Animal Farm is a story of betrayal; a fable which uses animals to represent human nature and human history

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Animal Farm Essay

Essay Topic: “Animal Farm” is a story of betrayal; a fable which uses animals to represent human nature and human history

Animal Farm is written by George Orwell. It was published on August 17th 1945. Animal Farm is an allegoric tale of the Russian Revolution which can be read at two levels; a simple fairy story, or a deep interpretation of human nature. This  text conveys that, if you become too power hungry, you will do anything to stay in power, even if it means going against or betraying your own people (or animals in this case).

The beginning of the story starts with Farmer Jones (Czar Nicholas ll) who is the original oppressor of the farm. He is represented as a mean, selfish and irresponsible man who is always in a drunken stupor:

        'Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hens houses for the night,                 but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes.'

Farmer Jones is always cruel to his animals no matter how hard they work for him. He just uses them for work and when they are of no use any more he sends them to their deaths to get rid of them and make some more money:

        'You, Boxer, the very day those great muscles of yours lose their power,         Jones will send you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you         down for the fox-hounds.  As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless,         Jones ties a brick around their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.'

Old Major (Karl Marx) is an obese pig who is illustrated as a wise, kind, clever and caring pig who despises humans. Before he dies, he shares with the animals a dream of his, where humans have been overruled over and where all animals are treated equally. He makes the animals realise that there “maybe” would be such a perfect world where animals produced everything for themselves. He tells them that this can be done following a rebellion:

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        'Is it not crystal clear then comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours                     spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of man, and the         produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become         rich and free. What then must we do? We work night and day, body and         soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you         comrades.'

 I think this is the most important part of the book as it inspires the animals to start a revolution and have Animalism:

        'The major's ...

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