Sinha Janjua

Professor Ikram

English 105

26 September 2022

Rhetorical Analysis

I’ll be analyzing 40 lines from novella called ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, which was

published in 1945. The story is set in England, about an imaginary farm run by animals. In

Animal Farm, George Orwell warns how power will often lead to corruption. When reading

through the novella we can easily recognize the issue which is been explored is exploitation

and corruption. Every author has a reason or an event behind their story, which is built on a

concept according to their time and surroundings. For this extract, George Orwell had the

event of Russian revolution in his mind which he observed himself in between the years 1917

till 1945. Basically, his work represents frightening portrait of a society or country beneath

the command of power in embodiment of government.

I have selected 40-line extract from George Orwell’s novella Animal Farm, chapter 1, page

number 2. Here, the unjust treatment of animals living in the farm under care of Mr. Jones are

being oppressed and ill-treated. The animals had no sense or awareness to what and why they

were treated this way, by their owner whose behavior was unfair. Old Major, been the oldest

and wise among all animals presents a vision of change here. He gives an uplifting and eye-

opening speech where he talks about all the unjust acts and ways, they are all have been

treated and how the product of their hard work is stolen to be used for someone else’s gain.

The use of extended metaphor and symbolism in Old Major’s speech, depict that there are

many resources available in the very land they live in, to provide for all the animals in the

farm. His emphasis on their miserable life and terrible condition foreshadows to show them
that change will not come until fight for their rights and independent life is very much

possible with as many resources, they desire to have but with their own hard work. As he

says, “This single

farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep — and all of

them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining.” As

important as emotion is for engaging readers, it is not enough. There must be some degree of

reason and logic behind an argument, so here logic is used to show evidence on how animals

can survive on their own. Further in Old Major’s speech, old major tells the animals on the

roles assigned to them by man to work, for man. He acknowledges that only man consumes

without producing. Old major uses imagery and point of view to tell man’s weakness and

how animals can use his weakness for their purpose of change. Old Major’s character is used

as eye opener, the ones who reveals the truth for the animals and the audience.

This text is for different types of audience, as it ranges from historical point of view to fable.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of Old Major’s rhetoric stems less from the

pathetic appeal of his “speech” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give

force to his statements. The author has used the narrative to show how power manipulates

one’s mind, in the perspective of the one having the power and those people who are

deceived by the one’s miss using their authority. How convenient it becomes for authority

figure to use someone’s weakness like lack of knowledge or understanding for their own

benefit, make them suffer. By showing animal’s misery and innocence, emotional connection

is built up.

In conclusion, it is clearly visible that corruption and exploitation of power is the main global

issue in the extract. I’ll add a quote from animal farm by old major, “No animal in England
knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is

free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.”

This exercise has helped me realize that a piece of writing can best be understood by

understanding its context. It also helped me to see the interdependent roles of the audience

and the rhetor in a rhetorical situation. I will then seek to understand what roles the rhetor

creates for the audience, and how stepping into those roles as a reader could influence the

rhetorical situation. I have learned from this rhetorical analysis that the rhetor, the rhetoric,

and the audience are each just one component of a larger picture—the rhetorical situation—

and that this picture can best be understood by looking at a piece of rhetoric from multiple

perspectives.