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.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar