. Pilkington’s men was standing on the other side of the hedge. And, I was a long way away, but I am almost certain I saw this, he was talking to you and you were allowing him to stroke your nose. What does that mean Mollie?” Mollie then disappeared from the farm. I believe that this new rule is absolutely necessary, because man is the root of all of our problems, and evil man may manipulate us animals against our own comrades. After the Animals started to attempt to make Animalism a reality, many things have changed and some things have stayed the same. Snorters, if you are not aware, there are two pigs on our farm named Napoleon and Snowball who are always in disagreement. When one would advocate for one side, the other would almost immediately oppose it. This was exacerbated in the debate of how we achieve Animalism. 

Animals eventually started to side with either Snowball or Napoleon. Snowball had a way of winning over the crowd with his awe-inspiring speeches, while Napoleon had a knack for canvassing supporters. This divided the animals into two factions, one advocating for Snowball and the other for Napoleon. Soon, propaganda and manipulation of the other animals started to arise in an effort to win animals over to a certain party.

Squealer, a fellow pig in favor of Napoleon announced, “”Comrades,” he said,”I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon himself. Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure! No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball, with his moonshine of windmills? Snowball, who, as we now know, was no better than a criminal?” This propaganda is making us animals detached from Animalism. 

Obviously, leadership is a great pleasure and it will not induce equality on the farm. If an animal has more power than the others, they are not equal. Adding on the fact that Squealer is shining a negative light on Snowball, who valiantly fought in the Battle of Cowshed and has been dedicated to achieving Animalism and making life better for the animals on the farm. This is all just a diabolical stunt from Squealer and Napoleon, trying to manipulate their own comrades. A little while prior to this previous incident, Snowball found a book in the farmhouse called Farmer and Stockbreeder. He read this and thought of many innovations and improvements to add to the farm. In particular, he wanted to lessen the amount of work each animal had. Snowball then had a brilliant idea. 

To make life more comfortable and to ensure less work for the animals on the farm, he would create a windmill. Namely, the windmill would severely reduce the amount of dung transportation needed and it would supply electricity to the stalls so they would be illuminated and warm in the cold winters we have here. This kind of technology was unheard of amongst the animals as the complexity was through the roof compared to the primitive machinery typically  found on the farm. Snowball then spent weeks learning about mechanical design, and drawing out his plan for the windmill on the floor with a piece of chalk. 

After Snowball had gone a long way into drawing the designs, Napoleon then went to inspect the plans, “He walked heavily round the shed, looked closely at every detail of the plans and snuffed at them once or twice, then stood for a little while contemplating them out of the corner of his eye; then suddenly he lifted his leg, urinated over the plans, and walked out without uttering a word.” This foul and disgraceful act by Napoleon showcases the deep divisions between the animals on the farm. This behavior is not only rude, it could potentially be damaging to all of the animals on the farm as well as to Snowball’s plans. Having the windmill would be greatly beneficial to the animals on the farm. Napoleon should not even be in the running for any role of importance on the farm. However, the others on the farm are blinded by his brainwashing and choose to blindly follow him anyway. 

The future looks uncertain for the farm, and how we achieve Animalism is cloudy as of now. I do believe that the construction of the windmill will begin quite shortly, as long as a catastrophe does not befall us. As for myself, I need to act as the many missing links on the farm. As the conflict between Snowball and Napoleon goes on, many bad things may come. It is especially important for me to keep a close eye on Napoleon, as he is making it much harder for us to reach Animalism. Old Major’s vision really lets us animals work to a common goal, which is something that we had been lacking previously. Snorters, speak to your own farm about Animalism, and put it in place as soon as possible. Additionally, see if you can spread the news about Animalism to other farms you know of. 

From what I have observed on the farm, making Animalism a reality will need various essential pieces. Of which, you should focus on keeping man away from your farm and maintaining unity. Do whatever you can to prevent a situation like Napoleon and Snowball. 

Remember to keep your eyes on the prize: 

Animalism!

Take care,

Zobinatious