...Animal Farm is a novel that appears at first glance like a children's book metaphor to represent Russia, but it's much broader than that, it's the mistakes of all men with absolute power. Animal Farm is a historical novel that illustrates the idea that absolute power corrupts absolutely and with corruption comes lack of equality among the people. George Orwell uses: metaphors, fables, satire, illusion, and characterization to convey the ideas that men make mistakes with too much power. Animal Farm, like a metaphor, conveys a deeper level of meaning beneath the children’s story about animals on a farm. One main point Orwell was trying to show his audience is too much power can corrupt any government. This can be viewed through the character Napoleon. As the story progresses, the pigs gradually obtain more power, which they used to take advantage of the less intelligent animals on the farm. When the animals were weeding the turnip field, "They worked diligently, hardly raising their faces from the ground, and not knowing whether to be more frightened of the pigs or of the human visitors" (Orwell, p.52). This shows how Orwell was trying to warn the audience that no matter what the person's intentions are, power can corrupt anyone. Animal Farm can also be a fable that is used to teach lessons on morality. One lesson can be that greed brings out the worst in everyone. For example, the pigs were driven by their own personal interests until they became just as bad as their enemies...
Words: 876 - Pages: 4
...dystopia, what is a utopia??. In George Orwell’s novella, Animal Farm, the farm animals are restricted and mistreated. They have an overseer named Mr. Jones who is not only a drunk, but is slowly losing his ability to take care of Manor Farm. Gradually the animals are moving toward the idea of revolution against their dictator. Lois Lowry once said, “The life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient. Or unusual. Is a life without colour, pain or past.” This quote can be interpreted as a life without problems, surprises or consequences, is a life with no originality or vitality. George Orwell uses a large variety of literary elements such as, symbols, dramatic irony and conflict...
Words: 1074 - Pages: 5
...illegal behavior especially by powerful people’. It is displayed by Hitler in the Holocaust, George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, and even in our modern day. George Orwell conveys a powerful message that applies to all three situations, supporting Orwell’s compelling message. Orwell’s political message about corruption of the government and leaders abuse of power is depicted in the way Hitler led Germany, the current U.S. government and George Orwell’s portrayal of the Russian Revolution in Animal Farm. There are many examples of people taking advantage of power in our country today. In a New York Times Article titled “ "Officials Push to Bolster Law on Wiretapping", author Charlie Savage informs readers of the government’s new push for an increase in surveillance. Recently, phone companies and networks have updated their software, causing it to be additionally difficult for the government to spy on them and take the customers personal information(Savage 1). As the U.S. government continues to wiretap and collect information from large phone carriers such as AT&T and Verizon(Savage 1), it will become an extreme and impactful invasion of privacy. This push will extend the laws to companies like Gmail, Facebook and Skype(Savage 2). Savage paraphrases Valerie E. Caproni’s (FBI spokesperson) comment at the FBI’s general counsel “...the government was seeking only to prevent its surveillance power from eroding”(Savage 2). The government also wastes money on fixing technical problems...
Words: 2379 - Pages: 10
...How do the Various Animals in Animal Farm Mimic Social Classes or Types Found in Human Society? After reading “Animal Farm” written by George Orwell, I have come to a realisation that it resembles much of the human society. Events from the book resemble greatly what happened during a historical period such as during the Soviet Union. In order to describe the pigs’ dictatorship and the role of the different animals, I will use the example of Stalin’s reign in Russia. Also, I will be describing the roles of the people under Stalin’s dictatorship in comparison to the animals. Starting with the role of old major, followed by the pigs, then the horses, the dogs, Mollie the sheep and Moses the raven. The roles of each animal will be described and then analysed by comparison to the social classes in a dictatorship society. In the beginning of the story of “Animal Farm”, Old Major preached about a dream he had the previous night. It was about a world in which animals lived without tyranny of men, where all animals roamed free as they wished. He described a world which is out of reach for the animals in their current situation. He preached an idealism called Animalism where animals do the work but humans keep the profit made. In animalism, there are no owners, no rich and no poor. Animals get a better life, because without owners, all animals are equal. In addition, every animal owns the farm. They work for themselves in order to get work done within the farm. With a poor leader...
