Animal Farm Essay
What would a society be like if all of its inhabitants were uneducated? What if no one could make a clear and distinct decision for themselves about what is right and what is wrong? If they allowed a ruler to have absolute control over their future lives and present quality of life, then the ruler would promptly become corrupt from this new overload of authority. An uneducated person is taught how to think whereas an indoctrinated person is taught what to think. There is an unmistakable difference; the ability to formulate one’s own opinion and draw one’s own conclusions greatly influences the structure of any society. George Orwell emphasizes the importance of an education in his allegorical and satirical novel “Animal Farm”. The political nature within the book leads to the questioning of propaganda and indoctrination. Readers will recognize after reading the novel that education and who delivers the education are important matters. It is clear that Orwell suggests that the animals within the book do not think for themselves, and only do what they are told too.
From the beginning of the novel, readers become aware of educations role in stratifying Animal Farm’s population. Following Old Major’s death the pigs are the ones that take on the task of organizing and mobilizing the other animals because they are “generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals” (Orwell 35).
At first the pigs are loyal to their fellow animals and to the revolutionary cause. They translate Major’s vision of the future faithfully into the seven commandments of animalism.
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... view points e. g. Anthropomorphism as seen in Animal Farm and Gullivers Travels. George Orwells novel satirised ways in which power can be ... essay, Such, Such Were The Joys (1953). Orwell and Swift both received an excellent education, Orwell at Eton and Swift at Trinity College, ...
“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 beds.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal. (15)
However it is not long before the pig’s intelligence and education turn from tools of enlightenment to implements of oppression. The moment the pigs are faced with something material that they want-fresh milk- they abandon their morals and use their superior intellect and knowledge to deceive the other animals. The pigs also limit the other animals’ opportunities to gain intelligence and education early on. They teach themselves to read and write from a children’s book but destroy it before the other animals have a chance to see it. Most of the animals never learn more than a few letters of the alphabet. Once the pigs cement their status as the educated elite, they use their mental advantage to manipulate the other animals. For example, knowing that the other animals cannot read the seven commandments, they revise them whenever they like. The pigs also use their literacy to learn trades from manuals, giving them an opportunity for economic specialization and advancement. The pigs’ intelligence and education allow them to bring the other animals into submission through the use of propaganda and indoctrination. At the end of the book, readers will witness Napoleon’s preparation to educate a new generation of the pigs and indoctrinate them into the code of oppression.
In order for Napoleon to indoctrinate the young, he takes them away from their mothers when they are born. In doing this, he can teach them to follow his commands since they learn Napoleon’s ways from a young age, they will know no other way to live; as a result, they will forever be sacred and committed followers of Napoleon and hi government. Napoleon had absolute power. The animals he ruled over were uneducated and because of this they did not know that they were being “had”. He kept them blind to what was going on. He also exhausted by making them work long hours on little food “They were always cold and usually hungry as well” (49).
This made the animals to weak too think reasonably or argue against what was happening. The animals were so weak and hungry, that they turned to cannibalism among themselves “Once again it was being put about that the animals were dying of famine and disease, and that they were continuously fighting among themselves and had resorted to cannibalism and infanticides” (50).
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Animal Farm The book, Animal Farm, by George Orwell is a quite an extravagant book with many twists and turns which parallel today s society. Although the book deals with animals given human traits and characteristics, it is much the same as our everyday problems and scandals which we hear about on the news. In the beginning of the book there is an old boar, name Old Major, who is pretty much the ...
Napoleon kept the adults ignorant by not educating them. Since the other animals could not read, they did not even know when Napoleon was changing the laws (laws that were only favored by Napoleon and his “men”).
Napoleon also convinced the animals from early on, that he was there to protect them from any evil and that he would never let them be treated poorly again. The animals not knowing any better became blind followers of this. When things did go wrong, they always reverted back to the belief that Napoleon was good. He also trained Squealer to go around and convince the animals of this if any animals questioned anything that happened “Besides, in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, as Squealer did not fail to point out.” (chapter 9)
In conclusion, Napoleon runs an indoctrinated society. He refuses to teach the adults how to read and write for his own privileges, takes advantage of the new born children by taking them away from their parents when they are born so that he could teach them to follow his commands and he had absolute power because the animals he ruled over were uneducated. Orwell’s main character Napoleon manipulates and abuses the less intelligent animals by outsmarting them. This shows the blind obedience in the face on injustice by their indoctrination.
By: Kameisha Christian
