George Orwell’s famous novel, “Animal Farm” gives an erudite and succinct portrayal of the dangers of autocracy on society even (if not especially) when founded with only the most idealistic, populist intents. While the novel served most closely as an allegory of the Russian Revolution and the evolution of the...Soviet Union through Stalin’s rule, there are plenty of opportunities to write essays about its relevance to contemporary regimes with populist claims that also consolidate power. Whichever regime you choose to write an essay about in which “Animal Farm” as an allegory, you can find relevant samples of papers online, on which to base your outline and subsequent essay featuring an introduction, body, and conclusion.
From Hitler to Hussein, the rise and fall of dictators has captivated historians and writers alike for centuries. British novelist George Orwell (1903-1950) was no exception. In his 1946 allegory Animal Farm, Orwell satirized the 1917 Russian Revolution and the subsequent decades of totalitarian Soviet...
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George Orwell was born by the name of Eric Arthur Blair. He changed his name shortly before he published his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London, in 1933 and recognized himself as a socialist by the 1930’s. Animal Farm was first published...
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“ One of Orwell’s objectives in composing Animal Farm was to depict the Russian (or Bolshevik) Revolution of 1917 as one that brought about an administration more severe, totalitarian, and lethal than the one it ousted. A significant number of the characters and occasions of...
‘Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. All animals are equal.’ (Old Major’s Speech Chapter 1) Consider the significance of Old Major’s speech. How does Orwell use these ideas as a basis for events throughout the novel? Old Major’s speech in Chapter 1...
Today animals celebrate an heroic victory against the odds. They were never expected to be able to outsmart and out muscle the men. Earlier reports had indicated that the farm’s previous owner, Mr Jones, had been forced out of the farm one night after he...
One of George Orwell’s most well-known novels, Animal Farm, has been a very interesting topic of discussion lately. The story is about a group of animals overthrowing the farmer and taking over the farm themselves. With their newly found freedom, the animals had to figure...
In this essay I will discuss the methods of representation of compassion in Animal Farm by George Orwell. All through the novella, Orwell brings out compassion from the gathering of people for the creatures utilizing an assortment of fruitful techniques. For instance, Orwell displays a large portion of...
Animal Farm is a masterwork and a dystopian novella. It falls under novella because it is shorter and has a plot that is less complex as novels. This tale tells us a real story of animal revolution. This use of literary devices helps us to...
Numerous characters in the novel are based, sharing parallel behavior and ideologies, on dominant Russian figures both during and after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Mr. Jones personifies Tsar Nicholas II (the last Tsar). Like the animals living under Mr. Jones, the Russian people living...
The animals’ inability to read greatly affected their daily lives and how power was wielded amongst them. The ability to read and write makes the pigs considered to be more clever than others, and, therefore, more privileged. Soon enough, a hierarchy is established where the...
George Orwell’s Animal Farm exemplifies the influence of literacy on power, and draws a direct relationship between the two, attributing the novel’s leaders’ rise to power due to their abilities to read and write. Using manipulation, propaganda, vague language, and misinformation, the pigs were able...
Throughout the novella ‘Animal Farm’, Orwell evokes sympathy from the audience for the animals using a variety of successful methods. For example, Orwell presents most of the animals as not being very intelligent, and that Napoleon and the other pigs take full advantage of this....
As the animals under Jones lead lives of hunger, the lives of millions of Russians worsened during Nicholas’ reign. Old Major is the animal version of Vladimir Lenin , the leader of the Bolshevik Party that seized control in the 1917 Revolution. As old Major...
In 1946, George Orwell would author one of the most notorious and astute books of all time, a book titled Animal Farm. Animal Farm takes place on a farm led by a pig by the name of Old Major. When he describes his dream to...
Communism, Dogs, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, Dystopia, Education, Eric Burdon, Faber and Faber, George Orwell, Intelligence and Education as Tools of Oppression
Many literary authors use a number of literary devices in their writings. Some of the most common are devices such as similes, symbolism, satire, and alliteration. Many writers try to express their own ideas through their writing in hopes that others will one day read...
“All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is echoed throughout the texts ‘Animal Farm’ (George Orwell, 1945) and Divergent (Neil Burger, 2014). Both texts demonstrate that the struggle for power is deep rooted in corruption and prove this by portraying that power...
The evolutionary aspect of the human race which sets it apart, in knowledge and complexity, from the rest of the animal kingdom, is its ability to express ideas through language. Arguably, our ability to manipulate language in order to negotiate, disseminate and create ideas, has...
The social hierarchy and class differences of The Animal Farm caused its demise. The most prominent social groups settled into their own habitats, establishing their own “grounds.” The animals on the bottom of the hierarchy are not well educated, and so are inferior under the...
In the allegorical novel Animal Farm, George Orwell uses animals to represent humans or groups in Stalin’s Russian Revolution. A character who is integral to the development of the storyline is Benjamin, an aged donkey. It is unclear which group or person in Stalin’s Revolution...
