Animal Farm – Assessment One

In George Orwell’s Novel, Animal Farm, Old Major delivers a speech to the animals on the farm. Major preaches on how the humans are weak, selfish, lazy thieves who steal from the farm animals. Lecturing on banning together and rebelling against the humans, Old Major uses pathos, ethos, asyndetons, and imagery to help sparks an uproar amongst the animals. Major uses these strategies to engage and convince them of who the real enemy is.

In the popular book, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, a pig named Old Major makes a speech to all of the barn animals. Old Major feels that humans are the root of all of the animals suffering and so he gives a speech to the animals to convince them of this. In his speech, Old Major uses logos, pathos and figurative language to engage his audience and persuade the animals to rebel.

“He ordered the hens’ rations to be stopped and decreed that any animal giving so much grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death” (Orwell 87). This quote demonstrates that Napoleon treats the hens with cruelty because his commands are not being followed which was to surrender their eggs to him so he can trade with his neighbors. He not only treats the hens with cruelty but is also cruel to the other animals who feed the hens. On the contrary, Snowball treats the animals with respect and care because he is pursuing the Seven Commandments made by Old Major. He is doing what is best for all animals and is treating them equally. “He formed the Egg Production Committee for the hens, the Clean Tails League for the cows, the Wild Comrades’ Re-education Committee (the object of this was to tame the rats and rabbits), the Whiter Wool Movement for the sheep, and various others, beside instituting classes in reading and writing” (Orwell 49). This quote illustrates that Snowball is doing what is best for all animals by giving them a little hope for the future. He not only does it for one animal but for all the animals in the farm. Though they have differences in treating the animals they also have one comparison. They both want to be in charge of the other animals. When Old Major left the two of them in charge they wanted to control the animals by their own ideas by planning of what happens

Jones. The animals conformed by working like slaves for Mr. Jones who doesn’t even provide enough food for their strength. After Old Major motivated the animals to revolt, they wished for change and fair treatments, and the only way for that to happen is to get rid of the humans and rule the farm themselves. Old Major had admitted “The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth” (page 7). What Old Major said had triggered the animals and made them consider the idea of a rebellion. The consequences of their conformity was bad treatment, labor, poverty and injustice. After they overthrew all the humans who ruled the farm, which cause more consequences for their nonconformity, the animals felt free and rich. Although, after they have revolted and kicked the humans out, they proved that conformity was no longer apart of their farm, and showed the upsides of

Snowball’s strengths: Snowball’s strengths include his intelligence and his want for social improvement for the animals of Animal Farm. Snowball’s intelligence has had a very positive effect on Animal Farm. For example, It was Snowball who had the original idea of building a windmill so everyone could work less and live more comfortably and luxuriously on the farm. He also understood that the sheep could not read the Seven Commandments so he shortened them into the phrase “Four legs good, two legs bad” so they could comprehend the commandments much more easily. During the Battle of the Cowshed Snowball used his intelligence and strategic plans made by Julius Caesar to defend Animal Farm. Snowballs intelligence could help Animal Farm find a solution to any problem that the farm may face. Along with his intelligent nature, Snowball also has a desire for the social improvement of all animals. Snowball created animal committees in an attempt to improve the manner and quality of the animals lives. He created the Egg Production Committee, the Clean Tails League, the Wild Comrades Re-education committee, The Whiter Wool movement and implemented literacy classes. Although most of these committees had not seen very much success, Snowball had still managed to teach most of the animals the basics of reading and writing. This care for social improvement could benefits Animal Farm future.

Furthermore, Old Major utilizes hyperbole in appealing to the pathos of the animals. He claims that “No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free.” even though he knows that is not entirely the case. He uses nuanced exaggeration in order to work everyone up into a fit of indignation and rouse their sense of injustice so that they will listen to whatever plan he

In the novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell portrays Snowball as a more imaginative and inventive character. Napoleon was a poor leader and he didn't treat the animals on the farm fairly. Before Napoleon chased Snowball off the farm, Snowball co-operates with Napoleon and Squealer to organize Old Majors ideas into the principles of Animalism, and to reduce these to the Seven Commandments. It is Snowball who organizes the various Animal Committees and the classes in reading and writing, therefore showing interest in the other animals. Snowball also anticipates the first attack on Animal Farm and, having studied up on strategy. Snowball would have been a better leader than Napoleon and would have improved the lives of the animals on Animal Farm.

The novel Animal farm starts off by the Old Major giving a speech of the freedoms animals should have and how horrible the owner Mr. Jones is. This

One way Napoleon was able to stay in charge was by using Animalism. Napoleon used the seven commandments as a way of Animalism. In the seven commandments humans are presumed as an enemy. Their ways were also speculated as bad, like commandment five which states no animal shall drink alcohol or commandment four which states no animal shall wear clothes. But animals are conjectured as good and the opposite of humans as it states in

The animals you can tell, are easily manipulated by the “intelligent” animals, namely the pigs. This is shown when the pigs trick the other animals into thinking that they deserve the milk, apples, and food because they need it.This is quite a reflection of how Mr. Jones used to run his farm and take the objects, but the animals don’t see it because they believe the pigs when they Squealer says, “‘You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health’”(23). Significantly proving that the animals are manipulated easily. This is important because the pigs know this and use it to their advantage, becoming like the leadership that they had rebelled against. Because of this, I do not think they will continue to run the farm in later chapter because the animals will come to a realization that they are similar and will rebel again, breaking the rule of the two legged enemy.

Snowball is a very imaginative and knowing pig that manipulated others to his side. It is never revealed of what has happened to him after he escaped, although in the 1950s film adaptation it is implied that the dogs killed him. Nevertheless, he is shown escaping the dogs and surviving in the 1999 live action film adaptation.

The animals fighting with Mr. Jones have a major part with conflict in the story. Old Major, an award winning boar, brings the animals of the Manor Farm together for an assembly inside the big barn. He shares

He says "A bird's wing, comrades, is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation. It should therefore be regarded as a leg." Snowball is considered to be the most intelligent of the pigs. It is evident that this is true when he plans to build a windmill to supply electricty on the farm. "He was closeted there for hours at a time."

In this example he tells the other animals that Snowball was teamed up with Jones to try to recapture the farm from the animals to take the rebelling out of there minds. In this particular example one of the animals says in Snowball's defense that he fought with courage in the battle of the Cowshed, and that everyone saw him with blood seeping out of him. Squealer replies to the animals by saying, "That was part of the arrangement! Jones' shot only grazed him. I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to read it. The plot was for Snowball, at the critical moment, to give the signal for flight and leave the field for the enemy. And he very nearly succeeded-if it had not been for out heroic leader comrade Napoleon" (Orwell 80). Squealer recalls the battle of the Cowshed the way the pigs wanted it to be remembered, with as much detail of Napoleon saving the farm as possible. Although the animals don't actually recall it that way they believed it because Squealer has remembered it in much more detail than the animals did. This is also an excellent example of Squealer manipulating the other animals on the farm. He also takes the animals' lack of intelligence to his advantage whenever he can. When Snowball was in change Squealer was living in his shadow. But when Napoleon came to power Squealer also shared the spotlight. Squealer wasn't being used to his full potential under Snowball,

In the beginning of the book, the farm’s owner, Mr.Jones comes home and goes straight to bed. Knowing that they are safe to congregate, the animals meet in the barn, listening to a lecture from a pig named Old Major. He tells his comrades that he had a dream in which they were free from humans, and all animals were equal. He also taught them a song about animals becoming free