Totalitarianism: absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution. Search all of SparkNotes Search Suggestions Use up and down arrows essay on animal farm by george orwell review and enter to select. In Russia there were power struggles between Stalin and Trotsky. Evidence and Details. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, Napoleon and his fellow pigs got corrupted when they took control the farm.
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How do the pigs maintain their authority on Animal Farm? From the Rebellion onward, essay on animal farm by george orwell, the pigs of Animal Farm use violence and the threat of violence to control the other animals. On Animal Farm, it quickly becomes clear that language and rhetoric can be much more effective tools of social control than violence. The pigs rely on slogans, poems, and commandments to both inspire the animals and keep them subservient. Crucially, the pigs understand that their songs and sayings must be easy to memorize and repeat if the other animals are essay on animal farm by george orwell internalize their precepts.
In addition to the songs, slogans, poems, and commandments, Napoleon and the pigs also rewrite the oral and written histories of the farm in order to serve their needs and maintain their authority. When Napoleon violently seizes power, he quickly justifies his takeover by falsely denouncing his former ally and fellow revolutionary, Snowball, essay on animal farm by george orwell, as a human-sympathizer and enemy of Animalism. Despite the fact that many of the animals remember Snowball receiving a medal for his bravery in the Battle of the Cowshed, Squealer convinces them that Snowball had actually fought alongside Mr. Jones against the animals. Loyal Boxer, who has trouble believing the essay on animal farm by george orwell tale, is convinced otherwise when Squealer tells him that Napoleon knows it to be true.
Orwell argues, however, that language can be used just as effectively for more sinister purposes, as a device of social manipulation and control, and that such rhetoric is often far more powerful than state-sanctioned violence or the threat of physical force. Ace your assignments with our guide to Animal Farm! Search all of SparkNotes Search Suggestions Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. No Fear Literature Translations Literature Study Guides Glossary of Literary Terms How to Write Literary Analysis. Biography Biology Chemistry Computer Science Drama Economics Film Health History Math Philosophy Physics Poetry Psychology Short Stories Sociology US Government and Politics. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Character List Napoleon Snowball Boxer Squealer Old Major Mr.
Pilkington Benjamin. Themes Motifs Symbols Protagonist Antagonist Setting Genre Allusions Style Point of View Tone Foreshadowing Metaphors and Similes. Why is Animal Farm an allegory? What is Animalism? How does Napoleon seize power? What does Boxer represent? How does Mr. Frederick trick Napoleon? Why does Mollie leave Animal Farm? Why does Snowball want to build a windmill? Why do the animals confess to being traitors? Why does Napoleon blame Snowball for everything that goes wrong on the farm? How is the windmill destroyed? Why does Napoleon change the Seven Commandments? How does Squealer manipulate the animals so the pigs can better control them?
Important Quotes Explained By Symbol Animal Farm The Barn The Windmill By Setting The Farm. Book Full Book Quiz Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 More Character List Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs, and Symbols. Suggestions for Further Reading Related Links Movie Adaptations George Orwell and Animal Farm Background. Please wait while we process your payment. Unlock your FREE SparkNotes Plus Trial! Unlock your FREE Trial! Sign up and get instant access to save the page as your favorite. Previous section Mini Essays Next section Suggested Essay Topics. Animal Farm SparkNotes Literature Guide Series PRINT EDITION Ace your assignments with our guide to Animal Farm! Popular pages: Animal Farm. Take a Study Break.
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Many types of governments make use of propaganda, not only totalitarian ones. Consider, for instance, the arguments that led many United States citizens to go along with the idea of invading Iraq after the September 11, , terror attacks. Propaganda serves the positive task of uniting the people, sometimes at the cost of misleading them. Orwell takes a firm stance on the harmfulness of propaganda in Animal Farm while acknowledging its value for rallying a mistreated and disillusioned populace. In Chapter IX, Orwell demonstrates the positive value of propaganda. By this point, the animals are so downtrodden that they are desperate for something in which to believe. Note the irony, though: it is Napoleon who has robbed them of their belief in the original version of Animalism.
