Animal Farm

The movie

2005-01-14T21:39:00.000-05:00

I didn't get to see the end of the movie, but from what i saw the movie was rather bad. It skipped half the "important" parts that linked the book to the Russian Revolution. As well, the animations were rather over-exaggerated like animals getting shot and Boxer's death.

Le filme d'Animal Farm

2005-01-14T19:03:00.000-05:00

Seeing as the BLOG is rarely being updated, I decided to create a topic:

What'd you think of the film?

I think the film could've been much better, especially if the film hadn't been so different from the book. : (

But that's just what I think.

Ending

2005-01-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

Is anyone other than me displeased with the ending of the book? The ending seems too unrealistic compared to most of the book (if you ignore the fact that the pigs are running a farm).

Bolshevik

2005-01-03T22:26:00.000-05:00

This might be the B word Mrs.Tuck is looknig for....

BOLSHEVIK

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolshevik

YAY! WHAT YOU WAITIN' FOR???

PROLETARIAT

2005-01-03T22:17:00.000-05:00

The P word is proletariat. Boxer and Clover, two hard working animals, are used to represent the POROLETARIAT. They are like the stupid slaves that believe anything they hear and don't really think their slaves, or as NovelGuide.com puts it, the unskilled labour class inRussian society. Since Squealer is such a good talker, the PROLETARIAT are drawn to Napoleon's ideas because they sound like they're beneficial. Also, they're kind of unintelligent, so they're very easily persuaded.

So, the real lesson here is that Boxer is gullible, and the P word is PROLETARIAT.
www.e-thug.net

Supah Cute in Japanese!

The Book

2005-01-03T20:09:00.000-05:00

I hav'nt exactly read any of the posts yet, but i need to post five things so I might as well start. I was talking with someone as i came in from recess, they were saying how napoleon was such a bad character and how he was destroying the farm. Napoleon wasn't destroying the farm, he was just using the power he had over the other animals to his advantage. He altered their way of thing to improve his lifestyle and in turn, make theirs worse.

Explain?

2005-01-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

There's one thing that I don't get (and this provides an opportunity for procrastinators to post). I didn't get the impression that Snowball did anything wrong. Instead it seemed an excuse for Napoleon to instill hate in the animals so that they felt he was on their side in trying to help them beat the enemy and make them forget the fact that Snow ball was a good and fair leader. If thats the case, then Snowball wouldn't have told the animals to disrupt things. So why would animals lie and pretend that they were secretly in touch with him, especially since they knew they would be killed? Was there something that happened in the Russian Revolution that this represents, or is this just Orwell showing the stupidity and gulibility of the animals who came forth?

Moreover...

2005-01-02T20:05:00.000-05:00

Oh god, I guess I did end up analyzing the story, oh well.

And I just wanted to add; I think that Orwell made pigs of all the animals to represent the loyalist and the wealthy people of the Russian Revolution, not because they represent greediness, but because pigs are one of the smartest animals on the planet…

I Like Napoleon!

2005-01-02T19:59:00.000-05:00

It's really amazing how many people posted on the last day... tsk tsk tsk, procrastinating? At least you guys posted…

I thought of instead of analyzing the book, cause that’s basically what I have been doing the whole time, but actually give my own thoughts about the book (that aren’t negative). As Zack did before, I’d like to explain my favourite character: Napoleon. Although he is supposedly a bad animal, I find that he is the smartest animal in the whole book. He rose from an insignificant pig on a regular farm to a famous leader (and practically a human) in a farm renowned in all of England. For a pig, that’s a big accomplishment. Even though he was extremely cruel and horrid, but really, what successful leader isn’t? Any politician that doesn’t lie and cheat and make excuses (ect. ect.), isn’t a real politician!

So, you might say that he was greedy and whatever, but he has created advancements for the farm like the windmill and the school. The public will never be in total peace no matter who the leader is, because you can't make everyone happy. So in this case, he chose his own kind and the smartest ones to live life joyfully, which I find that decision to be the best and the obvious. He would choose his family and relatives over hens and sheep and horses. And choosing the smartest builds the country/farm. In Russia, had the Revolution not taken place; there would have not been any first man in space or other progressions (well there would have been, but it would have taken much longer). Like what Mr. Walker’s assistant (Mr. Goldenthaw) said, “War speeds up developments”.

Some of you say (Jillian) that the Revolution in Animal Farm didn’t do much difference because they ended up with what they started, but had the Revolution not taken place, they would be a poor farm, and sooner of later Jones would have died (and he had no children) so the farm would have been fought over by the neighbours, and since in that time these things will take long, then the animals would neglected and died anyway. OR, Jones didn’t die, but his drinking problem would only grow because the farm was poor, and as it happened a bit in the beginning, the animals would be neglected and die.

At least after the Revolution, the farm would still be working and although the farm will be mostly pigs, and other animals as slaves and dogs as “police”, they will continue advancing scientifically.

the seven commandments

2005-01-02T19:25:00.000-05:00

Below is a brief overview of how the pigs, namely Napolean broke the seven commandments over time to fit his wants and needs:
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy."Four legs good, two legs better" Napolean breaks this rule when he teaches the sheep this chant which completely goes against Animalism. This law is also broken when humans visit animal farm and Squealer walks on his hind legs.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. This law is broken when the dogs attack Snowball as well as when Boxer is sold to the Slaughter house.
3. No animal shall wear clothes. This law is broken when the pigs wear some of Mr. Jones' clothes and when the dogs wear collars.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed. The pigs sleep on beds inside the barn.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol. The pigs are seen drinking beer and whisky.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal. This commandment is broken when Boxer is sent to his death and when Napolean commands teh death of the animals who apparently have been communicating with Snowball-who was brutally chased out of the farm.
7. All animals are equal. In the beginning, this was easily the most important of all the commandments and in the last chapter, the animals begin to realize what has happened to the lives they once knew. The pigs and dogs are more intelligent than the other animals which immediatly creates an inequality. Furthermore, the pigs sleep inside the barn, recieve larger portions of food and trade with humans. This rule is than changed to "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." As I already mentioned in an earlier post, this is a terrible misuse of the word equal and takes advantage of the animals and their limited intelligence.
-i have seen the others and i have discovered that this fight is not worth fighting, and i've seen their mothers, and i will no other to follow me where im going....(The General-Dispatch)

