Summaries Interpretations Nineteen Eighty-Four

8/11/2019 Summaries Interpretations Nineteen Eighty-Four

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from then on it has "een difficult to remem"er anything, "ecause the #arty changes history

constantly to their own "enefit (see ou"lethink 3 #olitical !ystem*. After the eercises

/inston goes to work at the 2initrue (2inistry of Truth*, where his 7o" is to alter records,

and once altered, to throw them into the 2emory 5ole where they are "urnt. or eample

$.$. ($ig $rother* has promised that there will "e no reduction of the chocolate ration, "utthere has "een one, so /inston has to rewrite an old article, where the speech of $.$. is

reported. At dinner /inston !mith meets !yme, a philologist, who is working on the 11th

edition of The ewspeak ictionary (see ewspeak 3 #olitical !ystem*. !yme eplains the

main character of their work on this dictionary. uring their con%ersation the telescreen

announces that the chocolate ration has "een increased to + g a week, whereas yesterday

it was cut down to + g a week. /inston wonders whether he-s the only person with

memory who isn-t inflicted with ou"lethink. As he looks around in the dining room he

catches the eye of the dark3haired girl he had dreamed of the same night. $ack home again

he makes an entry in his diary a"out his meeting with a prostitute three years ago. 5e

remem"ers her ugliness, "ut ne%ertheless he had se with her. /inston had a wife, "ut she

was %ery stupid and 7ust following the orders of the #arty, which said that there may only "e

se to produce 6new material6 for the #arty, and that se for personal pleasure is a crime.

Then /inston thinks a"out the #arty and "elie%es that the only hope lies in the #roles who

constitutes o%er 8) of Oceania:s population. ater he remem"ers another fact of his past 3

;ones, Aaronson and 0utherford, the last three sur%i%ors of the original leaders of the

0e%olution. They were arrested in 19


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to the shop, where he finds a pink piece of glass with a piece of coral inside which he "uys.

2r ?arrington, the owner of the shop leads him upstairs to show him an old3fashioned room.

/inston likes the room "ecause of its warmth and of course "ecause there are no

telescreens. /hen /inston lea%es the shop he suddenly meets the dark3haired girl in the

street. 5e now "elie%es that this girl is an amateur spy or e%en a mem"er of the Thought#olice, spying on him. The net morning he meets the girl in the 2inistry of Truth, and in the

moment she passes, she falls down and cries out in pain. /hen /inston helps her up, she

presses a piece of paper into his hand. At the first opportunity he opens it and finds the

startling message& 6' lo%e you6 written on it. or a week he waits for an opportunity to speak

with her. inally he is successful, and he meets her in the canteen where they fi a meeting.

!ome time later they meet at the fied place, and there the girl gi%es /inston precise

instructions how to get to a secret place on !unday. 't is !unday, and /inston is following

the girl-s directions. On the way he picks some "lue"ells for her. And then finally she comes

up "ehind him, telling him to "e @uiet "ecause there might "e microphones hidden

somewhere. They kiss and he learns her name& ;ulia. !he leads him to another place where

they cannot "e o"ser%ed. $efore she takes off her "lue party3o%erall, ;ulia tells /inston that

she is attracted to him "ecause of something in his face which shows that he is against the

#arty. /inston is surprised and asks ;ulia if she has done such a thing "efore. To his delight

she tells him that she has done it scores of times, which fills him with a great hope. E%idence

of corruption and a"andon always gi%es him with hope. #erhaps the whole system is rotten

and will simply crum"le to pieces one day. The more men she has had, the more he lo%es

her, and later as he looks at her sleeping "ody, he thinks that now e%en se is a political act,

a "low against the falseness of the #arty. /inston and ;ulia arrange to meet again. /inston

rents the room a"o%e 2r ?arrington:s 7unk shop, a place where they can meet and talk

without the fear of "eing o"ser%ed. 't is summer and the preparations for 65ate /eek6, an

enormous propaganda e%ent, are well forthcoming, and during this time /inston meets ;ulia

more often than e%er "efore. ;ulia makes him feel more ali%e, she makes him feel healthier,

and he e%en puts on weight. One day O-$rien speaks to /inston in the 2inistry of Truth. 5e

refers o"li@uely to !yme, the philologist, who has %anished a couple of days earlier and is

now, as it is called in ewspeak, an unperson. 'n doing so O-$rien is committing a little act

of thoughtcrime. O-$rien in%ites /inston to his flat, to see the latest edition of the ewspeak

dictionary. /inston now feels sure that the conspiracy against the #arty he has longed to

know a"out 3 the $rotherhood, as it is called 3 does eist, and that in the encounter with

O-$rien he has come into contact with its outer edge. 5e knows that he has em"arked on a

course of action which will lead, in one way or another, to the cells of the 2inistry of o%e.

