Animal FarmEric Blair-Blair was born in Bengal in 1903, educated at Eton, and after workingfor the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, returned to Europe and started writingnovels and essays for a living under his pen name “George Orwell. ” He was apolitical writer of his time, and usually wrote from his intense feelings andfierce hates. He hated government having complete control, and served in theLoyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. He contradicted himself in many ways.
He was a socialist while hatingcommunism and was a literary critic while distrusting intellectuals. He hatedhow the world was cruel and how lies were way of life. When he died in 1950from a neglected lung ailment he left his work and ideas to us and we growtrying to fulfill his demands. .
. . . failing. Introduction-When I first looked at this book I thought It would be a children’sstorybook. Then I noticed the thickness of the novel and opened it up.
I readthe introduction and found that the novel was based on a political matter, and Ithought that the title was just a metaphor, and there were no “animals” in thestory. As I read I discovered the whole thing was a metaphor. The five topics I’ll be covering are:1. plot structure2. conflict3.
point of view4. symbolism and figuration language5. theme and author’s visionI hope this essay shows the ideas of Eric Blair and the freedom we haveunder government control. Body-1. plot structureThe story starts off in a form called “Manor Farm. ” An old white boarcalled “Old Major” tells all the farm animals of a day when all the animalswould be free, and of a dream that took him back to when he was young.
In hisdream he remembered a song that tells of such a day. This was the day of theRebellion. Soon after Old Major dies all the animals prepare for this day andit was not long before it happened. The animals chased off all the humans from the farm and changed the namefrom “Manor Farm” to “Animal Farm. ” They had their freedom.
. . . for a while. As the story continues the smartest of the animals started dominatingover the rest of the animals.
The pigs. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, bothwanted power and snowball is chased out of the farm by Napoleon who had his ownplans for the future of “Manor Farm” after the Rebellion. As the pigs take moreand more control, they start acting more like man, and using his habits. At theend the animals watch from outside a window as the pigs have liquor and playcards with the men while they trade stories of how they manage control of thefarm.
2. conflictThere were a few conflicts, one at the start between man and the animaland then among themselves between Snowball and Napoleon, each of which haveseparate ideas. Although the humans were pushed out of Manor Farm that did notstop them from trying to take control again. It was unsuccessful. The farmanimals tried to build a windmill to supply them with electricity to cut down onmanual work.
Humans tried to take it down with dynamite and the animals wouldhave to start all over again. The other was the conflict between Snowball andNapoleon who both wanted to lead. A vote proved Snowball to be leader butNapoleon had raised nine dogs and had them chase him out of the farm. This iswhen controlling the farm came in.
3. point of viewI think the author is telling us that no matter what we do, there willalways be people who want power and they will take it as it comes, and althoughsome of us are aware, most are naive and try to look the other way. Most peopleignore the truth and are manipulated easily. I think this is shown well in thenovel.
4. symbolism and figurative languageThis is quite apparent in “Animal Farm. ” The Animals form a communityof their own and different animals represented members of today’s society. Thepigs were the smartest and most innovative and so they played the part thatgovernment take’s care of in our world, and along with government comes leaders,followers, crooks, and even the odd good honest politician. As unfortunate asit is these “honest politicians” don’t last long and usually don’t make it tothe top. The good hearted leaders like Snowball end up at the feet of selfishcrooks like Napoleon.
The other animals are organized from the smart to thesimple and from the strong to the weak. In every situation there is the person with a different vote such asBenjamin, the oldest animal on the farm who thinks nothing can save them andthat life will go on like it always has, and nothing can make it better. Thereis no freedom where there is power. 3.
theme and author’s visionBlair wanted something that may never happen. Equality and freegovernment, a government run by the local people, world freedom and other suchdreams. He expresses his immense emotion in his literature. He wanted probablywhat every one wants but he is one of the few who speak up about it. If we allhad his inhibition this might have been accomplished, but it’s our ownstubbornness that keeps us from his dream. Conclusion-It’s not hard to say that we live good lives looking at others in othergovernment rulings.
Our way of life is top ranked in the world and looked upupon by third worlds and shattered countries, but is our luxury worth the totalcontrol’should we be happy with the life we live? Are we being selfish in ourdemands? These questions don’t have a right answer. Everyone is to there ownvote, and to there own opinion, although these questions could be best explainedthrough experience and wisdom.