Animal Farm is an allegorical novel written by George Orwell based upon the historical events of the 1917 Russian Revolution. The short tale revolves around an overworked group of farm animals that rebel against their owners in an attempt to create a utopian state. Above...
Within George Orwell’s simple allegory Animal Farm lie lessons about the complex bonds between leadership, fraternity, and self-agency. The animals are at first subjugated by humans in a communal voiceless suffering, but Old Major inspires them to mobilize their powerful fraternity for their own good....
The first president of the United States, George Washington, famously stated, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter” (Washington). Often an uneducated working class is exploited for labour by the higher intellectual...
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Boxer… The Proletariat Communism. What comes to mind when you hear the word, communism? Do you think about malevolent leaders, or do you think about a thriving society? In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx pushed forward his ideas of Communism and discredited the Capitalist system...
Rhetoric is the art of persuasive speaking techniques. Examples of rhetoric are: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic). In Animal Farm by George Orwell, the pigs have pushed themselves in power because of their use of rhetoric. They used ethos, pathos, and logos to...
Given insufficient insight into the thoughts and the goal of a political leader, one can blindly appreciate the benefits from their government. While the reverse can also be established that political leaders desired for such perception to be placed within individuals in order to further...
Analyzing and evaluating literature that utilizes animals within its text allows the reader to have a better understanding of a writings meaning and the author’s intentions. The significance of animals in literature allows the writer to reinforce common themes that are fundamental to written works....
George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ is an allegorical fairy tale which is profound in its condemnations of totalitarian regimes. The novel explores the concepts of propaganda, totalitarianism and tyranny impacting on the oppressed society with the use of animal characters to expose the evils of exploitation....
Napoleon, Old Major, Snowball, Squealer, Boxer, Mr. Jones, Clover, Pilkington, Mr. Frederick, Mr. Whymper, Benjamin
Based on
The book has been influenced during Orwell's Spanish Civil war experiences and author's opinion regarding Stalinist corruption of the original socialist ideals.
Symbols/motives
It symbolizes Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist Party rule. The symbols include capitalism, socialism, fascism, and communism. The rule of power, corruption.
Influence
The Animal Farm teaches us an important lesson that it is not possible to create a utopian society since every leader will sooner or later become corrupt. Another important aspect is the gain of power and temptation of a luxurious life that is always based on personal gain. It is a reason why it becomes an important book that tells about the potential of good intentions. While it does portray the authoritarian example of the USSR, it also explores the ways of people that still serve others with good intentions.
Plot
The book tells a story about farm animals who rebel against their human farmer. As simple as that, they hope to create a different society where every animal can live an equal life, remain free, and feel happy. It is a complex allegory that tries to reflect a revolution. Still, this animal rebellion is betrayed with the farm ending up in a poor state. The reason for this failure, according to Orwell, is the dictatorship's rule of a pig named Napoleon.
Interesting facts
The Animal Farm has been rejected more than most books in the history of publishing by the big names until Secker & Warburg decided to publish it.
The book became influential for C.S. Lewis who believed that the book is about equality where every animal is equal, yet some are more equal than others.
The book has been based on real-life village of Wallington, which is where Orwell has lived during the late 1930s and early 1940s.
The Animal Farm became a propagandistic tool of the CIA to bring anti-communist views across the world.
Speaking of the Soviet Union, the novel has been banned until about 1988 when "Glasnost" views have made it possible for the Latvian magazine to publish it in four parts.
The book has also been banned in Cuba, North Korea, Kenya, and even the United Arab Emirates.
The book has inspired numerous world-famous musicians like The Beatles and Pink Floyd.
Patrick Stewart of Star Trek fame was the one who voiced the main character "Napoleon".
Quotes
"Remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades."
"All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal."
"The animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
"Animal Farm, Animal Farm, Never through me shalt thou come to harm!"
"Ah, that is different!" said Boxer. "If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right."
Why is this topic important
The purpose of the book is to explain how existing potential often leads to dangers of good intentions. As the political satire of the USSR's ruling style, it aims to show that revolution and striving for change comes from good intentions, yet misleads people into something else. Using dystopian fiction, Orwell remains precise in his opinion regarding tyranny and origins that it has. It also deals with ignorance and an intentional failure to notice things.
Why should this topic be used
This topic is important for essays because it deals with corrupting influence of power, totalitarian regime, sincerity, propaganda, and the good intentions that we all have. It is also a good topic to tell about leadership and betrayal. Since this book deals with an allegory, it must be taken as an example of our modern life.
What was Old Major's speech about?
The Old Major's speech represents a significant element for this novel because it speaks of the very idea of rebellion that is brought to the minds of the animals. It is the first time when they start approaching human beings as their enemies and see themselves as the victims of animalism or farm oppression. The major speaks about hardships and bad lives and claims that it is Farmer Jones that is to blame. It can be approached as the turning point of the novel.
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