Napoleon

2005-01-02T19:24:00.000-05:00

I see Napoleon as a very smart leader. Firstly he trained the dogs for his own protection. Secondly he uses the dogs to chase away his only enemy Snowball, and then he rules the farm by lying to the animals. After some animals protests he uses his dogs again to execute the pigs and sheep, to cover up his own deeds he orders Squealer to change the seven commandments. Lastly when he got the farm in his control he does whatever he wants.
Napoleon is a bad leader, but a smart one…

Similar?

2005-01-02T18:19:00.000-05:00

I know this book represents the russian revolution, but some parts of it remind me of what happened in World War II. Hitler also used lack of education to take advantage of and control people, and blamed almost everything on one group of people as Napoleon did to Snowball. Many actions of both Hitler and Napoleon's followers were motivated by hate. And before people comment on how different the 2 situations are, may i point out the "some parts" in the first sentance.

Napoleon

2005-01-02T18:08:00.000-05:00

As soon as a leader feels the need to use any sort of physical force to overtake whatever they are trying to control, you know there is something wrong. Napoleon went against everything "Animalisim" stood for as soon as he brought in the dogs, and it all went downhill from there.

Benjamin

2005-01-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

So far, we have bassicly overlooked Benjamin (the goat). Even in the beginning of Animal Farm Benjamin is sort of against the idea of Animalism. It seems to me that he is the only lower-class animal on the farm that seems to comprehend the changes that take place. An example of Benjamins superior intellegence:
"Fools! Fools!' Shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs. 'Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of the van?'
That gave the animals pause, and there was a hush. Muriel began to spell out the words. But Benjamin pushed her aside in the midst of a deadly silence he read: '"Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughter and Glue Boiler, Willingdon. Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied." Do you not understand what that means? They are taking Boxer to the Knackers!'"-page81-82
I see Benjamin as the voice of reality and truth, even though no one truly responds to him. Pherhaps if other animals had taken his concerns to heart they would not be left in the terrible political mess that is Animal Farm.
"When love goes to the highest bidder there can be no trust, and when there is no trust, there can be no love"-Moulin Rouge (good movie)

Beasts of England

2005-01-02T17:28:00.000-05:00

First, I will explain what each stanza means.

1. This stanza is telling all the animals that a better future awaits them – “Golden future time.”
2. This stanza explains that sooner or later a time will come when man will be over thrown and beasts will rule themselves – “Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown.”
3. This stanza convinces the animals that once men no longer rule them, they will be free – “Rings shall vanish from our noses”, etc.
4. This stanza informs the animals that food will be plentiful and everything will be theirs – “Riches more than mind can picture.”
5. This stanza gives the general idea that everything will be better once the humans are gone – “Bright will shine the fields of England”, etc.
6. This stanza lets the animals know that although man will someday be overthrown, they will have to work very hard to reach that point – “For that day we all must labour.”
7. Refer to stanza #1.

In my mind, the song Beasts of England does not refer to the Soviet national anthem, but to another song I found on the Internet. This song is called the Communist Internationale, and was sung by supporters of communism in the early 1900’s.

Arise ye prisoners of starvation Arise ye toilers of the earth For reason thunders new creation `Tis a better world in birth.

Never more traditions' chains shall bind us Arise ye toilers no more in thrall The earth shall rise on new foundations We are but naught we shall be all.

Chorus:
Then comrades, come rally And the last fight let us face The Internationale Unites the human race.

Final post

2005-01-02T17:06:00.000-05:00

Hey. I just wanted to wrap everything up before we go back to school, which I very much look forward to...

I guess that we have all agreed the following. If not, I'm telling you now:

Characters:
Mr. Jones = Czar Nicholas II
Napoleon = Stalin
Old Major = Karl Marx
Squealer = The Pravda (newspaper)
Dogs = secret police (KGB)
Other animals = lower class workers
Snowball = Lenin or Trosky
Boxer and Clover = proletariat
Mr. Frederick = Germany
Mr. Pilkington = Allies of WW II (i.e. England, France)
Pigs = loyalists
Moses = the Church
Pigeons = Soviet propaganda to other countries
Wild animals = other political parties

In regards to Snowball, Sarah has convinced me that Snowball represents Trosky, mainly because Trosky was chased out of the country, and later assasinated, but Lenin simply died. Stalin turned everybody against Trosky through the media, not unlike Squealer blaming anything that went wrong on Snowball.

The revolution that went underway in Russia later crumbled because of poor leadership. The animals of Animal Farm set out to be rid of the ways of the humans, but they later did everything but that thing: to not be like the humans. Their leader and his followers became corrupt to the point of actually adopting human manners. They manipulated things (i.e. the commandments) so that it would benefit only them, because the pigs felt that being like the human was better than being an animal, so that's why they changed all of the rules to be more human-like.

Well, that's it. I'm done. I will now end this with a quote from The Grim Grotto, mainly directed to half the class who haven't even started

"He who hesitates, is lost!"

See y'all tomorrow.

Hold on. Did I just say "y'all"?! YUCK!

back where they started

2005-01-02T17:03:00.000-05:00

The rebellion had no point. Things on animal farm were fine until Napoleon unjustly expelled Snowball. It was around that point where the "government" on animal farm began to become corrupt, and as Chet said, the animals began to act like the humans they got rid of in the first place. The original idea the animals had about the animal farm was a good one but, as Fangda and a few other people have said, once you are in power it is hard to not take advantage (not necessarily to that extent but take advantage none the less). I think that if there were less animals like the sheep, who blindly follow and would probably kill themselves if Napoleon told them it would help keep Jones away, and probably saw no problem with the way Jones was treating them in the first place, someone would have stopped Napoleon as soon as he tried to chase out snowball. The main problem is that because of the dogs, the animals are afraid to speak up for themselves and say something when they know that Napoleon is wrong (re-writing the commandments to meet his needs without consent of the other animals). So now because of the threat of loosing their lives and lack of education the animals are back where they started. Under the control of greedy and corrupt leaders.

