Animal Farm Essays - British Films, Cold War Films, Animal Farm

Animal Farm Essays - British Films, Cold War Films, Animal Farm Animal Farm The main purpose of satire is to attack, and intensely criticise the target subject. This is superbly carried out in the classic piece of satire, Animal Farm. The main targets at the brunt of this political satire are the society that was created in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and the leaders involved in it. George Orwell successfully condemns these targets through satirical techniques such as irony, fable, and allegory. The immediate object of attack in Orwell's political satire is the society that was created in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The events narrated in Animal Farm obviously and continuously refer to events in another story, the history of the Russian Revolution. In other words, Animal Farm is not only a charming fable (A Fairy Story, as Orwell playfully subtitles it) and a bitter political satire; it is also an allegory. The main target of this allegory is Stalin, represented by Napoleon the pig. He represents the human frailties of any revolution. Orwell believed that although socialism is a good ideal, it could never be successfully adopted due to uncontrollable sins of human nature. For example, although Napoleon seems at first to be a good leader, he is eventually overcome by greed and soon becomes power-hungry. Of course Stalin did too in Russia, leaving the original equality of socialism behind, giving him all the power and living in luxury while the common pheasant suffered. Orwell explains: 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. The perennial topic of satire is to point out the frailties of the human condition, and this is one of Orwells central themes in Animal Farm . That its not necessarily the system that is corrupt or faulty, but the individuals in power. Old Major, with all his good intentions, took no note of the crucial fact: whilst his ideals were sound and moral, corrupt individuals found ways and opportunities to exploit those ideals to suit their own purposes. So Orwell successfully points out the frailties of his satirical targets by using the satirical technique of the allegory. Another main satirical technique used to condemn these targets is the use of fable, or storytelling. A fable is a story, usually having a moral in which beasts talk and act like men and women. Orwells characters are both animal and human. The pigs, for example eat mash real pig food but with milk in it that they have grabbed and persuaded the other animals to let them keep (a human action). The dogs growl and bite the way real dogs dobut to support Napoleon's drive for political power. Orwell never forgets this delicate balance between how real animals actually behave and what human qualities his animals are supposed to represent. Lets just say Orwell hadnt used the technique of storytelling, and had painted an objective picture of the evils he describes. The real picture would probably be very depressing and extremely boring. So instead, he offers us a travesty of the situation. The primary reason for this abstraction was to move readers from the concrete reality. So whilst entertaining us through a fantastic setting, he provides us reader with a critical vision towards his targets. It is written for entertainment, but contains sharp and telling comments on the Russian revolution and its leaders, offering 'imaginary gardens with real toads in them'. Part of the fable's humorous charm lies in the simplicity with which the characters are drawn. Each animal character is a type, with one human trait, or two at mosttraits usually associated with that particular kind of animal. Using animals as types is also Orwell's way of keeping his hatred and anger against exploiters under control. Instead of crying, All political bosses are vicious pigs! he keeps his sense of humour by reporting calmly: In future, all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a special committee of pigs. The story of Animal Farm is told in a simple, straightforward style. The sentences are often short and spare: Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. It was a bitter winter. The story follows