Yanu

Yanu

Rabu, 03 September 2014

Animal Farm



1.      Give significant background information about the author or the literary piece
Answer:
George Orwell (his real name was Arthur Eric Blair) was born in  Motihari, India, in 1903. He was educated in England at Eton College.  He served with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927, when he returned to England. In poor health, and striving to become a writer, he lived for several years in poverty, first in Paris and then in London.  Out of this experience came his first book, down and Out in Paris and London (1933), an account of the sordid conditions of the homeless poor. Burmese Days (1934), an indictment of imperialism, is also largely autobiographical. In 1936 Orwell joined the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The description of his experiences, in Homage to Catalonia (1938), forms one of the most moving accounts of this war ever written. Also belonging to this period is The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), a harrowing report on the conditions of unemployed coal miners in the north of England. In 1949 Orwell returned to England, with tuberculosis, by that time painfully advanced. He eventually succumbed to the disease, dying on January 21, 1950. I think George Orwell wrote Animal Farm because in the time he wrote it, the Russian Revolution was going on. He didn’t agree with the governmental system that was imposed, so he created Animal Farm, which is a satire of the Russian Revolution. All the characters of the book represent the people which have an important role during that time in the Russian Revolution.

2.      Write the synopsis or summary of the literary text
Answer:
Animal Farm is a satire of the Russian Revolution. Its characters represent the people who had place in this revolution. It takes place on a farm in England called “Manor Farm”. The animals there decided to make a rebellion against humans, who treat them very bad. So one day, they kicked out Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm. The pigs who were the cleverest ones, took control of the farm. They organized the farm’s works. Now, all the animals had more to eat everyday and were independent. Napoleon and Snowball, two pigs, were the main leaders and told the animals what to do every day. They made special commandments, which talked about equality between animals and not following human’s traditions. Napoleon and Snowball could never agree. On Sundays, when the meetings took place, they argued a lot because they were always opposing each others ideas. One day, Mr. Jones and other men invaded the farm, which now was called ANIMAL FARM. The animals defended the farm with their life. Finally, the men went back to their homes. The animals won this battle and they called it “The Battle of the Cows heed”. The pigs raised their meal rations by putting some stupid excuses which made this action reasonable. The other animals didn’t complain and continued working as usual. One day, Snowball exposed an idea which would help the farm’s production: to build a windmill. Napoleon was against this. While Snowball was expressing the idea in the Sunday’s meetings, he had a very big argument with Napoleon. Suddenly, nine huge dogs appeared and went directly to attack Snowball. After this episode, Snowball disappeared and nobody heard of him again. Although Napoleon was against the windmill, he ordered to start the project. As the time went by, their meals were reduced (except for the pigs and dogs) and the working hours were increased. One day, some animals were killed because they had confessed that they had contacted with Snowball and were conspiring against Napoleon. This shocked the other animals, but they continued working. The time went by and day by day, the pigs imposed new rules which privileged them. The other animals were now starving, didn’t sleep and were very cold. Another battle with humans took place. More animals finished dead, but they won. The pigs were now doing the same things they had hated before and prohibited, such as: drinking alcohol, sleeping in beds, using human’s elements. The windmill now was finished, but the animals weren’t happy. They were realizing that all this work was for the pig’s comfort. The book finishes with all the pigs and humans together sharing a poker game. One thing, which is terrible is that no difference can be seen between these two different races.

3.      List down three questions that come to mind while reading the text, then choose one explore it more fully
Answer:
1               What is the meaning of animal farm?
2               What is the theme of this story?
3               What character do you like best from this story?
I would like to answer question number 3. I like boxer. Boxer is an amazing horse, who lives in the farm. On one hand he is amazing because he is very strong. He has the strength of two common horses together. In the farm, he was always making the work which was harder. On the other hand, he is amazing because he would always do whatever they were asked to do. Boxer always supported Napoleon`s ideas even though they were totally unaccepted. He would sacrifice hours of sleep to work and accelerate the farm`s production. Although he starts to lose his strength, he wouldn`t stop working for a minute. Boxer was not very intelligent; his brain was in control of the pigs.

4.      Explain the emotion that literary text awoke in you or which you felt while or after reading the piece.
Answer:
I feel the emotion of honesty after reading this story.  Orwell used a style in this novel that is straightforward and honest. In a clear and concise manner he narrates his story of the animals taking over the farm and thus copying the style of leadership they needed to overthrow in the first place. Orwell was very detailed with the descriptions of the characters as when he described "several men dropped their sticks and tried to run, but panic overtook them and the next moment all the animals together were chasing them round and round the yard. They were gored, kicked, bitten, trampled on." (Orwell) The story can almost be mistaken for an actual historical event or occurrence because it was presented as an event that could have been factual


5.      Copy a part of literary text (sentence, paragraph, dialogue) which is striking, puzzling, most beautiful, enlightening and discuss why
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”(90).
The quote want to establish the equity among the animal. During the beginning of the novel, all the animals are equal and agree upon equality as a group. After a while, the pigs begin creating rules that help to provide and advantage them. After the pigs make this statement, the other animals begin to see that Napoleon and his committee are very similar to their previous owner, Mr. Jones. While the pigs are living the simple life of relaxation, the other animals are doing slave labor to ensure that humans do not regain control of Animal Farm and ensuring that they don’t not lose control of their own lives.

6.      Identify the theme of literary piece.
Answer:
The theme of this literary piece is satire. Since the aim of satire is to criticize the object of attack, teaching a moral indirectly with a humorous tone, in the animal satire, the author uses animals instead of human beings and places his animals in human situations. Some characteristics of satire that are displayed in Animal Farm are assailing an organization or person the author considers dissolute, trying to influence the way the reader behaves, and communicating an advisory to a tainted civilization.

7.      Write the critique of the works using an appropriate literary approach or theory (Example: Feminism, Marxism, formalism, behaviorism, etc)
Answer:
Orwell's story is told from the third person perspective which makes it impersonal. The narrator is always outside of the action and thus appears above everything going on. The reader can therefore use this perspective to see inside the minds of each character and therefore help understand what is motivating their actions. It is funny because the reader has more of a sense of what is going on during the events of the farm and the animal characters on the other hand have no clue to what is driving their actions. The author shows to the reader the ruthless undertones and motives in the actions of Napoleon and Squealer for example and thus the fact that Napoleon uses and then discards or kills the others when they are no longer needed is never known to the other animals.

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