• Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Animal Farm

Extracts from this document...


Level 2 Access/GCSE Communications Animal Farm Chose three chapters in the fable where you think the author's use of satire helps us to: * Understand the writers purpose * Understand what is happening in the novel * Understand and appreciate the 'characters' more fully * Appreciate the writers skill * Understand why he used a fable form rather than a novel Animal Farm was written by George Orwell in 1943, yet due to political sensitivity, not published until 1945. The novel is written as an allegory of communist Russia. In consideration of Russia being an ally of the British at this time one can understand the reluctance of many publishers to participate in its distribution. The story is set on an English farm and the animals on the farm are used as characters intended to represent prominent figures in the Soviet Union. The story centres around a revolution undertaken by the animals in order to oust the farmer, Mr Jones, and gain freedom from oppression and hardship. How the story unfolds relates directly to Orwell's profound disillusionment with revolutionary politics, human nature and our overwhelming need to dominate and suppress. The principle characters in this book are Napoleon, Squealer, Snowball and the pig population. ...read more.


The lies told by the eloquent Squealer are so outrageous to the reader and also at first difficult to swallow by the animals, but a desperate need to cling to a dream wins over the animal's judgement and memories. "now when Squealer described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the animals that they did remember it..." It is ironic that the more desperate conditions become the more the animals rely on the dream they fought for even as it participates in their down fall absolutely. The use of terror is one which has been a successful tool of control in many seemingly civilised societies, including Nazi Germany and perhaps the fear of terrorism is affecting our society's moral judgement at this very moment. Towards the end of the chapter the massacre in the cow shed takes place and the reader is led to believe that there is a possibility the main characters in the book are finally aware that everything they had worked for is a sham. They know another commandment has been broken, Clover in her thoughts mirrors our feelings and we feel that finally reality has been revealed, if however, Clover knows of their oppression she has discovered it too late and fear prevents her from speaking out. ...read more.


No set of events could, the reader believes, be more instrumental in creating disaffection amongst the farm animals. The animals are now controlled so thoroughly and from so many different angles even such obvious betrayals cannot stir them. To end this chapter we learn that ..."from somewhere or other the pigs had acquired the money to buy themselves another case of whiskey". The readers are fully aware of where some where or other is. The books final irony is the powerful use of Clover to observe dinner between the pigs and the humans. Because Clover is one of the few original surviving character it is effective that she witnesses the final symbolism of the pigs completed takeover. It is now impossible to distinguish between Pig and human. The true intentions of the pigs can no longer be ignored and the totalitarian state the farm animals exist in can no longer be denied. Animal farm is renamed Manor Farm, there is no longer any motivation to hide how this society is run. Because there is no happy conclusion to this novel it is evident to the reader that this is no charming fairy tale. It is ironic because the animals fought so hard for nothing but far more desperate conditions and slavery and haunting because the whole story portrays human pre disposition towards power, exploitation and cruelty. ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS. Charlotte Walton WALCHA07 22-04-05 ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text


Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related GCSE Animal Farm essays

  1. The main elements of Napoleon's character.

    This charisma, however, does not have a deep or solid foundation. He speaks too quickly, without thinking things through. His plans and schemes are too elaborate, hurried and ambitious. His fantastic ideas for the windmill, for instance, require dynamos and cables, yet we are told Snowball himself has no idea how they are to be obtained or produced.


    Before Old Major dies, he initially tells the animals to "remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend."


    She wants to seek revenge, "the Evremonde people are to be exterminated, and the wife and child must follow the husband and father". The consequences of revenge will be more deaths of innocent people. Madame Defarge is a strong woman, she has bounced back after her horrific past, but only hatred has grown inside her.

  2. Summarization of animal farm chapters 1-10

    Early in October, a flight of pigeons announces the approach of Jones, with his gun. He has with him a troop of half a dozen men, all armed with sticks. They have come to recapture the farm. This action is not unexpected, and the animals are prepared.


    he could turn black to white". This tells the readers that he is able to change the minds of certain group members to agreement instead of disagreement. He could quite easily turn animal's views against or for something in his favour.

  2. Animal Cruelty

    regardless of having a moral- reasoning capability, are entitled to freedom of torture and pain. As scientists became more advanced, the experimenting became more creative. A scientist studying for head trauma strapped an animal in machinery to receive high impact blows to the head that left the head severely damaged.

  1. Animal Farm.

    Based on Joseph Stalin, Napoleon uses military force (his nine loyal attack dogs) to intimidate the other animals and consolidate his power. In his supreme craftiness, Napoleon proves more treacherous than his counterpart, Snowball. Napoleon (In-Depth Analysis) From the very beginning of the novella, Napoleon emerges as an utterly corrupt opportunist.

  2. Animal Farm Book Report

    Snowball then spent weeks drawing up detailed of the windmill and how to go about building it. Orwell shows Napoleons nasty behaviour when he says that he "urinated over the plans and walked out without uttering a word". Finally when Snowball has finished the plans, the animals hold a meeting

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work