Wow.... that was disturbing. Congrats Orwell, you wrote an interesting story, but it was certainly definitely undeniably 100% disturbing... I'm gonna have nightmares.
I'm not saying that the entire "fairy story" was creepy, because in the beginning, there seemed to be some normalcy (besides the talking part) between the animals. All animals walked on their normal four legs (or used their wings), despised humans, treated each other equally, did not wear clothes, sleep in a bed, drink alcohol, or kill one another. Basically, they all followed the Seven Commandments that Snowball had written down. After many winters, hunger, and long hours toiling in the fields, Animal Farm is completely different. The endless fatigue the animals felt kind of numbed their minds, allowing Napoleon and his party of pigs to take over. Little changes were made here and there, so none of the animals noticed, but those little changes were actually BIG changes. Before, every animal learned the phrase, "Four legs good, two legs bad" (26). Eventually, the pigs changed the saying to "Four legs good, two legs better!" (95). When all the little adjustments are added together, you go from the free, flourishing Animal Farm under the vivacious Snowball to the dull, enslaved Manor Farm under the rule of human-ish pigs. The scariest image that will always stay in my mind is Orwell's depiction of the pigs, "It was a pig walking on his hind legs" (95).
I'm not saying that the entire "fairy story" was creepy, because in the beginning, there seemed to be some normalcy (besides the talking part) between the animals. All animals walked on their normal four legs (or used their wings), despised humans, treated each other equally, did not wear clothes, sleep in a bed, drink alcohol, or kill one another. Basically, they all followed the Seven Commandments that Snowball had written down. After many winters, hunger, and long hours toiling in the fields, Animal Farm is completely different. The endless fatigue the animals felt kind of numbed their minds, allowing Napoleon and his party of pigs to take over. Little changes were made here and there, so none of the animals noticed, but those little changes were actually BIG changes. Before, every animal learned the phrase, "Four legs good, two legs bad" (26). Eventually, the pigs changed the saying to "Four legs good, two legs better!" (95). When all the little adjustments are added together, you go from the free, flourishing Animal Farm under the vivacious Snowball to the dull, enslaved Manor Farm under the rule of human-ish pigs. The scariest image that will always stay in my mind is Orwell's depiction of the pigs, "It was a pig walking on his hind legs" (95).
Besides that incredibly frightening part, there was also the sad part when Boxer was sold off to the glue factory and killed. In my previous post, I mentioned that the huge, stable horse is my favorite character. He symbolizes the average working citizen in Russia under the rule of Stalin. Boxer labored relentlessly for Animal Farm to benefit the community as a whole, he never worked for himself. Everything Orwell wrote had a purpose, there was symbolism everywhere! Napoleon recognized the advantages of keeping Boxer's mind contained and used him to control the other animals. If Napoleon represents Stalin, then Orwell was trying to tell the audience that Stalin basically exploited the working class. When they became useless, he killed them off and enjoyed the fruits of their labor.
Throughout Animal Farm, the author's writing was pretty amazing! I noticed that Orwell was able to control how he wanted the readers to feel. In the beginning of the book, his sentence structure was more complex, more fluid. The sentences were longer and sounded peaceful. After the Napoleon and the other pigs begin walking, the other animals are completely shocked. They are speechless, which is exactly how Orwell wanted readers to feel as well, so he shortened his sentences to be more direct, straightforward. The author wrote, "He carried a whip in his trotter", or "There was a deadly silence" (95). Even if his sentences were long, he added commas to make them sound fragmented and stubby, which created the illusion that your mind was slowly digesting everything. For example: "out came Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling round him" (95). All the commas force the readers to pause, slow down, and comprehend every bomb that Orwell throws in our face.
So, that's the end of Animal Farm.
It kind of left you with a feeling of hopelessness, so I'm feeling sad. Here are some chocolate muffins.
Questions? Queries? Comments?
You know what to do.
:P
It kind of left you with a feeling of hopelessness, so I'm feeling sad. Here are some chocolate muffins.
Questions? Queries? Comments?
You know what to do.
:P