Chapter 1

Events Which Take Place The context of the novel is set; it is set on the Manor Farm in England, present day. The main characters at this stage appear to be the different factions of animals, significance is placed mainly on the pig, but there animals include the three dogs, the two horses, a goat, a donkey and a cat. As the chapter progresses, the first major event occurs in Major s speech, which introduces animalism and the concept of the ani mal rebellion. "Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilizes it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than bare skin." The song Beasts of England is also introduced, which becomes a key symbol in the novel. Contextual Parallels Animal farm parallels quite specifically with the Russian revolution. One link between the two relevant in this chapter is that between Karl Marx being represented by the Character Old Major. Karl Marx is the theorist who spoke about his ideas of an equal society, just the way Old major did singing "Soon or late the day is coming, tyrant man shall be overthrown". Another parallel between the two texts is the link between communism and animalism. They share the exact same society structure, sharing qualities of equality. In the text animalism is the freedom from oppression for the animals from the farm owners, conversely, during the Russian revolution, communism brought about change for the peasantry, who had long suffered at the hands of the Czar. Techniques of Satire Communism is most obviously satirised in the first chapter by using parody. The song Beasts of England contains various communist concepts in the lyrics, such as all must toil for freedom s sake . This is the communist view of everybody working for the b etterment of the community, which is ridiculed by the animals sin ging and dancing around a barn. Dramatic Irony is present, as we know from history the outcomes from the revolution in Russia, and the effect communism has on a country. Caricature is also used in the description of the characters, as the leaders of the communist movement (Marx, Stalin, Trotsky and Lenin) are ridiculed by being represented as pigs who rule the barn. Caricature is also applied to Jones in the first paragraph. Values In the first chapter of Animal Farm, Orwell s personal values are beginning to be shown through the criticism of communism which is not only shown through the contextual parallels and techniques of satire, but also through the literal events and how Orwell portrays the whole concept of Animalism . Animalism is an obvious slant towards communism, and the pigs being leaders in this equal society show that true equality in

communism cannot really be achieved as there always has to be someone who takes control. The values of Animalism are also portrayed through Beasts of England , but this does not really criticise communism at this point in the text. As it is only the first chapter of the novel, Orwell s true values are not particularly prevalent at this point, as it is mainly used to set context and characters, however Orwell s values begin to shine through later in the novel.