Old Major's

Chapter 1

Old Major’s puts into light the unjust situation which the in animals find themselves. During his long life as a prize boar, he has had time to contemplate, and decides that he must pass down his wisdom to the other animals. He believes that the misery of their lives comes from the “tyranny of human beings” (Orwell 5). Among his multiple cries of injustice, Old Major points out that the animals are given just enough food to ‘keep the breath in [their] bodies” (Orwell 3). His arguments are compelling and rightfully so, because the animals are indeed suffering unfairly under Mr Jones.

The solution Old Major offers, to “get rid of man,” (Orwell 5) is commendable as well, because the animals shouldn’t go on living the way they do. However, there are quite a few unfavourable contingencies that come from weakness of character of certain animals, differences between others, and general discrepancies. First of all, Old Major is a prize boar, as has done his contemplation “alone in [his] stall” (Orwell 3). This means that he has never truly known the work that is already required on the farm, and therefore cannot properly envision to which extent labour could be an issue after the rebellion. Also, certain characters aren’t fit for life after the rebellion. Benjamin, for instance, does not enjoy life at all and contributes nothing but “cynical remarks” (Orwell 2). This will do nothing but drag the other animals morale down and discourage them from accomplishing their long-term goals. Furthermore, Old Major describes a key point of his idealism as the fact that “All men are enemies. All animals are comrades” (Orwell 6). This is a key reason for why the plan might fail first of all because they have no experience outside of the farm and therefore cannot conclude that all men are enemies. Also right after Old Major says this, the dogs start barking at the rats and mice simply because they catch sight of them. This foreshadows that there will be inequality amongst the animals after a revolution were to happen.

Chapter 2

i) THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3. No animal shall wear clothes.

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5. No animal shall drink alcohol.

6. No animal shall kill any other animal.

7. All animals are equal.

ii) While the 7 commandments are all rational and reflect animalisms core beliefs, it will surely lead to animalisms’ downfall because of what is not included. Many key principles of what will enable Animal Farm to thrive aren’t included. For example, the commandments give no insight into the day-to-day actions of animal farm. A key commandment, to cover a lot of ground when it comes to labour, would be, “Every animal must work their share of the farm’s labour, according to their physical strength.” This would require every animal to partake in the happenings of the farm work and not leave room for some to indulge in the work others do without contributing themselves. Another major commandment that would prevent Animal Farm from being corrupt would be “All animals keep the produce they harvest.” First of all, this is one of the core arguments Old Major brought up. Also, this would allow the rations to be spread fairly among the animals, as the naturally more powerful are able to harvest more and in correlation have a bigger appetite. Another reason that the neglect of this commandment will lead to the downfall of Animal Farm is because if some animals decide they are entitled to more, it will cause corruption and famine among those who have less.

Chapter 3

Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer are the three pigs who have taken on the roles of leading the farm. Although the other animals may not yet be aware, the three pigs show through their actions that they have disguised intentions and should not be trusted with the running of the farm.

Napoleon is said to have the most “depth of character” (Orwell 10) out of the three pigs. While this makes the best leaders, it also makes the worse, because they are capable of manipulating and deceiving. Napoleon shows early signs of manipulating and deceiving, such as when he stayed back during the harvest where the milk was being kept and it was later “noticed that milk had disappeared” (Orwell 18). Another instance where Napoleon proves he is not a rightful leader for the farm is his use of the reading and writing situation to gain a quiet upper hand. He disagrees with Snowball on the education of the older animals, claiming that “the education of the youth is more important than anything” (Orwell 24). He uses this to justify his stealing of Jessie and Bluebell’s pups, who after he takes them up to the rafters, they are “forgot to exist” (Orwell 25). This is extremely disturbing and gives a lot of insight into Napoleon’s deception and cunning. First of all, stealing the children of other animals is pronounced as one of the injustices of Mr Jones during Old Major’s speech, and Napoleon proceeds to do just that. Also, the fact that no one knows what Napoleon is doing or has in store for the pups tells us that Napoleon is secretive and may use the pups for physical power later on once they are grown up.

While these act may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of events on the farm and Jones’s previous treachery, they foreshadows corruption in Napoleon’s character.

While Snowball shows no obvious signs of corruption, there is still something to be said for taking precautions against him. Mainly, he appears more involved, positive and fair than Napoleon, undertaking various committees and working to bring education to the farm. However, while the account of the results of the committees is presented as “a great success,” (Orwell 23) it is obvious that this is not the case. In fact, his reading and writing program has brought more division between the animals. Some animals were in fact able to read to some extent but the majority “could (not) get past the letter A” (Orwell 24). While Snowball may not have intended this, his reaction to the dumber animals leads us to mistrust him. He dulls down the 7 commandments to the simple “FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD,” (Orwell 24) but the instilling of this in the animal's mind could lead to the opportunity for corruption in the smarter animals, because the dumber animals would have it engraved in their minds that anything

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