To a great extent, Orwell's construction of the humans in
this chapter is done to enhance the "us against the world" element that forged the
Communists to victory in the Russian Civil War following World War I. The human
collusion to attempt to put down the animals represents the Allied Forces who entered
into Russia and supported the "Whites" in the Russian Civil War from 1918- 1920. The
humans cannot be displayed in a manner that is benevolent towards the animals because it
is this lack of support that allows the animals to unify and fight as a unit. Heroes
like Boxer and Snowball becomes dominant forces in this struggle because of their total
commitment to the animal cause against the humans. The human beings cannot be depicted
as anything other than unpleasant because they represent the Allied forces who lacked
the insight to understand the Russian predicament of the time and simply presumed that
their mere presence would spell out victory. Another reason why the humans are depicted
in such an unpleasant manner could also connect to the "historical unpleasantness" the
Allied forces demonstrated during the Russian Civil
War:
At about the same time, the Russian
Civil War (1918-1920) broke out between the Communist “Reds” and anti-Communist
“Whites.” The allied powers, including the United States, Great Britain and France (who
were still at war with Germany), and Japan invaded Russia and occupied Russian
territory. After the defeat of Germany, the Allied forces remained in Russia and aided
the Whites against the Reds. Coming under attack by combined Russian troops, the foreign
forces withdrew in 1919, and victory in the Civil War went to the Communists. From it
all, Trotsky emerged as a powerful leader, the main architect of the new Red
Army.
It is fairly
"unpleasant" that the Allied forces could enter a civil war in Russia, support one side,
and then simply abandon that side when it begins to take pressure and
setback.
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