Napoleon

2005-01-02T16:50:00.000-05:00

Firstly, as many people have pointed out, Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin. Both these leaders ruled with an iron fist and killed anyone who opposed them. Napoleon used his dogs and squealer to control the animals as Stalin used the KGB (Russia’s secret police) and media and propaganda to control his people. Napoleon, the cruel, selfish and corrupt pig, can also represent human weakness on a deeper level. No matter how good humans intentions are, power will always lead them down a path of corruption. This reminds me of a saying that I most likely heard from my father: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This basically means that the more power someone has, the more corrupt they will become. This is exactly what happened in Napoleon’s case, as well as political leaders all around the world.

My Favourite Character

2005-01-02T16:04:00.000-05:00

Throughout this story of lies, deceit and abuse, I grew to like one character. This character was Boxer, the horse. In the book, Boxer is a low class workman, forced to work long hours while getting little or no compensation for his labour. While this is true for the other animals in the book as well, Boxer has the best over all attitude. Whenever there is a setback, all he thinks about is working harder and getting the job done. He devotes his life to his work and never argues or has negative feelings about what must be done. While reading the book, I felt very bad for boxer because of how he was manipulated by the pigs. Because of his lack of intelligence, the pigs simply used him to help themselves and convinced him that what he was doing was for the better of the farm. Finally, when Boxer was no longer able to work, the pigs sent him away to have him slaughtered due to the fact that he could no longer produce; only consume. This was an evil thing for the pigs to do and it made me feel worse for Boxer than ever before.

The D.O.Gs

2005-01-02T13:51:00.000-05:00

About the dogs. My interpretation of them is that they worked for napolean like the KGB worked for Stalin. The dogs "expelled" Snowball, just like the KGB chased Leon Trotsky away. See how it all ties together? By the way, the KGB was the Russian Secret Police, like the FBI or the CIA. Ahhh the loveliness of history and literature.

Book Talk

2005-01-02T13:26:00.000-05:00

Personally, I dislike this book; it has too much politics in it, and no interesting conspiracies. And the fact that it is suppose to relate to the Russian Revolution takes all the creativity because (if you studied the Revolution) you would know exactly what happens. And Animal Farm is too short and doesn’t really expand on any of the characters that much (like Clover). And when something happens, it just happens, there is no other info about that (what is the aftermath of Boxer’s Slaughter?). Any way, that’s just my opinion. I have to go; I’ll expand on this later.

pigs

2005-01-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

have you seen those little piggies, crawling in the dirt....

Have any of you notice that Napolean is quite similar to Saddam Hussein?

Let start... they're both the leaders of a land that they took over by sending dogs out to eat they're opposition (not literally)

They both take advantage of the weaker, physically and mentally.

They both break the laws.

They kill the members of the other party.

They send other beings to speak for them in public.

They both have double chin.

I am basically summing up that piggies are evil, pink ruthless politicians that only care about the misery of others.

Questioning Authority

2005-01-01T18:41:00.000-05:00

I think that one of the main "themes" of the book would have to be the need for questioning authority. It is extremely easy for a government to take advantage of the general population, if the population refuses to question the goverment's choices, due to how naive the population may be.

In the book, Boxer uses the maxim "Napoleon is always right." This basically gives Napoleon infinite power, as the rest of the animals look up to Boxer. If the questioning of authority is absent, the authority can do - pretty much - whatever they want, without having to accept any consequences.

Just to add on, Napoleon is luckier than most, as his working class was hard-working and loyal. So, knowing how gullible the animals were, he could order them to do whatever he felt, and expected them to not only do it, but to work hard at it.

http://rikku.soulcake.net/stuff/gojyone.swf

I think this link perfectly represents the book. Or not.

Snowball

2005-01-01T18:31:00.000-05:00

Just to add on to Robbie. I think too that it is weird what Snowball did, Napoleon (being smarter then Snowball) ordered his trained dogs to kill (or intended) Snowball for his own control over the farm. After Snowball got chased away, Napoleon simply made up a lie to the animals so he can remain as a leader, and killed animals who opposed him. Snowball (after got chased away) seemed to have given up on the farm, assuming he thought he was going to get killed by the dogs that Napoleon trained. Orwell didn’t make any more appearance of the Snowball, so Napoleon used this to frame Snowball. If Snowball really was better then Napoleon he should have won back (or at least try to) his trust over the animal and prove Napoleon wrong.

Overall I feel that Snowball isn’t better himself as a leader, or it would be same as Napoleon (or could be better, but you never know). So Napoleon would have eventually become a leader (because he, looked to me had a leader spirit) and ruled over the farm. (I think example for this is Hitler, but prove me wrong…)

Snowball mystery

2005-01-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else find that the "expulsion" of Snowball was a bit strange? There were 9 dogs that suddenly appeared out of nowhere wearing something (i forget exactly what it is) brass. First of all, the book did not state them being fed and most dogs need food to live. Napolean didn't seem to care for them after taking them from the mother. And secondly, pigs don't stand a big chance running away from a dog. But he ran around from tens of yards and didn't get eaten. And it also states that he slid under a fence (or something similar) and wasn't hurt. If you can slide out you can surely slide back in.

Rebuddle Harrison!

2005-01-01T15:28:00.000-05:00

Near the end of the book, (and this is to back almost all of my comments) the animals hear Mr.Pilkington saying 'You have lower animals to contend with, we have lower classes'. That is a direct comparison to life, so Harrison, life as you described it in you last comment is not it. The lower class IS exploited by the higher classes.

