Animal Farm, a novel written by George Orwell, countless themes are used skillfully throughout the novel to show character development and express abstract ideas. A particularly memorable theme is that of power. Whilst reading Animal Farm, the theme of power stuck out for me as it has such an effect on the farm. What makes it memorable is how it abused in the novel, how it changes the farm and how closely it reflects the events of the Russian revolution. These factors combine to make power an extremely important and memorable theme.
Animal Farm had a strong presence of power and with this, it could be easily abused. The farm wasn’t hard to manipulate if you had the power to do it. When Napolean, an intelligent and cunning pig, realised this, he set to achieve this in a very memorable way. Seeing what he could do with ultimate power over the farm, he begins working towards seizing power. He steals dogs and raises them as his personal task force and uses them to banish Snowball, his partner of sorts for leading Animal Farm, resulting in him having total control over the farm. These events are similar to those in John Wick Chapter 2 when Santino D’Antonio puts in motion to kill his sister who is the leader of Italian crime syndicate Camorra so he can inherit the power of this position. With all this power, Napolean begins exerting it to benefit himself. He breaks the seven commandments but uses his power to simply change the laws before the animals notice. He continues to manipulate the farm population feeding them lies. This can be compared to how Walt in Breaking Bad manipulates his family, lying to them about his job and to himself how he was doing it for his family though he was doing it for himself just as Napolean said his actions were for the farm. He tells them lies about the battle of the cowshed to twist their minds to believe that it was he who showed courage and bravery and not snowball. What makes all these actions memorable is how easily he does it. He doesn’t think twice about anything as long as it benefits him. The scale and evil of his actions make it extremely memorable for the reader as we can’t imagine ever doing something so evil. Orwell skillfully indents Napoleans brutal and merciless action in our mind. He also makes it memorable by so closely linking it to the events of the Russian Revolution which makes it that much more shocking. Napoleans abuse of power is a very meaningful and memorable aspect of Animal Farm for me. The several ways it reminds me of other movies and shows make it extremely memorable.
Through Napoleans rule, his use of power significantly changes the farm in a very memorable way. This change is memorable in how surprisingly fast a whole communities way of life can be changed in the hands of a bad leader and how it closely relates to real life events and other pieces of writing and film work. Through Napoleans rule, Animal Farm quickly turns from an attempt at communism to a brutal dictatorship as Napolean carries out the countless actions previously stated. These actions are yet again etched into the readers’ mind by how horrifying it is. George Orwell significantly expresses how brutal the animals’ lives were and how they were so horribly manipulated. Countless times the animals speak of how times are bad but not as bad as pre-Jones whereas this isnt true. This makes us feel sympathy for the animals which is a key factor in making power memorable as it is inflicted by directly by it. Orwell’s use of emotions in reaction to the way the farm is changed by power is vital to making it memorable.
One of the most effective methods used to make the theme of power memorable is how Orwell very closely followed the events of the Russian Revolution. This works so effectively as whilst reading the novel it seems so unbelievable that such cruel and evil event could happen and the fact that they did happen in our own world makes it almost unforgettable. Main people in the Russin Revolution all have animals that mirror their personality and actions. Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin and Czar Nicholas are all signified by animals in the book: Old Major, Snowball, Napolean and Mr Jones. These relations make it easier to understand the characters of the novels. The events that mirror that of the Russian Revolution such as the animal executions, Moscow Purge Trials, or Snowball being run out of Animal Farm by Napoleans dogs, Leon Trotsky being run out of Russia by the KGB (Stalin’s’ secret police force) all acts done as a result of need and obsession for power, result in the text becoming a great deal more surreal. These events can also be compared to that of Breaking Bad where Gus murders Victor in cold blood simply to show Walt and Jess what happens when he is opposed just as Napolean executed those who confessed to working against him. All these relations make it easy for the reader to see how important and memorable power is.
George Orwell uses many techniques of relating text to make the theme of power extremely memorable. He shows how it is abused, how it can change a community, and how it exists in the real world. All this makes power stick out from the rest as the most memorable theme of the novel.
Recent Comments