Notesale: Turn your study into money

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Q1) On page 8, re-read from “But they woke at dawn as usual…” to “it was all
their own”
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In the line: “they
cropped mouthfuls of the sweet summer grass” it is suggested that even the taste of
the grass is heightened due to the animals’ new-found freedom
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The
sibilance of these two words also emphasises the beauty of both the day and the
ability to do whatever they want
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This is reinforced by the “clear morning light”, where pathetic fallacy is used to
create a sense of utopia (and even the Sublime) in both the reader and the animals
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This language also contrasts the prosaic nature of the novel, portraying the animals
as joyful and childlike
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It could
also provoke images of a new energy amongst the animals and their disbelief of the
situation as they “gambolled round and round”
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This gives a dream-like quality to their
freedom from oppression
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However the animals’ reactions are best summed up in one word:
“ecstasy”
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The words “At last” imply that some time has passed since
the last paragraph - this could also perhaps reflect the impatience of the animals and
how Snowball is much more efficient than them in his work
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This sense of darkness could also
foreshadow, later in the novel, Napoleon’s manipulation of the Seven
Commandments, which make it “impossible to tell” which is pig and which is man
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The word “barely” implies that Napoleon’s speech was much shorter
than Snowball’s - this stands out as strange to the reader as it appears that Snowball
makes a bigger effort to convince the animals and steals the limelight away from
Napoleon
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This mirrors how the
animals are kept in the dark about many of the pigs’ plans
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This sudden change in focus could reflect Snowball and
Napoleon’s arguments as well as the other animals’ opinions of them
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This shift
could also highlight how easily people can be indoctrinated under a dictatorship,
much like Stalin’s regime in following the Russian Revolution of 1917
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To what extent do you agree?
Orwell uses the form of an animal fable to convey the consequences of being
passive and the abuse of power and control that can lead on from it
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These supposedly formed an “unalterable law”
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This
is one of the first examples of how the animals are being manipulated due to their
lack of education
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We later find out that the pigs had been stealing the milk and apples, however
Squealer is used as a messenger by the pigs to brainwash the animals into thinking
otherwise
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This shows
Squealer’s persuasive nature and his symbolism - he could be part of Orwell’s
allegory for the 1917 Russian Revolution
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He states that milk and apples “contain substances absolutely
necessary to the well-being of a pig”, using logos to get the animals to come round to
his way of thinking
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The use of ethos here not only exploits the animals’ stupidity, but also
makes them feel guilty for ever questioning him
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This blackmail also highlights scaremongering tactics which are used by
Napoleon to silence and scare the animals into submission
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We see Squealer’s talent for rhetoric later on when he manages to convince the
other animals that Snowball was to blame for the windmill’s destruction
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This causes the

animals to be “shocked beyond measure” and once again highlights the power of
language in the novel
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Of course, the erosion of people’s own
thoughts was even clearer in how the British described Stalin as “Uncle Joe” - they
were blind to his brutal regime
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