The Literati : December 2015

I am going to start this blog entry with some stats, so don’t let that deter you from reading on. Approximately 600 million population in India is younger than 25 years of age and close to 70% of the total population is less than 40 years of age. Near about 40% of the Indian population is aged between 13 to 35 years. So if you are sitting there, thinking you are the only one with such problems, talents, abilities, well you are quite definitely wrong.
If we look at the median age of the country and the average age of our leaders then it is clear that country’s median age is 25 years whereas the average age of our cabinet ministers is 65 years. Thus there is a gap in age which leads to a gap between thoughts. This gap in India is much wider than the gap in any other country, such as in United States the gap is of 23 years whereas in Germany the gap is less than 10 years. More and more youth are entering the labor market and soon, the Indian labor force will grow by more than 8 million per annum.
There are many problems being faced by the youth of today. I shall quickly summarize the most major problems below.
Every college student aims to only leave India as they believe India is not the place for progress. I too have thought along the same lines, many a time. With each generation, materialism has been on the rise and everyone wants to leave the country and not be identified as an Indian, so they can make more money. There is no national pride anymore and the youth complain about India’s many issues and call the country backward and close-minded , but rarely do anything proactive in nature to cause progress and create awareness.
India is still mostly rural and education has not reached the grass roots. Even in urban colleges and the like, the gap between what one is taught in an Indian college/school versus and an International college/school is enormous and difficult to make up for some. This quite obviously creates an unequal platform for future jobs.
Also, the world is becoming more manufacturing than service oriented. It does not matter how many degrees you have, as you will still face a problem finding a steady employment. Even after getting a job, the lack of satisfaction causes many to quit and keep on switching and remain unfulfilled.
Obesity, laziness, aggression, and thoughtlessness is on the rise. Everyone prefers the shortcut and prefers to “copy” the ideas and work of others and pass it on as their own. How many times have we unwillingly given our entire semester worth of notes to a friend, because we felt obligated to and she was too tired or was absent in class? We encourage this habit among others, and also complain about it. How many times have we seen people spending their parents money without a care in the world, on the latest shoe or club? Aggression has also been increasing. Once people consume alcohol, instead of solving disagreements with words, they prefer to push and shove people around.
The final problem is the urge that we face to break social norms, and cause anarchy, be it out of social pressure or inner desires. Most people do not know when to stop at drug use and prevent it from becoming drug abuse or alcohol abuse. Many couples start engaging in unprotective sex, once again, out of either external or internal motives. We do not know when to stop something unhealthy after we start, and we assure ourselves that we can give it up whenever we want to. You can compare this to smoking, ( if you are a smoker) or nail biting ( if you are a nail biter). We keep on saying we will quit and we try, only to take it up with renewed vigor.
So what’s the point of knowing all these problems? Well, firstly now that you are aware of these problems, the solution to them is YOU. Once you change your mindset and perceptions, and admit your bad habits, and yet acknowledge the good, change has already started, because you have taken the first step, You might think what can one person do? Well, if you keep on thinking that, then no one will take initiative, yet look at the examples of the few who did, and eventually succeeded. We, as a nation, have come so far from a time where there was sati and non acceptance of widow remarriage. And now? We are more accepting of the homosexual community and equality. So yes, if you think positive , you can achieve the same, so go ahead and remember that change always starts with you.

Orwell, George. The Animal Farm. London: Secker and Warburg, 1945

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” – The one commandment that remained painted on the top of the barn of Manor Farm summarizes the essence of the masterpiece crafted by the king of dystopia, George Orwell. Orwell’s book is a commentary on the 1917 Russian Revolution which had put on a façade as a step towards democratic socialism, however, was anything but. As a literary text Orwell has managed well to infuse elements of anthropomorphism, lyrical verses and allegory into a perfect blend of aesthetic delight. The story reimagines and redefines the societal structure of a nation and the subtle mechanisms that act as a tool of manipulation. Orwell has very cleverly and slyly deconstructed the way we envisage our role in a society and the false notion of security that citizens of a democracy live under.

