Trace carefully the stages by which the Pigs take control of Animal Farm

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GCSE English Literature                           Animal Farm                                               Philip Xiu

Trace carefully the stages by which the Pigs take control of Animal Farm

Animal Farm is a satirical beast fable, containing a parallel to the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin, it has though more meaningfully an anatomy of all political revolutions, where the revolutionary ideals of justice, equality, and fraternity shatter in the event. Animal Farm was constructed on a circular basis to illustrate the futility of the revolution. The novel is a series of dramatic repudiations of the Seven Commandments by the insatiable thirst for power of the pigs, and a return to the tyranny and irresponsibility of the beginning. The only change will be in the identity of the masters and ironically, that will be only partially changed.

Although the original intention of overthrowing Mr. Jones, and replacing him with the system of Animalism is not inherently evil in itself (indeed, the animals strived to create an utopian society based on equality and prosperity). Napoleon’s subsequent rise to power and adoption of nearly all of Mr. Jones principles and harsh mistreatment of the “lesser” animals proves to the readers that indeed Animalism is not equality, but just another form of inequality. The pigs and the dogs take most of the authority for themselves, in creeping stages (which are not obvious to the “lesser” animals, which the narrator described as “stupid”). However, ultimately the power corrupts the pigs, and they turn on their fellow animals, eliminating contenders and rivals through propaganda and bloodshed.

However, all this is achieved by the pigs through a sly and an almost planned path to total domination of the animals in the farm. We can see the stages very clearly, even from the beginning, before the revolution the pigs are in charge; they cast an undue influence upon the other animals. For example, Old Major although he is not planning to dominate the farm, the animals revere him as a hero, and they listen to him and his plans of ridding the farm of humans. In his speech, he spoke with power but seems to be almost naïve, and does not touch on the complexities of the solution that he submits. “Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.” However his future “predictions” suggest otherwise, they suggest that he has carefully thought out the plan and all the difficulties with it, he boldly warns. “Your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and animals have a common interest…” His ideas dominate the spirit of the revolution, the future only seems optimistic, even though from the very start Old Major has a grip on the animals, who are stirred into a frenzy by the speech and then are lead into a rousing song of the revolution called, “Beasts of England.”

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With Old Major’s death, he symbolizes the idealistic, intellectual, and sometimes abstract vision that leads to the revolution. His death clears the path for younger figures to seize the revolutionary fervour, which is sweeping the farm, and use it to propel themselves to positions of power. Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer are cleverer, sneakier, and more aggressive than the other animals, and they soon rise to power as the subtle leaders of the revolutionary movement. “The work of teaching and organizing the others naturally fell upon the pigs, who were generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals.” This ...

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