Jake Morita Mr. Souders 7-1 May 17, 2023 “Why the Animals were Oppressed” Have you ever hated someone so much that you ran them out of their own home for good? Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is a fable about a group of animals on a farm that get treated with cruelty. They decide to rebel, and run their owner out of his own home. Then, the animals provide for each other and create a healthy, safe environment. Although, throughout the course of the book, the pigs took over, and the animals became unequal. The pigs, specifically one pig, became the leader, and all the animals were inferior to him. Napoleon, the leader, created a very unequal society, and at the end, it seemed as if the animals were given the same treatment as they were in the …show more content…
Besides the pigs, the animals were all stupid, some more than others. Some were oblivious to their surroundings, they didn't know how to put up an argument, and others didn't even know the alphabet! How can this group of animals be so stupid that they don't even know the alphabet!For example, one horse, Clover, wanted to look at something, but she didn't know how to read, “Finding herself unable to read, she fetched Muriel,”(Animal Farm, 66.) In this quote, Clover the horse wanted to read the ten commandments, but she realized she didn’t know how to read. So she fetched her friend, Muriel, and he read it to her. The animals are also oblivious to their surroundings. The ten commandments (the animals’ base set of rules) were slightly adjusted throughout the story by the pigs, and the animals didn’t realize this. One day, the pigs completely changed the commandments, “There was nothing there now except a single commandment. It ran: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,”(Animal Farm, 134.) Squealer, one of the pigs, completely changed the commandments to just one single commandment. If all the animals had found out about this, they could have tried to protest or do something to make their lives better. Nearly all of the animals didn’t realize this, because they were oblivious to their surroundings. The animals' stupidity is also due to the fact that they …show more content…
The animals are very forgetful. They can’t remember anything of major significance, they can’t remember things they experienced from the past, and they can’t remember minor details. The animals can’t remember anything of major significance, which is a huge reason why they are oppressed. The pigs announced that Snowball was a traitor, and they removed him from, Animal Hero First Class, which made the animal top marks. The pigs said that Snowball was in league with Jones from the start, but, “They all remembered, or thought they remembered, how they had seen Snowball charging ahead of them at the Battle of Cowshed,” (Animal Farm, 80.) If the animals had a better memory, they might have been more sure that Snowball was not a traitor, but since they weren’t 100% sure, the animals listened to what the pigs said. If the animals could remember things of significance, it could have stopped them from being oppressed. Another factor of the animals’ oppression is their forgetfulness of experiences from the past. At the start of the book, the animals were stoked about starting a rebellion, and getting to have an equal, safe, and healthy environment. Although, at the end of the book, “Some of the older ones among them racked their dim memories and tried to determine whether in the early days of the Rebellion, when Jones’s expulsion was still recent, things had been better or worse than now. They could not
They are unable to read and write which allows the pigs to get away with what they do. Covering up unethical new laws, squealer proclaims, "Tactics, comrades, tactics!" (…) The animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions” (Orwell, 39). Pigs are generally known as smarter animals and use this advantage to cover up their actions, as well as, create an image of authority.
Throughout the book the pigs tend to break rules and add loopholes to those rules so they would not be questioned. The animals were stupid enough to not realize that the rules were being changed each time they would refer to them. This shows that the animals don’t realize the change of rules without their opinion and allow it to
A necessity to ensure an ideal and functional community, as demonstrated in George Orwell 's 1945 novel Animal Farm, is the ability to detect and prevent corrupt conduct, read, and the will to challenge authority, which the animals do not possess, therefore putting them at major fault. One of the main factors that leads to the downfall of the farm and Animalism itself is the blatant stupidity that the animals, excluding the pigs, possess. They are overly dense to the point where the concept of corruption is near unfathomable, and thus cannot detect it or act upon their suspicions. Their willingness to believe Squealer 's persuasive speeches whenever doubt arises indicate that the animals are unable to think for themselves. “The other animals understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions of their own” (Orwell 19).
Later in the text the pigs find a children’s book which they teach themselves to read and write from. However when they are finished with the book they destroy it therefore stopping any chance of the other animals being of equal intellect. After the pigs have ensured that they will remain the smartest they begin to use their academic advantage to manipulate the other animals. With their new found skills along with their leadership positions, the pigs opt out of physical work and instead tend to the organisation and directing of Manor Farm. This opens up many doors of opportunity for the pigs but also allows them to close as many of these doors as they please.
In his novel Animal Farm, George Orwell condemns the Revolution which only brings the animals into worse conditions than before. Orwell uses cruelty to reveal how the humans and animals aren’t all that different, proving revolution doesn’t always accomplish its goals in the face of power and corruption, ultimately relating this to the rising Communist party in Russia during his time. The theme of violence and cruelty is used throughout the novel to inspire action. Old Major uses Mr. Jones’s crimes against the animals to stir a revolution citing “no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end.”
But as the months go on, the pigs change them to their benefit, giving them more power and luxury. The quote, “when the terror caused by the executions had died down, some of the animals remembered that the Sixth Commandment decreed ‘No animal shall kill any other animal’... Muriel read the commandment for her. It ran: ‘No animal shall kill any other animal without cause’,”(Orwell 98) shows that the pigs obviously change the commandment before the other animals got a chance to read it. This happens more times as the book goes on, and shows the pigs abusing their power by changing the commandments to fit their actions and desires.
Because of these differences the animals are not able to form a cohesive bond, and are not able to work together for the good of the farm. From the very beginning of their new freedom a power hierarchy begins to appear on the farm. The pigs are slacking off in jobs, and being bossy towards other animals. The animals also have made a list of commandments to follow in order for the farm to be successful which the pigs slowly break throughout the book. Benjamin, the apathetic donkey quickly takes note of what's going on but doesn’t care to mention it to any of the other animals.
This relates to the theme because, throughout the story, the pigs have been in charge because they have more knowledge than the other animals. They were also really clever and could think of a way around every difficulty the farm experienced. ( Orwell 13) In the middle of the story, some crucial rules were being changed and the animals did not do anything about it. “ … pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing-room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds.”
The pigs were always getting more and more food. The rules seemed to change as the pigs were breaking them to better fit their life. The pigs were also the only ones who always got the alcohol and almost too much too. All of the pigs, including Napoleon and
The pigs make an announcement in the morning following the hay harvest that reinforces their position of power. The pigs "revealed that they had taught themselves to read and write over the past three months," stunning the other animals. By stating that the pigs have learned to read and write "during the past three months," Orwell demonstrates that the pigs are aware of the power of education and keep it secret as a result. The pigs are intended to gain power through this education, thus they don't plan on teaching the other animals so they can keep power for themselves. Throughout the story the pigs use their knowledge to move up in what was supposed to be an equal and communist society, but unfortunately “some animals are more equal than
The pigs, who are more intelligent, tricked the animals into thinking they have a choice when in reality they do not. Even more, as the story progressed, the animals lost their voice in debates. Every Sunday, the animals held Meetings in the farmhouse to discuss the work and plans for the week.
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a story about animals that rebel against their owners on a farm. They then try to solve problems on how to run a farm. One theme in this story is ”Not everyone is equal; some people believe that they are more superior than others.” This theme is demonstrated by Napoleon, he’s a dictator and makes all the rules in the farm to fit his needs. Another theme in this story is “People deserve to have their own thoughts and ideas.
Jaewon Shim Ms. Manning English 9B 06 February 2015 Animal Farm Analytical Essay "Orwellian" is an adjective that describes the condition of the society that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. The adjective suggests an attitude that is controlled by propaganda, the denial of truth, and manipulation of the past. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell develops his ideas about the Russian Revolution through a highly satirical story written in the form of a fable. The characters represent actual people in history during the Russian Revolution, which took place in the years between 1917 to 1944, as it talks about a story of a farm rebelling against a human owner and establishes their own way of running the farm, which was effected by Old Major’s speech who talked about a society where all workers led the society, with no actual leader. However, imbalance of power occur as the pigs, who are the smartest of the animals gain influence by supervising other animals to work.
In Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, the pigs on the farm had a propogandist vantage-point that the farmers, who were taking care of the animals, were an over-controlling government (Orwell―7,8). The eldest pig one day decided that the outcome of the animals’ labors was being deprived of them (8,10). One day, he declared to the other animals that they were equal to the humans and deserved what they had( 11). Soon enough, a plan was devised. Since the animals were so “high and mighty”, they would overthrow their keepers―however, whenever the humans drew near, the animals would cower away(14).
Initially in Animal Farm, intending to help the animals achieve equality, the pigs (Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer) with their “superior knowledge” take the initiative to set Old Major’s dream into motion. At this point, power is already subtly shown as the pigs are the ones to “direct and supervise” the revolutions whilst the other animals have completely no say in the process of executioning the humans. Moreover, with Snowball giving orders e.g. “you do not need sugar” and Napoleon claiming that he will “lead the way”, it hints that the pigs are determined to take advantage of their intelligence to gratify their desires for controlling the animals. In fact, the farm is able to achieve prosperity and joy until Napoleon’s strong desire for