I think this is quite ironic that inorder to get rid of the farmer they aquired leader, and that leader is now trying to get control. Also the last commandment states that “All animals are equal.” Then why was Napoleon the leader?
The hens expect to get milk, because they do not get enough good food, but they do not get it. Napoleon is now like a political party, which has promised something but not delievered, even though Napoleon did not promise milk for the hens he did promise everyone a better life but this has yet to transpire, instead now they have to do the work which the farm did little of previously.
Entry 2
Through summer the animals worked very hard on the farm except for the pigs who supervised the work. This once again is a contridiction of Comandment number seven. The hardest worker of all was Boxer the horse, he repersents a peasent in a communist society, because he is not very smart and can be minipulated to do alla of the hard work. At the end of the summer, they had lots of food that would last them the whole winter.
The sheep were shown to be the dumbest of all the animals, I think this is because they are prepared to follow anyone. Because they didn’t understand the commandments they simplified it to “Four legs good, two legs bad,” they repeated this a lot.
The pigs never had to do any of the work, because they said that they were the brain workers and they were the ones who held the farm together. The animals noticed that they did not get any of the milk or apples, Squealer was told to explain hat the pigs, being brain workers, required these items in order to keep them healthy. He then threatened the animals that if the farm was to fail through the pigs’ poor health, then Jones might be able to gain control of Animal Farm. This is making the animals feel a sort of security toward the pigs because they were their safety. Squealer is working for Nepoleon, as a spy and also to spread his messages I think that Napoleon is useing Squealer, just as Hitler used his Minister of Propaganda during the war.
The pigs introduce a flag that signifies the animals’ revolt, and honors Old Major, the flag is being used just like it is with all contries around the world, it gives the animals a patriotic feeling which makes them continue to work.
Napoleon and Snowball seem to be fighting for power, because they never seem to be able to agreeon anything. I think that Orwell is trying to repersent a struggle of power which occours when a king or queen dies in witout an hiar to the thown. The is repersented my Old Major and the lords are Snowball and Napoleon.
Snowball wants to ensure the security of Animal Farm by spreading the revolution to the neighboring farms, but Napoleon is only intrested in increasing the food made by the farm.
The neighboring farmers, Mr. Frederick and Mr. Pilkington, try to help Jones get back the farm but the only reason they are helping is so that they can have a piece for them selves. The humans are not portrayed to be nice people, Orwell is not doing this because he think that all humans are bad but because they repersent the old power which oppressed them. They are shown to be dictators who have come to get their country back but the people do not let them.
Snowball uses pigeons to finds out about the plans of the farmers, so he decides to make a plan to stop them. He uses the pigeons to spread word to the other farm animals about plan. I think that Snowball unlike Nepoleon is only concerned with the well being of the farm but Nepoleon is trying to gain power and the animals are not a high priority.
The humans are unsucsessful in taking the farm thanks to Snowball’s plan, he is considered to be a hero by the animals. But Nepoleon is not happy that Snowball is getting popular.
Boxer is given a medal for hurting a human during the battle, Snowball also received a medal. The sheep which died during the battle also received a award. Orwell is trying to show how just like in all contries which are at war they have medals to give to people who are suppousedly heroic, this is to build up moral and to make people feel more patriotic towards the farm.
Entry 3
Molly the show horse is seen with a human at the edge of the farm, a few days later, she disappears she was never happy about the change after the rebellion and she is never referred to again by the animals.
Snowball wants to build a windmill that will lessen work load, and they will be able to enjoy a three-day week, and Snowball also thinks that the farm can only be permanently secure if the revolution spreads to the other farms, but Napoleon wants the animals to concentrate on increasing productivity.
Napoleon uses the sheep to try to disrupt Snowball’s speechduring the Sunday meeting. The sheep repersent the pesants which the leader gets on side and uses to discredit the opposition.
Napoleon uses the dogs to chases away Snowball from the farm. Squealer is used again to calm the animals, but this time he has three dogs on his side that intimidate the animals. It is quite ironic that Nepoleon is using the dogs to hold power because a dog is ment to be a mans best friend not a pigs. He is now using the dogs to keep his grip on power and the dogs are acting just like thaey would if they were with Jones. Once again Squealer is used to calm the people down and spread propergander.
