1984 - What does Orwell do in the opening two pages of the novel to unsettle the reader?

What does Orwell do in the opening two pages of the novel to unsettle the reader? In the novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', the author, George Orwell employs a range of different techniques such as similes, metaphors and symbolism to unnerve and keep the reader in anticipation, impelling them to read on. The novel is in a third-person narrative style, this technique employed by Orwell creates a distance between the central character, Winston Smith and the reader. This vagueness adds tension and mystery to Orwell's depiction, only allowing the characters emotion to be revealed through dialogue. The narrative viewpoint also allows the reader to grasp an unbiased view of the character and his circumstances. Throughout these first couple of pages Orwell purposefully refuses to expand on things which confuse the reader. For instance, "The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats", and simply doesn't give an explanation why. This deliberate omission is employed to purely keep the reader on edge and impel him/her to read on. Another example of this is towards the end of the second page, "The Patrols did not matter, however. Only the Thought Police mattered". This line immediately grabs attention and creates suspense, but Orwell leaves it here. The reader is now left feeling insecure and leaves us questioning ourselves through mere confusion of what may be happening in this

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Animal Farm is not just about a story about animals it is about human nature and behaviour. Discuss.

Animal Farm Animal Farm is not just about a story about animals it is about human nature and behaviour. "Animal Farm" by George Orwell is a novel based on the lives of a society of animals living on the Manor Farm. Although the title of the book suggests the book is merely about animals, the story is a much more in depth analysis of the workings of society in Communist Russia. The animals are used as puppets to illustrate how the communist class system operated, and how Russian citizens responded to this, and how propaganda was used by early Russian leaders such as Stalin, and the effect this type of leadership had on the behaviour of the people of Russia. One thing which relates to the topic is how the pigs are favoured on Animal Farm. The main source for this was because their leader Napolean was a pig, the pigs were subject to favouritism by Napolean, and were given privileges that other animals were not given, such as sleeping in beds, wearing clothes and drinking beer. The pigs were also the only animals involved in making the vital decisions on Animal Farm. The fact emulates in a way how our Government tends to operate. The Government Party members are paid an exuberant amount of money, with this money the members of the Government can purchase costly cars and houses, if they wish to do so. They make all the important decisions about the country where as the

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Trust in Animal Farm. From the extract, Orwell uses Squealer to present the great character of Napoleon,

Afterwards Squealer was sent round the farm to explain the new arrangement to the others. 'Comrades,' he said, 'I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon himself. Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure! On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be? Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball, with his moonshine of windmills - Snowball, who, as we now know, was no better than a criminal? 'He fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed,' said somebody. 'Bravery is not enough,' said Squealer. 'Loyalty and obedience are more important. And as to the Battle of the Cowshed, I believe the time will come when we shall find that Snowball's part in it was much exaggerated. Discipline, comrades, iron discipline! That is the watchword for today. One false step, and our enemies would be upon us. Surely, comrades, you do not want Jones back? Once again this argument wan unanswerable. Certainly the animals did not want Jones back; if the holding of debates on Sunday mornings was liable to bring him back, then the debates

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What do you find disturbing about George Orwell's vision?

What do you find disturbing about George Orwell's vision? George Orwell's books are not conventional. They use extremely vivid and alarming descriptions to support thought-provoking subjects, and their endings are far from happy. I felt a strong sense of despair at the end of both 1984 and Animal Farm, even though I found them gripping and fascinating. George Orwell, being a socialist, was strongly opposed to totalitarian rule, and his books are clearly a warning as to how political movements can backfire. The books are influenced by events of his time, the most obvious being the Russian Revolution symbolised by Animal Farm. There are hardly any lasting aspects in either 1984 or Animal Farm that are pleasant; the themes of both books are worrying. I think that one of the worst aspects of George Orwell's vision is the systematic perversion of our feelings, emotions and instincts. In my opinion, the worst action of 'The Party,' the ruling political power in 1984 is the way it frowns upon love, a natural human instinct, and tries to completely suppress it. This is a cold, tyrannical act that destroys such a pure, selfless instinct. Love brings joy that - as Winston Smith, the main character in 1984, experiences - makes life worth living. Without love, Oceania's inhabitants are reduced to a pointless, miserable, isolated existence. I think the most depressing event in the story

