7 thoughts on “Animal Farm 1-3”

1. logansteffey March 29, 2020 at 8:50 am

   Animal Farm by George Orwellian lion is wholeheartedly an allegory of the Russian revolution to the small detail. Old major is obviously a Allegory of Carl Max but so is his speech. Beast of England represents the Communist Manifesto because it is what drives the animals forward like in the Russian revolution. Mr. Jones is also an allegory but for Nicholas II. In chapter 2 Mr. Jones gets black out drunk and fails to feed the animals. This represents Nicholas II’s inability to lead so he ended up killing lots of his people to keep them in line. Another example is when the animal break in the farm to eat and then kick out Mr. Jones. This represents the October revolution and how the people were feed up with Nicholas II and was forced to abdicate. Another example is Moses he raven which has a very fitting name because he represent religion during the Russian Revolution and ow it was absent like him.When he talked about a place above the clouds that represents heaven and Napoleon saying it was false is Stalin trying to convince there is no god. Finally the biggest allegory of them all is Napoleon representing Stalin and his use of propaganda to stay in power. The absents of the milk and apples and uses propaganda to try and convince they other animal s that the pigs were special ad needed to take them to survive like Stalin took stuff from his own people.

   Log in to Reply ↓
2. leahnorman17 March 30, 2020 at 5:21 pm

   In the first few chapters of Animal Farm the topic of “leadership” has been developed mainly by the Pigs. So far the pigs have taken the initiative to call meetings, stress the importance of education, participate in debates, and publicly write a list of Seven Commandments. The pigs stepped up when the animals owner left, and gave the other animals guidance, which might have been what the other animals needed however, building their new society all the animals should step up, become leaders and should be encouraged to bring their own ideas to meetings and debates. I think that the incident of the milk and apples foreshadows the pigs holding sole power on the farm. I think this because the pigs justification provided by Squealer was that the pigs need the apples and the milk mixed in their feed because it makes them stronger, he claimed that it was in the best interest of the animals. “The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples.” (Orwell, ch.3) Then Squealer told the animals that if the pigs weren’t strong and failed there duties Mr.Jones would return. The pigs used the animals fear, so they would agree and allow the pigs to have all the apples. With a constant gain in privilege it will be easy to gain full power of the farm.

   Log in to Reply ↓
3. emilyheimkreiter April 1, 2020 at 11:32 am

   In the first three chapters of Animal Farm by George Orwellian, we are introduced to many characters. When reading the first chapter many people believe that Old Major, the oldest farm animal who is a pig, is the main character and leader of the soon to come revolution. However, Old Major passes away at the beginning of chapter two; and when this happened my first question was, “well who’s the leader of this rebellion that has been talked upon so much?” My question was then answered in the second paragraph of chapter two when it said, “The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals. Pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon..”. This is when the readers are told that the pigs emerged as “leaders”. Both Snowball and Napoleon were seen as the farms leaders but they were very different in the way they led individually. Napoleon is an allegory of Joseph Stalin from the Russian Revolution. Napoleon, just like Joseph Stalin, led in a way where he uses military force. He did this by using his nine loyal attack dogs that he has raised, in a way to scare the other animals in an effort to consolidate his power. Snowball is an allegory of Leon Trotsky. Snowball is described as intelligent and passionate. Snowball is the more popular leader in the farm because he doesn’t use cruelty for the gain of power. While I look at both of the farm’s leaders I see Snowball as living up to my expectation of a good leader. Snowball leads with compassion instead of violence and today in America that’s exactly what we need.

   Log in to Reply ↓
4. jessicaguilfoyle April 1, 2020 at 5:20 pm

   Throughout the first three chapters of Animal Farm, the topic of propaganda and the power of speech is developed in many different ways. One event that evidently displays propaganda and the power of speech is when Squealer is announcing why the pigs get the milk and apples and no other animals are allowed. After the animals found out that the pigs were the ones getting the milk and apples, they began to get upset and question it because they wanted a share of it too. They brought this up to the pigs and Squealer responded that they are not doing it with “selfishness and privilege” but instead because they solely needed to “preserve their health” and that they even “[disliked] milk and apples” (Orwell 52). Squealer even claimed that “Jones would come back” if they did not eat them and they were simply doing it for the animals’ sake (Orwell 52). This statement that Squealer gave was clearly propaganda and was intended to persuade the animals into believing that it was absolutely necessary for the pigs to drink the milk and eat the apples. Squealer formulated this speech in order to reassure the animals that the pigs needed the milk and apples more than any of the other animals so it was okay that they were not equal on this occurrence. This could be significant in the future because the pigs could manipulate the other animals over and over, which would eventually create conflict between the pigs and other animals.

