Justin Allen Ms.

Gardner English 10 Period 0 18 November 2013 George Orwell and Tyrannical Pigs

Aiken, Michael. "work in Animal Farm." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Work in Animal Farm is an indicator of who is in power and who is working with eyes blind to the world around them. Characters in Animal Farm harbor their personality in what they did before the rebellion with Mollie doing no work and being all about looks, and with Boxer wanting to do nothing but work. The exception to this rule being the pigs who say they do the mental work and work the hardest of any animal on the farm and thus deserve more luxuries than the other animals. The tension on the farm steadily increases as the pigs become more like Jones by not working, or producing and still being able to profit off of it. Napoleon is the first to avoid producing shortly after the battle of cowshed by seemingly slipping into the shadows to study while the other animals toil in the fields, thus beginning the climb to power and becoming more human than any of the other animals couldve ever anticipated.

Aiken does a phenomenal job of expressing how the pigs cast themselves above the rest and form a totalitarian government identical to that of the Soviet Union. He points out where each animal receives their defining characteristics and how the pigs characteristics were the ability to lead, which was used to manipulate the animals into doing the work that the pigs themselves wouldnt do. Aiken in addition, shows how the tension caused by the unethical rise to power from the pigs eventually snaps when the pigs become unrecognizable from the humans.

Bloom, Harold, ed. "Orwell, George." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

George Orwell was originally gifted with the name Eric Arthur Blair and was born in Motihari, Bengal, India on June 25, 1903 and returned with his mother and sister to London a year later. He attended a very nice school, but failed to win a university scholarship and his father wouldnt pay for him to go to college. Orwell then served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma until he couldnt take any more violence and he retired. Shortly after, he moved back into the impoverished part of London. He then met his wife and they married on June 9, 1936 and a few months later he published his third novel, Keep the Aspidistra Flying. His publisher then asked him to make a book about the harsh living conditions of the impoverished English Community, thus driving him into the face of Socialism. Orwell then traveled overseas to the Spanish Civil War where he was inspired to write Homage to Catalonia. Orwell was later struck in the throat by a bullet and

while recovering in the hospital accused of treason by Spanish communists. Orwell later returned to London during WWII and in 1945 published Animal Farm. Sadly, his wife became ill and died of heart failure around the same time and he was struck with grief. He remarried shortly after and released his final book, 1984 before he died in the January of 1950 at the age of 46.

Bloom does a masterful job of explaining Orwells accomplishments in a way that makes it interesting to any sophisticated reader. He focuses on each novel individually and gives background on how each was conceived in Orwells thoughts based on the evolving world around him. However, Bloom seems to brush off Orwells younger life as nothing to be worried about and focuses on his older life, which was based on what happened to him while he was a child. Even still, Bloom did a very thorough job giving background on each person that created an impact on Orwell as a person and as the literary genius he is praised to be today.

D'Ammassa, Don. "Animal Farm." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

Fairy tales seem to always use animals as characters because they appeal to younger people and mask the true malevolent nature behind their actions. Animals on animal farm are stand ins for the Soviet Union and their corruption of Socialism in the 1940s. The setting of Animal Farm is in the countryside of

England. The leader, Napoleon, is undoubtably meant to mirror Stalin as he slowly takes over the farm and makes the lesser animals lives worse than when the humans were in charge.

DAmmassas critique on Orwells novel is short, sweet, and to the point. In a mere three paragraphs he explains how the events that take place on Animal Farm are mirroring actual events in the Soviet Union and how each character, or group of characters is an actual group of people or person. The reader can also get a sense of the irony used in the title of the novel, Animal Farm: A Fairy Tale Story, because all of the events were actually happening at that time, giving the leader an at first false sense of terror, before they realize the deeper, more twisted meaning and get a very real sense of fear.

Gaydosik, Victoria. "Orwell, George." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

Orwell was born in India on June 25, 1903 and there he attended St. Cyprians preparatory school and English premier public school. He then served in the Indian imperial police force and shortly afterward moved to London. After London he relocated to France, and back to London where he was a homeless drifter. He then began publishing his first works of literature between 1935-39, then had trouble finding someone who would publish Animal Farm. Upon its publication it became the benchmark for political satires. Shortly afterward he published 1984

and remarried, only to die a few months later during the January of 1950 in London.

Orwell had a surprisingly hard life despite his excellent education and prestigious schools he attended as a child. He was a drifter for a good portion of his life, and when he wasnt a drifter he was usually poor and trying to save money wherever he could. This article draws the limelight on to Orwells financial state and doesnt give the reader a very good idea what he was like as a person. The only quality we can pick out about him is that he had strong opinions on communism.

Letemendia, V. C. "Revolution on Animal Farm: Orwell's Neglected Commentary." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Orwells controversial novel has held the tongues of many since its release and has been the subject of a wide range of controversy to this date. Orwell has made it blatantly obvious that Animal Farm was created to serve many purposes, but that the main one would be opening peoples eyes to the betrayal of Socialist ideals in the Soviet regime. Orwell makes the reader draw certain conclusions about the animals way of running things as opposed to the humans way of running things, then lets them decide which one is really better. This toys with the readers emotions and they eventually consider that the grass is not always greener and the farm wouldve been better with no change.

This criticism of Orwells classic novel helps draw the readers attention to the specific qualities that separate the humans and the animals. In addition, it evaluates his views on Socialism and deems them to be somewhat biased. I think that any work of literature will end up being somewhat bias because no human is without bias and that is what gives us differing opinions and people who can question those opinions. However, he is praised for his veil shrouding the true intentions of his work and his critique of the class system that comes along with Socialism which tends to leave the ignorant in bliss and the higher ranking officials in complete control.

Quinn, Edward. "socialism and George Orwell." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

Orwell liked Socialism in the early part of his life because he did not understand the flaws and tyrannical side of it. After initially discovering this he referred to himself as a Tory anarchist; an anarchist being someone who believes that there should be city states with no central government. Orwell described Socialism in his first novel, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, by saying, All very well in its way, of course. Only we dont want it. When Orwell was recovering from a bullet wound in his neck he seemed to truly believe that Socialism crushed wonderful things and he then became an anti-Stalinist which influenced his work, Animal Farm.

Quinn describes Orwells hatred, or opposition to Socialism through quotes in his book. Quinns last four paragraphs offer little to no examples or explanation to explain why Orwell hates Socialism. The first few paragraphs I would recommend reading, but the last few merely talk about Socialism in a different era, completely straying away from the topic at hand. The contrast from how Orwell liked Socialism to suddenly finding it repulsive is weakly done and is written with little detail.