Animal Farm - The Genesis of a New Cult

Book: Animal Farm, by George Orwell

Genre: Religious parable

Themes: commandments, exclusivity, morality

Comps: The Torah, The Bible, The Koran, Dianetics

Representative quote: "These Seven Commandments would now be inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law ..."

Page: 22

It is not often that we are presented with a religious tract aimed at founding a new faith (or cult, depending on your perspective) but Animal Farm stands as one of the top few from the twentieth century. That it is told as parable using animals--a tradition as old as Aesop in fiction, though not common in holy books--rather than speaking directly to human qua human is more unusual.

Orwell's Seven Commandments is at first glance an obvious riff on the ten commandments of Bible and Torah. The suggestion, by only requiring seven instead of the traditional ten, is that his intended faith is a simpler, no-nonsense sort of tradition. The proscription against murder ("6. No animal shall kill any other animal.") might be as universal as anything, but the restriction on alcohol may seem surprising at first, though it may be a crafty attempt to appeal to followers of Islam and Mormonism, two swiftly growing faiths that might be top targets for seeking converts.

Though the seventh commandment admirably insists that all are equal, this is perhaps mitigated by the first commandment's definition of a literal enemy. As in most faiths, this one is quick to define an in group and an out group, using proscriptions as a distinguishing trademark, tenets upon which they can plant a flag of individuality and establish their tribe. Oddly, Orwell chooses bedding ("5. No animal shall sleep in a bed.") as one of these points of distinction, something that at first glance seems an unduly harsh restriction. Only time will tell if this injunction, much like Jesus's urging his followers to give away all possessions and trust in him, will fall by the wayside or calcify into unyeilding dogma. This author's bet is on many followers providing lip service while maintaining at home the shame of a secret bed, perhaps in the form of a Murphy bed or convertible couch.

Final rating: 2/5 bookmarks. Engaging, but ultimately inadequate. Parables make for notoriously confusing source documents, and the inevitable schisms are as likely to destroy the fledgling cult entirely than to support proliferation. Also, alcohol is a way of life, and if forced to choose between my spirits and my immortal soul, I'll find a more booze-amenable faith elsewhere.