Orwell's Animal Farm example essay topic

SS May 13, 2003 Satire-Paper 2 Country vs. Court There are many different ways to reveal one's perception of society. In art for instance, the reflection may be revealed in the form of a sculpture, a song or a picture. Satire is one the ways that the reaction or perception of life is expressed. People look at life from different stand points, as matter of fact, they naturally perceive it in numerous ways. As a result of the variety in perception, the way of revealing the effects or reflections of these perceptions also shows variety. In the satiric work of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" and George Orwell's "Animal Farm" both authors make a distinction between country vs. court or in Orwell's case, country (people) vs. government.

Gulliver's first adventure takes place in Lilliput. Gulliver gets shipwrecked and finds himself tied down by a considerable number of little people called Lilliputians. The Lilliputians stood only six inches high. During this time Swift recognized that England was also small in stature but was dominant force and had a great influence in Europe. England, despite its small size, had the potential to defeat any nation that might try to conquer them. Swift relates this situation with the Lilliputians.

They only stood six inches tall but had the power to take on the, 'Man-Mountain', Gulliver. The ability of the Lilliputians to capture someone ten times their size can be seen as reinforcing their strength as a small nation, such as England. Thus becoming and remaining a great and powerful country. Swift further illustrates satire of the country vs. court distinction by comparing English government to Lilliput.

In the early eighteenth century, the English government was under the Whig's political party. Swift represented himself as Gulliver as being a Tory, and the Lilliputians as being power-hungry Whigs. Their heels of their shoes identified these parties. In Lilliput the High-Heels represented the Tories and the Low-Heels represented the Whigs.

George I favored the Whigs, so the Lilliputian emperor favored the Low-Heals. But the Prince of Whales favored both parties, and thus the Lilliputian heir to the throne wore one High-Heel and one Low. When Gulliver started learning about the Lilliputians government he noticed that their government officials were chosen by rope dancing. To Gulliver and the reader these practices seem ridiculous and idiotic, but to the Lilliputians they see these practices as normal.

Swift uses this scene to satire the British government at this time. The British government also elected their ministers in a same foolish manner. George Orwell's Animal Farm is a political satire of a totalitarian society ruled by a mighty dictatorship, in all probability an allegory for the events surrounding the Russian Revolution of 1917. Orwell makes a parody of Soviet Communism as demonstrated by Animal Farm's brutal totalitarian rule, manipulated and exploited working class, and the pigs' evolution into the capitalists they initially opposed.

The animals of 'Manor Farm' overthrow their human master after a long history of mistreatment. Led by the pigs, the farm animals continue to do their work, only with more pride, knowing that they are working for themselves, as opposed to working for humans. Little by little, the pigs become dominant, gaining more power and advantage over the other animals, so much so that they become as corrupt and power-hungry as their predecessors, the humans. The theme in Animal Farm maintains that in every society there are leaders who, if given the opportunity, will likely abuse their power. Animalism, which represents communism, was a revolution that didn't work.

Animalism was supposed to make life better for the animals but instead their lives got worse. By the end of the story, everything had changed. The government had become corrupt, there was a dictator, and the animals had become slaves to the pigs. Life for the animals couldn't get any worse. Meanwhile, the pigs as leaders are taking bigger food rations for themselves justifying their behavior as something necessary for the 'brains' of their animal society. At this point we begin to suspect that the pigs will abuse their positions and power in this animal society.

This is Orwell's way of depicting the vices and problems of society during his time which in some ways, still holds true to many societies and governments today. The country vs. court is a reoccurring theme in many satirical and literary works. "Gulliver's Travels" and "Animal Farm" were both written to express their authors' disenchantment with the state of evolution of human nature.