Words: 1517 - Pages: 7
...George Orwell who wrote for political purpose was for people to see history a little clearer. Not many people have a chance to read an allegory which for “Animal Farm’ is the Russian Revolution. In the three publications, the author’s political and artistic use was to understand rules according to the article “Politics and the English Language”. These thought provoking book, “Animal Farm”, as dependent on the revolution where these animals almost impersonate the dictators and working people which makes you understand the story a little better. As for Orwell’s point of view, it was to see if the audience can comprehend what is really behind these hard working animals. On the surface George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm” is about a group of neglected...
Words: 657 - Pages: 3
...boy, George Orwell had always loved writing and literature. He began writing poems before most kids today can even spell their name. This love lead him to receive scholarships and become an authorauthur. It did not all come easy for him though, and he had many obstacles in his way, including some life threatening ones. By looking at Animal Farm, one can see that George Orwell included the themes of the corruption of sSocialist ideas and the danger of a naive working class because he was very opposed to the cCommunistic ways of the Soviet Union. George Orwell, who was born Eric ArthurAuthur Blair, was born on June 25, 1903, in Motihari, India. He was the son of, Richard WalmesleyWalmasley Blair, a British civil servant officer, and...
Words: 2043 - Pages: 9
...Power is something that leads people, and everyone wants to be led in the right direction so people should choose who they give power to wisely. Animal Farm is a novel that uses animals to show how Russia was slowly failing in communism. It goes through how the leaders brainwash the common working class and most everyone else to keep power. The story makes it noticeable that all the common animals could rebel like the first time but were too brainwashed to understand the bad that was going on. This novel Animal Farm , by George Orwell, is written to symbolize the working class, Stalin, and propaganda in the soviet union to show if too much power is granted then the outcome might not be so great. In the story, the character Napoleon symbolizes great power and how too much power is a terrible thing. He is granted way too much power, so when other farms try to make deals he screws them around then they become enemies. With the power he is granted, he gets all the luxury that the animals aren’t supposed to have. Napoleon has so much power that “four dogs guarded his bed at night, on at each corner” (Orwell 95). If Napoleon was never granted so much power then the farm would be a great place. This is why Napoleon symbolizes Stalin in the book....
Words: 543 - Pages: 3
...Animal Farm An Allegory of the French Revolution By Travis Booker English 1302 Mrs. Simpson April 18, 2012 What is an allegory? Allegory is a device used to present an idea, principle, or meaning, which can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, in musical form, such as composition or lyric, or in visual form, such as in painting or drawing. It is also seen in scriptural passage. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions, or symbolic representation. Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric; a rhetorical allegory is a demonstrative form of representation conveying meaning other than the words that are spoken. As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. As an artistic device, an allegory is a visual symbolic representation. An example of a simple visual allegory is the image of the grim reaper. Viewers understand that the image of the grim reaper is a symbolic representation of death (Kennedy 142). During a time when there was much change and the spirit of rebellion was all around, Animal Farm was written by George Orwell. George Orwell used allegory in his novel Animal Farm to parallel the Russian Revolution and resulting totalitarian regime to the revolutions of the animals and the pigs' corruption of absolute power. The novel's characters, events, and corruption of ideas paralleled the pattern that took place among the Russians during and following the...
Words: 2472 - Pages: 10
...June 2nd 2015 Absolute Power George Orwell created a book in which animals were almost as intelligent as humans are, and held an idea of a farm where socialism ruled. This essay will prove that absolute power is the ultimate downfall of man. This will be proven using examples from the novel Animal Farm, written by George Orwell. This story shows these pigs slowly using their manipulative brains, and thoughts, to take control of this Animal Farm. Throughout the book these pigs gain more power and begin to abuse it corrupting the system transforming this socialism dream into a communism starting the whole cycle of unfair rule where signs of unrest become present once again. As the title suggests, Animal Farm takes place on a farm that was once owned by Mr. Jones, who was an abusive animal caretaker who always got drunk and never followed through with his responsibilities. This was seen in the very beginning when, "Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes." This farm lies in the center of a string of three farms divided by natural barriers, and a road that leads to the town. The farm held a well, fields, orchards, stalls, house, and every other thing that a normal farm would contain. This tale was created to express the ideas of a perfect government called socialism and the human nature to want more than equality. Animal Farm shows how if someone is granted more power with nothing to tie it...
