Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Aniaml Farm: The Climax



The climax of Animal Farm was when Napoleon kicked out Snowball by using the dogs he trained. Both of them always had a conflict because of their different opinion. Snowball was a clever leader and Napoleon was a powerful leader. Snowball’s eloquence was beautiful and persuasive but he lacked power to reinforce his plan. Eventually, he was thrown out by Napoleon that raised his own rough and strong supporters. In this world, there were many events that happened by force. Same thing happened in Animal Farm that power ruled over intelligence. Even though Snowball was a bright leader, he lost everything he had by force.
After Napoleon kicked out Snowball, it took in charge of the animals and treated them intolerantly. The ending of Napoleon wasn’t shown in the book but later, I think the animals will fight against him and return to normal life. The climax reminded me of various situations in the world. For example, military coops threw out democratic government in some countries in Africa. However, they didn’t last that long, which meant it will be the same in Animal Farm, too. What I felt depressed about the climax because it really gave me an impression of the cruel situation of the world, the power crushing peace and intelligence. There were many leaders in the world like Snowball, but eventually, forces kicked them out and instead of peace, power always existed instead of peace. Think about how many people in this world have fought for freedom. However, after freedom, there was always a conflict between power and peace. Usually, power threw out the peace side and destroyed it. However, in the end, people resisted against power and took the peace back. People often thought that power could not win peace and intelligence. However, in some countries peace and intelligence won by the people, fighting against the dictator’s power. Napoleon will eventually walk into the same way and will be thrown out by animals who want peace.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Animal Farm: Entry of Choice


For entry of choice, I wanted to write about the foolishness of the animals described in Animal Farm. According to the perspective of the animals, they were the one who always had to obey to the leader. Without doubting or thinking, they did everything to accomplish what was called utopia. However, the result was extremely disappointing. The world that they wanted didn’t come true but all they had was having a dictator that never listened to what they wanted him to do. Furthermore, they must have obeyed to the dictator or else, some received death as a punishment of disobedience. Nothing else but all they had to do was agreeing with the dictator’s decision, without any resistance or opposition even if his command was unreasonable. They didn’t even think that his commands were unreasonable that caused the dictatorship in their world, which was certainly different from what they have thought about their own world. Some convincing examples for foolishness were a flock of sheep and Boxer. A flock of sheep, they just followed everything that Squealer and Napoleon told them to do. In chapter five it said, it was noticed that they were especially liable to break into “Four legs good, two legs bad” at crucial moments in Snowball's speeches but after Napoleon changed his mind to act like a human, they shouted, “Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs, better! Four legs good, two legs better!” What a flock of empty-headed dummies that all they knew was which legs were good and which legs were bad! Boxer, he was a loyal servant that did all his best to establish the utopia for animal. Maybe people felt sympathy on him when they read this book. I also thought he was just a tool that later was thrown away because it worn out. However, if he had seriously have thought about the harshness of Napoleon, then he might have realized the greed of Napoleon and stopped all the work he was doing for Napoleon. Foolishness, foolishness and foolishness were what mattered a lot to enlighten the animals so that they could stand against unreasonable and intolerant dictator.
Image taken from: http://copland.udel.edu/~abramsb/chap1.jpg

Animal Farm: Setting

Like all of Napoleon's speeches, it was short and to the point. He, too, he said, was happy that the period of misunderstanding was at the end. For a long time there had been rumours-circulated, he had reason to think, by some maligant enemy-that there was something subversive and even revolutionary in the outlook of himself and his colleagues. They had been credited with attempting to stir up rebellion among the animals on neighboring farms. Nothing could be further from the truth! Their sole wish, now and in the past, was to live at peace and in normal business relations with their neighbors. This farm which he had the honour to control, he added, ws a co-operative enterprise. The title-deeds, which were in his own possession, wre owned by the pigs jointly.
He did not believe, he said, that any of the old suspicions still lingered, but certain changes had been made recently in the routine of the farm which should have the effect of promoting confidence still further. Hiherto the animals on the farm had had a rather foolish custom of addressing one another as "Comrade." This ws to be suppressed. There had also been a very strange custom, whose origin was unknown, of marching every Sunday morning past a boar's skull which was nailed to a post in the garden. This, too, would be suppressed, and the skull had already been buried. His visitors might have observed, too, the green flag which flew from the masthead. If so, they would perhaps have noted that the white hoof and horn with which it had previously been marked had now been removed. It would be a plian green flag from now onwards.

