George Orwell's Animal Farm

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Recommended: The corruption in animal farms

This summer, I wanted to read a classic. I typically don’t enjoy reading classics for leisure, however, I wanted to step out of my “comfort zone”. As I began searching online for books, I stumbled on the popular Animal Farm. I had read this previously (in 6th grade), but I realized that I could not recall most of the plot and ideas, so I created a goal to go back and fill in the large gaps that stood in my memory. One thing that surprised me right at the beginning is the length of the novel. It was way shorter than I had remembered it to be. In fact, I was able to finish the book in only two days. Despite the short length, due to Orwell’s outstanding writing skills, the story itself was very clear and detailed, and most importantly, enjoyable. I was surprised at how much meaning and how many connections I was able to pull out of the novel. Themes that I recognized were corruption, ignorance in society leading to the degradation of equality, and how power can overpower sense and take control. These were very apparent throughout the novel, with the animals and events representing the …show more content…

society we live in. For example, after the cows were milked, Napoleon scolds the animals for asking what will happen to the remaining milk by telling them that “the harvest is more important” (10 Orwell).

A paragraph later, “the milk had disappeared” mysteriously, implying that Napoleon had probably drunk the milk (Orwell 10). This foreshadowed Napoleon’s corruption and greed, (which the animals did not catch on to). Later it is revealed that Napoleon and the pigs used up the milk, and they used the excuse that their superior brain power deserves the best. This event, like many others in the book, can be compared to real world examples such as CEOs (the pigs) of many companies today (ex: coal companies). Their greed almost always leads to the workers (the animals) suffering in ways such as reduced safety, decreased wages, or poor working conditions. Meanwhile, the powerful “leaders” are bathing in

gold. After reading the article from NPR, I don’t disagree with the conclusion they created, but I also don’t believe it applied to me. For example, I am an extrovert myself, but I do not enjoy reading horror, erotica (except Goosebumps), or celebrity articles. However, I do enjoy science and current events. Just like the article stated, I do not believe that the correlation necessarily implies causation. This may explain why many people might not represent the finding published, including myself. Has anyone else read Animal Farm? If so, what were some themes or events that struck out to you?

