Animal Farm

How does George Orwell reflect the Russian Revolution in Animal Farm? Towards the end of the First World War in 1917 the defeated Russian nation was forced to surrender to the mighty German army. This lead to the abdication of the Russian Monarchy and the installation of a liberal provisional government. Within nine month however, the provisional government was overthrown by a new system of government which had previously not been seen, Communism, which lead to the establishment of the Soviet Union. In 1945 George Orwell released his well respected satirical allegory of the communist government which was a parody of the soviet revolution in 1917. The book highlights the downfall of communism which eventually developed into a totalitarian dictatorship. In the book Snowball is a fictional character, a pig that is commonly believed to represent Leon Trotsky. The two characters display striking similarities, both appear to have the best interests of their nations at heart. Snowball is concerned with the improvement of conditions on the farm, such as the building of the windmill and the improvement of the animal's social welfare, which is apparent at the battle of the cowshed. This battle represents the civil war in Russia between the Tsarist forces and the Bolsheviks where the old regime tried to retake power. During the battle of the cowshed Snowball is in the thick of

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Focusing on THREE key incidents, explore the extent to which language is an effective method of control in "Animal Farm".

IGCSE English Literature Coursework - Animal Farm 4. "The pen is mightier than the sword" Focusing on THREE key incidents, explore the extent to which language is an effective method of control in "Animal Farm". Animal Farm is a fable, and all fables have meanings. This fable, "Animal Farm" has a very strong meaning and that is that the pen is mightier than the sword, which means that language can alter many things that violence can't. In Animal Farm, we can see violence but we also see a small character who could "turn black into white" by his language. He changes everything that happens in the farm only in language, and all the other animals believe him. His name is Squealer and he was one of the cleverest pigs in the farm. We first see him in the novel when George Orwell describes the pigs. "All other male pigs on the farm were porkers. The best known among them was a small fat pig named Squealer, with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements, and a shrill voice. He was a brilliant talker, and when he was arguing some difficult point he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow persuasive. The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white."(p.9) Here with only his first description we can see that Squealer was a very good talker, and he was good at arguing things. In the story, Napoleon gets advantage of

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How is Orwell's attitude towards totalitarianism personified through the characters of Winston and O'Brian in this extract?

How is Orwell's attitude towards to totalitarianism personified through the characters of Winston and O'Brian in this extract? George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four presents a negative utopian picture, a society ruled by rigid totalitarianism. The government that Orwell creates in his novel is ruled by an entity known as 'Big Brother' and in contrast to this, Winston Smith represents a rebellion, one which doesn't accept this ideology fed to him. Thus leading to his entrapment and confrontations with the complex character, O'Brian. Although the action deals in the future, there are a couple of elements and symbols, taken from the present and past. So for example Emanuel Goldstein, the main enemy of Oceania, is, as one can see in the name, a Jew. Orwell draws a link to other totalitarian systems of our century, like the Nazis and the Communists, who had anti-Semitic ideas, and who used Jews as so-called scapegoats, who were responsible for all bad and evil things in the country. Emanuel Goldstein somehow also stands for Trotsky, a leader of the Revolution, who was later, declared as an enemy "Within twenty years at the most, he reflected, the huge and simple question, 'Was life better before the Revolution than it is now?' would have ceased once and for all to be answerable". Another symbol that can be found in Nineteen Eighty-Four is the fact that Orwell divides the

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How does Orwell make the introduction to 1984 alarming?

How does Orwell make the introduction to 1984 alarming? Orwell immediately introduces the setting of the book; the title, 1984, reveals (or would have done when it was published in 1949) that it is set in the future. Orwell uses paradoxes to illustrate how different this world is from reality; in the very first line, he describes "a bright cold day in April" and clocks "striking thirteen". Orwell introduces Winston, along with the feelings of discomfort that always accompany him - the "vile wind", "gritty dust" and the smell "of boiled cabbage and old rag mats". Throughout the extract, the only emotions described are negative ones, those of discomfort and fear. Winston is introduced as "thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer", which is alarming because there is nothing personal in his description; it seems that a varicose ulcer is the only thing that separates him from everyone else, which questions his individuality. The "victory mansions" are also mentioned, along with "victory gin" and "victory cigarettes", implying that the world has been taking over by this one brand, probably linked to the party. Big Brother's posters, on "every landing", are also one of the first things to be described. He and the party have a huge influence and this is reflected in their presence, in one way or another, throughout. The poster "depicted simply an enormous face", "more than a metre

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The Use of Language in Animal FarmAnimal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory in which animals are personified to represent the struggles

The Use of Language in Animal Farm Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory in which animals are personified to represent the struggles and conflicts of the Russian Revolution. The main point emphasizes in the novel is that language is a powerful tool, which can be used to manipulate and control people in order to bring about change, whether big or small. In the story the pigs govern everything that happens, whether it is something as miner as eating a meal, or something as major and important as fighting a strategic battle. Napoleon, the foreman, or leader of the pigs is the most powerful of them all. Napoleon and his "side kick", Squealer, abused the powers of language to manipulate the animals of the farm into thinking that the farm was a beautiful society flourishing with life and freedom, when in fact, it was quite the opposite. An example of how language is used is given at the beginning of the story when Major tells all the animals his predictions for the future, and explains that which must occur, in order to have freedom. They all hear what he is saying, and seemingly agree with it. However, when he dies, the other pigs, Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer, are able to take control, and twist his words around to make the farm the way they want it, so that, the other animals can not argue against them without going against the idea of the revolution. They have no

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Explore and evaluate the ways in which Orwell presents and structures Old Majors