A few weeks later, Napoleon uses Snowballs idea to build a windmill.
The animals now have to help build the windmill, as well as keeping the farm running. The animals are now working very hard and do not even get their weekend any more. Boxer is the one who is working the hardest and it is clear that the animals look upto him because of this. Once again iriony is in this book because the very thing which is suppose to lessen their work load is actually increasing it, but the animals believe that this will only be short lived and the once it is built then things will change. Even though the animals are working harder than they had to with Jones, they think that aslong as they have enough food to eat they are happy. What the animals don’t see is that they are the ones who are getting the food and the only animals who are gaining out of this is the pigs.
Napoleon is now trading with the other farmers and also Napoleon had hired a solicitor to act on their behalf. Animal farm was suppose to be for the animals and about the animals, but now that Nepoleon is doing business with humans it seems like all the original ideas and thoughts about animal farm are now dead, and it seems that Nepoleon is trying to become more human like.
The pigs also began to live in the farmhouse, and once again Squealer justified this action by saying that the pigs required peace and quiet in order to carry out their brain work. But the animals felt that this went against the 4th Commandment, but on the barn wall it said, “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”.the comandment had never mentioned sheets before, and the pigs had changed it so that it gave them an exeption. Also Old Major said that no animal shall ever live in a house, this shows that Nepoleon has strayed from the original idea and only want the animals to support his lifestyle.
A storm hits the farm and the animals awake to find their windmill destroyed.
Napoleon blames this on Snowball, calling it an act of terrorism. When ever somything tragic happens people seem to bind together, take September eleven for example. But Napoleon is aware that if he blames a natural disaster on Snowball it will make the animals more loyal towards him.
Entry 4
Because Nepoleon traded with the other farmers their was not enough food for the winter. Now that there was less food Napoleon introduced rationing. Just like in any communist country. Rumors spread throughout the countryside that the animals on Animal Farm are starving. Napoleon invites his lawyer to visit the farm where they have filled the bins with sand covered by a shallow layer of meal. The lawyer returns and tells the community that all is well on Animal Farm. He is now lying to the animals and using minipulative methods to get the animals to believe everything is alright.
Napoleon now rarely gets out of the farmhouse, whenever he needs a message to be sent to the animals he sends Squealer. He is doing what most dictators do and that is withdrawing themselves from the puplic and keeping order through spokespeople.
The hens are ordered to lay eggs but they don’t because they see it as murder. The food rations are stopped for the chickens, until they agreed to laying eggs for sale, many of them have died of starvation. He is now using brutal tactics to get what he wants from the animals and sees them as only their for his benefit.
Napoleon also sold off timber from trees which were on the farm. This sybolises him sucking the farm dry and only giving the animals the bare essentials while he live in luxuary and makes money.
Napoleon says that Snowball is working with the farmers to overthrow Animal Farm. To make his story more believable Napoleon calls a meeting in the yard and he makes a rare appearance accompanied by his nine huge dogs. He forces four pigs to confess that they have been in touch with Snowball and collaborated in the destruction of the windmill. Once they have made their confession, the dogs rip their throats out. They are soon followed by the three hens who organized the egg rebellion plus other animals that have shown dissent in the past. Napoleon has done what many governments do with rebelers and that is kill them. Just like in Tianimin Square in China. He also made three dogs attack Boxer, but Boxer defeated them, Nepoleon said that he did not order the dogs to attack Boxer and that it was and accident. Boxer believes him but I think that deep down he doesn’t and he is only saying he believes him because he doen not want to face the truth that Nepoleon is a bad leader and that this is all a big mistake.
Once again the Commandments have changed it now says “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause”. Orwell is using the same idea which he used in “1984” and that is to control the future you must control the past, and he who controls the past controls the present. Nepoleon is changing the past to suit what he wants to do.
Boxer says that he will rebuild the windmill, subconsciously he is doing this so that he does not have to face reality.
Squealer tells the animals not to sing Beasts of England, the song that Old major taught them. But instead a new song will be composed in honor of their leader, Napoleon. Nepoleon is now power crazy and he is definetly not equal to all the other animals like the seventh comandment says, he uses his dogs to hold power and to put fear in the animals.
The winter was over and the animals tried once again to complete the windmill.
