An Analysis of Animal Farm by George Orwell: Themes and Characters

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of George Orwell's Animal Farm, examining the novel's key elements. It begins with an overview of the storyline, highlighting the animals' rebellion against their farmer and the subsequent betrayal. The essay explores Orwell's use of the third-person omniscient point of view and the symbolic nature of the characters, emphasizing how they represent human traits and undergo significant transformations. The setting of the farm in England is discussed in relation to its allegorical representation of Russia during a period of political turmoil. The essay also delves into the use of figurative language, such as simile, metaphor, and symbol, to convey deeper meanings. Prominent symbols like the farmhouse, the windmill, and the seven commandments are analyzed for their significance. The essay aims to help readers understand the actions of the characters and the actual occurrences in the targeted society. This student essay offers valuable insights into the themes, characters, and literary techniques employed in Animal Farm.

Running head: Animal Farm 1
Animal Farm
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Animal Farm
Animal Farm is a short novel written during 2nd World War by George Orwell. The storyline is
about a collection of farm animals that turn against their farmer. They expect to craft an
environment where all animals can be happy, free, and equal. Eventually, nevertheless, they are
all betrayed and the farm finally remains worse than it was before. Orwell uses Third Person
Omniscient point of view in this book to relate this story. With third person omniscient, the
reader of this novel is aware of the feelings and thoughts of a number of characters, perhaps even
all - thus the 'omniscient' tacked on the ending. Like most third person omniscient storytellers,
Orwell is kind of a nonentity. The reader is not aware who it is, whether it is an animal or a
person, but that is all right since it does not actually matter for the storyline. The narrator does
not take sides and one can tell this by the passive manner he phrases things like, “The work of
teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised
as being the cleverest of the animals (Orwell, 1945).”
By necessity, in symbolic story characters are two-dimensional figures that the storyteller creates
in order to serve up the rationale of the original theoretical agenda. Since they have to have a
heart-to-heart association with the thematic targets of the satiric driving force of the story, they
might fail to have the intricacy of real people in the actual society. Some of the trivial characters
in Animal Farm are unmistakably envoy of trouble-free human features. All their actions are
intended to bring out the qualities of the real people they represent in the targeted society.
Characters in this story undergo significant changes during the course of the tale. As they
encounter conflicts from other characters, they transform and change their character traits. The
donkey, for example, as the story commences, shows he is optimistic for a change but towards
the end, he has seen everything and therefore hopes for nothing (Orwell, 1945).

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The Animal Farm is set in place on a farm in England. Nevertheless, location, the time, and flow
of events in this book are sardonic of Russia at a time of a major period of Russian political
turmoil (1917 - 1945). This setting is very important in interpretation of this novel. One aspect of
its setting is time, or at what occasion the story was written. However, time is ambiguous. There
is no chronological indication in point of fact provided in the book, but readers can deduce that
Animal Farm most directly envoys the struggle for power of early 20th century in Russia
between the rebellion in 1917 and ascend of communalism. Another aspect of Orwell’s work
setting is location, or place of the tale. In the book, what was earlier deemed as Manor Farm is
now Animal Farm, renamed after the animals dominated and chased the human out of the firm.
The setting of farm is set in England in a rustic countryside connecting the Frederick and
Pilkington farms, which are perceived to symbolize Capitalist administration, specially England
and Nazi Germany, in that order (Orwell, 1945). The farm setting aids to demonstrate the way
social vices like corruption rises with power, in particular in governmental dominion. Farms
require a noteworthy quantity of divergent work to operate properly, much like a nation. Orwell
utilizes an English farm, rather than a Russian one, to maybe convey the message nearer to
home.
One of the primary objectives of fictional texts is to articulate as much as they can and as briefly
as possible, using few words to attain an utmost efficiency. In this case, figures of speech,
particularly simile, metaphor and symbol have a critical role, as they include metaphorical
connotation of words further than their bookish implication. Prominent symbols in the book
Animal farm are the farmhouse, the windmill, and the seven commandments (Orwell, 1945). The
Farmhouse symbolizes the supremacy equation that rules the affiliation between the pigs and the
rest of the animals on the farm. The windmill as a symbolic is showing the incredible influence

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of the pigs as well as their astonishing capability to control the other animals. The seven
commandments are tremendously figurative owing to the actuality that they demonstrate both the
exploitation in "Animal Farm" and the disparities between the working animals and the pigs. By
use of figurative language, Orwell intends the readers fully comprehend and ask rhetorical
questions concerning the deeds of the characters. He wants them to sympathize and feel for the
characters, the protagonists, who are suffering as a result of the villains’ actions. Through the
words and actions of the characters used figuratively, the audience can understand the actual
occurrences in the targeted society.

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References
Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm. United Kingdom.