Final answer:
Animal Farm is considered a dystopia because it depicts a society where animals are controlled by a tyrant (Napoleon), face labor-induced exhaustion, and experience food shortages, reflecting the harsh realities and criticism of totalitarian regimes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Animal Farm by George Orwell is widely recognized as a dystopian novel, which presents a dark and oppressive society that is the antithesis to a utopian world. The question seeks to identify aspects that support the view of Animal Farm as a dystopia. First, we see that the animals on the farm are not free but are instead controlled by Napoleon, reflecting totalitarian societies where a single ruler or small group holds absolute power. Second, the common animals work to extremes and face exhaustion, akin to the proletariat in a capitalist society, while the pigs, analogous to the bourgeoisie, prosper without physical labor. Third, the experience of food shortages among the animals echoes the historical issues faced by the peasantry during forced collectivization in the Soviet Union, underlining the theme of scarcity and suffering in a dystopian setting.
This depiction of Animal Farm fits into the broader context of criticism of totalitarian regimes, whether fascist or communist. Like the forced collectivization of agriculture in the Soviet Union that led to famine and oppression, the animals in Animal Farm face similar hardships. The propaganda depicting an idyllic society contrasts sharply with the grim realities of their existence, highlighting the characteristic deceit of a dystopia. These dark and bleak conditions in the novel are reminiscent of other dystopian narratives, such as Orwell's 1984, which critiques modern society's surrender to centralized authoritarian control.