Animal Farm Essay

The Russian Revolution and Animal Farm by George Orwell would seem to
have nothing in common to someone who hasnt read the book, but its quite the
opposite. Animal Farm is a retelling of the events of the Russian Revolution with, of
course, animals. Everything seems fine when the pigs take over but they soon
become corrupt, leading to the downfall of the animals ideal society. By writing
Animal Farm, George Orwell allows us to see our previous mistakes from a different
point of view. From this, we are able to see the downfall of a society through
corruption in power and ignorance.
In order for corruption it needs to have someone in power, giving the pigs in
Animal Farm a role to play. The original leader figure of the animals was Old Major
who was a pig. This allows the other pigs to easily take on the roles of leaders later
on in the story. This can be easily seen in chapter 3 where the begin working. An
actual quote from this chapter says, The pigs did not actually work, but directed
and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they
should assume the leadership. From this quote we can see how easily the pigs took
over as instead of working in the fields like the other animals, they told them what
to do. Discrimination between the animals is also shown in this story, as later on in
the book the animals start to see the pigs acting as humans. The previous quote is
also a good example of this since the pigs take the roles of the humans on the farm,
although it is subtle. When the humans are on the farm, they are the ones who are
directing the animals. As the pigs have taken on this role, they have begun to take
the role of humans on the farm. At the end of the book, it is clearly seen how the
pigs have begun acting like humans. The book states, Twelve voices were shouting
in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces
of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and
from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which. This
is the scene where the humans come visit the farm and they end up playing cards
with the pigs. A highlight of this quote is when it says, but already it was
impossible to say which was which, showing how the pigs had began acting like
humans from the beginning but it was subtle enough for no animals to realize it
until it was too late to prevent it.
Another way corruption can be seen in Animal Farm is the way the pigs
manipulate the laws. A good example of this scenario is the bed situation. In
chapter 6, Clover and Muriel had a run in with Squealer about beds. The pigs had
begun sleeping in the beds inside the farmhouse and Clover thought that there was
a commandment against beds so she had Muriel read the commandment for her
which said that no animal should sleep in a bed with sheets. Squealer happened to
pass by them and asked them, You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a
ruling against beds? This shows how the pigs are manipulating the laws as in
chapter 2 the commandment reads No animal shall sleep in a bed, period. The law
did not say anything about sheets until the pigs changed the law so that they could
sleep in the beds. The same situation can be seen happening with alcohol, where
Napoleon tries alcohol and the pigs changed the law to say No animal shall drink
alcohol to excess. But the downfall of this ideal isnt just about the pigs, its about
the animals as well and how they allowed for these things to happen. When the pigs
changed the laws for their own benefit, none of the animals said anything about it.
Another example of the animals ignorance is in chapter 10 when the pigs walk out
on only their hind legs, wearing clothes and holding whips. The animals just watch
the pigs walk out and say nothing until the pigs begin chanting, Four legs good,
two legs better which was a spin on the original saying, Four legs good, two legs
bad.

Greed and intelligence play a key part in corruption, and the pigs arent
lacking in those departments. We can see an example of their greed at the end of
chapter 3 when Squealer speaks to the animals about the milk and apples. He gives
them the excuse of how milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary
to the well-being of a pig, saying how that fact has been proven by science. In this
scene, the pigs greed fuels their intelligence, allowing for them to come up with an
excuse that the animals would believe. This quote shows how the pigs are more
superior than the animals as it implies that they have more rights than the other
animals since they are the only animals eating the milk and apples. On top of that,
by using Mr Jones as a weapon against the animals (Do you know what would
happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!), it instills fear into
the minds of the animals by using a common enemy which is a type of propaganda.
This gives the animals no choice but to believe what Squealer says as truth.
So why should this matter? Well. as stated earlier, Animal Farm is a retelling
of the events of the Russian Revolution. Except its with animals. By spreading this
version of the Russian Revolution, George Orwell is giving us a warning, whether or
not that was his intention with writing the book. Orwell tells us of what has
happened in the past to warn us of what could happen in the future. In Animal Farm,
we can see how different the idea of a utopia changes for the animals. The original
ideal was to rid of humans on the farm and all things human. The pigs ended up
manipulating the farm into becoming their own personal paradise in which they
became like humans and were in possession of all power on the farm. We can also
see how corruption can and has occurred in the past. As we are given a different
point of view of our past mistakes, we are able to learn from the past and avoid
making these same mistakes in the present and the future.

After reading Animal Farm, write an essay in which you explore how the novel
reflects the ideas of utopia and the changing ideas of the ideal. Choose one of the
following questions to help support your argument:
-What is the author saying about societies that strive for a given ideal?
-Why are the main characters animals?
- What leads to the downfall of the ideal?
-How do the setting and characters backgrounds affect the story?

First, plan your essay with this outline:

Thesis/Claim: Corruption and greed allowed by ignorant followers

Reason 1 - Discrimination between animals/pigs taking the roles of lazy leaders

Evidence from book
- Chapter 3: The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised
 the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should
assume the leadership.
- Chapter 10: Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all
alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The
creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig
to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.

Reason 2 - Contradicting leadership (pigs manipulating the laws) & animals

allowing for these events to happen
Evidence from book
- Pigs earlier in book: 4. No animal shall sleep in a bed. Pigs later on in
book: "You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling against
beds?"
- alcohol law is also a good one for this
- the animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard.
It was as though the world had turned upside-down... ...But just at that
moment, as though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous
bleating of-- "Four legs good, two legs BETTER! Four legs good, two legs
BETTER! Four legs good, two legs BETTER!"

Reason 3 - Pigs greed & intelligence

Evidence from book
- (end of chapter 3) that one scene with the milk and apples
-

Conclusion - so what?
- We can see how different the idea of a utopia changes for the animals
as the original idea was to rid of humans on the farm and all things human.
The pigs ended up manipulating the farm into becoming their own personal
paradise in which they became like humans and were in possession of all
power on the farm.

Now, build your draft.

Add a FULL INTRODUCTION before the thesis. This should include an attention
grabber, the author, background, brief plot summary.
With each body paragraph, state reason first, followed by evidence. Then, justify
and explain your evidence. How does this connect to your thesis/claim?
Conclusion should address why this matters and provide a new thought for the
reader to consider.