I've run out of clever titles for my posts

2005-01-01T11:28:00.000-05:00

Hey, I just thought of a title: Response to Mrs. Tucker's Latest Question. Clever, eh?

Whenever you have a government, no matter what type, there will always be communal expressions of ideals and a common political language. In Animal Farm, other than the obvious things, there is the days when they shoot the rifle, in remembrance of the Battle of the Windmill, the formation of the rebellion, and Napoleon added his birthday into it. Other than the birthday part, this is closely related to some of our customs. We have Remembrance Day to commmorate those whi died in the war, and we celebrate the formation of Canada on July 1st.

For those who haven't said anything at all on this blog, you do realize that there is only two days left?

See you on Monday. Hooray.

2004-12-31T22:33:00.000-05:00

Napoleon can be metaphorically related to Osama bin Laden- incredibly smart, deceptive, and manipulative. I guess Napoleon is somewhat better since his MAIN objective is to exploit others and not to kill them.

Though Napoleon leads a strong "army" of dogs, Orwell has made it clear in the book that a strong enough physical body of the "low-class" animals existed to overtake and "usurp" (though not really "usurp") the power of the dogs and pigs. However, because cunning pigs know this, they suppress the urge to revolt because they are forevermore conveying the message, the farm is improving. It doesn't matter if you have the awesome military might of The United States of America or the pathetic Timbit-chucking infants of the Canadian "army", if will is not there then the fight can never be won.

Because the animals are doing these "services" to the pigs on their own free will- giving up their eggs, building a windmilll, etc., then we can only admire the brilliantness of Napoleon for holding Animal Farm in his hand.

We can also shun the stupid animals who fail to revolt, and change the structure of their government as they see fit (mmm.... capitalism).

Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Abuse of Language

2004-12-31T18:04:00.000-05:00

The plot of animal farm greatly relies on the manner in which the characters speak and effect each other. The pigs learned that by repeating themselves and using certain techniques like presenting a sort of ultimatum (you dont want Jone's to come back, do you?) they could easily persuade the other animals into believing just about anything. The pigs learn to abuse the english language by changing some of the seven commandments-“all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” this is a pathatic, unrealistic use of the word equal which takes advantage of the lower class animals who are tragically uneducated. In doing this, the pigs are abusing their power which they also do in many other ways; like making excuses early on in the novel to take extra apples and milk, or to drink beer, sleep in beds, and wear clothing. They eventually morph into that which they were originally against (as earlier mentioned by chet). Essentially, Animal Farm may be part of a vicious circle which simply repeats itself again and again and again- animals are unhappy with the state of society, overthrow the government through much hardship and again some clever animal will take advantage of the others and live like royalty.
Anyways, happy new year see you monday.
And mrs tucker, so much for you posting "every other day"....

The Low Class Animals

2004-12-31T15:43:00.000-05:00

I considered all the animals except the pigs and dogs "lower class." I'll start with the horses, Boxer and Clover. As Sam already mentioned, Boxer is very dedicated to his job, which was doing most of the work on the windmill(s). If Boxer wasn't around for the middle part of the book where a lot of the work and trade was being done, the farm would have been in trouble. Boxer was a major part in the two main battles, and was the main animal in building the windmills. Without him, I don't think the windmill would have been built, and the farm would have probably not won the Battle of the Windmill. Boxer was a slave to Napoleon, and believed everything he said. Personally, I think Boxer should have seen right through Napoleon and realized what he was doing all along, and overthrown him, because he certainly had the power to. As for Clover, Orwell didn't really expand on her character very much. She also believed everything Napoleon said. Another group of lower class animals were the hens. They were forced to lay hundreds of eggs a week by Napoleon just so they could be traded off for money or other merchandise, which only benefit the pigs and dogs. So all in all, the hens were being robbed of their future babies just so Napoleon and the rest of the pigs could have some luxuries. The sheep were yet another group of underfed and underprivelaged animals on the farm. Besides Boxer, they did a lot of work on the windmills. One thing I noticed about the sheep was that Orwell would commonly kill them off be it in a battle, by execution, or just by natural causes, it seemed as though sheep were always dying. Orwell portrayed Benjamin the donkey as a quiet character. He did what he was told, like help build the windmills and fight in battles, but I had the feeling that he didn't really like Napoleon as a leader.

Overall, I felt that all these animals were slaves of Napoleon. In real life, when you do work for someone, you get paid. In the book, the animals didn't get any rewards for working hard. For all the work they did, it would always turn out that the pigs would get extra food, or some other kind of luxury.

Napoleon

2004-12-30T20:38:00.000-05:00

I feel that Napoleon did what most "politicians" or "leaders" do in real life. At first, snowball and Napoleon ran Animal Farm together. When Snowball was expelled, Napoleon became the one animal in command. Before Napoleon was in power, he all the other animals abided by the Seven Commandments, without altering them. I don't think Napoleon realized how he would feel when he had total power over the farm. Without any consent of the other animals, Napoleon went ahead and did whatever he wanted, and in the end, he broke all seven of the Commandments, before changing what was engraved in the wall in the barn.

While I was reading the book soon after Snowball was expelled, I thought that Napoleon was acting as a relatively good leader. But as soon as he "got the hang" of being the leader, he started to do what he wanted, which in my opinion, was wrong. Personally, I liked Snowball, and how he ran the farm. I was upset to see him go, and I didn't like how Napoleon expelled him from the farm. When even the littlest damages were done, Napoleon put the blame on Snowball, which I don't think was right. Some of the things had to have been done by the animals on the farm, and Napoleon should have seen this before the day of the executions. But instead, Napoleon just put the blame on Snowball right away, just so he would look like a good leader in the eyes of the animals.

Ending

2004-12-30T11:10:00.000-05:00

Now that I have finished the book, I have discovered that my suspisions were true; the pigs have turned into humans. Ivan claims they haven't, but I disagree. The pigs have gone against everything that they and old Major set up at the begining. Also, the pigs used the animals, like Boxer, just to get what they wanted. They did not care about their other "comrades," except that they did all the work for them.

