...Name: Instructor: Course: Date: How Old Major Uses Language Purposively to Persuade the Listeners in his Speech Introduction In the introductory chapter of the allegorical fable, ‘Animal Farm,’ written by George Orwell in 1945, the first paragraph presents an attractive welcome into the satirical masterpiece. In spirit to augment the trending prospects of the schools of thought and the political ideologies, the author settles on animal characters to help present his views in the catchy story. Old Major is the twelve-year-old boar, the most respected animal, and the major character in the chapter. He enjoys the loyalty of the other animals, especially their regular assembly for his custom speeches. Indeed, the allegiance is not with respect to age alone, but mainly the ability to hold the audience and grab their attention amid profound linguistic skills. It is equally significant to comprehend that the primary reason for the speech was to persuade his “comrades” to understand the need to rebel against humans. It was, therefore, his obligation to possess the full attention of the audience throughout the session. Hence, this paper uncovers fundamental language concepts that he employed in his speech to keep the listeners’ attention glued to him. Indeed, Old Major’s listeners would follow every sentence of his address due to the outstanding oratory and persuasive techniques he employs in almost each of them. The techniques involves the use of emotional language, repetitions...
Words: 1013 - Pages: 5
...“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell is a narrative based on an experience that Orwell had whilst working in the territory of Burma (Myanmar), within British Raj, as an English police officer with the Indian Imperial Police. The conflict the British police officer internally struggles with is the issue of imperialism, specifically stated as an “evil thing” (Broadview, pg 1403), despite working and living within a British colony of Burma. For Orwell, his major drawback is within the fact that he does not agree with the supremacy that is held over the Burmese people. As explained “ Theoretically- and secretly, of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British” (Broadview, pg 1403). Orwell repeatedly mentions evidence of British cruelty, exhibiting this is in images throughout his story, such as is the depiction of prisoners in cages. Moreover, the language employed by Orwell depicts an English colonial, in that he refers to the natives of Burma as yellow. Throughout the story, Orwell is presented with the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of imperialism through his experience of coming into contact with the elephant. He explains he did not want to shoot the elephant, but as an officer of...
Words: 794 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 1863 - Pages: 8
...The novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is a fictional story based upon animals living on, as you may have already figured out; a farm. The title suggests a basic, if not childish story; but is the complete opposite, giving extensive detail on the Communism government system, as well as giving animals human emotions and characteristics. In Animal Farm, Old Major suggests rebellion, and changing everything on the farm to be equal. Napoleon and Snowball constantly argued over this matter. Napoleon seized power and what was going to be a place of equality became a place where the “lesser” animals were overworked. The socialistic maxim of “all animals are equal” would make an ideal society. It would be effective had it not been for the cruel, megalomaniac Napoleon’s and his fellow pigs’ lust for power and quest to be human. The pigs rank above all other animals on the farm. They are the only ones who make and take away decisions, they show human nature by how they run the farm; almost like a government, with a class system, of the simpleminded animals near and around the bottom of the food chain. One interesting animal; Boxer shows a strong relation to the typical, hardworking, simpleminded human; easy to fool, and easy to manage. Another aspect of human nature shown in Animal Farm is ignorance. This aspect was shown through animals like boxer. When Napoleon took over the farm, Boxer established two maxims, “Napoleon is always right” and “I will work harder”. By Boxer...
Words: 506 - Pages: 3
...Shooting an Elephant: The Death of Free Will George Orwell’s essay, Shooting an Elephant, was first published in 1936 in the autumn issue of New Writing, a London periodical. According to Adrian De Lange, Shooting an Elephant is one of Orwell’s most famous essays (Bloom 9). It cannot be established whether or not it was an actual account of something that Orwell experienced, something he witnessed or if it is solely fictitious, but is accepted that this essay was written out of Orwell’s experiences while he was a member of the Imperial India Police Force in Burma, described by Orwell as, “five boring years” (Abrahams 194). There are many apparent and some not so apparent themes in this work. The harmful results of Imperialism, prejudice, and living by your own conscience are all valid and thought provoking themes. A theme that is also valid and beneficial to examine is the dangers of isolation and alienation and how those states can manifest in dangerous, even deadly ways. Isolation and alienation can be very damaging on the human spirit. That damage can lead to actions that do irreparable harm to an individual as well as a community. In Shooting an Elephant the narrator finds himself isolated because of his role as policeman in a foreign country and by the hostility and mistrust of the Burmese citizens he must police. This isolation leads to vulnerability and weakness when faced with mob pressure. When given into, peer pressure leads to death:...
