Justice, Judgement, and Orwell’s Animal Farm

In George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, readers are submerged into the colorful life and times of the animals on Mr. Jones’ farm whom, sickened from their life of unrewarding devotion to humankind, overthrow Mr. Jones, set up their own form of government, and live within the Seven Commandments of Animalism. Towards the end of the book, readers are given a very profound statement: “All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.” (Orwell, 134.). Such a statement may make readers take a second glance. Does this claim not seem a little contradictory? How can something be “more equal” than something else?

Although the rest of this essay is not about Animal Farm, a strong connection can be made to this point in Orwell’s writing, the descriptions of the rings of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, and the biblical truths about justice and the consequences of various sins. When considering the nature of sin, it is easy for Christians to assume that all sins are equal. After all, if we are all sinful and fall short of the glory of God, we all deserve to be punished eternally in Hell. While the nature of sin itself perhaps declares that all sins are equal in that they are all a dishonor to the Lord, the nature of each individual sin requires different punishments. Based on Dante’s vivid description of each of the specific rings, and the fact that each sin he highlights requires a specifically different punishment, it can be said that Dante believes that all sins are equal in that they are all worthy of justice, but perhaps differ in equality when it comes to the actual chastisement.

One of the first examples concerning this idea is seen in the second circle of Inferno: the circle of the lustful. It is here that Dante meets Paolo and Francesca, two young lovers who were murdered in the act of adultery. Dante describes the souls of the lustful as being driven into a never-ending cyclone that was designed specifically for those who were subject to fleshly desires. (Inf., 5.31-39). It can be implied that perhaps the reason for this punishment of being caught in a cyclone has to do with the fact that lust itself is like a cyclone; when one first indulges in lustful pleasures, it can be near impossible to pull away from, much like pulling away from the rapid winds of a tornado. It is simple to see here how the punishment for lust mirrors the nature of this sin. Another compelling example of this level of justice within the rings of Hell is seen when Dante and Virgil travel to the seventh ring: the circle of the spirits who committed suicide. It is here that Dante describes the souls as bodies that have been trapped and grafted into thorny trees.“When the ferocious soul that plucks itself from its own body leaves it and departs...into the woods it falls, no chosen place.” he writes. “...There it puts its roots down like the rankest weed. It shoots into a sapling, a wild plant.” (Inf.,13.94-100). What could the punishment of being grafted into a tree possibly signify? With a deeper look, we could perhaps deduce that the reason of this punishment is because the souls that committed suicide were unhappy with the body and life they had been given and therefore were forced to live eternally in the body of a tree. In other words, their eternal punishment was the inverse of the sin they indulged in while on earth.

The final and perhaps most drastic example is seen when Dante and Virgil arrive in the ninth and final circle, the ring of the betrayers of kindred. Dante writes that he saw “a lake of ice, which in the terrible cold looked not like frozen waters but like glass.” (Inf.,32.22-23). Here in this frozen wasteland suffered the souls of the people who had betrayed their own family members. It is within this ring that Dante describes the souls around him as being frozen still and completely immobile within the ponds. Furthermore, he describes them as not even being able to cry, as their tears were frozen into their eyes (Inf.,32.46-48). One might find Dante’s description of the icey ring of Hell a bit strange. After all, many people tend to think of Hell as a place of eternal fire. However, the symbolism within the punishment here has to do with the fact that the people who betrayed their families had, in a sense, committed the most cold-hearted sin possible. The betrayal of one’s family is a sin that is planned, well thought out, and heartless towards their own kin, signifying the coldness of their hearts. It is because of their sin that they were placed in the lowest ring of Hell and frozen into the ponds. 

Bringing Animal Farm’s quote back into the picture, could we perhaps say that all sins are created equally, but some are “more equal than others”? As Christians who may tend to view all sins as broadly equal, reading Dante’s interpretation of of the different levels of punishment can be rather disturbing. Particularly in the modern world, we tend to gravitate towards the belief in equality for everything and everyone. However, we must realize that Dante’s description of Hell does highlight equality within justice. All sins are treated equally as in the are all punished, however they are dealt with justly, in that the punishments differ in severity. The Bible speaks copiously on differing sins and how they should be dealt with. In Exodus 21, just after Moses receives the Ten Commandments, God thoroughly instructs the Israelites on how each sin should be justly handled, and each example points to this idea as well, that different sins require different punishments. It is obvious that Dante captured this belief and conveyed it strongly within his work.