Ella Stephens

12/03/2018
English
Animal Farm Essay
Introduction
How does Orwell make Boxer’s departure in Chapter Nine a moving and dramatic scene? Point
Evidence
In Chapter 9 of ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, Orwell uses lots of clever techniques in Explanation
the scene of Boxer’s departure to forebode doom. He also really makes the reader feel Link
strong emotions, such as empathy, sadness, intensity an fear. He makes it as exciting as Conclusion
possible so that the reader is keen to carry on reading to find out more about what happens
to Boxer.

In this scene Orwell uses short sentences to create drama, suspense and tension because the flow of
the sentence is interrupted and creates a faster pace that will quicken the reader’s heart rate. This is
effective because it makes the sentence stick in the reader’s head, consequently you think it over and
over again. It also makes the reader feel sad as Boxer is the most hardworking and looked-up-to
animal on the farm, and is the one to keep the animals going, when Snowball was exiled. Orwell
portrays Boxer as a character who likes to think things over: “If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be
right,’ and he takes up a new personal motto: ‘Napoleon is always right’.” This is an advantage to
Napoleon, because the only way one gains power is by having supporters. Boxer, the most admired
animal on the farm, praises Napoleon, so all the animals follow suit. The short sentence ‘Boxer was
never seen again’ is emotive and connotes that Boxer has died. The short sentences have an effect of
feeling a strong emotion, and in this case a great sadness and a sense of let down. When it comes to
communicating, sometimes less is more; short, simple sentences. Orwell also uses the semantic field
of ‘death’ to show that the van is leading Boxer to his death. For example, ‘grew fainter’,
‘disappeared’ and ‘died away’. Overall, Orwell illustrates that all the animals look up to Boxer so
they are distraught when he leaves them . Three days after Boxer had left the farm, there was an
announcement that he had died in the hospital in the village. Orwell reveals that Squealer was
supposedly present during Boxer’s last hours. Although all the animals trust Squealer, they
specifically remember the van that had taken Boxer away was marked ‘horse slaughterer’ and had
jumped to the conclusion that Boxer was being taken to the knackers. Squealer told the animals that
this was not the case However as Boxer trusted Squealer, the animals did too.

In this scene Orwell wants to make it especially moving because of how much Boxer wants to relax
during the last few years of his life, but the pigs succeed in changing his hopes. ‘He looked forward to
the peaceful days he would be able to spend in the corner of the big pasture’. This shows us how
much Boxer was looking forward to relaxing. He intended to devote the rest of his life to learning the
remaining 22 letters of the alphabet. It is very moving because when Boxer has injured his hoof and is
relaxing in the pasture the reader is sure that Boxer would be fine: ‘the pigs had sent out a large bottle
of pink medicine…’ but in the end the reader realises that this was all a set up; the pigs actually called
the knackers. This makes the reader feel so sad and sorry for Boxer, and so angry at the pigs’
despicable behaviour. Boxer was the only one who got up much earlier than the other animals to build
the windmill for the pigs. Boxer was the one who’d got pellets in his legs fighting for the pigs. Boxer
was the one who split his hoof smashing rocks for the windmill. And all the pigs do is send him in a
van to his death when they believe that he is past his working days. Orwell links this up very cleverly
because in Chapter Seven, Napoleon executes all the animals who have admitted to being traitors and
helping Snowball, right in front of them all. These animals were less important ones on the farm so
Napoleon did not care about them. On the other hand, as Boxer was so looked up to, Napoleon
decided to treat him well, for example giving him medicine, and did not admit to calling the Horse
Slaughterers. Squealer managed to convince the animals that this was a hospital van, but they had not
painted the new sign over the Knackers one yet. The animals wouldn’t expect a thing because they all
believed Squealer, just as Boxer trusted Napoleon.

Orwell portrays this scene as very dramatic one because of all the animals’ behaviour when Boxer is
taken away. Benjamin the donkey, Boxer’s best friend, is especially upset. ‘“Fools! Fools!” shouted
Benjamin, prancing around them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs.’ Benjamin is usually
Ella Stephens
12/03/2018
English
quiet and does not like to participate in discussions and debates. Despite his nasty
temper, Benjamin knows what is wrong. After the rebellion, the other animals want to know
what Benjamin thinks of the new organisation of Animal Farm. The only thing that he will say is,
“Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.” This tells us that Benjamin
never wants to join in conversations and never wants to be in the centre of attention, so this reaction is
surprising due to his usual lack of participation. Orwell denotes that Benjamin is upset as he never
acts in this terrified and angry way. ‘Muriel began to spell out the words. But Benjamin pushed her
aside and in the midst of a deadly silence read…’ This shows Benjamin is agitated. He would never
push anyone. ‘Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm.’ ‘Alone among the other animals on the
farm he never laughed.’ Nevertheless, without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer’. This is
how Orwell first introduces Boxer - not too thoughtful, but always devoted to Boxer. wants to read the
sign on the side of the van, inform the animals and get straight to helping Boxer. ‘A cry of horror
burst from all the animals.’ The other animals admire Boxer and when Benjamin reveals what is
happening to him they immediately try to help him. ‘All the animals followed, crying at the tops of
their voices.’ Orwell shows that the animals would do anyone to stop the van and get to Boxer. Like
Benjamin, Clover, another horse, also felt that Boxer deserved better than this terrible fate. ‘Clover
forced her way to the front.’ ‘Clover tried to stir her stout limbs to a gallop, but achieved a canter.’
This is very moving because the reader is desperately searching the text for some sign of hope, but
when the reader gets to the part of, ‘too late, someone thought of racing ahead…’ you lose all
prospect of Boxer returning to the farm. The words ‘too late’ depicts the fact that Boxer really is
going to the knackers and no one has the strength to stop it.

In the last part of the extract, Orwell wants to make it especially moving and create a fast pace by
bringing more and more hope into the extract, then suddenly it spinning away just like the speeding
van. ‘There was the sound of a tremendous drumming of hoofs inside the van. He was trying to kick
himself out.’ Boxer was a strong horse, and always did the most work to help build the windmill. This
is when the reader sees some hope of Boxer escaping until: ‘The time had been when a few kicks
from Boxer’s hoofs would have smashed the van to matchwood. But alas!’ Now the reader feels a
sense of such sadness at the hopelessness of Boxer’s situation, but also anger at the pigs’ treacherous
behaviour. Boxer did everything to help the farm, to help the pigs. It seems that him splitting his hoof
and working hard on the windmill hasn’t been enough. Orwell describes Boxer in the van in much
detail. For instance: ‘Boxer’s face, with the white stripe down his nose...’ This creates an image in the
readers’ head, but also makes the reader feel attached to Boxer. Orwell is clever here because by
describing Boxer it makes the reader feel as if they know him really well and feel s great deal of
empathy towards him.

Overall Orwell succeeds in making this scene moving and dramatic. The sentence, ‘Boxer was never
seen again,’ right at the end is short and very simple, so to the reader that straightforward sentence is
both of these things. It is a very final sentence as if the matter is closed. Orwell uses many different
techniques to convince the reader to keep reading. Such as, the word ‘slaughter’. This word is a great
example of onomatopoeia, the use of naturally suggestive words for rhetorical, dramatic or poetic
effect. It is also ‘fricative’, meaning when you say the word it causes friction in the mouth (e.g on the
syllables slaugh in slaughter). ‘His face disappeared from the back of the van.’ If Boxer has given up,
then the reader feels they have too.