Delegates

2004-12-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

I was wondering if it was posible that some of the important character (ie Napolean, Snowball) represented more than one historical figure. I mean, there were so many more people than just Lenin, Stalin, or Marx. So far, it seems that we have only been able to agree on the fact that Marx=Old Major and Napolean=Stalin, which means that Snowball is Lenin. But what about Trostky, Rasputin, Kerensky? They must have had some fictional counterparts in the book.

2004-12-29T17:37:00.000-05:00

I think I may have found a possible answer as to what "Beasts of England"represents. There was a song penned by supporters of communism in the early 1900's called the "Communist Internationale".

Arise ye workers from your slumbers
Arise ye prisoners of want
For reason in revolt now thunders
And at last ends the age of cant.
Away with all your superstitions
Servile masses arise, arise
We'll change henceforth the old tradition
And spurn the dust to win the prize.
Chorus
So comrades, come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale unites the human race.
So comrades, come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale unites the human race.

See! It talks of the revolution and it was kind of a clan type of ssong. Ok. Hit me back. (As in post things about it!)

Excuses

2004-12-29T16:26:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, I'm writing from BC! Skiing! Cold! Although that has absolutely nothing to do with the book, it will explain why I haven't been writing for a long while. It's hard to get the Internet up here... My sister says “hi”.

Okay, about the book, they (the pigs) kept on blaming Snowball every time something went wrong (like the falling of the windmill), I think that Snowball didn’t even do it. I think that he ran off and decided not to risk his life trying to turn the animal government around (because it was already falling and why should he help the ones who betrayed him?). Napoleon just need an excuse to do the things he did, and Snowball was a good excuse. Just as Snowball (in my opinion) didn’t do the things he was accused of, neither did any of the other “bad people” like the neighbouring farmers torturing the animals in their farm (throwing dogs in the furnace, although that would make a tasty dish). The animals that admitted that they were in cahoots with Snowball and got slaughtered in public were probably forced to say that because of something else they did that displeased Napoleon like rebelling against the pigs or they caught them drunk or something that broke the Seven Commandments, because really, if you were aspirating against someone would you go up to them and say “I’m guilty, kill me”? And the pigs are too obnoxious to find out by themselves (dam drunks).

I agree with most people are saying about the windmill (I though of bring the point up during skiing last night, but I guess people beat me to it). The windmill represents the newly built USSR, and as the used the same things from the Old Russia (like Manner Farm) but changed them (like turning it to Animal Farm). And the windmill is supposed to be the new things that the new communist government built. The build for a long time (2 years [animal] = 30 years or more [in real life]) and then it some were broken because of a religious dispute.
Merry post-Christmas and post-Hanukah and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2004-12-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

One more thing. I'm not satisfied with the ending in this book. Though I realize that this book is more of a recount than a work of fiction, it would have better finality if it had an ending of some sort- preferably a tragic one to show people of the consequences of ignorance and over-conformity (i.e. all the animals die of a plague, all the animals are slaughtered by humans, all the animals kill each other debating over scraps of food, etc.)

2004-12-29T15:25:00.000-05:00

I remember when I used to say that communism was so good... another one of my many schemes went wrong. The idealism of communism is that everyone is equal, which is quite obviously reflected in the Commandments. The bending of these rules to suit those in power is nothing new. Communism forces us to give what little control we have of our own lives to those who are supposedly our superiors to govern. Who dictates our superiors? The usurpers-by-force usurpers.

Let's go usurp George Bush.

Mrs. Tucker

2004-12-27T21:28:00.000-05:00

My mother says that I shouldn't have to do homework over the Christmas holiday's, because it's supposed to be a break from school. Also, "Chet's busy doing FAMILY stuff over the break, we don't have internet at home............etc" At least I'm still doing it, though.

Pigs

2004-12-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

The pigs are power hungry, greedy, and take atvantage of the other animals, just because they are smarter. This is exactly what they accuse the humans of doing. They changed the seven comandments whenever they wanted, hogged the apples, and take the house all for themselves. They are turning into humans.

Animal farm

2004-12-27T20:58:00.000-05:00

Personally, I find this book really boring. Nothing really exciting happens, except for snowball being chased away, and the part where a bunch of animals admit to have listend to Snowball. Although I don't like the book, I find it interesting how the pigs keep changing rules and everyone, especially Boxer, falls for whatever Squealer and Napolean say.

Windmill

2004-12-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

From what I saw, I don't think anybody has yet posted about the windmill. I think Orwell uses the windmill to represent the Soviet industry. The many times the windmill was destroyed might represent the many difficulties the communists in Russia had while they were establishing their weapon industry. Eventually, just like the windmill, the Russian industry worked out and was quite efficient, even though people didn't really care about the well being of the workers and no safety precautions were taken. Oddly though, Orwell didn't write anything about a final failure of the windmill to symbolize the U.S.S.R.'s miserable failure in the cold war.

-Just guessing...post me with some insight..... :)

Alanna

P dot S dot I'm back from Dominican, and I don't have malaria.

Bye, everyone!

2004-12-26T17:02:00.000-05:00

I'm going to make this post brief because I have to leave soon.

I sort of agree with Sarah's logic. I do agree that Squealer is the media manipulating the workers, but I still kinda think that Lenin is represented by Snowball. Trosky did flee the country, while Lenin instead died. Yet Trosky fled to Mexico, and was assasinated with an ice pick, but in the book, Snowball wasn't seen again and wasn't assasinated. Trosky did flee because they wanted to kill him for "competing against Lenin", which would mean that Lenin is Napoleon, which would make no sense.

So, that's my position on things. I'm leaving to Jersey in a few hours, so I wont be able to make witty remarks to all of your comments and posts until the 29th.

See ya then!

