These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of animal farm by george orwell. Gradesaver provides access to 678 study guide pdfs and quizzes, 3586 literature essays, 1193 sample college application essays, 118 lesson plans, and ad free surfing in this premium content, ldquo members only rdquo section of the site! membership includes a 10% discount on all editing orders. George orwell's political fable animal farm portrays a reenactment of the russian revolution, with major characters cast as farm animals and communism renamed animalism. Within george orwell’s simple allegory animal farm lie lessons about the complex bonds between leadership, fraternity, and self agency.

The animals are at first subjugated by humans in a communal voiceless suffering, but old major inspires them. What techniques do they use in their struggle for power? does snowball represent a morally legitimate political alternative to the corrupt leadership of napoleon? as joseph stalin did, napoleon prefers to work behind the scenes to build his power through manipulation and deal making, while snowball devotes himself, as leon trotsky did, to winning popular support through his ideas, passionate speeches, and success in debates with his opponent. Snowball seems to work within the political system, while napoleon willingly circumvents it. Napoleon, for instance, understands the role of force in political control, as is made clear by his use of the attack dogs to expel snowball from the farm. Despite napoleon rsquo s clearly bullying tactics, orwell rsquo s text doesn rsquo t allow us to perceive snowball as a preferable alternative.

Snowball does nothing to prevent the consolidation of power in the hands of the pigs, nor does he stop the unequal distribution of goods in the pigs rsquo favor mdash he may even, in fact, be complicit in it early on. Furthermore, the ideals of animal farm mdash like orwell rsquo s ideal version of socialism mdash are rooted in democracy, with all of the animals deciding how their collective action should be undertaken. For any one animal to rise to greater power than any other would violate that ideal and essentially render animal farm indistinguishable from a human farm mdash an unavoidable eventuality by the end of the novella. Though their motives for power may be quite different mdash napoleon seems to have a powerful, egocentric lust for control, while snowball seems to think himself a genius who should be the one to guide the farm toward success mdash each represents a potential dictator. Neither pig has the other animals rsquo interests at heart, and thus neither represents the socialist ideals of animal farm. Why do you think orwell chose to use a fable in his condemnation of soviet communism and totalitarianism? fiction would seem a rather indirect method of political commentary if orwell had written an academic essay, he could have named names, pointed to details, and proven his case more systematically.

What different opportunities of expression does a fable offer its author? historically, fables or parables have allowed writers to criticize individuals or institutions without endangering themselves: an author could always claim that he or she had aimed simply to write a fairy tale mdash a hypothetical, meaningless children rsquo s story. Even now, when many nations protect freedom of speech, fables still come across as less accusatory, less threatening. Orwell never condemns stalin outright, a move that might have alienated certain readers, since stalin proved an ally against adolf hitler rsquo s nazi forces. Moreover, the language of a fable comes across as gentle, inviting, and unassuming: the reader feels drawn into the story and can follow the plot easily, rather than having to wade through a self righteous polemic. In writing a fable, orwell expands his potential audience and warms it to his argument before he even begins. Because fables allow for the development of various characters, orwell can use characterization to add an element of sympathy to his arguments. Especially by telling the story from the point of view of the animals, orwell draws us in and allows us to identify with the working class that he portrays.

Thus, a fable allows him to appeal more intensely to emotion than a political essay might enable him to do. The lighthearted, pastoral, innocent atmosphere of the story stands in stark contrast to the dark, corrupt, malignant tendencies that it attempts to expose. This contrast adds to the story rsquo s force of irony: just as the idyllic setting and presentation of the story belies its wretched subject matter, so too do we see the utopian ideals of socialism give way to a totalitarian regime in which the lower classes suffer. Although the specific animals and events that he portrays clearly evoke particular parallels in the real world, their status as symbols allows them to signify beyond specific times and places.

Orwell himself encourages this breadth of interpretation: while the character of napoleon, for example, refers most directly to stalin in deed and circumstance, his name evokes his resemblance to the french general turned autocrat napoleon. From whose perspective is animal farm told? why would orwell have chosen such a perspective? animal farm is not told from any particular animal rsquo s perspective properly speaking, it doesn rsquo t have a protagonist. Rather, it is told from the perspective of the common animals as a group: we read, for example, that ldquo t he animals were stupefied. Rdquo this technique enables orwell to paint a large portrait of the average people who suffer under communism. Through this choice of narrative perspective, he shows the loyalty, na vet , gullibility, and work ethic of the whole class of common animals. In this way, he can effectively explore the question of why large numbers of people would continue to accept and support the russian communist government, for example, even while it kept them hungry and afraid and even after its stated goals had clearly and decisively failed. Paying particular attention to the character of squealer, how is language used as an instrument of social control? how do the pigs rewrite history? 2.

What role does he play on the farm? why does napoleon seem to feel threatened by him? in what ways might one view the betrayal of boxer as an alternative climax of the novel if we consider napoleon rsquo s banishment of snowball and the pigs rsquo initial consolidation of power as the true climax ? 3. Do you think animal farm rsquo s message would come across effectively to someone who knows nothing about soviet history or the conflict between stalin and trotsky? what might such a reader make of the story? 4. All five incorporate at least one of the themes found in animal farm and are broad enough so that it will be easy to find textual support, yet narrow enough to provide a focused clear thesis statement. These thesis statements offer a short summary of animal farm in terms of different elements that could be important in an essay. You are, of course, free to add your own analysis and understanding of the plot or themes to them. The rebellion never would have taken place and certainly the end result of napoleon’s complete takeover would never have happened.

Dissertation Topics Public Health

Through the impressive rhetorical and propaganda skills of squealer and the skillful manipulation of meaning by other characters, reality is shaped by words for better or for worse. By demonstrating how easily swayed the animals of the farm are by a powerful speech or strong words, orwell is demonstrating something via a fable about the human vulnerability to carefully chosen words and out unfortunate ability to fall victim to the power of words without understanding the deeper meanings behind them. For this essay, go through the book and look for sections where squealer is speaking or arranging words. This will provide you with a great group of quotes to eventually work in and build around. thesis statement / essay topic 2: class issues in animal farm throughout the novel the issue of class is an important theme, both in terms of what it means to the animals before the rebellion and even more significantly, what happens after.

Dissertation Topics Drama

There is never a moment that the class distinctions in animal farm by george orwell disappear. From the very beginning, all of the animals are ruled by the human class and then by snowball, then by napoleon. For this essay, use the phrase, all animals are equal… but some are more equal than others and trace the decline of equality in classes as napoleon gains more power. If this is not complex enough and you would like a more challenging alternative, consider the ways in which the farm is a mini society and examine how the workers and ruling class interact with one another and how the one is subjected while the other maintains control. This might be most effective if you incorporate ideas from essay topic 1 and examine the way language is used to manipulate the dumber classes of workers.

Literature Search In Nursing Research

thesis statement / essay topic 3: the corrupting influence of power in animal farm animal farm is a social and political fable / allegory about the influences and nature of power and how it can be used for ultimate good or absolute evil. At the beginning of animal farm power was used to achieve great things it brought all members of manor farm together under a united cause and allowed them gain their freedom from oppression. After this initial positive influence of power, however, it began to destroy the community that had worked together to form a utopia in animal farm by george orwell. After this point, power struggles emerged and served to divide rather than unite the animals of the farm. For this essay, look at how power was a corrupting and ultimately negative influence by the end of the book. For organizational purposes, choose three characters and mention them in your thesis statement by stating this can be seen by the development of characters such as …. Jones, and napoleon be used in this analysis but there are other great examples as well.