I Know It's Been Forever Since I've Been On
- Locked due to inactivity on Aug 4, '16 4:24pm
Thread Topic: I Know It's Been Forever Since I've Been On
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Its a common statement in America that if you didnt vote for the president, governor, mayor or whomever, then you have no right to complain about what they do while in office. The same goes for when somebody takes advantage of someone else, and they let it happen, they can no longer be called the victim. Because they didnt stand up for themselves, they are partially at fault for whatever happens. In George Orwells Animal Farm, a mundane farm undergoes a revolution to bring equality to all animals. However, things go sour when the pigs get a taste of power. It is described as a satiric fable detailing the story of Soviet Russia, from its innocent beginning to its corrupted, immoral, power-hungry height. Throughout the book the animals are faced with emotions, such as greed and vanity, previously thought to only be present in the hearts of men. Said sensations encourage the pigs to steal from their hard-working colleagues and push them to only trust themselves, never agree with one another. Even going so far as to change and eventually demolish The Seven Commandments, a set of rules passed at the formation of Animal Farm, entirely. These actions all eventually lead up to the pigs having complete control of the farm. In Orwells Animal Farm, the animals had many chances to keep their government from morphing into tyranny, and the fact they didnt signifies mans fear to stand up to those with power.
Had there been more inquires towards the beginning, the pigs tyrannical rule might have been postponed or even evaded entirely. The first of the suspicious events, a foreshadowing of events to come, was the disappearance of the fresh milk. None of the animals openly questioned this, as they should have, and when the milk was discovered to be mixedinto the pigs mash (35), they did not put up a fight to keep the milk for everyone. This action or rather lack thereof, was the push the pigs needed to claim every treat as their own. This chapter in the book is the turning point, at which the pigs begin to morph into the master of the farm and all other animals their slave labour. When Squealer had explained to them that milk and apples, which had also been claimed by the pigs, had been proved by Science... (36) to be essential to the well-being of pigs, nobody asked for the so-called proof. If the animals had only questioned further, poked and prodded at the pigs faade, the milk and apples may have been left for everyone. The pigs would have found they had less power over the other animals, and also might have been hesitant to try another feat like that for a long time to come.
The animals also had many chances to step in and take action when the debates between Snowball and Napoleon began. Animal Farm had made the decision to let the pigs come up with the important ideas, but let the others vote on which they favoured. It was challenging, however, as both pigs disagreed at every point where disagreement was possible (47). It should have been evident to all the animals that this plan would never solve anything, and they should have stepped up and said something to push the farm in the right direction. If they had, the debates may not have escalated to a full out war. The plan for the windmill may have even come about in a more peaceful manor, with less debates and more progress. Napoleon may not have gone as far as to urinate on the plans simply to show his disgust, and may have even helped in their creation. If the animals had not intervened then, perhaps a little later, at the debate for whether or not to actually erect the windmill. When Napoleon called forth his dogs, which dashed straight for Snowball, whosprang from his place just in time (53). The animals might have tried to stop the dogs, or more likely, force Napoleon to stop them. Understandably, most of the animals were too shocked to do much of anything but scamper out of the way. Not understandable was the fact they did nothing afterward. No words of protest, no signs of displeasure. No, that came when it was said the debates would come to an end, and even then it was quickly snuffed out by the dogs growls and Squealers influential speech.
Even when the pigs were making obvious changes to the Seven Commandments, the animals did nothing to stop them. After Napoleon had chased Snowball off the farm, he began giving more and more privileges to the pigs white simultaniously taking privileges from the other animals. Eventually, he announced that the pigs were to move into the farmhouse. They would eat in the kitchen, sleep in the beds, the whole package. Clover, who remembered a definate ruling against beds (66), took Muriel the goat to the barn door and asked her to read the fourth commandment. The commandment then had stated, No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. (67) but anyone should have seen that the last words had been just recently added. If Clover, an animal who could not read, remembered a commandment that had not been conveyed to her in quite a while, then surely an animal who can read, like Muriel or Benjamin the donkey, would have been able to point out the pigs flaw. While it is understandable that the less intelligent of the animals would completely believe Squealers explanation of the pigs needing the extra rest to keep Jones at bay, but the smarter of the animals would surely recognize this as a ploy to draw attention away from the matter at hand.
Later, after the fall of the first windmill, Napoleon began to fully use Snowball as his scapegoat. In order to keep the farm under control, Napoleon had the animals fear the wrath of Snowball in order to have them always looking to him for guidance and support. However, this may have gone to far at the Confessions and Executions, in which a number of animals confessed to being in league with Snowball and were then slain on the spot by Napoleons dogs. While none dared to even beathe then let alone protest then, they later had a chance to question the pigs intent upon killing little under half the farms labourers when some of the animals rememberedthat the sixth commandment decreed (91) that no animal could kill another. When Clover once again fetched Muriel to read the commandment, it was found that the commandment then said No animal shall kill another without cause. Again, the more intelligent of the animals should have been able to tell that the commandment had been altered. How this could go unnoticed for the second time is completely unheard of. Forgetting what on commandment is is one thing, but forgetting two or even three is disturbing to say the least.
Because of the animals fear to stand up to those with power, the pigs were able to put the farm under their own tyrannical rule. From wrongful execution, to forced exile, to a simple case of stolen milk, rules were broken and proper consequences were not dealed out accordingly. While the reader would like to believe that the pigs are the only ones at fault here and that the other animals are all the victims of cruel circumstance, the tyranny that took place in animal farm is just as much everyone elses fault. It was their choice not to stand up for what was right. It was their choice to mindlessly follow the head of the farm into whatever greedy scheme they conjured up next. Its like this in any society. If you dont stand up for what you want to happen, it wont happen. Youll be stuck in the same rut for years and years to come, and when you are you have no right to complain about it, because you brought it upon yourself. -
This is really good :) May I ask what the question was?
To improve it, I would put some quotes from the book, in your essay. Teachers tend to like this as it shows you know the story well. -
I like how you included the page numbers as a reference. It is evidence for your thorough reading.
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We had to write an essay on a point we think Orwell might have been trying to get across.
I actually did put in quotes (the numbers signify what page the quotes were from) but I guess the quotation marks didn't go through :/ Dunno why. -
Word sometimes does that, this is really good.
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