GCSE English lit - Animal Farm grade 9
notes
[I got 100% in my mock and real exam using just these analyses]
Old Major
Well-respected
"When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively,
he cleared his throat and began"
action of making themselves comfortable suggests they were willing to spend time
listening to Major, who was "so highly regarded on the farm": his ideas and opinions
are valued
adverb "attentively" reflects how everybody is waiting patiently for his speech, looking
forwards to hearing what he has to say: they are eager to hear his ideas.
idea of him being respected reinforced by the fact that he was "On a sort of raised
platform". This is a symbol of leadership as it indicates a level of respect: he is
physically above everybody else in the farm as he gives his speech, and figuravely
above them in terms of his social position and the respect the other animals have for
him. This idea is explored later in the novella, when Napoleon takes his place on the
raised platform when he, unaware to the animals, has manipulated them to gain
power - just as Stalin did.
The collective pronoun "everyone", used around this quotation, emphasises the unity
of the farm - they all realise Old Major's charisma and authority.
"Wise and benevolent appearance"
Adjective "wise" indicates a level of maturity, suggesting that he has experiences a lots
on the farm - an idea reinforced by his later use of statistics, like the fact that he is
"twelve years of age" and has had "over four hundred children"
Adjective "benevolent", meaning all loving, implies that Old Major is considered to
always have the animals' best interest at heart, and he is considerate and caring
towards the other animals.
It could be said that this is what keeps him remembered and respected later in the
novella, even when we start to experience the degredation of Animalism - his system
which worsens the animals' quality of life - as proved by his skull being displayed to
inspire the animals to continue working to achieve equality.
,Articulate and Manipulative
He possesses the ability to speak well in front of an audience, putting his point across articulately
and he persuades the animals to start a revolution through his use of persuasive devices, like
rhetorical questions and imperatives.
"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny
of human beings?"
Use of rhetorical question reflects his ability to engage with his audience through
providing them questions with obvious answers.
Use of clichéd phrase "crystal clear" emphasises that rebelling is the obvious thing to
do due to the addition of the adjective to back up his point
Could be said that the use of the conjunction then, embedded in caesura to generate a
pause, emphasises the causal mechanism here - it's as if Major is making it obvious to
the animals that humans are the reason of their suffering, and thus something must be
done
He calls the animals "comrades", giving them a collective name which unites them,
implying that they must work together to achieve the utopia about which he talks in
his speech. Could also be said that the name perpetuates the idea of equality and
collectivism, upon which Animalism is based. It is also a militaristic noun, which could
suggest that the animals must fight, literally and metaphorically, to achieve equality
and freedom.
"comrades" is used throughout the novel. The fact that Major is the first to do this
presents him as insightful and intelligent - like Marx with his revolutionary theory of
communism. It's important to realise that, albeit before Napoleon bans it, the name is
used ironically by the pigs, as the reader is aware that by this point the animals aren't
united and that they are not equal as the name suggests.
The powerful lexical choice of "tryanny", meaning cruel and oppressive rule,
demonises Jones and all other humans, presenting them as enemies to the animals
due to how they exploit them: reinforcing the need to overthrow them.
"I have lived a long life."
In the introduction to his speech he uses this short sentence he establishes his
authority on the farm by saying this: the other animals cannot match his age and
experience
This simple declarative conveys a confident and assertive tone - making him, and so his
ideas, sound more convincing
, Could be said that the alliteration of "long life" highlights his wisdom as the long "l"
sound is reflective of the length of time he has been alive
Gives him crediability and so the animals feel they can trust what he says
"Our lives are miserable, laborious and short"
Asks animals to think about their current lives, emphasisng the negative aspects of
them
Use of triplets of negative lexical choices to highlight the oppression experienced by
the animals due to man. "Laborious" suggests they spend their lives working, requiring
considerable time and effort. "Minerable" reinforces how they are made to do this -
they have no choice but to live this way under Jones' rule. "Short" perpetuates how
they are literally worked to death: they live short lives likely due to physical
exhaustion, and the fact that old animals are killed by man.
The collective pronoun "our" conveys a sense of unity among the animals, whilst also
outlining how every single animal is affected by this - a persuasive device which
renders the speech more personal to the animals
"Why, work day and night, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race!"
The use of the interjection "Why" (which is preceded by caesura to generate a short
pause) makes it seem as if the solution to the animals' suffering is evident. It could be
said that the fact that the others do not see this solution as Major does reinforces his
insight and his credibility as a leader - which is heightned by his use of statistics such as
"I have had over four hundred children" to underline how much life experience, and
thus wisdom, he posesses.
The animals respect Major enough that he has the authority to use imperatives to
convince the other animals to follow his vision. Perhaps Orwell is showing that the
reason that the animals are suffering under Jones' rule is due to the animals' failure to
rise up and take action - until now as Major uses imperatives to command a rebellion.
Orwell's use of oxymorons here emphasises, both to the animals and the reader, how
much work the animals will have to put in to overthrow the humans. It could be said
that this gets rendered ironic later in the novella when the animals have to work
harder than they ever have, but due to the pigs ordering them to, rather than to work
to implement Animalism.
Use of exclamation mark underlines the extent of what Major is asking: the animals
are shocked by his plan
"Forced to work to the last atom of our strength… we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty"
, The verb "forced" indicates the level of oppression faced by the animals: they are
treated "like slaves" to produce for Jones.
The metaphor "last atom of our strength" emphasizes man's greed and cruelty,
suggesting that he will take advantage of the animals in any way that he can to the
fullest extent. Use of the noun "atom", tiny pieces of matter which are too small to be
seen, reinforces how much men take from animals for their own benefit - much like
the dreadful exploitation of the Russian working class under the rule of Tsar Nicholas.
This emotive language creates a vivid image of the animals' conditions which evokes
sympathy for the animals from the reader: Major persuades both the animals and the
reader that a rebellion is necessary.
The verb "slaughtered" has connotations of immoral and "cruel" mass killings which
furthers the animals', and likely reader's, hatred for man.
Extremely powerful adjective "hideous" really drives forwards the extent
This quotation is one example of Major's strong ability to convey his ideas, persuading
and manipulating the animals to bring rise to Animalism - a socialist system which
represents Marxism in the Soviet Union
It could be said that Orwell is foreshadowing the slaughter of the animals under
Naploeon's tyrannous rule. This undermines Major's wisdom given that his ideology of
Animalism is flawed and ultimately leaves the animals worse off than under Jones'
rule. The irony here is - whilst what Major says is true - his solution only worsens the
problem, rather than leading to the equality that the animals now desire.
"The life on an animal is misery and slavery"
(Just embed this)
"The very day that those great muscles of [Boxer's] losse their power, Jones will sell him to the
knacker"
Orwell's use of emotive language here, coupled with the juxtaposition of Boxers
loyalty and dedication to the farm with the betrayal of Jones selling him to the knacker
emphasises man's cruelty and inhumane qualities.
This use of foreshadowing presents Major as a wise visionary later in the novel:
however the irony is that he gets sold by Napoleon under the system of Animalism,
rather than by humans
"All men are enemies. All animals are comrades"
