A breakdown of the key moments within Animal Farm, including key scenes and turning points within the plot and significant moments for analysis. A breakdown of the quotes within these scenes and analysis on the setting, influence of characters and more, all essential and really helpful for GCSE ess...
,Old Major’s speech (inspiration for rebellion)
● “Comrades” Old Major uses the address of Comrades to employ an impression of
equality between himself and the animals. Despite the fact he sits upon a “sort of raised
platform” and is speaking down to them as a “respected” kind of leader on the farm, he
still addresses them with an impression of something different from reality. It gives an
impression of comfortable companionship and says that he can relate to their “toils” and
“labour” on Manor Farm. He includes himself with them as an equal in order to gain their
trust and victimize himself for the “oppression” of mankind, alongside the other animals,
despite the fact he had lived what he himself admitted to be the “natural life of a pig.”
● “Our lives are miserable, laborious and short.” This short sentence holds a lot of
power and clearly prefaces the purpose of his speech as well as setting the tone. It gives
an atmosphere of anger, shared pain and accusation to this currently unhighlighted
figure of evil in their lives, but the clearest point of all is that it is “their lives”, as in all of
them, that share this common enemy and pain. Similar to the shortness of the sentence,
he emphasises the shortness of their lives, packing a lot of punch into the final word
“short” and outlining their lives in three clear adjectives. Ironically, this contrasts
powerfully to his previous first words of how he has had “much time for thought.”
● “Order of nature” Old Major asks the animals a rhetorical question of whether what the
animals are suffering is the natural order of things. This impactful question clearly
demonstrates Old Major’s radical approach to the current system, adding to the drama of
his previous words, where he uses hyperbole to show the animals working to the “last
atom of our strength”. This rhetorical question powerfully highlights and aims his
question to each one of them, as well as tipping the point of his accusation towards their
way of life being the fault of man. It’s also extremely ironic, considering that the pigs
clearly consider themselves to be naturally higher than the other animals, as they sat at
the front.
● “It is summed up in a single word- Man….Remove man from the scene and the
route cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.” A highly ironic promise
for Old Major to be making when it is the pigs who will now take over and do exactly that.
It is ironic that this aligns with future events. Old Major clearly accuses man as being the
route cause of all of their suffering, when instead, it is more likely, as demonstrated by
the cause of the book, to be corrupted power.
● “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing.” Old Major clearly
highlights the basic root existence of man as being the reason for their suffering and the
root cause of all of their problems. He victimises himself as suffering together with the
rest in order to gain favour and influence.
● “Who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age?” Old Major uses
deliberate examples and targets beloved animals among them, Clover well known and
liked for her mothering instincts and kindness and the specificity of his examples target
her as a recognised liked figure among them and by winning her support to his cause,
for how can she deny his ideals when he goes against the unkindness done to her, this
wins over the favour of other animals.
, ● “Rich and free” Old Major makes promises to the results of the animals, saying that
they will no longer have the produce of their labour “stolen” from them and that they will
be able to be richer and free from man. This, however, turns out not to be the case as
the pigs quickly take charge.
● “All animals are comrades...raised his trotter for silence.” Old Major promotes
equality with his speech, however, he contradicts this frequently with his actions, living
longer and more well than them, sitting on a raised platform, raising his trotter for
silence, clearly showing power and command over them all. He talks to them and
convinces them to take his side while simultaneously holding power over them. He
doesn’t do as he says and doesn’t say how he does.
● “All the habits of man are evil” Old Major clearly expresses that the habits of man are
not to be taken up. He instructs the animals not to “adopt his vices”, however, the pigs go
against this as they establish their own rules and slowly break them, despite the
knowledge of the animals.
● “Golden future time.” Old Major’s dream is described in fantastical and idealistic
language that powerfully contrasts to the painful reality of their situation. The idealistic,
idolising language of “golden” implies a preciousness of the dream, however, “future”
puts it far out of the animals’ reach. He foretells the unravelling of the animals as they try
to achieve something he has, from the start, put out of their reach.
● “Beasts of England… all must toil for future’s sake.” This ironic statement
encourages a sense of patriarchy and collective work among the animals whilst also
encouraging them to give up the fruits of their labour once more for some distant, future
cause.
● “Even the stupidest of them” There is glaringly obvious signs of their stupidity that
creates inequality while they try to learn the words of the song that promotes equality. It
is a metaphor for them not quite being able to be equal to the others, despite their effort,
and this foreshadows the future events of the novel, closing Old Major’s speech on a
joyous but also suspicious note.
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