Animal farm an Effective Social Commentary
Writers often use social commentary to inform the general population about a pressing issue while at the same time appealing to people’s sense of justice. One way of accomplishing this is through a fable which is simply a short story in which animals are used to convey a moral lesson. George Orwell is a prime example of an author who can use a fable as a social commentary. Orwell makes a parody of Russian communism as demonstrated in the pigs attempt at totalitarian rule, there manipulation of the working class and the pigs evolution into the capitalists they initially opposed.
Totalitarianism was a form of government in which a single individual controlled all aspects of life. Using there ridiculous propaganda and rigorous rule, Napoleon portrayed himself as being superior to all the other animals on the farm being labeled leader while everyone else was referred to as “comrade”(pg3). There was inequality between the pigs and the other animals such as how the pigs lived in the farm house sleeping on beds while the other animals had to sleep in the pastures. The pig known as Squealer was responsible for propaganda, and would often change the commandments of the farm so that they would benefit Napoleon. For example at one time a commandment read “no animal shall drink alcohol” (pg. 75). But soon after Napoleon had drank abundance and almost died the commandment was changed to “No animal shall drink to excess” which made it seem as
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is, first and foremost, a political satire warning against the pursuit of utopian desires through unjust and oppressive means. Operating under the pretense of an animal fable, Orwell disparages the use of political power to poach personal freedom. He effectively alerts his readers to the dangerous price that can accompany the so-called “pursuit of progress”. And he illuminates how governments acting under the guise of increasing independence often do just the opposite: increase oppression and sacrifice sovereignty. While the cautionary theme Orwell provides proves widely applicable, in reality his novel focuses on one tale of totalitarian abuse: Soviet Russia. The parallels between the society Orwell presents in his Animal Farm and the Soviet Union – from the Russian revolution to Stalin’s supremacy – are seemingly endless. Manor Farm represents Tsarist Russia, Animalism compares to Stalinism, and Animal Farm, with the pig Napoleon at its helm, clearly symbolizes Communist Russia and Joseph Stalin. But Orwell does more than simply align fiction with fact. He fundamentally attacks Soviet Russia at its core. And in so doing he reveals how the Communist Party simply replaced a bad system with a worse one, overthrowing an imperial autocracy for a totalitarian dictatorship. This essay will demonstrate that Orwell’s Animal Farm is
In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the pig Napoleon uses specific tactics to gain power and control over the animal farm. Some of these techniques include controlling information through education, scapegoating, use of fear, swaying public opinion and blind obedience.
Animal Farm, written by George Orwell in 1943 is one of the greatest allegories the world has ever seen. This allegory about the Russian Revolution is delivered to the audience in a story about a diverse group of animals on a farm in England who use the words of an old pig to come up with the concept of ‘Animalism’ and rebel against their human master and begin to run the farm themselves. In the development of their supposed utopia, several problems arise and a dystopic reality sets in. by using the techniques of negative characterisation, anthropomorphism and dystopia, Orwell explores the ideas of power and control through manipulation and through this positions the audience to understand that the characteristics of greed, manipulation and violence are animalistic qualities which make us less than human.
The story of Animal Farm is not just one of a talking pig who takes over a farm. Rather, the tale seeks to show the fear factor in which the citizens under Joseph Stalin’s totalitarian government lived with. George Orwell, in Animal Farm uncovers the truth about how the people under Stalin’s rule were constantly threatened to be killed if they did not dedicate their lives to helping Stalin with his plans. As Napoleon, an allegory for Stalin, takes control of the farm, animals lose their lives, are manipulated to fight the humans and are living in constant fear of getting killed.
In Animal Farm, the leader of Animal Farm, Napoleon, frequently uses self-deification tactics to elevate his status above the working animals of the farm. Orwell stated that Napoleon “was always referred to in formal style as ‘our Leader, Comrade Napoleon,’ and the pigs liked invent for him such titles as Father of All Animals, Terror of Mankind, Protector of the Sheep-fold, Ducklings’ Friend, and the like” (Orwell 93). These titles expressed that Napoleon was a benevolent, powerful, and god-like figure, which elevated him over the common animal on Animal Farm. His titles also projected a feeling of superiority, which made the animals fear his presence and the presence of other pigs. As the pigs arrived
Elie Wiesel in Night and Snowball from Animal Farm are very similar characters because they were victimized by tyrants and used as scapegoats, but they are also unique and individual characters because Elie knew he was being taken advantage of and Snowball did not. Animal Farm is written by George Orwell, and it is about a farm of animals that take over the farm. Napoleon, a large pig, slowly takes away food and supplies from the other animals until he starts walking on two feet and becomes a “human.” Because of him Snowball is expelled from the farm and acts as a scapegoat for everything that goes wrong on the farm. Night is an autobiography written by Elie Wiesel, and in it Elie tells the story of he was taken from his home and put into a concentration camp under the control of Adolf Hitler.
