抄録
George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) has long been regarded, as the author himself openly acknowledged, as a political text that seeks to destroy the Soviet myth. This recognition, however, does not imply that the beast fable should be read exclusively within a political framework. If attention is paid to the fact that the pigs in the novel are frequently characterized using terms associated with “teachers,” the farm can be reimagined as a kind of classroom, where the pigs assume the role of teachers and the other animals that of pupils. From this viewpoint, the allegedly political allegory on the Soviet regime looms as a “school story” that reflects Orwell’s own educational philosophy. Indeed, given his harsh experience at St Cyprian’s and his life at Eton as a scholarship boy, education is an aspect that cannot be overlooked in the study of Orwell’s works. One of the central themes Orwell develops through this animal fable, I will argue, is his ideal educational philosophy, which foregrounds the concept of “equity” over “equality.” Referring to John Rawls’ theory of justice as a framework for understanding fairness in the Anglophone context, this article attempts to reinterpret Animal Farm with a special focus on the contrasting educational practices of Old Major and the other pigs. Through this analysis, I will clarify Orwell’s claim that an egalitarian educational ideal pursued by Napoleon and the other animals in the farm, which seeks to erase innate differences, paradoxically reproduces inequality, whereas Old Major’s pedagogical practice, which takes differences in natural ability into account, plays a crucial role in promoting equitable education.