Words: 1580 - Pages: 7
...Modern Totalitarianism. In the 1940s through the 1960s, the world lived in a time of war. In September 1939 World War II broke out , and was followed by the Cold War of 1947 that lasted up until 1991. The historic wars of these times influenced literature and the writers of the time, as they shaped their novels and books around these events. Writers such as George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut created novels of dystopian societies to alert nations that communism was not as great as it sounded. British writer George Orwell wrote the novel 1984 published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. in 1949. 1984 is a political novel written with the purpose of warning readers in the West of the dangers of totalitarian government. In 1949, the Cold War had not yet escalated, and many Americans supported communism as possible political systems for the west. Therefore, Orwell wrote his novel in order to expose the cruelty and oppression of communist countries. In his dystopian nation, Orwell gave a sneak peak of what a country could become if the people gave all the power to the government. In 1984, Orwell portrays the perfect totalitarian society in which the government monitors and controls every aspect of human life to the extent that having a disloyal thought is against the law. They do so with the use of technology such as tele screens and microphones across the city which allowed the government to monitor all the citizens almost all of the times. In order to keep the citizens of London...
Words: 2560 - Pages: 11
...Similarly, dystopian literature explores the unpleasant and overlooked components of society. 1984 was written by George Orwell in the year 1949 to reflect on the possibility of a totalitarian government in the near future. Furthermore, the book examined the harsh reality of living under total control of the government. It also demonstrated Winston Smith’s, the protagonist, efforts in challenging the whole system. Therefore, an analysis of Winston’s attempt in defeating his government and its outcome illustrates the manner in how to handle atrocities and evil under authoritarian rule. Winston’s decision to challenge the Party was more important to him than preserving his safety and dignity...
Words: 1162 - Pages: 5
...Compare and contrast the ways in which the authors William Shakespeare, George Orwell and Jeanette Winterson examine the effects of control in their texts The Taming of the Shrew, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew attempts to present a comedic mockery of 16th century values. Shakespeare presents to the audience the farce of marriage values, the treatment of women and the control employed to tame those who were deemed ‘unruly.’ Shakespeare uses this technique in order to highlight to his audience the ridiculousness and brutality of their actions and, furthermore, to present to a modern audience the upheld expectations and beliefs of 16th century society and the ridiculousness of said societal values. The very title of the play alone – “The Taming of the Shrew” – through the language “taming” and “shrew,” indicates that there is something undesirable about a women acting of her own accord and thus she requires ‘taming.’ In the 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell uses control in an attempt to warn the reader of the dangers of totalitarianism after having witnessed the harrowing lengths that governments were willing to go to in order to sustain sovereign authority. Orwell was deeply disturbed by the cruelty and oppression that he had witnessed in Communist countries and was concerned by the increasing use of technology as a means of control; as presented by his use of the telescreen. Within Oranges...
Words: 3348 - Pages: 14
...The Hell of Nineteen Eighty-Four. ). Did Orwell realise quite what he had done in Nineteen Eighty-Four? His post-publication glosses on its meaning reveal either blankness or bad faith even about its contemporary political implications. He insisted, for example, that his 'recent novel [was] NOT intended as an attack on Socialism or on the British Labour Party (of which I am a supporter)'.(1) He may well not have intended it but that is what it can reasonably be taken to be. Warburg saw this immediately he had read the manuscript, and predicted that Nineteen Eighty-Four '[was] worth a cool million votes to the Conservative Party';(2) the literary editor of the Evening Standard 'sarcastically prescribed it as "required reading" for Labour Party M.P.s',(3) and, in the US, the Washington branch of the John Birch Society 'adopted "1984" as the last four digits of its telephone number'.(4) Moreover, Churchill had made the 'inseparably interwoven' relation between socialism and totalitarianism a plank in his 1945 election campaign(5) (and was not the protagonist of Nineteen Eighty-Four called Winston?). If, ten years earlier, an Orwell had written a futuristic fantasy in which Big Brother had had Hitler's features rather than Stalin's, would not the Left, whatever the writer's proclaimed political sympathies, have welcomed it as showing how capitalism, by its very nature, led to totalitarian fascism? With Nineteen Eighty-Four, it is particularly necessary to trust the tale and not...
Words: 7887 - Pages: 32
...So if the government diminishes the society that their in charge of securing misusing their power rebellion is inevitable, so the outcome is the same as provoking a beast and expecting no repercussions. As expressed, in the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell the struggle of farm animals to gain proper care and equality to that of humans: This elaborated on the situation through the symbolism that correlated to the downfall of the Soviet Union in the Russian Revolution. Also, the novel a Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens put the reader in the setting of the French Revolution, where treachery and societal injustice was prominent. Furthermore, the article “Iranian Revolution” by Janet Afary highlights the depression that was drawn upon the...