The story begins with a vivid description of the farm which is the primarily where it revolves around. It also sketches a detailed picture of Mr. Jones who owns the farm at the beginning of the story, he is said to be the allegorical figure of Tsar Nicholas II – the last emperor of Russia who was slain along with his entire family by the Bolsheviks. Quite the same is the fate of Jones who is overthrown out of his farm by the animals he had owned. This also shows Orwell’s discipline in respecting the timeline of events and structuring the literature along that line. The story’s rising action is clearly distinguishable with the introduction of most of the major characters. First comes the allegorical character of the Old Major, who is an amalgamation of the Marxist philosophy and the communist ideology of Lenin, brought into life by Orwell. Then come the two major characters – Napoleon and Snowball who are the leaders of “The Battle of Cowshed”, which was instigated by Old Major’s dying words. Napoleon being the allegory of the cunning Joseph Stalin and Snowball being the embodiment of Leon Trotsky. The introduction of supporting characters such as Squealer, Boxer, Mollie, Clover, Benjamin, Muriel and other animals are done in a manner of roundness and gradualism. We begin to feel, read, understand and empathize with these characters only from the point where Napoleon becomes the self-proclaimed leader of Animal Farm after driving out the charismatic Snowball and somehow proving him to be guilty of treachery and treason. The novel grows darker and deeper, and as readers we see the rest of the story through the perspective of these characters who are repressed by the dogs brought up under Napoleon’s guidance. The novel closes with Clover’s discovery of Napoleon feasting with Mr. Frederick – the representation of Adolf Hitler, Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Whymper and walking on two legs while the sheep chant – “Four legs good, two legs better!”

It is interesting to see how Orwell manages to manifest his views in the form of a novel out of a simple idea, which he mentions in the preface of his book:

“….I saw a little boy, perhaps ten years old, driving a huge carthorse along a narrow path, whipping it whenever it tried to turn. It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat.”

The humbleness of origins that we find in Orwell’s novel is not just inspiring but reiterates the notion that stories can be found in the most unusual of places only if one looks for it. Animal Farm also manages to raise an important question of the fate of a revolution, if it can truly ever be successful in the utilitarian world? Or is it doomed for failure? What the readers can take away from this novel is to have a highly realistic approach towards a certain ideology instead of meandering around in dreams of utopia. After reading the book, one is reminded of what Adolf Hitler had once proclaimed – “If you do not like a rule… Just follow it … Reach on top… And change the rule” – which seems to be the only path towards reaching a point of political contentment. The farm itself is a space of subjugation, hard labour and production, which implies that all the elements that exists in a society of human beings are there to be employed for benefit. This conception exists dominantly in the contemporary scenario where the power of a nation state is determined by the ability to produce rather than the condition of its residents.

In popular culture, there is a trend to draw references to literary classics. Animal Farm is one of the most popularly referred to literary text in popular culture. Cartoon shows such as X-men and Jonny Bravo; Bands such as Pink Floyd and Radiohead; And Television shows such as Oz and Lost are known to have made use of certain elements of the novel. This shows that the narrative continues to be socially and politically relevant. Also, it’s an indication of the impact that the novel has made on the world of literature.

Animal Farm continues to be a subject of great debate amongst academicians and political thinkers which verifies Orwell’s credentials as one of the greatest literary writers of the world.

Works Cited

1. Moran, Daniel. CliffsNotes on Animal Farm. 20 Nov 2015

2. Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Characters in Animal Farm." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.

3. Newsinger, John. Europe-Asia Studies 48.7 (1996): 1264–1265. Web...

4. Kirschner, Paul. “The Dual Purpose of "animal Farm"”. The Review of English Studies 55.222 (2004): 759–786. Web...

-Srinjoy Dey

Let us go then, you and I,
To the chamber where we were born and bred
Festooned now with cobwebs,
The crib but a wreck,
That once buoyed us through languid streams,
Has now sunken to Time’s deepest depths-
Tempest tossed by Time’s unforgiving winds.

Let us go then, you and I,
To every threshold,
Where we stumbled, tripped and fell,
But rose again, standing tall and firm,
To every threshold- that we crossed together,
With friends and foes,
Winning and losing,
Loving and hating,
Living and dying.

Let us go then, you and I,
Down the vista of bygone years,
And relive times of triumphs and fears,
Smiles and tears,
Loss and gain,
Summer and rain,
Joy and pain.

Let us go then, you and I,
Rise from the darkened spirals of the past,
To those of the ‘morrow,
Let us embark then, on a journey onward,
Into the vast and endless seas,
Carrying in our pockets fragments of that dear crib,
And in our cargo,
Memories of those years gone by.

-Sambhavi Sudhakar

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