Commentary on Old Major's Speech

Commentary on Old Major's Speech

Old Major's speech was directed to the animals. It was about over

throwing the man and the animals should take over. It was all a

rebellion. In this short essay I will describe the persuasive

techniques used by Old Major to persuade his fellow animals to follow

his dreams. I will include quotes and other important features used by

Orwell. The main part of his speech is on his dream.

Old Major the 'Middle White Boar' chooses the place and the time to

make his speech very carefully. From this we can infer that he has

taken his time to analyse successful techniques employed by other

famous speakers from the past. In addition Old Major has a title and

that is he was a prize to Mr. Jones. Also his appearance was

revealing. He had a benevolent appearance and his tushes where never

cut. Orwell describes how well Old Major had positioned himself on 'a

sort of raised platform.' He did this in order to give the speaker

(Old Major) prominence, to make him look bigger and more important so

that the farmyard animals would believe he was a person who should be

listened to with respect.

Another important feature to do with persuasion was that Orwell states

Old Major was 'ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which

hung from a beam.' This means that Old Major was in the light and the

audience was in the dark. Additionally he was more comfortable than

the rest of the animals because he was laid on straw. This meant he

was well respected.

Old Major had arranged his speech in the evening because this is when

people are more suggestible to persuasion. George Orwell makes Old

Major speak after ever...

... middle of paper ...

...at names of history or god, but

only stated that his mother helped his in his life. So this is saying

his mother is an important idol. To wrap up his persuasive speech Old

Major set a goal for the animals and that was to start the 'Rebellion'

and I believe this also could be used as a personal address to his

comrades.

The speech finishes when the animals sing the song 'Beasts of

England.' And with the racket Mr Jones shoots his gun into the and

with the panic all the animals go to sleep. After a few months Old

Major dies. Old Major had employed about 25 points on the art of

persuasion in public speaking and he also put a point across. So now

you see how people and Old Major use such clever techniques to

persuade the audience to follow. Lastly Orwell made Old Major have

analytical powers and influential abilities.