An Analysis of the Animal Farm - shs.edu.tw

1 An Analysis of the Animal farm 1 : An Analysis of the Animal farm : 24 25 41 : PDF created with pdfFactory trial version Analysis of the Animal farm 2 An Analysis of the Animal farm I Introduction The Animal farm , an ironic parable-novel of the Soviets communism system, is the most remarkable satire by George orwell . The book was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels, and won a Retrospective Hugo Award in 1996. The author adopted a form of parable to dig at human s politics. The story, which is based on a series of revolutions by the animals, criticizes the totalitarianism during the Stalin administration before World War II.

2 It also intents to disclose the facts of the Soviets communism s scathing autarchy. In the meanwhile, it satirizes England, France and other countries, which have diplomatic relations with Soviets. After reading the Animal farm , readers might think it is a general and funny story. However, having further analyzed the author s writing motive, we realize how ingeniously the author put the Communism into this fairytale-like novel. With the author s deliberate arrangement, this novel not only presents a complete society under the Communism, but also directs readers to explore the implied meanings while they enjoy the fun of the interesting plots?

3 II. Text A. The Author George orwell was a well-known novelist, essayist and critic. He was born in Motihari, Bihar, India on 25 June 1903. After his family moved back to England in 1907, he began studies at Eton in 1917. In 1922, he served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma and because he was disgusted with imperialism, the mounting dislike eventually led to his resignation in 1927. He, then, resolved to be a writer to show the ugly aspects of the Autarchy. PDF created with pdfFactory trial version Analysis of the Animal farm 3 George orwell , a gentle, sympathetic man, was also a person full of individualism and idealism.

4 So much did he detest tyranny that he was called the wintry conscience of a generation . In 1950, he died of tuberculosis at the age of 46 B. Outline: This book depicts that the animals living in Manor farm are oppressed by humans and can t fight back. However, among the animals, there is a pig named Old Major who particularly longs for liberty and encourages the other animals to launch a violent political revolution against the farmer owner who owns everything, works Animal population hard, sends their young to slaughter and feeds them little. After his death, two pigs named Snowball and Napoleon are in power. Since their former owner left, they have implemented democracy on the farm and proclaim that all the animals are equal.

5 Because these two pigs are the most influential and powerful on the farm , they dominate everything. They draw up the farm Constitution - Seven Commandments, but Napoleon ends up violating the rules. He even raises vicious dogs as his secret police and schemes to exile Snowball as a dissident. What s more, he drinks alcohol, uses two legs to walk, and associates with people. All the animals are in the dark but still work hard for him even after their pig leaders have betrayed them. They believe under his leadership, they still can expect the well-being they have been longing for. Unfortunately, it proves to be a pie in the sky, and their life turns sourer than before.

6 C. Characters: a. Mr. Jones Mr. Jones was once a capable farmer. However, he deteriorates into drinking and becomes very harsh to the animals after he lost money in a lawsuit. Instigated by Old Major, the animals rebel by driving out Mr. and Mrs. Jones as well as his workers so that they can live without hunger and overwork. Mr. Jones attempts to reinstate himself in the farm by attacking the animals a skirmish which the animals later call the Battle of the Cowshed. He is defeated by Snowball's tactics. The only casualty of the battle is a single sheep, but many of Mr. Jones men are injured. After the battle, Mr.

7 Jones has never made any attempts to capture Animal farm again and goes away PDF created with pdfFactory trial version Analysis of the Animal farm 4 to live in somewhere else. He later dies in an inebriates home in another part of the country. In the story, Mr. Jones, in fact, represents Tsar Nicholas II, the deposed czar, who faced severe financial difficulties in the days leading up to the 1917 Revolution. b. Old Major Old Major is the kind, grand fatherly philosopher of change , an obvious metaphor for Karl Marx, whose political hypotheses about working-class consciousness and division of labor work much better in theory than in practice.

8 Old Major proposes a solution to the animals' desperate plight under the Jones "administration" when he incites the farm animals to rebel against the corrupt farmer, Mr. Jones. Old Major claims to understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any Animal now living. After his death, the socialism he professes is drastically altered when Napoleon and the other pigs begin to dominate. The pigs forsake old Major's inspiration; they used it to benefit themselves instead of following through on the old Major's honest proposal. c. Snowball Snowball is Napoleon s rival. Both pigs wanted a leadership position in the "new" economic and political system.

9 But as time goes on, both eventually realize that one of them will have to step down. Soon the differences, like whether or not to build a windmill, become too great to deal with, so Napoleon decides that Snowball must be eliminated. Napoleon was setting the stage for his own domination long before he really began "dishing it out" to Snowball. For example, he took the puppies away from their mothers in efforts to establish a private police force. These dogs would later be used to eliminate Snowball, his arch-rival. d. Mr. Frederick PDF created with pdfFactory trial version Analysis of the Animal farm 5 Mr. Frederick is the tough owner of Pinchfield, a well-kept neighboring far.

10 He represents Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in general. He buys wood from the animals for forged money and later attacks them, destroying the windmill but being finally beaten in the resulting Battle of the Windmill, which could be interpreted as either the battle of Moscow or Stalingrad. There are also stories of him mistreating his own animals, such as throwing dogs into a furnace, which may also represent the Nazi Party s treatment of political dissidents. e. Boxer Boxer is a horse in Animal farm , and he is the farm 's most hard-working worker. Boxer played an important role in keeping the farm together prior to his death and was the only close friend of Benjamin, the cynical donkey.