(by the way Ben, as per request, I will shoot you for trying to think if other possibilities, if that's what you want)

Boxer

2004-12-22T18:10:00.000-05:00

hi...Although Orwell focuses much of the novel on Napolean(Stalin) and the other pigs and dogs, the lower class is also addressed. Boxer represents all good qualities of underclassman. Boxer is loyal and dedicated to his job. And most importantly Boxer blindly trusts in his leaders- without followers as naive as this -who are unable to recognize even the most obvious forms of political corruption- Napolean and the other pigs would never be able to convince others that putting in more work and getting less for themselves is true happiness.("But the luxuries of which Snowball had once taught the animals to dream, the stalls with electrical light and hot and cold water, and three day week were no longer talked about. Napolean had denounced such ideas as contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally."-page 86)

Second Posting

2004-12-21T23:04:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. I hope you are having a great break. Mr. Tucker and I are enjoying our time away from you guys!! (Kidding! ;-)
Thanks to all of you who are contributing worthwhile posts to the blog. Some posts are coming across as a waste of time. I can only hope that these same people make a concerted effort to provide some interesting insight at some point before I am left with a permanent bad impression.

<>To clear up some debates so we can move on: Farmer Jones does stand for the Russian Czar Nicolas II who was forced to abdicate his throne in late February, 1917. The minor revolts and the final revolt that led to his leaving the throne were predicted by Karl Marx before his death in 1883. Marx had spent the last 40 years of his life spreading his creed which encouraged discontented workers to overthrow non-communist political systems. Some of the leaders of the Marxist ideal were Lenin and Trotsky. Some of you (Sarah and Robert) picked up on the connection between Old Major and Karl Marx; many, including myself, agree with you. Both Old Major and Marx serve as the founder of a revolutionary creed – and both die before the revolutionary events they predicted. So, who were Lenin and Trotsky, and what does Old Major stand for?

So far, I haven’t been satisfied with any ideas that have been presented regarding Beasts of England. Although some have made an attempt, I’m still waiting for the right answer!! Do some research!

<>Now, for the next thought of the day: One thing that new regimes do as they assume power/control is to establish a common political culture, including: communal expressions of ideals (symbols and ceremonies) and a common political language. These are some of the tools that governments use to control its citizens (less cynically, governments use these tools to promote civic virtues). I don’t want to waste our time identifying the obvious examples (flag, chant, anthem, commandments), but if you find more subtle examples in the story, let us know.

Can you find examples of these tools in Canadian culture and discuss how they promote certain ‘behaviours’. For example, the flag is a symbol of respect in Canada. This respect is codified in law. The government has created a liturgy of respect for the flag, and they encode it with meaning: draped over a soldiers casket, half mast when someone dies, flown on sailing ships, shown during Olympic success, CBC ends broadcast with a flag shot, and it’s illegal to allow the flag to touch the ground in public. The respect, which was created by the government for the flag, is transferable to respect for the government inasmuch as the flag is a symbol of the government. The government has promoted the behaviour of respect (which is obviously in the government’s interest) by creating a symbol for the citizens to revere.

WARNING!

2004-12-20T09:27:00.000-05:00

The following may contain extremely serious material, and may offend some readers that aren't used to seeing Robert write relevant posts.
Reader and parental discretion is strongly advised.

Now that I have done a bit of research, I will now tell you my opinionated answer to Mrs. Tucker's question, plus answer my own question a bit from my previous post.
You should all know by now that Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin, besides the fact that it says it at the very beginning of the book (read cover-to-cover, people!). Stalin and his men (a.k.a. Napoleon and his dogs) were tyrranical; famine killed millions and they executed many of his rivals, such as Sergey Kirov. Stalin also forced through a series of ruthless social policies, brutally carried out in order to modernize his country, just like in the book with the windmill. Also, Napoleon making agreements with the humans is representative of Stalin signing the non-agression pact in 1939.
After reading about him in a World History book, I believe that old Major is represented by Karl Marx. I believe this because Marx was the one that inspired the communist movements, not carried it out. It states in my book that "he wanted all political power to belong to the working class", which is exactly what old Major's speech in Chapter 1 is all about. Therefore, out of process of elimination, Vladimir Lenin is represented by Snowball. Lenin was the one that introduced and led the full scale revolution, which led to the downfall of the monarchy, and the eventual establishment of a communist dictatorship in Russia. When Lenin died (when Snowball was banished), Stalin (Napoleon) took charge.
The "Beasts of England" song might be representative of one of Marx's books, like Communist Manifesto. It was published in 1848, and spread rapidly throughout the world. I don't think that Anna's theory about the song being representative of the National Anthem of Russia is entirely correct because not many countries other than Russia knew that Anthem.

This is entirely my opinion, so feel free to agree or disagree, and post your comments below. It would also be nice to hear from people other than Morgan, Anna, James, Fangda, and Sarah for a change.
See ya soon!

2004-12-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

The moral of this story (and the Russian Revolution) is clear- to remain vigilant and well-informed about all of the happenings around the world. The Red commies were instilled into power because of the ignorance and utter stupidity of the people- i.e. Boxer's maxim "Napoleon is always right." Capitalism has been the basis of incredible success in the West because of the fact that people are always suspicious of politicians. This is an amazing thing- not a deficit.

Communism cannot be without corruption. In fact, I don't even blame the people who become corrupt. It is only in human nature to do so. If people believe you that much, and you had nothing to lose, wouldn't you do the same as Napoleon?

Animals are stupid. That's why they can't run their own society!

2004-12-18T09:30:00.000-05:00

As I've said before, I think that Old Major represents Karl Marx. He had the maxim "Worker's Unite!", be engraved in the minds of everyone overworked and underpayed. His main goal was to overthrow the government. Lenin was part of the government already, if I am not mistaken. Also, Morgan, you said: "One of its leaders, Lenin, hoped to spread the Marxist revolution all around the world..." Marxist revolution refers to the revolution thought up by Karl Marx, a purely indifferent and original idea. Lenin abided by what Marx wanted: communism, while Karl Marx created and spread the word of communism as well as Marx. In my opinion, Old Major is like Marx because he founded the thought of animalism, where Lenin only spread the word.

