George Orwell 's Animal Farm

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.

Communism, in general, was a prominent theme in the book Animal Farm. George Orwell gives Old Major characteristics not unlike some of the most largely influential communists. The idea of communism often involves a strong sense of individualism and selfishness (Shaoqi). In Animal Farm we see this in the quote “All animals are equal but some more than others” (Orwell 92). These ethics are strongly conveyed by Karl Marx. Karl Marx can be compared to Old Major through their mutual ideas of unity and equality. Marx believed in a state of social equality. “[Marx] describes about his concept of a classless society… [he imagines communism] is the state of equality among people” (www.bachelorandmaster.com). Major expresses this same idea through a similar experience. “Last night… [Beasts of England] came back to me in my dream” (Orwell 9). They go on to sing Beasts of England united as one, paralleling Marx’s idea of equality. Vladimir Lenin, another influential communist, can also be compared to Old Major. Both of them were advocates for socialism and communism but never got to actually see them go through. “Let the ‘socialist’ snivellers croak, let the bourgeoisie rage and fume, but only people who shut their eyes so as not to see, and stuff their ears so as not to hear, can fail to notice that all over the world the birth pangs of the old, capitalist society, which is pregnant with socialism, have begun” (Lenin). He never truly meant for it to progress to a form of extreme communism, just as Old Major hadn’t either. Old Major's ideas and thoughts were different than what was carried out by some of his supporters. There were many who disagreed with the views on extremism and wanted to expand their reign both through manipulation and expansion.

Old Major is the oldest and most well respected of the pigs on the farm. At the beginning of the book, Old Major tells all animals of the farm about a strange dream he had that all the animals were equal and kept what they produced. He explains that animals do not need to live short lives where they are starved and only kept to produce. He then claims that man is the only creature who consumes without producing.

Karl Marx’s theories, ideas, and his Communist Manifesto can be refelcted in George Orwell’s character, Old Major. Old Major, also known as Willingdon Beauty, is the first major character in Animal Farm and represents Karl Marx. Old Major is the one who starts the revolution among the animals to overthrow Jones and change their ways of living just like Marx is the one who is credited for starting the communist revolution. Old Major starts his conversation by stating that he had a dream and then continues futhur by telling the animal about how cruel an animal life is and that no animal is free and are being

Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire that exposes and criticizes the corruption of the Russian Revolution by using animals to represent political figures. The novel symbolizes a time of darkness in Russia as one that resulted in a government more controlling, totalitarian, and deadly than the one it overthrew. The short story “Harrison Bergeron” is set in the year 2081 where thanks to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments, everyone is equal to each other. Although the two works of literature may sound to be very distinct from one another, they both are full of social commentary.

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.

Old Major's use of rhetorical devices makes his speech effective in conveying the ideals of animalism and the revolution. Old Major speaks to all the animals on the farm, making a motivating speech calling all the animals to action, allegorically representing what Marx and Lenin did during the Russian Revolution. Old Major begins the speech establishing his credibility with the audience, appealing to ethos. Old major emphasizes that he “has had a long life… had much time for thought” and “understands the nature of life on this earth.” Old major alludes to his wisdom and longevity, reinforcing his credibility. By doing this, Old Major is respected and listened to, effectively using ethos to support why he should be the leader of the animalism

In the first chapter, we are introduced to “Old Major” who is a prize-winning boar and is highly respected throughout the farm. He depicts a dream that he had a couple nights before and talks about why the animals should rebel and why man is so evil. They talk about how man “is the only thing that consumes

"Remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him,” is something that Old Major says after he tells the other animals of the dream he had the night before. This event causes a chain reaction in the book Animal Farm. Old Major shares some excellent ideas but he passes away before he can see them carried out, and when they are, they do not go the way he had planned them in the first place. He is in a way, like Karl Marx, the founder of Communism, the two both have ideas for a new world but as time goes on and new people come into power the basic principles of Communism and Animalism are soon forgotten.

Old Major was an aged boar who felt the need for change in manor farm. He introduces the theories and ideas on which the rebellion is based and it is his intention to simplify it suitably so that the animals can understand. He encourages a rebellion with his speech, in which he professes, “All animals are equal” (Orwell 4). Old Major spoke of Animalism, where he expounds on equality, as no animal is better than the other. Everyone is equal to each other, one of the main aspects of communism. This corresponds to Marx’s vision of communism where the proletariat is equal with the bourgeoisie as he believes, “class distinctions have disappeared” (Marx 1848). Both focus on a classless society, where everyone is equal. As Marx stood for the rights of the people, so Old Major intended to institute a philosophy that would free the animals from human tyranny, creating an equal and fair system with no class structure. Old Major dies before he can see his dreams become reality, similar as Karl Marx died before his theories could change the face of history. Orwell shows how there are positive intentions behind the ideas that spark revolutions however that does not always

George Orwell’s use of satire in Animal Farm, a depiction of the Russian Revolution, correlates with the literary device – allegory. When comparisons are made between the book’s characters and its relation to several theories, common themes are unmistakably present. The author’s use personification through direct characterisation of animals in the story highlights how the greed for absolute power corrupts.

Unity among the lower (working) class – This is the subject matter that strongly resonates throughout the first chapter of the Animal Farm as narrated by Old Major, as well as Lenin’s speech in 1919. There is similarity in the manner in which these two figures address their constituents. Old Major uses the word “comrades,” just as Lenin includes himself when he mentions “workers and peasants” in order to appeal to their fellow supporters. In Animal Farm, Old Major distinctly spells out that his comrades are all animals that play a subservient working role for the good of others, in this case mankind. He expresses that all the products of their toil are for the benefit of men. Animals are left with nothing besides the assured knowledge that

George Orwell includes a strong message in his novel Animal Farm that is easily recognizable. Orwell’s Animal Farm focuses on two primary problems that were not only prominent in his WWII society, but also posed as reoccurring issues in all societies past and present. Orwell’s novel delivers a strong political message about class structure and oppression from the patriarchal society through an allegory of a farm that closely resembles the Soviet Union.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm, is a novella about the rebellion of the animals in the Manor Farm, which is actually an analogy to the Russian Revolution in 1917. In order to reveal the reality of the Russian Revolution, Orwell establishes the characters based on historical figures that were involved in the revolution; even the minor characters such as, Old Major, Mollie, and Benjamin, represent someone in the history. Orwell utilizes these minor characters to demonstrate and even criticize their historical counterparts through the characters’ thoughts, and reactions to various events in the novel.

Old Major represents two different people, both Marx and Lenin. As Marx, he introduces the principles of communism to the animals. As Lenin, he puts the revolution in motion. He tells them that they should rebel, and soon. Orwell is largely positive in his portrayal of the character, he liked Marxism theoretically, believing that the execution was flawed. In the context of the book, however, Old Major, as the instigator, held much of the blame for the eventual degradation of the society. But he was eventually forgotten as the farm’s condition worsened, so he started the snowball rolling, but failed to see that it would get bigger and more destructive as it rolled down the hill.