Moses's Stories Of Sugercandy Mountain example essay topic

Religion is said to be the opiate of the masses, and it is definitely a point of interest in George Orwell's famous novel Animal Farm. In it, Orwell pointedly attacks religion in general and Christianity in particular through the use of a well placed symbolic bird by the name of Moses. Orwell's stance is rather apparent as Moses darts about the farm scene conveying the duality of Christianity quite superbly. At the first mention of the raven Moses, one immediately gets the impression that he stands for something quite larger than just a simple bird that lives on the Manor Farm.

Firstly his name, Moses, is an obvious biblical reference conveying the idea that he may stand for religion or Christianity. It is not a subtle point that Orwell is trying to make with Moses. From the beginning of his involvement in the plot of Animal Farm, Moses is painted as a very special pet of Mr. Jones, the keeper of Manor Farm before the animal revolution. Mr. Jones in himself stands for something larger than just himself, he represents the old government, the government that the animals have pointed their military coup towards. In this case the most obvious connection can be made to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917. In this vein of comparison, Mr. Jones represents the government under the ruling power of the czar.

And if Moses is the especial bird of Mr. Jones, this means that religion was under the wing so to say of the czar (pun intended). After we learn this quality of Moses, we quickly learn that he is prone to rant on and on, talking about 'a mysterious country called Sugercandy Mountain' (11), a magnificent place that all the animals supposedly went to when they died. In his reference to Sugercandy Mountain there is an obvious correlation to the kingdom of heaven in traditional Christian belief. This reinforces the idea in the reader's mind that Moses is most definitely standing for Christianity in this story. But so far Orwell has not made any criticisms against Christianity or religion, he has merely set up the character. The first time we get the idea that Orwell may be viewing Moses with a critical eye is when he describes the bird as being lazy and unwilling to do any.

All the bird is apparently good for is to lie around all day and warm up to Mr. Jones, all the while getting special treats and even getting to venture inside the farm house. This is a very deliberate shot against the Christian religion. Orwell is painting a very critical portrait of Christianity as a tired and pathetic institution that is no longer living up to the ideals it once so vehemently believed in. But of course this institution, or Moses, still talks grandly about the kingdom of Sugercandy Mountain and how all good Russians and animals will go there when they die to live an existence of eternal bliss. This part of Moses's involvement is basically telling the acutely aware reader a very pointed lesson: that not all that shines is sure to be gold (or God in this case). The last mention of Moses at his initial involvement leaves quite an interesting taste in the reader's mouth.

As soon as the fight to liberate the animals from Mr. Jones begins, Moses springs 'off his perch and [flaps away]' (12). He quite frankly runs away with his tail between his legs when Mr. Jones is thrown out of power. Orwell is quite clearly saying with this inclusion in the story that religion is taking the back seat during this revolutionary ride. This obvious slight is only the beginning, for when Moses returns Orwell has much more to say. After several years have passed on the Animal Farm, Moses suddenly reappears, 'quite unchanged, still [doing] no work' (76). But he still rants on about Sugercandy Mountain and it's glorious virtues.

The most interesting point of Moses's return is the pigs stance on the entire matter. They claimed that Moses's stories of Sugercandy Mountain were all lies, 'and yet they allowed him to remain on the farm, not working, with an allowance of a gill of beer a day' (76). This is the piece de resistance indeed of Orwell's slam against the very face of organized religion. In this one plain sentence he is searing into the reader's brain one of the main points he is trying to convey in writing this book: that religion is the opiate of the masses. The pigs, representing the new Soviet government, take an official stance against Christianity, and yet they let Moses remain on the farm and even give him alcohol, a vice, to pacify him.

The pigs need Moses just as the Soviet government needed religion. Because the difficulty level of controlling the population of either Russia or Animal Farm would be increased dramatically if they did not have anything to look forward to. If the lower class people believe that there is never going to be anything better than the life they are living now, they would not work as hard. And that is what religion gives to people, in particular the lower class; it gives them a sense of hope.

This hope is what keeps Animal Farm alive in the exact way that it kept Stalin's government alive in Russia. And Orwell is openly criticizing religion for being such an opiate. He obviously does not believe in organized religion, and he is not hesitant in showing his contempt for it at all. The modern day philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer can be correlated to George Orwell. They were quite similar in that Bonhoeffer was disillusioned with organized religion in the same way that Orwell was. Bonhoeffer acquired his feelings of negativity towards the church through their participation (or lack thereof) in the Holocaust.

How could such a seemingly benevolent and peace-loving institution turn its back on such horror, he asked, and still rant in 'the same strain as ever about Sugercandy Mountain' (76). The author believes an identical point was being made by George Orwell in his amazingly poignant and thought-provoking novel.