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Essay Comparing Animal Farm And Mao's Last Dancer

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Both texts, Animal Farm and Mao’s Last Dancer have settings that describe oppression in several ways. In Animal Farm, the animals are set in a fictional farm previously named Manor Farm in England during the Russian Revolution of 1917. The farm was formerly owned by Mr Jones, who did not take care of the animals. This represented an oppressed human society. Similarly, Beresford distinguishes the settings of America and China through the use of colours and cinematic techniques. The movie was set in the era of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1970s and in America in the 80s. This is evident when scenes in China have dark colours during Mao’s Cultural Revolution in comparison to scenes in America, which have bright colours. As a result, …show more content…

Orwell defines a barn as a symbol, which represents a gathering area for the animals. An example of this can be seen in the opening chapters of the text when Old Major gathers the animals in the barn to discuss his concept regarding the animals to live freely. The audience comes to realise that Old Major proposes an idea for the animals to break free from an oppressed society. Comparably, in Mao’s Last Dancer, the director demonstrates the use of symbolism regarding the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao, a political leader during the revolution, is depicted on posters as well as badges. This is evident when Li juxtaposes with Mao Zedong’s poster in a Chinese Government’s office, which represents that Mao watches over the Chinese citizens. Both texts show progression through the use of symbolism. In Animal Farm, the windmill represents progression that benefits all the animals. Likewise, in Mao’s Last Dancer, an arrow during Li’s performances symbolises progression. Accordingly, the symbols with characterisation describe a system that oppresses the characters throughout both

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