Animal Farm is a "fairy story" based on the Russian Revolution. The story can, however, be related to almost any insurrection. In this report, Animal Farm will be compared to the events and people of the French Revolution. The French Revolution was a period of time in which the monarchy, which had been the rulers for hundreds of years, was overthrown and a new government was established.
The leaders in both Animal Farm and France before, the revolutions, took advantage of the lower classes. King Louis XVI's reign over France can be compared to the time in which Mr. Jones controlled Manor Farm, the original farm in the book. In Animal Farm, the animals were being treated very cruelly. They were not being fed and had to endure great hardships. This was also the case in France before the Revolution. The great debt that France (1*) was in was taken out on the Third Estate, or common class. The common workers were the only class that had to pay taxes, and with the extreme debt, the weight was extreme.
In both situations, an outside force presented a new way of thinking. In the book, the character Old Major told the animals of a dream he had about a new England. The animals would control this place; no humans would be near. There

The first true acts of rebellion were not necessarily preconceived. In Animal Farm the animals were not fed all day so they broke into the storage shed. When Mr. Jones came to extract them from it, they forced him off the farm. In France, the Bastille in Paris was stormed. The Bastille was the place where people were sent who opposed the Ancien Regime, or the monarchy. It was initially approached for the gunpowder it held, but the situation got out of hand. In the confusion, shots were fired and the crowd stormed the Bastille. (5*) Storming the Bastille in Paris was the first use of violence in achieving Revolutionary goals much the same was the act of expelling Mr. Jones from Manor Farm was in the book. Taking the Bastille, or the farm, proved that the capitals were now in the hands of the Revolutionaries.

Many of the ideas of The Declaration of the Rights of Men were also expressed by the Commandments in Animal Farm. One of the Commandments was All animals are equal, which was the main focus of the French document. The animals also continued to hold meetings and voted on pressing issues like how the food was to be distributed and when the retiring age was to be. The animals were allowed to freely discuss the happenings on the farm just as the French had freedom of speech. Another of the Commandments was that No animal shall kill any other animal, this would coincide with unlawful arrest or imprisonment.

Napoleon soon seizes power in both the book and in real life. Both Napoleons made many changes to the way things were run under them. In both situations a "secret police" force was added, in the book they were represented by the dogs. Napoleon Bonaparte was very keen on making his military force very powerful, Napoleon of Animal Farm also formed ideas for defending the farm through force. In France soon after Napoleon took power, all of the local governments became highly centralized so he could control them more closely. In the book, Napoleon took this a step further in completely taking control and not allowing the animals to make any more decisions. Both Napoleons even controlled education so that loyalty to them would be taught from a very young age. (7*)

Napoleon Bonaparte's exploits with neighboring countries can be very closely compared to Napoleon of Animal Farm's ex