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George Orwell’s Animal Farm essay
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The cartoon Animal Farm is an animation based off the novel by George Orwell. It is about animals that live on a farm who are unhappy with how they are being treated by the farmer, Mr. Jones. They stage an uprising and run him off the property. The animals do well in organizing and running their own farm and being independent until Mr. Jones gathers fellow farmers to take back his land and animals. After the battle (which the animals won), The animals’ government system takes a turn for the worse.
The farm contains a variety of animals. The ones who hold the most dominant roles in the story are Old Major, Snowball, Napoleon, Mr. Jones (who is actually a human), Boxer, and Squealer.
Snowball is a white pig on the animal farm. He is a benevolent leader, if he can be called a “leader” at all. He never actually dictates or makes decisions by himself. Rather, he informs the animals of the situation and organizes the outcome of their joint agreement. Snowball is injured in the battle between the farmers and the animals. Then, dogs trained to serve Napoleon chase him away from the farm. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky in the Russian Revolution.
Old Major is a large, old pig who comes up with the idea to overthrow Mr. Jones. He is an influential leader and public speaker. Old Major drops dead after declaring his radical plan to his fellow farm animals. Snowball steps in and leads the animals after his death. Old Major represents Karl Marx before the Russian Revolution.
Mr. Jones is portrayed as a mercurial and disliked leader. He is mostly violent and neglective towards the animals, but on rare occasions, especially when he is not drunk, he will show the animals kindness. Mr. Jones symbolizes Czar Nicholas II in Russia.
Napoleon...
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...ll the movie. This film is a great learning tool for understanding the history of Command Economies and the Russian Revolution.
Works Cited
"Capitalism vs. Socialism." Small Business Finance - Business and Finance,Small Business Financing,Finance for Small Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, Education. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. .
http://pages.citenet.net/users/charles/af-comp.html
|main site http://www.netcharles.com/orwell|
"Comparisons to Capitalism, Communism and Socialism - Animal Farm Discussion." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. .
"Market Economy." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. .
Animal Farm is a story of the struggle for freedom and power. It takes place on a farm in England called Manor Farm. There are many different kinds of animals on the farm; these animals include horses, geese, dogs, cats, sheep, and pigs, which are the most intelligent of all the animals. The story starts out when old Major, an old, wise pig, calls a meeting in the barn. He tells the animals about a dream he has. The dream was about how the animals should rebel against the leader of the farm, Mr. Jones. He tells them that in the dream he remembered a song called Beasts of England. The song is about how the animals should rebel against the humans. He teaches the animals the song and tells them that he is going to die soon. A few weeks later old Major dies. The animals hold secret meetings about the rebellion a couple times a week. None of the animals really expected the rebellion to happen any time soon, but it happened before anyone expected. Mr. Jones started to neglect the animals, and one day the animals decided that they had enough. A cow broke into the building where the food was kept, and all of the animals decided to get some food. Mr. Jones and some of his helpers came out with whips as started lashing the animals, but were caught by surprise when the animals started to fight back. The men fled in panic, and before anyone realized it, the rebellion had begun.
From the death of Old Major, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer replaced him. At first things started off pretty well; the harvest was very good the first year and the reading and writing system had helped some, but had limited success on others. In time, the leaders of animal farm started to have mixed feelings. Snowball and Napoleon were in constant disagreement. An important meeting that was held ended with an astonishing outcome. One decision that was made was concerning the windmill project and the most important decision made was who would be the head animal. Snowball and Napoleon each gave their input on what needs to be done around the farm. “Snowball stood up and, though occasionally interrupted by bleating from the sheep, set forth his reasons for advocating the building of the windmill. Then Napoleon stood up to reply. He said ver quietly that the windmill was a nonsense and that he advised nobody to vote for it” (57).
George Orwell’s foremost objective when composing Animal Farm was to depict the Russian Revolution of 1917 as an affair that produced a government more repressive, totalitarian and lethal than the one it replaced. Various components of the text including the setting, characters and plot were created intentionally to parallel key figures and events surrounding the communist territory of Russia during the revolution. Manor Farm – where the plot unfolds – is based on the country of Russia. The character of Mr Jones is a replica of Tsar Nicholas II, the final Russian emperor. Throughout Nicholas’ rule, the Russian people were faced with horrendous poverty and turmoil, just like the animals in Orwell’s novel lead lives of starvation and desire, as revealed when the creatures rebel against Mr Jones due to the fact that he hadn’t fed them in days (page 12)...
