Absurd+Confession+-+The+three+hens+who+had+been...

Extract from the confession of Sharangovich, First Secretary of Byelorussia, in the 1938 show trial: “I must also say that in 1932 we took measures to spread plague among pigs, which resulted in a high pig mortality… Further, as regards… horse-breeding, in 1936 we caused a wide outbreak of anaemia in Byelorussia. This was done intentionally because in Byelorussia horses are extremely important for defence purposes. We endeavoured to undermine this powerful base in case in should ever be needed in connection with war.” Both of these confessions (one from Animal Farm’s three hens and another one from Sharangovich) are absolutely absurd: the hens were slaughtered for dreaming about Snowball, and Sharangovich was slaughtered for spreading plague among pigs and later anemia among horses which supposedly undermined the defense system of Russia. The absurdities of these confessions once again emphasize the random, unreasonable cruelties of the Great Purge.