Old Major's Ideology and the Corruption of Power in Animal Farm, Slides of Russian

Download Old Major's Ideology and the Corruption of Power in Animal Farm and more Slides Russian in PDF only on Docsity! 26 CHARACTERS Old Major key things about Old MajorFive Old Major is important because his speech presents the ideology on which the revolution is based, but his words sound ironic after the pigs take control. 1. Just as Karl Marx set out the theory of Communism, so Old Major devises Animalism. 2. He is twelve years old and considered wise, so everyone comes to listen. 3. His dream of a better life for all animals is explained in the song ‘Beasts of England’, which is similar to the left-wing political anthem ‘The Internationale’. 4. He views all humans as the enemy of animals. 5. His teaching is finally overturned by the pigs, who exhibit all the human vices he warns against. Even his skull, a symbol of his teaching, is removed from beneath the flagpole and buried. does Old Major think of humans?What zz Humans are responsible for everything that is wrong in the animals’ lives. zz For their own purposes, humans use animals’ labour, take what animals produce and slaughter them. zz Man only cares about himself, but ‘Tyrant Man shall be o’erthrown’. can the animals’ lives change?How zz They can rebel and then be free and well fed. zz They will have a glorious future, including ‘Riches more than mind can picture’. do Old Major’s words become ironic?How zz Old Major warns the animals about false arguments: they believe Squealer. zz He says animals have no common interests with Man: Napoleon trades with the neighbouring farmers. He says man is the only enemy and all animals are friends: Pilkington dines with Napoleon and animals are executed. zz He warns that no animal must ever ‘tyrannize over his own kind’: purges take place and the pigs carry whips. zz He dreams of ‘the golden future time’: things worsen by the end of the novel. 27Needs more work Getting there Sorted! My progress CHARACTERS Old Major 1. Old Major identifies what he sees as the problem: ‘Man is the only real enemy we have.’ (Chapter 1) 2. He is wrong in his vision of the future: ‘Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.’ (Chapter 1) 3. Equally ironically, he thinks that without a change, even Boxer will be sold: ‘Jones will sell you to the knacker’ (Chapter 1) 4. He has a clear vision: ‘All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.’ (Chapter 1) 5. He devises Animalism: ‘we are all brothers’ (Chapter 1) Five key quotations How can I show the importance of Old Major’s speech? You can write about how his ideas are at first adopted but then distorted as the plot unfolds. At the beginning of the novel, the animals find Old Major’s words inspiring, but they never achieve the benefits he expects. He criticises Man: ‘Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever’ but Orwell shows that the root of the animals’ problems is actually greed. This is shown through the pigs, who only pretend to follow Old Major’s ideas and instead adopt men’s vices, becoming just as greedy and tyrannical as Farmer Jones ever was. AO2AO1 Exam focus Topic sentence introduces the point Point is further explained Quotation embedded to support point Further development of point Look through Old Major’s speech and notice how he convinces the animals of his ideas, by giving examples and using persuasive phrasing, including rhetorical questions. Note it! Finish this paragraph to show how Orwell uses irony in Old Major’s speech. Use one of the quotations from the list. The irony of the example Old Major gives, of Farmer Jones selling even Boxer . . . . . . . . . . Now you try!