The falsely optimistic statistics, the songs, and especially the Spontaneous Demonstrations give the animals something to live for. This chapter is an exception in terms of portraying propaganda in a positive light. For the majority ofAnimal Farm, Orwell skewers propaganda and exposes its nature as deception. Eloquent to a fault, he can make the animals believe almost anything. Each time Clover suspects that the Seven Commandments have been changed, Squealer manages to convince her that she is wrong. In addition to being a source of manipulation, propaganda is an agent of fear and terror. He uses similar fear tactics regarding Frederick and Pilkington. In Animal Farm, Orwell criticizes the ways that dictators use violence and terror to frighten their populaces into submission.
Violence is one of the yokes from which the animals wish to free themselves when they prepare for the Rebellion. Not only does Jones overwork the animals and steal the products of their labor, but he can whip or slaughter them at his discretion. Once the pigs gain control of the animals, they, like Jones, discover how useful violence and terror can be. They use this knowledge to their full advantage. The foremost example of violence and terror in the novel is the pattern of public executions. The executions can be said to represent both the Red Terror and the Great Purge, but they stand more broadly for the abuse of power.
Capital punishment for criminals is a hotly debated issue. Killing suspected criminals, as Napoleon does, is quite another issue. The executions perhaps best symbolize the Moscow Trials, which were show trials that Stalin arranged to instill fear in the Soviet people. In fact, they were coerced. Napoleon likely coerces confessions from many of the animals that he executes. Execution with weapons is a violent and horrifying act, but many people have become desensitized to it. Terror comes also in threats and propaganda.
This is doubly threatening to the animals because it would mean another battle that, if lost, would result in a return to their former lifestyle of submission. The other major example of fear tactics in the novel is the threat of Snowball and his collaborators. Snowball is a worse threat than Jones, because Jones is at least safely out of Animal Farm. In modern language, Snowball is pegged as the terrorist responsible for the infringements on the rights and liberties instigated by the pigs. Exploitation is the issue around which the animals unite. Initially, the animals do not realize Jones is exploiting them. Major explains to the animals that they are enslaved and exploited and that Man is to blame. He teaches them not only what exploitation means, but also the fact that it is not inevitable.
Orwell suggests that exploitation is, in fact, bound to happen when one class of society has an advantage over another. Gaining freedom does not necessarily lead people also to become rich, but it is better to be poor and free than poor and exploited. Even the dogs, which work closely with the pigs, are exploited. The dogs face perhaps even a worse form of exploitation than the other animals, because they are made into agents of intimidation and death. In the end, Napoleon turns the tables and exploits Boxer, having him slaughtered for profit. By the end of the novel, we see clearly how the animals participate in their own exploitation. That schoolhouse will never benefit the animals that build it; rather, it will be used to educate the pigs and indoctrinate them into the cycle of exploiting others.
Throughout the novel, Orwell shows us how the lack of human rights results in total helplessness. However, though it underscores the need for human rights, the novel does not suggest how to achieve them. After all, once the animals expel Jones and gain rights for themselves, the pigs take those rights away and the cycle of exploitation continues with new players. In the beginning of Animal Farm, the idea of freedom rouses the animals as if from a long slumber. If Benjamin is the harbinger of apathy, Boxer is its antithesis. Strong not only in body but also in spirit, Boxer will make any sacrifice for the benefit of Animal Farm.
Far from truly considering Boxer a loyal comrade, the pigs treat him as apathetically as they would a mere object. Symbolically, they even make a profit by having him turned into literal objects—glue and bone meal. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, stumbles drunkenly up to bed as the farm animals wait in still silence. The moment he is out of sight, they begin to bustle around, preparing themselves for the big meeting that is to take place that night. Old Major has called the meeting to discuss a strange dream he had the previous night. He is waiting for his fellow animals in the big barn.
