The Purpose Of Old Major's Speech

“The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement.”(Orwell, 5). They did not know the difficulties they would face and so the animals threw themselves head first into revolution believing it would have a positive outcome. Revolution was inevitable once the motivations were put into place. ”We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.”(Orwell 2). Old Major ultimately gives the animals a choice by saying this: die, or die trying. The animals are motivated to do anything for this revolution because they believe their lives are going to waste. When they are faced with death they will do anything to stay alive.The progress of revolution had ended, only to incite another. “For a long time there had been rumours — circulated, he had reason to think, by some malignant enemy — that there was something

After the animal have gathered around to listen to Old Major's dream, he quickly segues into a speech about their rights. He States, “I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living.” Major uses his name in a clear representation of ethos, and because of his reputation and experience with humans, the animals are more likely to agree with his speech.

One magnificent part of Orwell’s Animal Farm is the fact that many of the characters show a great amount of symbolism. Two perfect examples of this are the pig Old Major, and the maleficent Farmer Jones. When the old pig is close to dying, Old Major tells the animals that after his death, he feels that a rebellion against man will happen in the animal world. He practically lays down his suggestions of how the rebellion should occur: all

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.

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.

N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016. Old Major is the animal version of V. I. Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Party that seized control in the 1917 Revolution. As old Major outlines the principles of Animalism, a theory holding that all animals are equal and must revolt against their oppressors, Lenin was inspired by Karl Marx's theory of Communism, which urges the "workers of the world" to unite against their economic oppressors. As Animalism imagines a world where all animals share in the prosperity of the farm, Communism argues that a "communal" way of life will allow all people to live lives of economic equality. old Major dies before he can see the final results of the revolution, as Lenin did before witnessing the ways in which his disciples carried on the work of

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

Before Old Major makes any actual arguments, he appeals to ethos. The first paragraph is entirely dedicated to establishing credibility with the audience. This is further reinforced later on through implications of great knowledge and experience. It is evident that before Old Major gave his speech he already had great authority, since everyone gathered to hear him speak, but

Furthermore, in the speech, repetition is used by repeating the main points of his speech. For example “No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness...” is said and them shortly after he repeats “No animal in England is free”. He uses repetition to emphasise his meaning to his speech. But repetition can be ironic as he repeats things due to his old age.

Old Major, a prize-winning boar, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one

It still holds the semblance of equality of animals, but here the meaning of the word equal has alters actually. Although the first clause implies that all animals are equal to one another, it does not state this claim overtly. Thus, it is possible to misread the word “equal” as a relative term rather than an absolute one, meaning that there can be different degrees of “equal”-ness. The revision of the original phrase also points to the specific form of corruption on Animal Farm. The initial, unmodified phrase makes reference to all animals, its message extending to the entire world of animals without distinction. Similarly, Old Major expresses ideals that posit the dignity of all, the comradeship of all, the inclusion of all in voting and decision-making, so that no one group or individual will oppress another. The revised phrase, however, mentions an “all,” but only in order to differentiate a “some” from that “all,” to specify the uniqueness, the elite nature, and the chosen status of that “some.” The pigs clearly envision themselves as this privileged “some”; under their totalitarian regime, the working animals exist only to serve the larger glory of the leadership, to provide the rulers with food and comfort, and to support their luxurious and exclusive

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

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

Animal Farm is established with moral intentions. The neglected animals of the farm rise up to overthrow Jones, and imagine a society of fairness based on the experiences of old major, in which all animals will have justice and won’t be demoralized by the people anymore. Old Major quickly establishes that “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend” (Orwell 11). He also reminds them that the ways of man are completely immoral, and they must not ever implement any of their habits. Giving the animals a shared enemy is an effective way to control the population. That is the first sign of a totalitarian state emerging in Animal Farm. Instead of the entire farm determining rules together, two pigs frame the rules of Animalism for the supposed utopian-like Animal Farm. They read:

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