George Orwell's Animal Farm
552 Words | 2 Pages
The saying “history repeats itself” is used quite often, but how many times have you actually seen it happen? The book Animal Farm portrays the idea of history repeating itself. The character Benjamin and the pigs in the story show history repeating itself throughout the book. In addition to these characters within the book, North Korea displays history's repetition outside the book.
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George Orwell's Animal Farm
584 Words | 2 Pages
There is a substantial amount of conflicts that occur in this satirical story. Often these conflicts are between the pigs and the rest of the animals. Only a minute portion of the animals didn’t really have some sort of conflict with Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, or the rest of the dominating pigs. Overall, Snowball was a better leader than Napoleon, yet the animals reacted differently to Napoleon than to Snowball.
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Reasons for the Societal Failure in Animal Farm by George Orwell
809 Words | 2 Pages
Animal Farm depicts a revolution in progress. Old Major gives the animals a new perspective on their situation under Mr. Jones, which leads them to envision a better future free of human exploitation. At lasts their situation become worse than before. Their dreams of a better or more perfect society in “Animal Farm” reverse into a totalitarian nightmare. All the animals are blind to reality although they are more in number than Napoleon, they are unable to go against them because they haven’t the co-operation to work as a family and the next reason is the one who have the ability does not have the courage to go against the totalitarian.
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The Inequality in an Equal Society in Animal Farm by George Orwell
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Throughout the story, the first signal that illustrates the corruption in pigs started right after the animals chased away Mr. Jones. When the animals milked the cows and discussed about what to do with all the milk, Napoleon cried “Never mind the milk, comrades…placing himself in front of the buckets” (p18) and then all buckets of milk disappeared. This is foreshadowing that later Napoleon may become the kind of leader who keeps everything good for himself and does not care about others, and this actually happened later. Several days later, someone found out that all the milk was mixed in pigs’ mash everyday as well as the apples and pointed that pigs broke the rule of “All animals are equal” (p17).
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George Orwell’s Animal Farm
1395 Words | 3 Pages
As soon as Old Major had died Napoleon took his place as the leader of
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George Orwell's Animal Farm
536 Words | 2 Pages
Pigs walking on two feet, horses and sheep talking. This is how George Orwell satirizes human nature in his classic novel Animal Farm. Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The title of the book is also the setting for the action in the novel. The animals in the story decide to have a revolution and take control of the farm from the humans. Soon the story shows us how certain groups move from the original ideals of the revolution to a situation where there is domination by one group and submission by all the others. The major idea in this story is the political corruption of what was once a pure political ideal. Orwell uses satire to ridicule human traits in his characters such as Napoleon and Squealer. There are several different characters in the novel utilizing animals as symbols of people in real life during the Russian Revolution. Napoleon is the leader of the pigs that ultimately come to dominate the farm. The characteristics that we associate with pigs , lazy, greedy, and pushy are meant to symbolize the characteristics that the leaders of the Russian Revolution exhibited. Napoleon is admired by all of the animals because he is their leader. All of the animals believe that their leader wants to fulfill all of their needs. They also are convinced that Napoleon’s decisions are made the best interest of the animals. Napoleon’s piglike qualities are shown throughout the story. He exhibited greediness when he sold the dying horse, Boxer to a slaughterhouse for money so that he and the other pigs could purchase whiskey. Orwell ridicules human nature through Napoleon in the sense that he is trying to show how the greedy and power hungry eventually end in corruption.
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Hidden Meaning in Animal Farm, by Geopge Orwell
1059 Words | 3 Pages
When analyzing the book Animal Farm the book brings to your attention a few things about it that may go unnoticed by many readers. At first when glancing at it, or reading a little bit of it, it may seem like a children’s book. When the book first came out it was placed on the children’s shelves at stores, once readers discovered the complex work by Orwell it was moved to the adult fiction shelf which is where it belongs. “Many of the first readers of Orwell’s little masterpiece apparently did not realize that it was brilliant work of political satire” (Rooden, Appreciating Animal Farm in the New Millennium). The book is about a group of animals on a farm that want to from their own society, and control themselves rather than being controlled by humans. The book goes way beyond just that though, it has hidden meanings that have social value and create controversy. The animals sing a song together in the book, that song is believed to be based off of an old song from the 1920’s. This is an excellent example of a covert meaning, when realizing why Orwell incorporated this song in the book it really makes readers think about the reasoning. Reading Animal Farm was very interesting finding hidden meanings, and learning about political controversy from the early 1900’s. The hidden meanings in pieces of literature really make readers think and encourage them to learn more about why the author wrote it how they did.
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Comparing 1984 And Animal Farm By George Orwell