   Log in to Reply ↓
5. morganmundy April 2, 2020 at 8:54 am

   Right away in chapter one, we are introduced to many, if not all, of the characters in the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell. When Major gave his speech and taught the animals the song “Beasts of England”, I thought he was going to be the one to lead the rebellion against Man, but immediately in chapter two he dies of old age. This leaves leadership positions open for other animals, so Snowball and Napoleon step up. Later in this chapter after the animals figure out how to milk the cows, Napoleon draws attention away from the milk and back to the work for the animals. At the end of this chapter, the milk goes missing. Something similar happens in the next chapter as well. The pigs decided that all the apple windfalls were to go to the pigs because they “contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig”, and they managed to convince the other animals that they’re not being selfish, but they need to “preserve their health…[or] Jones would come back”(chapter 3 AF). Snowball and Napoleon are able to easily manipulate the animals because they’re uneducated. The animals believed that the pigs don’t even like the apples and that the pigs are keeping them for everyone’s benefit. The pigs are beginning to be corrupt, and lie and manipulate the public. If the other animals cared to educate themselves, they would not be able to be tricked, and they would know that it is not necessary to devote more resources to the pigs, they are just greedy. This foreshadows the pigs creating more corruption and turning into manipulative leaders who keep their followers under-educated so they don’t have the power to overthrow the leadership. This is important because it shows how being uneducated can lead you into believing lies from someone in power, and you would never know any better.

   Log in to Reply ↓
6. tjacks0104 April 2, 2020 at 4:55 pm

   George Orwell uses animals and symbols to convey themes pertaining to leadership, propaganda, and the Russian Revolution. At the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to Mr. Jones, a drunk farmer that is maladroit in his actions. Because of Mr. Jones’ actions, the animals unite to uproot Mr. Jones from his reign over them and to begin benefitting from their own labor. As an allegory, Mr. Jones’ poor actions and the animals’ overthrow of Mr. Jones symbolizes the fact that when a leader above people is incompetent in their duties, the people will find a way to overthrow that leader and come to power. Old Major’s death seemed instill a larger desire into the animals to overthrow Mr. Jones. Once the animals overthrow Mr. Jones and successfully run him off the farm, the animals and their true personalities begin to show. First of all, the pigs begin to take leadership over the animals. This causes many of the animals to feel secure and a select few become willing disciples of Animalism. Other animals such as Mollie remain recalcitrant to the rule of the pigs. This causes the pigs to instill rules and protocol into the farm. Many of the animals then memorize these rules and begin to contribute to the farm. The pigs learn how to milk the cows and this is when many of the events become suspicious. While the animals are out working, the pails of milk unexpectedly disappear. Later on, the animals find out that the pigs stole the milk as well as some apples for use in their food. When the other animals find out about this, a large amount of discord is expressed by the other animals. Squealer uses this event and his suave, persuasive skills to explain to the animals that the pigs must take the milk and apples so they can have strength and energy to work throughout the day. While Squealers’s argument is believable, it isn’t convincing enough because the pigs barely do any work as it is — the pigs only boss other animals around. Squealer’s speech foreshadows the pilfering of rights and property from each of the animals. This could be important to the story as it shows the pigs’ willingness to do what they need to stay in control. This is also important because it shows how a lack of knowledge and dependence on the leaders above you can cause deception and things to get ‘pulled over your head.’ Lastly, Napoleon and Snowball have very different qualities which are all nominal to being a good leader. A good leader should be willing to listen, but also willing to voice their opinions. A good leader needs to be educated, and cognizant of their surroundings. Finally, a leader needs to be willing to take action but also set back and let others lead at the same time. In sum, there isn’t a strong leader developing in the novel. Each ‘leader’ has their flaws that could be dangerous or harmful to the rest of the farm.

   Log in to Reply ↓
7. emmahuber5 April 3, 2020 at 2:29 pm

   Milk, apples, and manipulation! Squealer is a very well-spoken pig which is one of the ways that he is able to influence the rest of the animals. The speech given by Squealer at the end of Chapter 3 is full of propaganda and has the intention to persuade the other animals of the farm to believe disinformation. At the beginning of the novel Old Major says, “Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices.” This is not something that is followed by the pigs and that is shown through his speech. Squealer starts his speech by trying to make the other animals feel bad for accusing the pigs of being selfish. He says, “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege?” Squealer says this to try to push blame onto the other animals and make them feel guilty for ever questioning the authority of the pigs. The pigs also show this authority they have given themselves when it says, “At this some of the other animals murmured, but it was no use. All the pigs were in full agreement on this point.” This shows that the pigs have all of the power in decision making on the farm. Next in the speech Squealer tries to make the animals pity the pigs. Squealer does this through saying, “Many of us actually dislike milk and apples.” By spreading the idea that taking this food is something that actually pains the pigs due to the fact that they “don’t like them” it makes it look like the pigs are making sacrifices. This is where the disinformation starts. The pigs like the milk and apple, but they must pretend as if they do not to persuade the listeners of the speech. Through his speech Squealer even manages to once again explain why the pigs do not need to do physical work around the farm when he says, “We pigs are brainworkers.” This is another excuse that is openly accepted by the animals of the farm. After saying this he reemphasizes the leadership of the pigs by saying, “The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us.” Next, Squealer tries to make it seem as if this is all for the betterment of the population on the farm when he proclaims, “It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples.” This is manipulation to make the animals feel as if something that is harming them is actually benefiting them. Them Squealer very dramatically uses scare tactics. He says, ” Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades.” This influences the animals that the pigs are essential to their safety and in return they give the pigs more power. The pigs are able to accomplish getting the milk and apple for themselves while going over the heads of all the other animals. They are able to do this through manipulation, scare tactics and the use of pity.

   Log in to Reply ↓