Ans to practice essay 2 - on power

‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. With reference to what you have covered in Animal Farm so far, discuss the theme of power, by referring to Napoleon’s rise to leadership. You should use evidence from the text to support your answer.


Napoleon
- Starts off as a pig competing for leadership position with Snowball
- Says he will take care of the milk -- later on the animals discover that the milk has disappeared, hinting that he has taken it.
- Orders all the milk and apples to be for his and the pigs’ consumption -- selfish
- He does not work at all, only gives orders -- later in the novel, the pigs wake up later than the other animals, thereby contributing less than they already do.
- Becomes so power hungry that he eliminates his rival, Snowball, so that he can have a monopoly of power. Also blames his rival Snowball for the failure of the windmill so that the animals will feel that they need him (uses Snowball as scapegoat)
- Makes himself indispensable by confusing and frightening the animals about what would happen if the were not there. He creates panic and paranoia in the farm -- says that Snowball was frequenting the farm, and that some animals were working with him.
- Later in the novel, he does not even consult the animals on decisions (no more debates) -- rise of Napoleon as a dictator
- Abuses his power. He removes all those who speak or go against him (public executions) -- e.g. the 4 young pigs who protested when Napoleon stopped the Sunday meetings are killed, and so are the hens who tried to rebel against him taking their eggs --> so that he will be unchallenged.
- He gets everything his way and goes against many of the commandments for his own selfish reasons -- e,g, lives in a house, sleeps in a bed, kills another animal, does not treat all the animals equally, drinks alcohol.

- However, he gets away by
1. Using Squealer to brainwash the animals and control the way they think,
2. Confusing them about what they remember (e.g. that some of the commandments did not exist, but were lies circulated by Snowball, that Napoleon, not Snowball, played a large role in the Battle of the Cowshed)
3. Using the threat of Jones’ return,
4. Using terror/intimidation through his dogs.

Literature: How to answer PB and essay questions in exams

· Read the question carefully and understand what is required.
· Do not simply tell the story, but be clear and to the point.
· Be well organised. In Lit, we write essays, and with all essays, you should have a clear introduction, body and conclusion. For PB qns, read the given passage --> read the qns --> re-read the passage and highlight the important sections that will be your evidence

1. Introduction
- Start with a statement which answers the questions, and state your stand. From the introduction, the reader should know direction you are going to take in your essay. For example, you could summarise the main points you will be discussing after stating your stand.

2. Body
- You should have a few paragraphs, usually one paragraph per point.
- your points should be well supported with textual evidence and interpretation. This means you should explain what the quote means to you and how it relates to your point.

- It is useful to follow the PEE technique - Point, Evidence, Elaboration.
· Point - state your point
· Evidence - provide the textual evidence in the form of quotes or a very specific action, speech or event which reveals the point, and
· Elaboration - explain the quote, and say what it shows. How does the quote/evidence support your point stated?

- Do not simply throw a quote and assume that the marker knows why you have used the quote.
- If you follow the above technique, you should be able to write one paragraph per point.

3. Conclusion
- re-state your stand
- summarise the main points of your essay

28 april lecture notes on Animal Farm - chaps 8-10

Chapter 8

Attack on AF once again -- compare this with the Battle of the Cowshed in Chap 5. What are the differences and what causes them? – “Boldly enough the animals sallied forth meet them, but this time they did not have the easy victory that they had had…” (line 6-7 from top)

Napoleon’s arrogance and ignorance that the humans could bring the windmill down (8 lines from bottom)


This causes animals to become so furious that they fight back unitedly -- a lot of violence and many injured

What is the mood in the farm at this point?

Squealer’s role in the battle?

Congratulates animals on their victory and attributes it to Comrade Napoleon

Napoleon names battle after him and confers yet another medal upon himself

Qn: Why do Napoleon and Squealer want to make it seem as though they are victorious?

Is this incident meant to be amusing? Why or why not?

Napoleon bans alcohol - punishable by death

But eventually, he himself wants to brew barley so that he can make alcohol

Very Impt: The strange incident -- what is it’s significance?

What are your reactions to the animals’ attitude?


Chapter 9

Boxer had hurt himself during the battle -- but he still works very hard

Starvation: Rations are reduced again, except for pigs and dogs (last 4 lines of pg 97)

Look at how Squealer explains this to the animals -- link this to Orwell’s point about language being used to brainwash people

Uses statistics to convince them that their standard of living has improved

“The animals believed every word of it…Jones and all he stood for had almost faded out of their memories (lines 13-14 from top of pg 98)

More inequalities, privileging of one group over another (last 3 lines of pg 98) -- going against commandment that all animals are equal

Rations are again reduced (middle of pg 99) but the pigs are comfortable

Pigs are getting more privileges – e.g. all the barley, beer, more food, etc

IRONY: the animals believe that “life nowadays had a greater dignity than it had had before.” (pg 99)

Anything significant about Orwell’s use of the word “Spontaneous” to describe the demonstrations? (2nd line)

“They found it comforting to be reminded that, after all, they were truly their own masters and that the work they did was for their own benefit.” -- IRONY

More IRONY: Animal Farm declared a Republic and Napoleon gets elected as President.

Republic refers to a state in which the government is made up of a team. Compare this with how the farm is being run by Napoleon

Note that Orwell is actually satirising (making fun of) nations that claim they are a Republic when actually they are obviously not


More lies about Snowball and Napoleon’s bravery -- 1st para (pg 101)

Re-appearance of Moses – what is Moses’ role?

If the pigs have to undo the lies spread by Moses, why do they allow him back on the farm?