Words: 1220 - Pages: 5
...Animal Farm A review by: Dimitrios Pastirmatzis "Animal Farm is an allegorical and dystopian novella by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945"(1) Animal Farm is a book written in England on the 17th of August of 1945, when the Soviet Union was in the midst of the Stalinist era and is critical of the situation that was developing there. In George Orwell's views the Soviet union was turned into an inhumane dictatorship built around a single man and enforced through sheer terror of various punishments and/or executions. The author deems his book a "fairy story", but the book is anything but. The animals of Manor Farm, plagued by malnurishment and the injustice that was forced upon them, revolt against their human...
Words: 982 - Pages: 4
...Power can change one's decisions and actions. This can be seen throughout history, such as the Russian revolution. John Acton Once said “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Someone may start Leading with good intentions, but power corrupts them. In The novel Animal Farm, George Orwell shows how power can affect people's actions and priorities. In The Novel, Animal Farm, Orwell is saying that power corrupts.In the beginning of the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon is just like the other animals. All the animals felt they were being mistreated and decided to rebel against Jones, the original owner of Manor Farm or, Animal Farm later on. Then, when snowball is a leader, Napoleon decides that he wants to be in power instead...
Words: 375 - Pages: 2
...Greed and abuse of power. These are two words that can describe any leader of today’s time period. Often, leaders use propaganda to get their people to do what they want for them. According to Eric Hoffer, “Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.” Propaganda is a biased misleading statement. When a political leader or anyone in general shares propaganda people don’t often believe what one may say. However, propaganda affects people and their thinking about life. Throughout the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, propaganda is used very similarly. Napoleon is the leader of the farm and squealer is his sidekick. Usually Squealer states, propaganda to the animals to get them to do work for Napoleon. Most of them time the animals listen to what Squealer says however it causes the animals to often feel very confused. Therefore, George Orwell shows that the common theme is abusing too much power by sharing false statements about other animals....
Words: 646 - Pages: 3
...net containing bad and good” Robert Hugh Benson, A City Set on a HIll. In George Orwells, The Animal Farm, the farm is the organism, composed of members who hold within the both good and evil, exactly like ours - just a little harrier. The Animal Farm overall is one complete representation of the inner workings of the communism within the Soviet Union, however within the novel there are many smaller symbols which relate to human society as a whole, one being the farm itself. George Orwell uses the farm as a symbol to show how a society functions in relation to the human race, and the classification system humanity created for itself....
Words: 600 - Pages: 3
...Introduction Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is a novel presenting a fictional world where animals can communicate with each other and act like humans. Animal farm is a book concerned about the politics of leadership and the rise of fall of great leaders; also the events surrounding the Animal Farm are mirrored to the events that took place during the Russian Revolution. There is also a relevance and resemblance of the occurrences in the book with the operations of a business and business communication. Within the content of the book, there were many parallels identified that existed with business communication, such as the various methods used to communicate with the animals on the farm such as meetings, written communication, debates and committees. Also, the communication channels used to communicate externally between the animal farm and the outside world, such as the use of word of mouth from Mr. Whymper as the messenger and the receiver, also the pigeons was used as messengers to spread news to other farms in England. Furthermore, technology was witnessed to prevail at the end of the story, as a source of progress in Animal Farm such as installing a telephone and subscribing to magazines. Animal farm also portrayed a comparison between the leadership approaches of human with that of the pigs that controlled the farm. In Animal Farm, old Major the boar on the Manor Farm, called the animals for a meeting and made a speech, Major explained to the animals that they are...
Words: 1863 - Pages: 8
...Bray English 9 March 5, 2015 ESSAY In a society where people in power have education where others do not, these people often use their education as a weapon. In George Orwell’s story, Animal Farm, Orwell demonstrates that education is a powerful weapon and is a tool that can be used to one’s advantage. Living in a society where power is easy to gain, the pigs quickly use their education to take advantage of the other animals to rise to power. The pigs are the first to realize that education is very important and use their superior knowledge to manipulate the other animals in order to take control. The morning of the hay harvest, the pigs made an announcement that brings them to take control of the farm. Surprising the other animals, the pigs “revealed that during the last three months they had learned to read and write” (Orwell 9). Writing that the pigs had learned to read and write “during the past three months,” Orwell shows that the pigs know that education has value and kept it secret for a reason. Using this education, the pigs intend to gain power and therefore do not intend on teaching the other animals to their fullest...
Words: 657 - Pages: 3