To explain the Beasts of Englans anthem, I agree with morgan. They consider man a tyrant, and want him expelled. The animals see a future of them ruling the farm and over man-kind. "All must toil for Fredom's sake", they consider freedom to have control over the farm, which is what they wants. Done. The anthem is a long form of saying We Hate Humans. We Want Farm. Now.

English Beasts

2004-12-16T17:37:00.000-05:00

I decided to attempt to answer both of Mrs. Tuck's questions.

1. Who is the Russian-Revolution-Equivalent of Old Major?

Although many of you say that "Karl Marx" is the equivalent of Old Major, I think it is Lenin. Old Major was a pig which decided to plot (well, maybe just share) his ideas of rebellion against those in power (Czar Nicholas I for the Russians, and Mr. Jones for the pigs). According to http://members.aol.com/sniper43/russian.html, which I hope is a reliable source, Lenin grew extremely popular with his plans to overthrow Czar Nicholas I.

"One of its leaders, Lenin, hoped to spread the Marxist revolution all around the world..."

This is exactly what Old Major was attempting to do, and eventually did do, by sending the pigeons to spread the word to other farms.

Back to Russia. Lenin gained a huge following, labeled the "Red Guard." He used this power to successfully take over Russia himself. At first, most Russians looked at this a good change, as Nicholas I was quite a naughty fellow; however, Lenin eventually took advantage of his power.

This is almost exactly what Old Major did (minus the whole DYING thing in the beginning; I'm saying these were his ideas). He plotted rebellion, carried it out, and assumed power.

Remember, this is my opinion (although we all know that I'm always right). You have the right to disagree.

2. Explain and expand on the "Beasts of England" song.

I shall first post the entire song, for everyone's pleasure.

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, Beasts of every land and clime, Hearken well and spread my tidings Of the golden future time.
Soon and late the day is coming, Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown, And the fruitful fields of England Shall be trod by beasts alone.
Rings shall vanish from our noses, And the harness from our back, Bit and spur shall rust forever, Cruel whips no more shall crack.
Riches more than mind can picture, Wheat and barley, oats and hay, Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels Shall be ours upon that day.
Bright will shine the fields of England, Purer shall its waters be, Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes On the day that sets us free.
For that day we all must labour, Though we die before it break; Cows and horses, geese and turkeys, All must toil for freedom's sake.
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, Beasts of every land and clime, Hearken well and spread my tidings Of the golden future time.

(Sorry for the bad formatting; Copy and pasted from a website)

Practically the entire poem/song is literal, so I see no need to "translate" word-by-word. In summary, I feel that the entire song is just a little anthem for those who have hope that a successful rebellion will, one day, occur (remember, it was first shared before the rebellion).

FIN

2004-12-16T13:19:00.000-05:00

I am using green to show information and purple to show my questions or comments for you to respond to. Please avoid using colour so these statement will stand out and be easier to find and read when the blog becomes more full.

In order to properly understand Orwell’s perspective in Animal farm, you need to understand the climate in which it was written. Animal Farm was published in August 1945. During the previous months, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler had all died, Churchill was voted out of office, Germany had surrendered and the U.S. had been dropping atomic bombs over Japan. Stalin was the only strong, surviving leader of his time. Although Russia had been a member of the allied forces during WWII, in subsequent years, Russia was finding they had less in common with other allied nations.
Although George Orwell was a socialist, he criticized the Russian Socialist state. He considered himself a free thinker and felt that many countries that considered themselves socialist were not ‘democratic socialists’ as he understood this term. As Animal Farm was published while Russia was still an ally, Orwell had difficulty getting his book published.

I appreciate that you have started to make connections between the characters in he story and real life. Be sure you do your research before making statements on the blog; some of your symbolism is incorrect... As well, please use Word to type your blogs before posting; otherwise, re-read your work for errors - this assignment is for English after all!!

The majority of Chapter One is filled with the speech given by Old Major in the barn that first night. Who does Old Major represent and what does he stand for?
In Chapter One, “Beasts of England” is introduced. What does this song represent and what is the meaning behind some of it’s stanzas? Poetry? Ouch!

2004-12-16T08:35:00.000-05:00

As sort of an add-on to my last post:

I think that Mollie is relative to the selfish people of Russia during the revolution. She is vain, and can be swayed very easily with little persuassion. If one side tempts her with what she wants, she's all theirs; however she is fairly neutral becasue she is too vain to hold her own opinion, so she is not permanantly on one side or the other. Also, Benjamin can be compared to the skeptical people of Russia at that time. He things nothing is ever going to change and is quite suspicious about the revolution. So we know that Stalin is represented by Napolean, so I think moses is represented by Religion. Although inatimate, religion meant a lot during the russian revolution. The heavy communists were pretty much against him, as he spread the word of sugermountain (or heaven) and got in their way (by their I mean Snowball and Major). Napolean (or Stalin) let Moses (or Relgion) stay becasue it taught animals to work and not complain. Snowball is like another leader of communism during the Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky. Trotsky was a great public speaker, (IF YOU HAVENT READ THE BOOK DON'T CONTINUE READING!!!) and was extremely peruasive. He was a pure communist and was forced out by the KBG (which is relative to Napoleans dogs, who chased out Snowball). There's also Squeeler, who has a big mouth and talks a lot. He's like the propaganda and media in the Russian Revolution. He convinced animals to believe Napolean, like the media convinced people to believe Stalin. So on that note, Napolean used Squealer, the dogs and Moses to persuade the animals to belive him as Stalin used the media, the KBG (secret police) and the church to get others to believe him his... beliefs. Good bye.

me again, here to give you more pointless opions...

