Animal Farm Research Paper

Research Paper
When George Orwell was asked to summarize his new novel "animal farm" he said this: "there's a farm and the animals get fed up with the way the farmer runs it so they chuck him out and try to run it for themselves. But they run it just as badly as the farmer and become tyrants like him". needless to say the small summarization could not compare To the passionate intensity invested in this work of literature that is perfectly represented by the major ideas in it. The major ideas help support the major theme. One of the ideas in Orwell's novel that strikes a satiric note is the idea of religion being the "opium of the people" (as Karl Marx famously wrote"). This meaning that religion is an artificial means to keep people happy. …show more content…
In Animal Farm the pigs gradually change the meaning of being equals with another animal to justify their behavior and actions and to keep the animals from finding out their real intentions. The animals wholeheartedly embrace majors visions of freedom from the humans but after major dies, the pigs gradually twist the meaning of his words to better suit themselves. As a result the other animals can't defy the pigs without also opposing the ideals of the rebellion. Also squealers eloquent speaking ability allows him to make the animals believe almost anything that comes out of his mouth. This is especially shown with squealers interactions with clover and Muriel. Being that Clover is one of the few animals that can actually read the seven commandments, she can tell when they have been altered somehow, but each time she suspects that the seven commandments have been changed squealer manages to convince her that she is wrong. In addition, Napoleon abolishes the singing of" beasts of England" in favor of a new anthem, the lyrics of which contain a promise not to rebel against the pigs rule. Finally at the end of the book, after squealers repeated adjustments of the seven commandments in order to legitimize the pigs treacheries, the main principle of the farm is as stated: "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal …show more content…
Violence is one of the things that the animals wish to abolish from life on the farm once the humans are gone. Jones not only overworks the animals and steal the products of their labor, but he also has the ability to whip or slaughter the animals whenever he thinks the aren't working hard enough or are too tired and old to work. Once the pigs gain control of the farm they, like Jones, discover how useful violence and terror can be. They use this new found knowledge to their full advantage. However instead of using whips as a means of violence, since they burned all of them, Napoleon uses his dogs. His dogs are vicious little beasts who kill the animals that have confessed to crimes against the farm and the dogs freak the animals out, which results in the animals confessing to crimes they didn't commit. " they were all slain on the spot. And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon's feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood." Terror not only comes in death, but also in threats and propaganda. Each Time the animals dare to question any aspect of Napoleon Authority, squealer threatens them with Jones return. This is extremely threatening to the animals because it would mean another battle against the humans that, if lost, would result in a return to their former lifestyle of being ruled by humans. Jones