For generations, stories have been written that have a deeper meaning to them. No matter if it is a novel, short story, or a poem there is a deeper message within the story, hence reading between the lines. Some stories are considered to be allegories, an extended metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are paralleled with meanings that lie outside the text, such as the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell. Another example is the short story “Something New” by Jessica Sanchez. “Something New” is an allegory for the Storming of the Bastille as seen through the economic depression, rumors spreading, and storming the playground.
To commence, prior to the Storming of the Bastille there were stressors that came about during the economic depression. The first stressor was bad harvests which caused soaring prices on the bread, making the bread less affordable to the poor. Another stressor was the economic depression which in consequence caused “thousands of artisans and small traders” to lose their jobs (McKay 690). Similar stressors were depicted in the short story by paying more for candy and not being able to play in the park. The children “would play their usual games at their usual spot,” representing the jobs of the people (Sanchez 2). The candy that the children bought represents the bread due to the fact that it was the common people’s main source of food and children generally eat plenty of candy. The older children, who were at the park, sold candy to the children for a quarter, but then raised the price to a dollar; which represents the prices going up on the bread. The older children, Tommy and his crew, also decided to prohibit the children from playing in the park, mirror...
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...n rose together, to get rid of the bullies, to take back their park, to stand for what they believe in. So did the third estate, they rose up against the army and took back their city. Although the story is an allegory to the Storming of the Bastille, it is still relevant to modern day, to stand up for oneself and what one believes in. Both the children and the citizens of Paris stood up for themselves and for their community- look at how much they accomplished. It is important to be able to stand up for oneself and what one believes in because it comes with endless possibilities.
Works Cited
"Bastille Day - July 14th, 1789." Storming of the Bastille on July 14th, 1789. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Feb. 2014.
McKay, John P., Bennett D. Hill, John Buckler, Clare Haru Crowston, and Merry E. Wiesner. A
History of Western Society. 9th ed. Boston: Suzanne Jeans, 2008. Print.
In these dark hours, perhaps the worst in the history of the farm, I find that I only see unhappiness amongst each other. The cause of this unhappiness you ask, is the pig who you trusted, Napoleon. If he stays in power than the farm won’t be the only thing we will lose. Just take it from Boxer, He is a trustworthy horse Who never did any of us wrong. And Where is he now?, Oh right Napoleon had him killed just to pay for his whiskey. Now I don’t know about you but I think having ruler who would choose whiskey over an animal isn’t fit to rule.
Stanley, J., Gannon, J., Gabuat, J., Hartranft, S., Adams, N., Mayes, C., Shouse, G. M.,
Zhang, Y. B., Harwood, J., Williams, A., Ylänne-McEwen, V., Wadleigh, P. M., & Thimm, C.
1789--Fall of the Bastille--a state prison--symbol of royal authority, oppression and privilege; July 14 even today is a national holiday in France "Bastille Day."
...Hallert, C., C. Grant, S. Grehn, C. Grannot, S. Hultent, G. Midhagens M. Strom, H. Svensson,
...pave the way for democracy, but the bloodshed could have been more limited. Many people during the Revolution believed that France needed a change in many ways. They had achieved that by 1793. Many new reforms had been implemented in the country and it was much better off than it had been four years prior. I do agree with Kropotkin that the abolishing of serfdom and absolutism was a great achievement for France and that it did lead to a democratic system. Though this is true, the violence and bloodshed during the Revolution could have been minimized through committees and discussions. Schama is also right in that some men were too radical and their new found power went to their head. All said and done, the French Revolution was a bloody time in history, but it paved the way for a new democratic system not only for France but for many other countries as well.
Although George Orwell’s Animal Farm was created in order to mimic individuals as well as occurrences that took place during the Russian Revolution period, it is still possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the text without a past knowledge of history through the exploitation of human nature’s imperfections. Following the publishment of his novel, Orwell confirmed that his goal in writing this fable was to expose the wrongdoing of the Soviet Union as well as the treachery of the true ideas of the Revolution. Nonetheless, there have been several other examples of events such as the French Revolution that can effortlessly be contrasted against components of the allegory. However, we need not to dig no deeper than to the fundamental faults in human nature to witness the catastrophic consequences that attributes such as hierarchy, propaganda and betrayal have on today’s society.
According to the Declaration, the Revolutionaries believed that France should have freedom of speech, no social distinctions, no one person with totalitarian power, a system of law that is written by the people and a government that protects the liberty, property and security of the people [C]. These goals were summarised into the phrase “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity).
The French Revolution was a time where French citizens redesigned their country’s political landscape and escaped century old traditions, such as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. It was influenced by many Enlightenment ideas like the ones presented in Rousseau’s Social Contract and mainly focused on concepts like popular sovereignty and inalienable rights. Due to France’s involvement in The American Revolution and King Louis XVI excessive spending the country was left in bankruptcy. This started a depression among citizens and resentment toward rulers who imposed heavy taxes. The people wanted equal representation and voting by head and not by status. The debate over the voting process had caused aggression between the three orders. A popular rebellion occurred when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in order to secure gunpowder and weapons, and this event is known as the spark of the French Revolution. Peasants were burning down the homes of tax collectors, landlords, and seigniorial elite. The assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man ad of the Citizen, which was a statement of democratic principles based on the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment Thinkers like Rousseau. The document declared the Assembly’s pledge to have a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty, and
Kirchberger, Joe H. The French Revolution and Napoleon. New York: Facts on File inc, 1989.
The French peopled stormed Bastille, which is a prison that had the symbol of the absolute monarchy, and contained only seven prisoners. It all started with mob looting another prison called the Invalids prison to search for arms to fight the attack from the army that was loyal to the king. During the raid, over 32,000 rifles were taken but none of the ammunition was removed from the prison. The Bastille was a symbol of brutality and totalitarian power because of many stories of torture and brutality. The storming of the Bastille was a success and it brought freedom to seven prisoners along with the ending of a royal tyranny. It also became a symbol of despotic power to an end. This was a very big turning point in the French revolution, because this is when the people of France really took matters into their own hands and went against the government by raiding the prison and taking all of the weapons. Only one of the guards defending the base was killed and approximately 97 civilians were killed. The thing that really helped the people attacking the base was the fact that they brought in two huge cannons that really solidified their victory against the government. Robespierre was a very important character in all of this, he believed that the power of perfection was the democracy. He came up with an idea of the committee of public city is to get rid of their external and internal enemies (nobles, etc.). He
It was was a dark night, all the animals huddled around Old Major to hear what he had to say about his dream. It turns out Old Major talks about rebelling against man so that all animals can have a better life. Ironically, after Rebellion, no one except Napoleon has a better life and he makes their lives even harsher. This is a story of communism, this is the story of Animal Farm.
Whelan, R., Conrod, P. J., Poline, J., Lourdusamy, A., Banaschewski, T., Barker, G. J, Bellgrove, M. A.,
Animal Farm, a novel by George Orwell, was a story of courage and corrupt government. It was set on a farm in England. This setting is very important to the story itself and the characters in it. It made the plot a lot more interesting and influenced all the characters.
Writers often use social criticism in their books to show corruptness or weak points of a group in society. One way of doing this is allegory which is a story in which figures and actions are symbols of general truths. George Orwell is an example of an author who uses allegory to show a social criticism effectively. As in his novel Animal Farm, Orwell makes a parody of Soviet Communism as demonstrated by Animal Farm's brutal totalitarian rule, manipulated and exploited working class, and the pigs' evolution into the capitalists they initially opposed.