EXPLORE AND EVALUATE THE WAYS IN WHICH ORWELL PRESENTS AND STRUCTURES OLD MAJORS' SPEECH, AND CONSIDER THE EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE. There are many different aspects of Old Majors' speech that are presented and structured by Orwell to create an intended effect on the audience of animals which were listening, as well as the readers of 'Animal Farm'. In his speech, Old Major raises the concern that "[animals] are not allowed to reach their natural span" by humans, and thus jumping on the bandwagon to generalise his cause with the concerns of the listeners, the other animals, who would be extremely worried about their life span due to their "laborious" lifestyle; even though Old Major describes himself as one of the "lucky ones" to have lived for "over twelve years". By doing this Orwell presents Old Major as a great leader, who empathises with, and knows the problems of the general population, even if they are not his. However the fact that Old Major is called "Willingdon Beauty" by Orwell, and boasts of his superior lifestyle also presents him as a character who thinks of himself as a cut above the rest; and therefore Orwell plants the seeds of the flaw in the idea of equality between the animals straight away. It can therefore be evaluated that Orwell presents old Major as a good leader through the 'empathy' of old Major, but shows flaws in his idea, for the readers,

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What makes this passage so powerful? This passage is from Part 3, Chapter 1 when Winston has just been captured by the Thought Police and has been imprisoned in the Ministry of Love as a political prisoner.

Essay Question: What makes this passage so powerful? This passage is from Part 3, Chapter 1 when Winston has just been captured by the Thought Police and has been imprisoned in the Ministry of Love as a political prisoner. In this passage George Orwell tries to emphasis the dangers of totalitarianism and how totalitarian governments can control their subjects through both physical and psychological means. Orwell makes this passage so powerful through the use of negative diction, the illustration of the Party's strength over its subjects and the vivid description of the "skull-faced man". Throughout this passage Orwell uses negative diction with strong connotations to make the passage powerful. Orwell states that the chinless man's eyes "flitted timorously". The adverb "timorously" implies that the chinless man fluttered his eyes in a nervous fashion. This shows that the man was in a great deal of anxiousness and uneasy as he was fearful of what his imprisonment would entail. Orwell also describes the skull-faced man's face as being "tormented". This adjective implies that the skull-faced man had undergone some kind of extreme torture to make this man feel so distressed. This emphasizes the power of the Party and the dangers of totalitarianism. Orwell says that the "chinless man" had been hit with a "frightful blow" from one of the guards. The adjective "frightful"

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How does Orwell use the fable form to explore ideas about power in Animal Farm?

How does Orwell use the fable form to explore ideas about power in Animal Farm? Remember to write about the society in which the stories are set. Orwell wrote this play to illustrate the Russian revolution. He used the animals to symbolise the main characters in the Russian Revolution. The moral of this fable is that power can corrupt anyone if they are not careful. Animal Farm is used to represent Russia in the time when Stalin was ruling Russia. Orwell represents the populations of Russia through the animals. Boxer is used to represent the community of Russia that did just as Stalin liked and didn't question his word. When the dogs attacked him he held them down with his hoof with ease. "Boxer looked at Napoleon to know whether he should crush the dog to death or let it go." He doesn't understand that the dogs were sent to attack him by Napoleon. This shows just how imprudent Boxer is. He is not as clever as Napoleon at all. If Boxer had a brain as good as a pig he would have been a great leader of the farm. Snowball is meant to symbolise Leon Trotsky and how he tries to do good for the country. Snowball has many attributes. He is a very helpful character and tried to help all the animals on the farm." He formed the Egg production Committee... the clean Tails League..., the wild Comrades' Re-education Committee" This shows that Snowball is dedicated to spreading the

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Dreams and Fantasies in 1984 There is a reoccurring theme in the novel 1984, by George Orwell. The main character, Winston Smith is often fantasizing about his utopia, and dreaming about past events

Dreams and Fantasies in 1984 There is a reoccurring theme in the novel 1984, by George Orwell. The main character, Winston Smith is often fantasizing about his utopia, and dreaming about past events. In a world where everyone is controlled and everything is decided for you, Winston relies on his subconscious mind to maintain his sanity. Winston works rewriting the past in a department for the Party. His memories of the past are usually the opposite of the Party's version of the past. Winston is very confused about whether or not he is losing his mind. His dreams reveal the reality of the Party and the truth of the past, enabling him to trust his own instinct of what is right and wrong, keeping it clear in his mind what the past was really like. In one dream Winston envisioned his mother and his baby sister sinking into a well or lowering off the side of a ship - he wasn't quite sure. He felt as if they were being sucked towards death. He knew they were sacrificing their lives for his own. Winston realizes "...that his mothers dhree of them. Winston, of course, demanded the whole piece. His mother responded by telling him not to be greedy. She gave him the majority of the piece and the rest to his little sister, but he stole it from her. She started to cry while Winston ran away with the chocolate. His mother held his baby sister in her arms, trying to console her. It did

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Shooting an Elephant - Orwell's insecurities prompted the murder of a defenseless animal.

Jordan Fife 1 English 1 David Zehr 03-01-03 Shooting an Elephant: Orwell's Insecurities Prompted the Murder of a Defenseless Animal The short story "Shooting an Elephant", by George Orwell, is a narration that subtly discusses Orwell's motives for killing an escaped elephant. As a sub-division officer for imperialist Britain in 1936, Orwell attempts to keep the favor of the native townspeople where he is stationed and to avoid humiliation. The townspeople of Burma neither favored nor respected Orwell until an event occurred that would allow a character opinion to be made. The event was a disruptance where he had to shoot an elephant for the alleged safety of the public. Orwell is not motivated to kill the elephant for the safety of the public, but by his fear of his own insecurities that plague him. Orwell is uniquely susceptible to peer pressure and pressed forward to action through humility. Upon initial assessment of the situation that would test the strength of Orwell's character he concludes "at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of "must" was already passing off; in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about until

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