Main incident: Sale of Boxer
Pg 102 – look at how Orwell portrays Boxer -- why do you think he does this just before making him collapse and get sold?

The great deception: what the pigs claim vs the truth

What is different about Benjamin’s behaviour in this chapter?

How does Squealer effectively convince the animals?

How does he squash the rumour that Boxer was being sent to be slaughtered?

How do you think the pigs got the money to buy more whisky? (last 3 lines, pg 107)

What are your feelings towards the animals? Pity? Anger? Disgust? Shock?

Who do you feel more strongly about? The oppressors or the victims?


Chapter 10

Many years have passed -- memories have faded

Snowball and Boxer are forgotten, and so is the rebellion and life before it -- refer to pg 109, 3rd para, lines 3-6 --> what sort of changes have taken place?

“Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer – except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs.” (pg 110, 1st 3 lines of 2nd para) -- significance of this?

“They could not remember. There was nothing with which they could compare their present lives” (lines 6-8, pg 111) -- significance of this quote? What does it show?

This is one of the reasons why the animals remain exploited and living in such miserable conditions

“And yet the animals never gave up hope” -- Why do you think so?

“No creature among them went upon two legs. No creature called another creature ‘Master’. All animals were equal” (pg 112, lines 7-9).

Can you identify 2 devices used here? (pg 112)
1.Irony
2.Foreshadowing

A surprising incident happens – the pigs start to walk on 2 legs

“There was a deadly silence” (3rd para, pg 113)

What do you think the mood is like in this scene?

Why do you think the atmosphere is so eerily silent? How do you think the animals are feeling?

The pigs have been breaking the commandments one by one. The total overthrow of all the rules of Animalism is finally shown through the sheeps’ new slogan, “Four legs good, two legs better!”

7 commandments changed to one

Pigs are very closely resembling humans -Carry whips to get work done, Walk on 2 legs, Sleep in beds, Live in houses, Trade and touch money, Wear clothes, Drink alcohol, smoke, etc

What happened to whatever they had fought for?

Meeting with neighbouring farmers – humans and animals meeting on equal grounds

Orwell is satirising (making fun of) the meetings that politicians from various countries have with one another

Humans claim that they are impressed with the way the farm is run – contrast with their earlier reaction

Claim that they face similar problems (e.g. labour)

‘If you have your lower animals to contend with,’ he said, ‘we have our lower classes!’ à what do you make of this statement?

A change Napoleon makes: reverting back to the old name Manor Farm instead of Animal Farm --> implications?

Shows that we have come full circle – life has returned to the state it was at, before the rebellion

Have the animals achieved whatever they had hoped for when they rebelled?

Ending of novel à violent quarrel erupts. Reason? Deeper significance of this?

For the animals observing from the outside, the voices and faces of the pigs and the humans seem to be the same --> what do you think Orwell is trying to put across to his readers?

Do you like the ending of the novel? How else could it have ended?

Why do you think Orwell chose to end the novel in this manner?

Answers to Term 2 practice essay qn

Note: These answers are main points with some evidence and elaboration only. You will have to provide your own interpretation and elaboration in your responses.


George Orwell uses his novel Animal Farm to show that Communism, despite its good intentions, is bound to fail. With close reference to what you have learnt in Animal Farm, explain why you think it is an ideal which cannot be attained. Give examples in your answer.


Intro: What is communism and why it was considered ideal --> equality, fairness/justice, each contributes what he can and takes what he needs. Is supposed to be classless and stateless.

Body:
- Communism often gives rise to dictators, for whom the lure of power is too hard to refuse.

- power-hungry dictator, who gets increasingly corrupt and deceives those under him once he tastes pleasure. E.g. Nap gets all sorts of privileges, like living in the house, sleeping in beds, extra food, no work, beer, etc. --> injustice and no inequality.

- Even if the people show some signs of opposition, e.g. the hens who rebelled, or the 4 young porkers who opposed the abolishment of Sun morn meetings, they will be stifled by the dictator. Because of greed and the desire for unchallenged power, dictators often use intimidation and threat to control those under him and prevent them from rebelling. E.g. Nap uses his fierce guard dogs to chase Snowball out when the vote was going to go his way, and to growl at anyone who shows signs of having opposing views. How can this be Communism when there is clearly a dictator who strives to control?

- expects that people must hero-worship him. à the way Napoleon sets himself up as a cult personality. E.g. comes with security and appears with great ceremony in public, has food taster, etc. Clearly setting himself up as someone with a superior status.

- dictatorship/totalitarian state --> tries to control the way people think and behave, using propaganda to brainwash them (e.g. Napoleon uses Squealer to convince the animals that he is always right, and even confuses them about remembering the commandments wrongly when he has changed them to suit the pigs)

- ignorance of the working class. The working class is often illiterate and exploited and they fail to realise that they are still being exploited. E.g. in Animal Farm, the animals think that they have freedom and are their own masters even after Napoleon has clearly been established as the dictator. They think that as long as Jones is out of the farm, that they are the leaders, unaware that Napoleon has replaced Jones. They willingly get deceived because of their naiveté and are easily convinced by Squealer. For e.g. when Squealer tells them that Snowball is their enemy and he had been fighting on Jones’ side during the Battle of the Cowshed, despite some of them remembering that this was not the case, they allow Squealer to manipulate them into believing otherwise – that Napoleon was the hero of the battle. Their own stupidity and unquestioning loyalty contributes to the rise of a dictator instead of Communism, which is what they strove for at the beginning of the novel.

Conclusion:
- sum up arguments