This story Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel about an animal revolution over an oppressive farmer. The irony in the story comes when the pigs turn into the very thing revolted against. They exhibit the same cruelty by treating the other animals the same or even worse than previous owners. This cycle of cruelty is shown in the Russian revolution by Joseph Stalin who is represented by Napoleon in the story. Cruelty in animal farm is shown by the human’s treatment of the animals, and the animal’s eventual treatment of each other and the ironic characteristics of the two.
When thinking about pigs, you generally associate them with being dirty, repulsive and gluttonous. Well, that's Napoleon. In the novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell Napoleon is a pig on Manor Farm who slowly exerts power over others and begins his reign as a dictator. Napoleon takes over and renames the farm Animal Farm while being completely deceptive and unfair. Napoleon is a prime example of how absolute power corrupts absolutely because he is unjust and doesn't care for the wellbeing of any of the other animals on the farm but himself.
People respond to control and power differently for various reasons, however, one of the main reasons is based on their personality; their confidence and intelligence. In, Animal Farm by George Orwell, confidence and intelligence is a big factor for why certain animals obtained power and control and why other ones did not. People with confidence and intelligence are likely to gain most of the control and power. People with little intelligence, but lots of confidence are more likely to have some power or work underneath the leader. People with intelligence, but no confidence seem to have no power at all and shy away from it. Both intelligence and confidence are needed for someone to take total power. Therefore, the amount of confidence and intelligence a person has will decide how they respond to control and power.
Animal Farm by George Orwell Is Animal Farm by George Orwell merely a political argument or does it manage to entertain the reader as a story in itself In this Personal Study I shall be writing about how Animal Farm by George Orwell entertained me as a novel while putting over a political argument in the process. The opening chapter introduces the theme of revolution that dominates the whole novel, and aswell as doing that it also introduces the farm animals. In Chapter 1 Old Major is the central figure, he gets all the other animals into the barn one night and talks about a revolution, which gets the smartest animals - the pigs, thinking about what could happen.
The book Animal Farm can be summarize as a animals who were tired of working with poor conditions and wanted to make a change. After the creation called Animalism made by the majestic boar, Old Major, animals seeked for justice. In the beginning of animalism, the farm animals had got along and had created the seven commandments for all to follow but in short time they fell back in the hole of inequality. The pigs had taken over to be the most important, made the others fear them and were forced to let the boars have all power in saying. Orwell’s main purpose was to distribute the wide connection and relevance of animalism to communism showed great similarities toward the Russian Revolution. Many of the pigs portrayed the leaders of the Soviet
How would you feel if your leader did not treat you as equal as his people? In Animal Farm by George Orwell, Napoleon treated his people as if they were more important than the other animals. He changed the rules, to rules in which he desired. The animals were not intelligent enough to realize who Napoleon was brainwashing them to live as he wanted them to live. Napoleon took control of Animal Farm by using the Seven Commandments, dogs to make the animals fear him, and Squealer as propaganda. Through these ways, Napoleon maintained full power of Animal Farm.
The power behind the whip causes agony to ripple across my back, and a memory flickers in the back of my mind. It is a picture of a better world when we would be free of the cruelty of man. It is just a distant thought as I try and remember if this life is any better than when Jones was here. My memory grows dimmer as Napoleon raises the whip again, and the dogs growl. What if there is a world parallel to our own? One that reflects the very people from our history? The revolution of animals on Manor Farm relates to real life Soviet Russia during World War 2, under the oppressive rule of Joseph Stalin. This is Animal Farm by George Orwell. This is that parallel world. Under the guidance of a prize boar by the name Old Major, the animals on
There are several themes in Animal Farm, some including: Leadership and corruption, control of naïve working class, lies and deception, and dreams and hopes. The main themes in Animal Farm leadership and corruption. Animal Farm portrays the history of the Russian Revolution by retelling the development of communism. In the novel, by overthrowing Mr. Jones, the animals give the power to the pigs who take complete control of the farm. The struggle for superiority between Leon Trotsky, a Russian revolutionary, and Stalin, a Soviet statesman, is portrayed by the rivalry between the pigs, Napoleon and Snowball. In both cases, the less powerful one, Trotsky and Snowball, is eliminated by the more superior one, Stalin and Napoleon. Stalin's rule
The most interesting character I found was Squealer. My reasons being, he served Napoleon following everything he said. Whist using excuses and lies to justify Napoleon’s treacherous acts. This made him to be like an under-dog whose purpose was to corrupt, exploit and confuse the other animals on the farm.