Oppression In Animal Farm

632 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Pigs leadership in animal farm

Animal Farm has many themes, one of which being that people’s ignorance can contribute to their political and social oppression. George Orwell communicates this theme through the animal’s behavior in the novel, in how they do not act when they should have.
The first example of this theme is when the pigs take the apples.
The pigs first begin to abuse their power, when they take all of the apples for themselves. The animals do not take action after being told by a pig that the pigs need the apples because their work strains the mind, and apples help to keep the mind working at a high level.
The fact that the animals will believe anything that is told to them, is a way to show just how ignorant they all really are. The animals have already blindly allowed the pigs to be their leaders, so they think that everything that the pigs do is truly for the best of the farm. Also, since the animals don’t know anything about straining the mind they will just have to take the pigs word for taking …show more content…

The animals remain ignorant, and don’t think anything bad is happening because they don’t want to know if anything bad is happening.
For instance Boxer is content with only learning the first four letters of the alphabet.
In one of our discussion board posts a student (Emily Clayborn) brought up the point that the animals experience that “ignorance is bliss”. I would support this with Boxers behavior throughout the book, and how he is fine with only knowing so much of the alphabet.
With boxer being a role model to many of the animals, it is safe to say that other animals are also content with learning only so much, again believing that the pigs have their interests in mind.
The animals choose to remain uneducated, because they are so ignorant that they think that they are ok.
The animals realize what is going on when it is too

Show More
Related

  • Innate Behaviors in Animals

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ever wonder how animals know so much? It’s simple. It’s all according to how they act and what they know. When an animal is born it has instincts. These instincts help the creature survive and cause them to behave certain ways. This is called Innate behaviors. Although, some things animals have been taught. Unlike Innate behaviors whereas it comes from the genes, other behaviors have to be learned. They are called Learned behaviors. Together, Innate and Learned behaviors can prove that animals are smarter then most people think.

    Read More

  • Communism In George Orwell's Animal Farm

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    in this book. The pigs are the most intelligent animals in the farm and take a

    Read More

  • Who Run the Farm? Pigs

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ls around to do more work while they lie on their backs and drink because the animals are too stupid to realize that they are being treated unfairly. Because the pigs have advantages when it comes to being smart, they take advantage of the fact that the animals have no idea whats actually going on. Though the pigs rarely do anything, they get more portions of food. Towards the end of the book, the animals see that while they are working very hard for the farm, the pigs are inside drinking and talking with humans. Though they may not realise it, they are not treated equally. The pigs have much power over the animals because they know that the animals can not realise that they are doing all the work. The animals trust that the pigs are telling the truth. Because of this, the pigs take full advantage of it and choose to slack off and take the animals trust for granted.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Being Uneducated In George Orwell's Animal Farm

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being uneducated affected all the animals in a very negative way by resulting in the animals getting looked down upon. The pigs were known to be superior and the uneducated animals were looked at as the “working class”. Being educated had plenty of benefits such as all of the pigs took their meals into the kitchen to eat, the pigs even used the drawing room as a recreation room and they even slept in the beds, which breaks one of the seven commandments. “Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing room as a recreation room, but they also slept in the beds.”(66). This quote specifically explained how the educated or the superior animals got more benefits over the non educated animals. The pigs got all of the power on the farm which left no power or rights to all of the other non educated animals on the farm.

    Read More

  • The Power of Time: Animal Farm by George Orwell

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    In George Orwell’s Animal Farm farm animals drive their cruel owner out to have independence. After this rebellion, the pigs being naturally smart take the role as leaders. The pigs are able to keep their rule because they take advantage of the animals’ horrible memory and lie about the past in order to benefit themselves and sustain a better rule for the future.

    Read More

  • George Orwell's Animal Farm

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the story Old Major gives a speech to the animals on the farm, and in this speech he mentions how cruel the humans are. During his speech Old Major uses Boxer the horse as an example when he says “You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds.” (Orwell 11). He then proceeds to tell the animals that once they revolt the cruelty will end, and at first it does, but soon the pigs begin to act more like humans. The pigs act so much like the humans that at the end of the book it is said that the other animals can’t even tell the difference between the pigs and the humans.

    Read More

  • Abuse of Power in George Orwell’s Animal Farm

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although this is completely untrue, seeing that the pigs only occupy themselves in self-centered and self-beneficial engagements, the other animals believe it to be true because they do not know what files, reports, minutes, or memoranda are. Their ignorance leaves them unable to question Squealers story and they mistake the pigs’ true actions for hard, laborious work.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Cruelty in animal Farm

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    After the Animal Revolution the pigs take the initiative and place themselves in charge because of their claim of having higher intelligence. Over time this power begins to distort the basis of their revolt by recreating the same social situation they were previously in. “When the pigs takeover they claim that their goal is to preside a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another, yet power quickly proves too much for a pig.” Though the animals originally took over the farm to increase the animal’s independence as a whole, because of the pig’s superiority they soon take the place of the humans further limiting their independence.

    Read More

  • Animal Farm: The Animals Bad Memories

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    Almost all the animals had a very bad memory so they were not able to

    Read More

  • The Inequality in an Equal Society in Animal Farm by George Orwell

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Language in Animal Farm

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through use of language, the pigs appeal to the animals basic hopes and desires of a better life and a better future. They make others work extremely hard, while they themselves rest and unfairly reap most of the benefits of the work. For example, “Now comrades,... to the hayfield! Let us make it a point of honor get in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men do.” Later in chapter three, Squealer is sent to justify the pigs selfishness and to convince the animals that the pigs are working in their favor. He said, “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples...Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig...the whole management and organization of this farm depend on us.” This how the animals are persuaded to believe almost anything without question.

    Read More

  • Equality in George Orwell´s Animal Farm

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... In the end, George Orwell’s dark brooding fairy tale 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.

    Read More

  • Language In Animal Farm

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language plays a very important role in the pig’s power. Due to the pigs being the smartest, language can be used to keep their power over the other animals. The pigs use their intelligence and language to manipulate the other animals on the farm. They would say “All animals are equal.”(11) but they know that they are superior due to their ability to manipulate the others through language. Squealer for example would use words that many animals would not understand to make the animals think being ruled by the pigs is a good thing. Through language the pigs are able to secure their position as leaders on the farm as well as get the animals working for less.

    Read More

  • The Pigs' Intellectual Exploitation in Animal Farm

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this novel, an intellectual increase in the exploitation of the animals started with little things such as the eating of the apples for the pigs' health. Then the animals couldn't make an informed decision, which led to their bad decision making. Next, Squealer would constantly tell the animals of the great things that they accomplished now that the pigs had gotten rid of Jones. After that, the pigs used the animals' lack of memory to their advantage by changing laws and telling the animals that the rules that were on the wall, had been there forever.

    Read More

  • Animal Farm by George Orwell: An Allegorical Satire

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Animal Farm’ is a novel by George Orwell which carries allegorical aspects. In other words, this novel is mainly focused on the Russian Revolution of 1917. Orwell has portrayed this revolution and the era of Stalin in the Soviet Union (USSR), in a satirical manner. Through out the novel, he has brought out a strong criticism about the power- hungry human kind and the way it affects a nation.

    Read More

More about Oppression In Animal Farm

Open Document