Words: 1085 - Pages: 5
...Paper True feelings and intentions are often hidden by masks and disguises worn by humanity. Whether it is to hide genuine feelings or to protect oneself from judgement, people disguise themselves from the rest of the world. This is made very apparent throughout literature. In many instances, characters are seen masking sensibilities such as rebellion, anguish, and jealousy. Such occurrences include Julia from George Orwell’s 1984, Estella from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and Ethan from Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. One case to be considered is that of Julia’s hidden rebellion in George Orwell’s 1984. Winston’s love interest, Julia, is first introduced to the readers as a good...
Words: 861 - Pages: 4
...The novel Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, tells a story about the irony of the Russian Revolution-how the people traded one cruel form of government to another. The lives of the animals in Animal Farm symbolize the lives of the Russian citizens before, during and after the revolution. The problem with the government before and after the revolution was corruption. All of the animals ultimately suffer, because of the corruption of the pigs. This essay will cover the people, their actions and decisions throughout the book Animal Farm. Mr. Jones was the owner of Manor Farm; he is cruel to his animals by under feeding them and over working them. During Mr. Jones's rein over Animal Farm the animals felt that they must do something so that they can be free of the Tyrant Mr. Jones. The animals of Animal Farm are symbolically representing the lower class Russian people during the reign of Czar Nicholas II. Mr. Jones was corrupt with power, because he had control over all of the animals. He controlled how much food they received and how much and how hard they were forced to work. The way Mr. Jones controls the animals on the farm parallels how Czar Nicholas II controlled the Russian people. There was an old pig called Old Major, who symbolizes Karl Marx, in that, Old Major convinced all of the animals to rebel. Before the rebellion took place Old Major died, the same as Karl Marx. In the Battle of Cowshed which parallels the Russian revolution, one pig named Snowball stood...
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF GEORGE ORWELL’S ANIMAL FARM By HAZEL K. DAVIS, Federal Hocking High School, Stewart, OH S E R I E S W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., E D I T O R S : UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of George Orwell’s Animal Farm 2 INTRODUCTION Animal Farm is an excellent selection for junior and senior high students to study. Although on one level the novel is an allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the story is just as applicable to the latest rebellion against dictators around the world. Young people should be able to recognize similarities between the animal leaders and politicians today. The novel also demonstrates how language can be used to control minds. Since teenagers are the target not only of the educational system itself but also of advertising, the music industry, etc., they should be interested in exploring how language can control thought and behavior. Animal Farm is short and contains few words that will hamper the reader’s understanding. The incidents in the novel allow for much interactive learning, providing opportunities for students to dramatize certain portions, to expand on speeches, and to work out alternative endings. The novel can be taught collaboratively with the history department as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, allowing students to draw parallels...
Words: 9582 - Pages: 39
...At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws. (48) Napoleon wanted full power over everyone so he did what he had to to make that possible. He made life on the farm horrindious for all these animals. It happened that Jessie and Bluebell had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to nine sturdy puppies. As soon as they weaned,Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for their education. He took them up into the loft which could only be reached by a ladder from the harness-room, and there kept them and such seclusion that the rest of the farm soon forgot their existence.(32) Napoleon also took the little pups from their mother and raised them as his own for his own bodyguards. He brainwashed them and no one had any idea of what they are capable of, most of them even forgot about the...
Words: 1310 - Pages: 6
...danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice, that is, heroism for some greater good of all humanity. In modern movies, the hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, in despite the odds being stacked against him or her typically prevails in the end. [2] The villain usually is the antagonist, the evil character in the story, who tends to have a negative effect on other characters or serves as an obstacle the hero must struggle to overcome. In other words, the villain typically a charismatic evildoer who represents, leads, or himself embodies the struggle the hero is up against. [3] Animal Farm is a vivid and eloquent novel written by George Orwell, who aims to prove that human nature and diversity prevent people from being equal. It also successfully presents how the mechanism of propaganda and brainwashing works in totalitarian regimes. Snowball is described as a vivacious pig, which is quick in speech and more inventive. He´s the best at writing; painted out `Manor Farm´ and in its place painted `Animal Farm.´ During he´s short period in the story, Snowball threw his heart and soul into the attempt to spread animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s infrastructure. Moreover, Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. [4] He had a white stripe down his nose which gave him a somewhat stupid appearance...
Words: 2989 - Pages: 12
