Animal Farm: Compare and contrast Napoleon and Snowball. What methods do they use for their struggle for power?

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English GCSE Coursework: Animal Farm

Compare and contrast Napoleon and Snowball. What methods do they use for their struggle for power?

 George Orwell (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair, was an English writer and journalist. His birth in India, schooling in England, and adult life in India, Burma, and later Spain encouraged an eye for critique and review, and this was put to good use in his staunch disapproval of British Imperialism, a politic which was further refined into socialism whilst living in Paris, and continued to the birth of his ‘anarchist theory’, detailed in “The Road to Wigan Pier”. As mentioned, though, it was by no means politics alone which received his attention and review; he was equally vociferous when it came to the Art of literary writing, providing six rules for writers in “Politics and the English Language”. It is, then, no surprise that he painted such a picture of Napoleon and Snowball in “Animal Farm”, as he himself could be said to have been rather dictatorial in his ways, even when the subject and cause of his attentions, was so noble and deserving.

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Animal Farm is said to be an allegory and a satire, meaning that two coherent stories run throughout the piece, and that the attacks made upon the subjects give the appearance that they are worthy of our contempt. The allegorical nature of this piece ensures that it can be enjoyed both by children (animals are often personified in their stories) and adults alike. And even those adults who choose not to look into the less obvious, some would say more sophisticated interpretations of the book can enjoy the story in its own rights. If one believes, however, that Orwell was making ...

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The Quality of Written Communication is outstanding. The candidate makes very clear statements with a bold use of specialist terminology and an excellent range of vocabulary. All spelling is accurate and grammar is also perfect.

The Level of Analysis is broad, with two differences and one very unclear similarity (so, an unbalanced essay - candidate should be looking for at least two differences and two similarities for "Compare and contrast" questions), the latter appearing accidental at best. The candidate spends too long commenting on the unimportant parts of the highly important analytical topics. For instance, Napoleon and Snowball are both recognised as a presentation of a real life political figure, yet the candidate writes as if they believe the examiner knows this. Granted, the examiner most certainly will know this, but it is imperative that explicit statements are made, as if the candidate was writing to inform someone who has never read the novel about it's contents e.g. - "Both Snowball and Napoleon are representational allegories of real life political figures Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin". A lot of the time, independent research such as the letter excerpt from Orwell to his publisher is good, but it must not take the place of effective analysis as the information will always be surplus - the basic fundamentals of the essay still need to be present and the question must be satisfied.

This answer shows all the signs of an extremely competent writer, you very frequently adopts external, independent research and incorporates it into their essay, fortifying it's knowledgability. However, in doing so the question is somewhat avoided and the analysis of the similarities and differences between Snowball and Napoleon are not as clear as they could be, with such an excellent writer at the helm. It appears that they are not so proficient at focused analysis as this question does deviate even after it's started (the prolonged introduction about the biography of Orwell is not required and elicits no marks at all - it is a grave misconception of students that rushed biographies make good introductions).