George Orwell s Animal Farm - 1299 Words

Essay 2: Politics and the English Language George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegoric, political satire rich in manipulation of language. In fact, some believe it was written for the purpose of portraying the Russian Revolution of 1917 and many years following which concluded in a â€Å"more oppressive, totalitarian, and far more deadly† government than its predecessors. Each of Orwell’s characters is also believed to represent principal figures of that time. The story opens on Manor Farm, an English farm owned and operated by a Mr. Jones. Old Major, the prized pig of the farm, and eldest, fears that he will die soon and wants to leave behind a legacy by educating the other farm animals on how they are being misused. He calls a meeting†¦show more content†¦At the same time the leader pigs convince the others that they need more food and luxuries since they are the â€Å"brains of the operation†. Hence the oppression they had always witnessed from Jones continues under the rule of their elected pig president Napoleon, only with a different spin on it. The leader pigs profess that all animals are created equal, but in the end, they change many rules to their advantage. The pigs continue to use persuasive techniques and language manipulation on the other farm animals to get their way. All farm animals are expected to live by the Animals â€Å"Seven Commandments† but when it doesn’t suit their needs the pigs change the language of the commandments to their benefit. Whenever the farm animals suspect Napoleon of any wrong doing, he uses Snowball as a fall guy to distract the farm of any unlawful activity. Years go by and under the dictatorship of Napoleon the farm is expanded. The farm animals continue under the oppression of Napoleon. In the meantime, Napoleon and his crew begin to socialize with humans. They even begin to walk on two legs, now completely personifying humans. Ultimately the commandments are abolished and only one biased comm andment remains: All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal than Others. The pigs begin to socialize with the humans and eventually even the name Manor Farm is reinstated. In the end, the animal farm is worse off than