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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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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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Animal Farm - Snowball's Diary

Animal Farm Snowball's Diary 8th March Old Major died in his sleep today. He had known that his time was near. He gathered us all into the barn only 3 days previously and spoke openly of the wisdom he had gained over the years and of the strange dream that he had. He spoke of how we are all comrades. He asked what kind of life do we have? 'Miserable, laborious and short.' We are given only so much to eat that will keep us breathing and give us the strength to carry out a days work and no more. We are pushed to the limits and when we are not capable of carrying out our duties we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. Most animals do not know the meaning of happiness because they do not live beyond 1 year. The life of an animal is misery and slavery. Remove man from the scene and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever. Man is lord of all the animals, he makes them work, gives food enough to prevent us from starving and keeps the rest for himself. He is very selfish he is our enemy. He spoke of Rebellion and how we must fight when the time came for future generations to carry on the struggle until it is victorious. Little did we know the Rebellion was going to start so soon. 1th March Napoleon and I decided to hold meetings during the, week to discuss and prepare for the Rebellion if it was to happen. Today I was talking to my comrades about how we

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George Orwell ResearchEric Arthur Blair was born in 1903 at Motihari in British-occupied India

George Orwell Research Eric Arthur Blair was born in 1903 at Motihari in British-occupied India. While growin up, he attended private schools in Sussex, Wellington and Eton. He worked at the Imperial Indian Police untill 1927 when he went to London to study the poverty stricken. He then moved to Paris where he wrote two lost novels. After he moved back to England he wrote Down and Out in Paris and London, Burmese Days, A Clergyman's Daughter and Keep the Apidistra Flying. He published all four under the psuedonym George Orwell. He then married Eileen O'Shaughnessy and wrote The Road to Wigan Pier. Orwell then joined the Army and fought in the Spanish civil war. He became a socialist revolutionary and wrote Homage to Catalonia, Coming Up for Air, and in 1943, he wrote Animal Farm. It's success ended Orwell's financial troubles forever. In 1947 and 48 despite Tuberculosis, he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four. He died in 1950 (Williams 7-15). This essay will show and prove to you that George Orwell's life has influenced modern society a great deal. BIOGRAPHY In 1903, Eric Arthur Blair was born. Living in India until he was four, Blair and his family then moved to England and settled at Henley. At the age of eight, Blair was sent to a private school in Sussex, and he lived there, except on holidays, until he was thirteen. He went to two private secondary schools: Wellington(for one

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The Rain Horse-Diary Extract.

The Rain Horse-Diary Extract Dear Diary 20th September 1983 Last week was the most evil week in my entire life. I returned home to my countryside village after 12 years of fighting as a boxer in south London. I'm proud of my self after I achieved the heavyweight title. It was just an amazing thing to happen. As I arrived, I went out for a walk around the farm and I noticed a different atmosphere. It was very boring, uninspiring and lifeless. There wasn't a current of air. It was an alien land and like I left it twelve hundred years ago not just twelve years ago. I wanted to see the sunshine and feel the hot weather that reminded me of my childhood but the land was dull, wet and cold. I wanted to leave as quickly as possible. So I kept walking and suddenly something moved in the corner of my eye. There was a strange looking horse on top of the hill. I was very annoyed and irritated because of the rain and mud splashing on my trousers. I felt sick and disgusted at that moment. I looked over my right side and I saw a thin black horse running across the ploughed field towards the hill, its head down, neck stretched out. It didn't look to me like a normal horse, and it seemed to be staring at me. It wasn't like the pony we had when I was young. This horse seemed to have gone astray, and to be behaving strangely. I walked a few

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