Since the next passage I wanted to write will make the passage was too long, I will summarize that Napoleon said that he will change Animal Farm to Manor Farm. This passage was memorable because I was really surprised by the change of Napoleon. How could he do that? He was the one who said that he will do his best for the animals and work hard for their own benefit. It seemed as if he didn’t care about the animals anymore. Sneering at calling each other as “Comrade”, denying the march on every Sunday morning passing a boar’s skull which was nailed to a post in the garden, and the green flag were all denied by him. He insulted the tradition that the animals agreed and treated as if they were all gone now. Wow, the power of authority made a radical change! On the one hand, I felt bitterness because of his change and on the other hand, I felt an anger of his betraying attitude. In Animal Farm, he acted so much as if he could do everything for the animals, saying that he will give anything they want. However, all he had was seductive words that deceived the animals. He pretended to work hard for the animals but inside, he was a lump of selfishness and avarice. At the end of the book, alas, the true Napoleon that used to be a leader with strong and wonderful leadership was dead and all I could see was a piece of trash.


Image taken from:
http://marek.turnovec.cz/mat/archiv/orwell2.jpg

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Animal Farm: The Main Characters


Napoleon: He was a greedy pig in power that raised an army of dogs for himself and later, he became a president. He incited the revolution and promised utopia for the animals but later on, he became a dictator that ruled on every animal and created the world for only him and his surroundings.

Snowball: He was a boar with smartness that used to be a leader of the animals. He insisted on his opinions and promoted his plan with persuasive ability. During the battle between human and animals, he showed self-sacrifice but later he got expelled by Napoleon.

Squealer: He was a loyal servant to Napoleon by doing everything that Napoleon told him to do. When something happened, he used his talking skills and used it seductively. He was a selfish and most cunning animal in the story.

Mr. Jones: He used to be in charged of the farm, however, he got kicked out by the animals because of the harsh way of how he treated the animals.

Boxer: He was a male horse that was full of effort and loyalty. As a strongest animal throughout other animals, he performed meritorious deeds on construing the windmill. However, later because of sly Squealer and Napoleon he was sent to slaughterhouse.

Major: He was the majestic-looking pig and the first one to suggest the revolution. His plan was to establish ideal society of true freedom and equality by the power of the animals. Before his death, he gathered the animals to beat off the humans and left a song of animals’ revolution.

Benjamin: He was a pessimistic goat that wasn’t interested about the revolution at all. He observed the overall events in the story and even if he knew that the pigs changed the seven commandments, he didn’t tell anybody.

A Flock of Sheep: They were the foolish group controlled by Napoleon and spread & shouted the wrong will of him. It was a group with ignorance and dumbness that followed everything for their leader.


Throughout all the characters in Animal Farm, I actually didn't like all the characters because they all the symbols of nasty people except Boxer, Benjamin, Snowball, and Major. Among all the ok characters, they still had some problems, for example, Boxer was too foolish. Benjamin ignored the situation of the animals. Snowball worked hard for the animals however, he had weak leadership than Napoleon. Major, the first one to suggest revolution was just an idealist but didn't give any details for the revolution and didn't think about the reality he would face later. Even if his suggestion was convincing, he should have thought for the future disaster too, if he was the truest wise leader among the animals.

The universal human experience that they revealed was the symbol of people's mind full of greediness, foolishness, and unreality. The utopia that they wanted to construct was later changed to dystopia, which happened a lot in this world. No perfection, no paradise existed in this world.

Animal Farm: Significant Passage


But they had not gone twenty yard when they stopped short. An uproar of voices was coming from the farmhouse. They rushed back and looked through the window again. Yes, a violent quarrel was in progress. There were shoutings, bangings on the table, sharp suspicious glance, furious denials. The source of the trouble appeared to be that Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington had each played an ace of spades simultaneously.
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.


I really liked this passage because it talked about no difference between people and animal. Seriously, there was no difference between human and animals if they acted all the same with greed and selfishness. Especially the part when it said but already it was impossible to say which was which because usually, people think that they are better than animals. However, according to this passage, no, not at all! Maybe they want to believe that they are better than animals so that they can control them easily. Actually, it is hard to make a difference between people and animals. They both propagate their population throughout the history; know how to use tools (like a chimpanzee uses plant stem to eat its food), and know how to think. The only better thing is that human have smarter brain than animals. However, if humans don’t use the brain wisely but fall in to a way of failure, then that is same as acting like animals. Some people should try to think wisely than the animals to prove that they are smarter than the animals. Still, if they work hard for their own benefit, not thinking about others, (in Animal Farm, there were some animals that sacrificed themselves for other animals) then that is called outside human, inside animal. Which side do you think you are in right now?