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Old Major in 'Animal Farm'

  I read 1984 by George Orwell recently and I was really fascinated by it. Therefore, I decided to read another book of his, and I found Animal Farm.

            Animal Farm is set in a dystopian world in which animals rebel over humans, with the strong belief that "All animals are equal" introduced in the first chapter. Therefore, the major theme of the book is clear from the very first chapter, that all animals are equals, and humans should not rule or hold power over them. The book is probably an allegory, in which although set in a small farm, it represents how humans treat animals.

           I was able to read only the first few chapters. However the first chapter, with the speech of old Major, the wisest and eldest pig of the farm, made me reflect. George Orwell immediately draws the reader's attention from the very first chapter. The use of persuasive language old Major used to convince the whole farm to rebel is impressive. Old Major addresses his  audience as "comrades" several times and use of personal pronouns to create a familiar and closer effect. In addition, he uses rhetorical questions, "Now comrades, what is the future of this life of ours,  and creates a vivid image of the enemy, by directly addressing him, "Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals." Finally, old Major creates a song in which he includes all the major ideas in his speech, a powerful method to unite all animals together and constantly remind them the reasons for which they are rebelling. The speech held by old Major is really powerful, and also introduces the theme of the power of language, which can be used to manipulate, also present in 1984.

        If I had to rate this book out of 5, I would give it 5 stars out of 5. I predict Animal Farmwill make me reflect about my actions and the world around me, just like 1984.




Here is the song of old Major, along with my analysis :
                    
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, 
Beasts of every land and clime, 
Hearken to my joyful tidings 
Of the golden future time. 

Soon or late the day is coming, 
Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone. 

Rings shall vanish from our noses, 
And the harness from our back, 
Bit and spur shall rust forever, 
Cruel whips no more shall crack.

Riches more than mind can picture, 
Wheat and barley, oats and hay, 
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels 
Shall be ours upon that day. 

Bright will shine the fields of England, 
Purer shall its waters be, 
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes
 On the day that sets us free. 

For that day we all must labour, 
Though we die before it break; 
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom's sake. 

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, 
Beasts of every land and clime, 
Hearken well and spread my tidings 
Of the golden future time.


  • Rhymes are frequently used throughout the song in order to create rhythm. 
  • Old Major starts his song with the repetition of "beast", which emphasises the main subject and introduces the theme of the song. 
  • Personification of "day" in order to indicate that rebellion is inevitable. The same word is repeated throughout the whole song to emphasise the same idea. 
  • Uses the adjective "Tyrant" to describe the farmer, in order to give it a negative and evil connotation. 
  • Epistrophe in the 3rd quatrain to specifically illustrate the psychical pain inhibited by "Man", along with the description of the evil treatments through  the use of syntax. In addition, syntax is used throughout the whole song to strategically position words in certain areas for different purposes such as creating a rhyme. 
  • In the 4th quatrain, rhythm is achieved with the repetition of "and", along with the use of hendiadys. 
  • Old Major ends the song by repeating the first quatrain, because it's the quatrain which he wants to put most emphasis on. 


        

Animals are treated even worse today, in an inhuman way. In the 21st century, animal farming has been substituted with factory farming. Animals are kept in factories, from birth to death,  in a small and cramped area in which the sight of the sun can be seen only with their imagination. The nature of these animals, such as having a family or building a nest, has been ripped away from them. Factories keep finding ways to maximize the outputs while minimising the cost, but obviously at the cost of the animal. Many ways big corporations keep their animals are:
  • In order to make animals grow faster, they are given antibiotics. Also, in addition to the animals' conditions, the use of antibiotics can harm humans as well. 
  • Animals such as chickens are genetically manipulated to grow fatter and bigger than their natural body, to the point that their legs can't support their body. Other animals such as cows are genetically manipulated to produce more milk.
 

To learn more about factory farming click on the links below:
Website 1
Website 2
Video

To buy Animal Farm online, click here .
To read Animal Farm online, click here.

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