2004-12-16T08:24:00.000-05:00

I believe that Snowball could represent Lenin and the whole farm represent the Red Army because Snowball was very defionite on to what he wanted to happen and tols the animals all the plans, where Napoleon was more secretive and thinking about other things them just how to improve the farm. The whole farm represents Russia (obviously) and the other neighbouring farms represent other contries (as they sympathised Mr. Jones (a.k.a. the bad aspect of the czar), they were thinking about somehow getting something good out of this revolution for themselves) and Mollie would represent the refugees who missed the old life and wanted to go back to the farmers (or kings). I agree with Sarah about Karl Marx being represented as Major, because he gave the animals ideas about the revolution.

Moreover, I think that the pigs are going to be the wealthy and rich people during the revolution because at first they will take things and make excuses and then the general public willl begin to dislike the pigs for the are suppose to be all equal, but the pigs get the milk and the apples. Once this happens, i believe that the whole structure will colaples and creat a greater gap between the rich and the poor (Mr. Tucker's lectures).

The Russian Revolution!!

2004-12-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it's well-known that Animal Farm is a medaphor of the Russian Revolution. We have Mr. Jones, the farmer, who is similar to Czar Nicholas II, who was a poor leader to the people he ruled and was cruel and only wanted wealth and power. Then the are the of teachers and inventors of communism and animalism (is that a word?) in their worlds: Major on the farm, and Karl Marx in Russia ("Workers Unite!" Marx wanted to take over the government, as Major wants to take over the farm). Chet, I guess that answers your quiery (if that was spelled wrong, i appoligize, Microsoft Word at the moment is DEAD!) So there you go, my first comment stating that Animal Farm is a fantasy world of the Russian Revolution and full-out communism at its finest.

A bit about Robert's Post... and more

2004-12-15T19:30:00.000-05:00

Firstly, I doubt that the pig is suppose to represent Stalin in the Russian revolution for Stalin was still alive after the revolution started and was quite active during the revolution, unlike the Major who died before it started (beginning of chapter twelve) and served no purpose but creating an idea of something that could happen. Also, I don’t exactly understand why this story has to relate to the Russian revolution, for it can be any other revolutions where the citizens disliked the government structure and decided to create a radical change thinking it would be better overall.

Personally, I disagree with the animal’s decision and I think that by removing a leader and trying to revolutionize would only end up in anarchy or very poor construction. If this novel is referring to the Russian revolution, the populous that rebelled in the Russian revolution only found that after they had killed the king (or the “czar”) that they were of worse then they had been. Sure, after Russia revolutionized, they became into a massive union (USSR) and was one of the two leading countries in the world, the outside was immense and colossal but they were breaking down in the inside. The people didn’t not like the change and the stress they were put under, and as fast as the USSR was built it had fallen. Now it is a 2nd world country that is trailing behind its old glory, so if the animals rebel because they think they can do better, they probably will get shot, hunted, or slaughtered for their acts and sold.

Question

2004-12-15T18:18:00.000-05:00

Morgan here.

Do we post our thoughts in new topics - such as this one - or in comments - such as my comments in Adam's and Fangda's topics?

Feel free to delete this topic.

Yay! I'm communicating over the internet! ;)

2004-12-15T17:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, lets get serious. I just wanted to respond a bit to Asley's comment. Please don't be offended by my critisism.
Animals don't do everything for us, do they? You said that "animals provide food, (for some people they provide shelter) they provide clothing and other stuff." They don't neccesairily provide the food and clothing, they are just victims of our cruelty and greediness. Where else do we get our expensive sirloin steaks and our fur coats. Even so, that doesn't mean that i do not agree with the animal rebellion, because I partially do. If I were in any of the animal's shoes, I would definetely want to kick the humans out of the barn ASAP! The animals are treated so cruely because they are taken advantage of. They don't know any better than to work, work, work. But, (and I don't mean to go all religious on y'all) but doesnt it state in the first chapter of the Bible/Torah that man was created to govern over animals? That's just how it works in this world: Man rules over all! That is why I only half agree in the rebellion, even though I know that this book is symbolic of the Russian revolution, and animals could never do most of the things stated in this book.
With that being said, I have a question for you. I do not know a lot about the Russian revolution, so besides the fact that Stalin is represented by Napoleon the pig, do any of the other characters represent real people in that time? Please reply. I'm lonely.

Peace.

1st Chapter

2004-12-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to point out an intresting part in the first chapter when Old Major speaks:

" Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give mive milk, he does not lay eggs he is to weak to pull the plow, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet, he is the lord of all the animals"

This quote pretty much explains how ironic it is that humans have everyone doing the work for them, and that the humans only take and respond with delegating more work to others so they can take more for themselves.

Adam

1st chapter

2004-12-14T19:58:00.000-05:00

The "Moses" character in the first chapter is amazing. He, unlike the rest of the overly accepting and oppressed animals of the farm, chose to take a stand against his people's "slavery", and this is quite obvious reminiscent of a certain biblical passage...
I love Moses' hugely attacking and reckless stance upon the sins of man. Unlike most of the pathetic politicans of today, he actually dares to be out on a wing, although it is quite obviously that his opinion is shared by the entire population of animals.
Homo sapiens have dominated the Quaternary Era because of our intellect. Moses says, near the middle of page 5, "Only get rid of man, and the produce of our labour would be our own." However, without a being with superior intellect and direct leadership, the group will fall into chaotic anarchy. Obviously, because of Moses' utter stupidity he does not see this.
The raven calls man a tyrant. Tyrants are defined as beings who are in power, but do not deserve to be in power. As said before, there must always be a leader. Leaders must be smart, and homo sapiens are the smartest of the smart.

vote hillary clinton

Getting Started

2004-12-08T14:04:00.000-05:00

Alanna said this was easy, but I'm not so sure. Since I'm stuck here at home with no class to keep me occupied, I thought I'd spend some time setting up this blog to keep YOU busy during the winter break!! Heaven only knows you'd have nothing else to do during those long two weeks if it wasn't for me...