779 Words | 2 Pages
The values of these works of literature are still pertinent to today’s society. Orwell utilizes dangerous totalitarian dictators to warn the public about oppressive governments. A stark and isolated setting serves as a backdrop for terrifying experiences. The fundamental elements of 1984 and Animal Farm surpass cultural barriers and profoundly impact all readers. By carrying universal characters, setting, and themes, both novels live on as timeless works of
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Equality in George Orwell´s Animal Farm
824 Words | 2 Pages
...ale Animal Farm proves to be a symbolic and understanding book. In its pages we can see the contrast between a supposedly communistic state where everyone is equal and the same, and how in the end it only leads to a total dictatorial establishment of totalitarianism, where everything is controlled by an elite group. Though Animal Farm was established with the idea of every animal being equal, in the end, the voice of the scheming pigs was the only one heard. Secondly, the book powerfully symbolizes key figures that have appeared in history. It shows how Karl Marx affected the Communism movement in the character Old Major, and also displays the kind of government that lights the fuse for a revolution in the tempered Farmer Jones. Though dark and menacing, Animal Farm paints a very brutal yet truthful view of the dangers when a society moves to the ideas of communism.
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Theme Of Corruption In Animal Farm
846 Words | 2 Pages
The disappearance of the milk grew questioning in the animals on the farm, but Napoleon sent Squealer to explain, “Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of the pig (Orwell 36).” They took advantage of the animal’s knowledge by saying it was for the animals sake that they consume the apples and milk to keep the farm running, and threatens the return of Mr. Jones. Napoleon often uses the image of Jones as a scare tactic in order to get the other animals to agree with him. When the scarcity of food increases it is explained as a “readjustment (Orwell 112),” not as a reduction. The animals minds are being manipulated about reality by Napoleon and his growth of power. Throughout Animal Farm’s struggle, Napoleon still receives a fair amount of food, along with the other pigs, as well as the
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Animal Farm as a Fable
955 Words | 2 Pages
The plot of Animal Farm is clearly based on the events of the Russian Revolution. Old Major's ideas about animalism correspond to those of Karl Marx, and the way in which they are taken up and put into action represents the activities of Leon Trotsky (Snowball) and a combination of Lenin and Stalin (Napoleon). The haphazard nature of the rebellion closely parallels the opportunistic response to events that brought the Bolsheviks to power in 1917, and the history of the farm roughly follows events in European history up to the Second World War. The fact that we are still reading Animal Farm long after these events have passed into history again suggests something of Orwell's achievement.
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Themes in George Orwell's Animal Farm
551 Words | 2 Pages
George Orwell’s allegorical novel, ‘Animal Farm’ addresses many notions involved in the Russian Revolution, a catastrophic failure in the eyes of the world. A dictatorship set up in the stead of communism, an endless stream of lies and propaganda, as well as political agenda that had saturated the Soviet. It retells of the emergence and development of Soviet communism in a fable form; ‘Animal Farm’ allegorizes the rise of power of the dictator, Joseph Stalin and the revolution started by the people of Russia, which, in the end, destroyed and betrayed the people of Russia. In the novel, the overthrow of Jones by a [democratic?] coalition of animals, gives way to the consolidation of just about absolute power among the pigs. The pigs in ‘Animal Farm’, namely Napoleon, Squealer, and to a small extent, Snowball, establish themselves as the ruling class, the same way the intelligentsia of Russia began to dictate the revolutionists, thus corrupting and further more, misusing and abusing the socialist ideals of the Soviet Union.
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Napoleon In George Orwell's Animal Farm
1479 Words | 3 Pages
When Napoleon discovered the alcohol, he had no idea of its negative effects and decided to drink the lot of it and resulted in him having a hangover. The other pigs, did not have the medical knowledge to perceive that the hangover is only temporary and immediately came to the thought that he was going to die. But then the whole farm broke in “tears in their eyes” (107) because they cannot imagine a life without him. They have come to respect him so much that they know without him, they cannot function as he is the one who knows how to plan the work, and sets the relations with the outside and the animals are dependent on him for his guidance. Napoleon’s main goal is to profit the farm, so that they can improve the animals’ lives more, and this earns him the respect because others see him as a saviour who can bring the farm glory.
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Animal Farm Articles
992 Words | 2 Pages
In the literary criticism written by William S. Brockington Jr., Brockington discusses the importance of understanding the environment in which George Orwell wrote Animal Farm. It was a turbulent time period after the end of World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. Animal Farm acted as an allegory of the Soviet Union and the animals of the story have a counterpart in history. Although the story is rooted in history, it still has a universal message.
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Animal Farm
914 Words | 2 Pages
In order to understand the characters and the politics of the book, first you must understand where it all took place. Mr.Jones’ farm was the foundation of the story. Manor Farm, which the animals renamed Animal Farm, symbolised the animals idea of Utopia.
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George Orwell's Animal Farm