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Essay, 19 pages words. Download PDF DOCX. Subjects: British Literature, Literature. Save to Library Sample Saved Save to Library Remove from Library. Published: November 28, Updated: November 28, Language: English Downloads: Humanisation Years pass, and the pigs learn to walk upright, carry whips and wear clothes. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill any other animal. All animals are equal. The changed commandments are as follows, with the changes bolded: 1. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
No animal shall drink alcohol to excess. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause. Humans Mr Jones — The former owner of the farm, Jones is a very heavy drinker. Equines Boxer — Boxer is a loyal, kind, dedicated, and respectable horse, although quite dim-witted. Major Themes The Soviet Union under Stalinism Animal Farm is a satire of totalitarian governments in their many guises. The Inevitability of Totalitarianism Orwell held the pessimistic belief that totalitarianism was inevitable, even in the West. Propaganda and Duplicity Working as a propagandist during World War II, Orwell experienced firsthand both the immense power and the dishonesty of propaganda.
Violence and Terror as Means of Control In Animal Farm, Orwell criticizes the ways that dictators use violence and terror to frighten their populaces into submission. Exploitation and the Need for Human Rights Exploitation is the issue around which the animals unite. Apathy and Acceptance In the beginning of Animal Farm, the idea of freedom rouses the animals as if from a long slumber. Summary and analysis of Chapter I Mr. Thanks, this is helpful Thanks, this is helpful Sorry, it didn't help Sorry, it didn't help. Thanks for voting and helping us improve!
Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Reddit Share to LinkedIn. Ask for Removal. Create a Citation on Essay Harvard APA-6 Chicago A-D Chicago N-B MLA-8 References PaperPrompt. Reference PaperPrompt. References PaperPrompt. Bibliography PaperPrompt. Work Cited "Animal farm by george orwell. Great ambition in macbeth. Myocardial infarction and autism english literature essay. Macbeth's corruption. Unfortunately there arose Stalin, a leader who was a dictator, pretending to practise socialism yet he was a cruel dictator.
Orwell loved socialism but did not like the Communist perception of Socialism and the way they applied the socialist model. He wrote the novel to warn the people of the dangers of Communism. At the time the novel was written Communism was spreading to Europe and the United States. In the novel animal farm, Orwell tells the story of Communism in the form of an animal fable. There are animals which represent the poor people while the pigs and dogs represent the administrators of the leader. The pigs and dogs are given power to rule the animals by Jones who is the leader. However these administrators are greedy for power.
Through bloodshed and spread of propaganda they destroy all who rise up to complain or resist them. In Russia there were power struggles between Stalin and Trotsky. These were the chief allies of Lenin who was the leader of Russia at that time. Stalin was shrewd, once Lenin died in he ganged up with his supporters and Trotsky had fled from Russia. He held public executions of the people who supported his competitors. All the land was owned by the Jones who controlled the economy. The animals were given anthems and rules such as all animals are equal but there are animals which are more equal than others. The book shows the way it is human nature for people to create classes in the society which leads to oppression of the poor.
The pigs and the dogs are corrupted by power. The working class are naive, uneducated and gullible and do not question the intentions of the government. In the book Orwell shows the way totalitarian governments use terror and violence to control the people. Jones overworks the animals and even takes their food. He beats them up and slaughters them. The pigs and dogs like their master do not hesitate to use this cruel tool of control. Jones exploits the animals for the physical labour. He also exploits the pigs and dogs though they are not aware. He uses them to scare the animals to do his bidding.
Orwell through the book predicted that communism would not last long and would fail economically to achieve social equality. At the end of animal farm the pigs have become the new oppressors. There is no liberation for the animals. Stalin became the new dictator in Russia just like the dictatorial king the poor had rebelled against. The predictions are true since in the communist nations the economy has not done well at all. In the end Europe and America fought with the Communist nations showing that a government-controlled economy was not the way. A capitalist economy was democratic and the best model to emulate for any country. His warnings on Communism were true however adopting Socialism is not the way either.
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