Animal Farm is a story of how the animals revolted because of the way they were treated by Mr. Jones, the farmer. They felt that the farmers made all the profit, reaped all the rewards but didn't do any of the work. So they formed a government called Animalism. In Animalism, there are no owners, no rich, but no poor, workers got a better life, and all animals are equal. They had even established laws called the Seven Commandments, which were intended to give basic rights to animals and protect them from oppression. The goals of the government were also established. The goals said that everyone was equal, there would be more food and sleep for all, there was to be respect for all animals, and they would build a windmill to make life better for all. By the end of the book, all this no longer existed. The animals were getting less sleep, less food, and less respect. The windmill became a source of money for the leaders, not for all the animals. The seven commandments were gradually changed to suit the pigs and then there was only one Commandment left. "'Are the Seven Commandments the same as they used to be, Benjamin?' There was nothing now except for a single Commandment. It ran: All animals are equal but some are more equal than others" That single commandment made the pigs more powerful. Animalism no longer existed.
In Animal Farm there are many important characters. Some of the characters that played a role in this book are Old Major, Snowball, Napoleon, Mr. Jones and Boxer. Old Major was an old boar that dreamed of a better life and incites the animals to overthrow man. He was an inspiring
Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal, committing his great strength to the pr...
This essay will cover the comparison between Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution. It will also explain why this novel is a satire and allegory to the Revolution that took place in Russia so long ago. First and foremost, Manor Farm itself represents Russia with its poor conditions and irresponsible leaders. Mr. Jones plays one of those leaders, Nicholas the Second or The Czar as people called him in those days. Mr. Jones beats his animals, forgets to feed them, and treats them badly.
Snowball is a “vivacious pig… quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character” (Orwell, 13). Snowball is a brilliant speaker who “won over the majority by his brilliant speeches” (43). Snowball is lively and friendly, and truly believes that all animals are equal. He believes in Animalism, where all animals shared equal labor and the fruits of their labor.
Mr. Jones was unable to defeat the animals, therefore the animals got a boost of confidence. Now at this point Mollie runs away and Snowball begins his plans for a windmill. When Snowball’s plans are finished, Napoleon’s dog’s start to chase him off the farm. The farm just lost the best leader they could have had. They loose their chance to give input on what direction the farm should go, and Napoleon begings blaming Snowball for all the things that he did not do. Now Napoleon sets the animals to work on Sundays again and acquires Mr. Whymper as the farm’s broker. Napoleon starts to sell some of the farm’s produce. And the pigs start sleeping one hour later, and in beds. Then the windmill gets blown over and Snowball gets the blame. At this point the pigs still continue to abuse the power and stealing from the other animals.
Below are websites and videos I used to confirm and gather some of my information. I have read the book before and studied the Russian Revolution in history classes so a lot of it is based off of prior experience with the subject.
Animal Farm is a satirical novel about the Soviet Union, with the characters and animals representing someone or something from the Soviet Union during World War two. For example Major represents Lenin, Squealer is Molotov, and Napoleon represents Stalin. Three of the main roles of the revolution Animal farm were Squealer, Boxer, and the sheep. Squealer represents the political propagandist. He went around the farm telling lies to all of the other animals. Boxer portrays the laborers and the low social class. These are the people who have to sell their labor to live. And finally, the sheep. The sheep illustrate the people who are swayed by the propaganda. The people who don’t think for themselves and just repeat what others in power say.
Old Major was very upset with the lives of the animals under the head of the farm, Mr. Jones. Before he died he called a meeting with all the animals on the farm. He explained what he felt was wrong with the lives of animals. Old Major explained that the lives of the animals are miserable, arduous, and very short. He also mentions that when the animals can no longer work, they are brutally slaughtered. According to Old Major, all of this is a result of man, if man did not exist the animals would have better lives. Above all, Old Major wants the animals to rebel against Jones and live freely. He wants all the animals in all of England to free themselves of man. While talking to the animals he said, “That is my message to you comrades: Rebellion!” (Orwell 20) Old Major wanted the animals to have better lives and to overthrow the tyrannical Jones. He dreamed of a land where animals could work and produce things for ...
World Socialist Movement. Socialist Standard, n.d. -. Web. The Web. The Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Old Major was going to tell the animals what they must do and Old Major dies. Once Old Major dies the animals start fighting back against Mr. Jones. The animals even ended up getting rid of Mr. Jones.
Mr. Jones the owner and farmer of the Manor Farm from the book Animal Farm symbolizes Czar Nicholas II, leader of Russia during the revolution. Jones represents the old government, the last of the Czars. Czar Nicholas II was a poor leader at best, irresponsible with his public duties, cruel and at one time Czar Nicholas and Mr. Jones were actually decent leaders of their own affairs.