The wood that Napoleonsold to Frederick was highly overpriced, so Frederick paid for it with fake money. Soon after, Frederick with fifteen men, attack the farm and blew up the windmill with gunpowder. The Battle of the Windmill results in the death of many animals, the dogs were what made humans go away.
Squealer tried to hold victory celebrations, but the animals didn’t think that they won the battle, because they lost so many animals and the windmill was destroyed.
The pigs discover a crate of whisky and celebrate in the farmhouse.So another Commandmentwas changed to “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess”. Squealer is caught changing the commandments with paint.
There was a new song all about Nepoleon and the animals were made to sing it. The song was also written on the wall opposite the Seven Commandments.
Nepoleon still uses propaganda to try to brainwash the animals, but like all dictators, he has lost touch with the people or animals in this case. The pigs are acting more and more human like, with their consumtion of alcohol.
The animals don’t seem to think for themselves anymore, instead the pigs do the thinking for them.
Entry 5
Thirty-one piglets are born and Napoleon takes full responsibility for their education, and they are to be kept separate from the other animals. Napoleon also formally proclaims that Animal Farm is a Republic and he will be its President.
At the start of the rebellion, it had been agreed that there should be a retirement age for animals, and for horses this was fixed at twelve. A pasture had been set aside for retired animals, but Nepoleon had ploughed up and it was now used to make more money for Nepoleon. Boxeris already older then twelve but he is still working. Oneday Boxer collapses, he is taken away in a cart that says “Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler” the animals know what is going to happen to Boxer but Squealer claims that he is going to the animal hospital. All of the animals tell Boxer to break out of the cart but he is too weak and cannot do it.
A few days later, Squealer told the animals that the cart that the vet used was an old cart and the sign had not been painted out, he also said that despite Napoleon spending much on medicines for Boxer, he had died and a party was to be held in his honor. On the day of the party, a large wooden crate came to the farmhouse, it was full of whisky and only the pigs were going to drink it.
Bower seemed to be quite stupid in believing that Nepoleon had the same dream as Old Major, and that’s why he continued to work as hard as he could. I think that without Boxer Nepoleon had no chance of being as powerful as he is now.
Napoleon is trying to breed aperfect generation which follows his veiws and his philosophy, and they will be taught to supporthis rule. I think this is very similar to what Hitler wanted with his perfect people, Hitler wanted everyone to be good looking and follow his views. That’s why Orwell is such a great author because he can write about thing which have not even happened, I believe he does not do this on purpose but does this because he has a very bad view of any form of government which is not pro-democratic and in a way he is just writing about what he thinks can happen in an undemocratic society.
The final irony in this book is that is that the animals are ordered to build a schoolhouse in which the next generation of pigs will be educated. Therefore the animals will never be rid of Napoleon, even when he dies because there will be others to take his spot.
After many years, most of the original animals that were involved in the rebellion are now dead.
No animal can clearly remember any of the comandments, The farm now has two windmills and the farm is very efficient and prosperous, but the animals are still living like they were before, except for the pigs and the dogs, who are living much more comfortable lives now.
One daythe animals see Squealer walking on his back legs carrying a whip, followed by a long line of pigs doing the same, and in the barn, the Commandments have been erased and replaced by a single slogan, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” From that day on, the pigs supervise the other animals carrying whips.
The sheep now say a different slogan, “Four legs good, two legs better.” One night some of the animals go to the window of the house, and they see Napoleon and some other pigs, they are having a partywith the humans. They are toasting the prosperity of Manor Farm, the name “Animal Farm” has been changedabolished. As the animals look through the window, they “looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which.” This is the final step, throughout the book you can see Nepoleon and the other pigs slowly changing into humans but now they have finished the transformation and you can no longer tell the diference between pigs and humans. I believe that the animals are now worse off then they were with Jones because at least then even though they were not given as much food as before they now do huge amounts of work and have to answer to Nepoleon.
I think that this is a great ending and shows how a country would turn out if a dictator could forefill what he wanted to do, because in the past their have not been what you could call successful dictators and nobody has really achied all that they set out to do. But Nepoleon managed to do this and did not deliever on any of his promises. But as you read the final page, the question beckons. Will nepoleon eventualy be defeated just like the man he was name after od will there be no defeat at Waterloo for this Nepoleon.
