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Allusion
Explanation and Analysis—Hoof and Horn:
As Snowball describes the newly-minted flag of the Animalist movement, Orwell makes an allusion to the flag of its historical parallel, the 20th-century Communist movement:
The flag was green, Snowball explained, to represent the green fields of England, while the hoof and horn signified the future Republic of the Animals which would arise when the human race had been finally overthrown.
The colors and symbols on this new flag are a direct analogy to the creation of the Soviet flag after the Russian revolution. After the overthrow of the Czar and the Russian monarchy, the Communist party eventually replaced the Russian flag with one of their own. In 1923, the Soviet Union adopted a plain red flag with a crossed golden hammer and sickle in the center and a golden star just above the sickle’s point. The red background symbolizes the blood of the workers who fought for the Communist movement, and for solidarity between workers. The crossed hammer and sickle represent unity between the industrial working class of Russia and the rural peasants who worked the land. The red star above the crossed tools represents the guiding influence of the Communist party itself.
The Animalist flag of this book contains similar elements. Instead of a hammer and sickle, the animals show their unity through a crossed "hoof and horn,” which Snowball also says points to a future where humans are overthrown. The green background of the flag represents the green fields of England, which the animals are staking their claim over. This would have been a very recognizable parallel to Orwell’s contemporary audience and is one of the book’s most transparent representations of Soviet history and imagery.
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