Did Orwell steal ideas for Animal Farm?
Stinkbomb
when he wrote "1984", but it looks like he also stole "Animal Farm" from
author N.I. Kostomarov! Kostomarov wrote the story "Animal Rebellion" in
1917, and it was published only once. Given Orwell's literary
voraciousness, it's highly probable that he read "Animal Rebellion" and
apparently reproduced it as his own!
More info:
http://www.orwell.ru/a_life/kostomarov/russian/r_gonk/translit#fn1
rjb
"Stinkbomb" <stin...@spymac.com> wrote in message
news:chkqeh$ebt$1...@news.doit.wisc.edu...
This story was published just once - in 1917. There was no second edition. I
cannot prove that there was no English translation, but if a book is not
successful enough to merit a second edition, it is highly unlikely that it
would ever be translated into any other language. If that is correct, Orwell
couldn't have read this book, since he did not read Russian.
I notice your suggestive choice of words -
"plagiarized...."stole"...."reproduced it as his own". You might also add
that Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four "plagiarized" his friend Arthur
Koestler's Darkness at Noon, and in Animal Farm "plagiarized" Gulliver's
Travels. And then you might add that Margaret Atwood plagiarized Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four in her novel The Handmaid's Tale. But history is full
of such plagiarism. There is hardly a novel you can name that does not
derive in some way from some other novel or novels. Novelists influence each
other; they give each other ideas. It makes for a rich literary heritage.
rjb
Jonathan Mason
Well, without seeing an English translation of Animal Rebellion, it is
impossible to know whether Orwell plagiarized it or not. Did he read
Russian? I didn't think so.
Writing fables in which animals represent humans goes way back to
classical times. "Animal Rebellion" was written in 1917, according to
the above, and at that time many of the events and circumstances
alluded to in Animal Farm still lay in the future.
On the other hand, Orwell may have known of "Animal Rebellion" and
thought that he could do a much better job.
Bobby Farouk
"Jonathan Mason" <jm_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fc36aad3.04090...@posting.google.com...
I hear Homer is suing Joyce for theft of artistic property.
Martha Bridegam
Jonathan Mason wrote:
Orwell's friend Gleb Struve did read Russian and took an interest in broadening Zamyatin's
reputation, so it's possible Struve might have shown Orwell this other book as well -- but
without further evidence it's difficult to judge how likely that is. As Jonathan says, it'd be
necessary to read the Kostomarov book first to see if *Animal Farm* shows its influence and
if so in what way. Influence is, of course, different from "plagiarism." Can anyone supply at
least a summary of the Kostomarov book?
For what it's worth, there is no entry for "Kostomarov" in the Orwell *Complete Works* index.
/M
Black Minorca Pullets
Animal Rebellion is Mother Goose Marxism at its worst -
Obviously, AF is entirely different in that it provides a detailed
account of the depraved evil of Stalin and communism including the
Totsky bashing,Armand Hammer deal making, coverup by the NY Times,
the Ukrainian genocide of 10 million, and his not so transparent
conspiracy with Hitler.
Black Minorca Pullets
Zeberdee
Possibly a source with greater influence :
Sketches By Boz (Charles Dickens)
SKETCHES OF YOUNG GENTLEMEN -- THE POLITICAL YOUNG GENTLEMAN
Once upon a time - NOT in the days when pigs drank wine, but in a more
recent period of our history - it was customary to banish politics
when ladies were present. If this usage still prevailed, we should
have had no chapter for political young gentlemen, for ladies would
have neither known nor cared what kind of monster a political young
gentleman was. But as this good custom in common with many others has
`gone out,` and left no word when it is likely to be home again; as
political young ladies are by no means rare, and political young
gentlemen the very reverse of scarce, we are bound in the strict
discharge of our most responsible duty not to neglect this natural
division of our subject.
http://www.underthesun.cc/Classics/Dickens/sketches/sketches65.html
Buffalo
"rjb" <none...@here.com> wrote in message
news:chl1st$nvu$1...@hercules.btinternet.com...
Not sure about Darkness at Noon. Was that an influence in "1984"? I'm sure
Brave New World made an impact on Orwell, though I don't think he mentions
it anywhere, or did any reviews of Huxley's books that I can remember. Also
Jack London's The Iron Heel must have been in there somewhere as a
precedent. More controversially, I'd suggest H.G. Wells, even though they
clashed over the question of Nazi Germany later on. I think Wells influenced
all futuristic fiction of that period.
Buffalo
krzyszto...@gmail.com
Still, I do believe Animal Farm is a plagiarism, but from a different author.
Wladyslaw Reymont, a Polish writer who won the Nobel Prize in literature over George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Hardy, wrote his last book "Bunt" (Revolt), serialized 1922 and published in book form in 1924. It describes a revolt by animals which take over their farm in order to introduce "equality". The revolt quickly degenerates into abuse and bloody terror. The story was a metaphor for the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.
If you ask me, this is a more blatant case with both books tackling the same issues and morals, which isn't exactly the case in the Ukrainian book, which seems to be driving a somewhat different narrative. Plus, it's much more probable that Orwell was familiar with works of a Polish Nobel Prize winner, whose books were translated to 30+ languages, than an Ukrainian writer who only wrote in Russian.