!ome days later /inston and ;ulia meet each other to go to the flat of O-$rien, which lies in


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the district of the 'nner #arty. They are admitted to a richly furnished room "y a ser%ant. To

their astonishment O-$rien switches off the telescreen in the room. (ormally it is impossi"le

to turn it off.* /inston "lurts out why they ha%e come& they want to work against the #arty,

they "elie%e in the eistence of the $rotherhood and that O-$rien is in%ol%ed with it. 2artin,

O-$rien-s ser%ant "rings real red wine, and they drink a toast to Emmanuel oldstein, theleader of the $rotherhood. O-$rien asks them a series of @uestions a"out their willingness to

commit %arious atrocities on "ehalf of the $rotherhood and gets their assent. They lea%e,

and some days later /inston gets a copy of 6The $ook6, a "ook written "y Emmanuel

oldstein, a"out his political ideas. ow it is 5ate /eek and suddenly the war with Eurasia

stops, and a war with Eastasia starts. This of course means a lot of work for /inston. 5e has

to change doBens of articles a"out the war with Eurasia. e%ertheless, /inston finds time to

read the "ook. The "ook has three chapters titled, 6/ar is #eace6, 6'gnorance is !trength6

and 6reedom is !la%ery6, which are also the main slogans of the party. The main ideas of

the "ook are&

1. /ar is important for consuming the products of human la"our> if this work were "e

used to increase the standard of li%ing, the control of the party o%er the people would

decrease. /ar is the economic "asis of a hierarchical society.

+. There is an emotional need to "elie%e in the ultimate %ictory of $ig $rother.

. 'n "ecoming continuous, war has ceased to eist. The continuity of the war

guarantees the permanence of the current order. 'n other words, 6/ar is #eace6

4. There ha%e always "een three main strata of society> the Cpper, the 2iddle and the

ower, and no change has "rought human e@uality one inch nearer.

=. ?ollecti%ism doesn-t lead to socialism. 'n the e%ent, the wealth now "elongs to the

new 6upper3class6, the "ureaucrats and administrators. ?ollecti%ism has ensured the

permanence of economic ine@uality.


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#arty. $ut suddenly reality crashes in. 6/e are the EA6, he says to ;ulia. An iron %oice

"ehind them repeats the phrase, the picture on the wall falls to "its to re%eal a telescreen

"ehind it. Cniformed man thunder into the room and they carry /inston and ;ulia out.

/inston is in a cell in what he presumes is the 2inistry of o%e. 5e is sick with hunger and

fear, and when he makes a mo%ement or a sound, a harsh %oice will "awl at him from fourtelescreens. A prisoner who is dying of star%ation is "rought in, his face is skull3like. ater

the man is "rought to 60oom 116 after screaming and struggling, and e%en offering his

children-s sacrifices in his stead. O-$rien enters. /inston thinks that they must ha%e got

him, too, "ut O-$rien says that they got him long time ago. A guard hits /inston, and he

"ecomes unconscious. /hen he wakes up he is tied down to a kind of "ed. O-$rien stands

"eside the "ed, and /inston feels that O-$rien, who is the torturer, is also somehow a friend.

The aim of O-$rien is to teach /inston the techni@ue of dou"lethink, and he does this "y

inflicting pain of e%er3increasing intensity. 5e reminds /inston that he wrote the sentence& 6

reedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four6. O-$rien holds up four fingers

of his left hand, and he asks /inston how many there are. /inston answers four a couple of

times, and each time the pain increases (this is not done to make /inston lie, "ut to make

him really see fi%e fingers instead of four*. At the end of the session, under hea%y influence

of drugs and agony, /inston really sees fi%e fingers. ow /inston is ready to enter the

second stage of his integration (1. earning, +. Cnderstanding, . Acceptance*. O-$rien now

eplains how the #arty works. The image he gi%es of the future is that of a "oot stamping on

a human face 3 for e%er. /inston protests, "ecause he thinks that there is something in the

human nature that will not allow this> he calls it 6The !pirit of 2an6. O-$rien points out that

/inston is the last humanist, he is the last guardian of the human spirit. Then O-$rien gets

/inston to look at himself in the mirror. /inston is horrified "y he sees. The unknown time

of torture has changed him into a shapeless and "attered wreck. This is what the last

humanist looks like. The only degradation that /inston has not "een through, is that he has

not "etrayed ;ulia. 5e has said anything under torture, "ut inside he has remained true to

her. /inston is much "etter now. or some time he has not "een "eaten and tortured, he

has "een fed @uite well and allowed to wash. /inston realises that he now accepts all the

lies of the #arty, that for eample Oceania was always at war with Eastasia, and that he

ne%er had the photograph of ;ones, Aaronson, and 0utherford that dispro%ed their guilt.

E%en gra%ity could "e nonsense. $ut ne%ertheless /inston has some unorthodo thoughts

that he cannot suppress. $ut now it is time for the last of the three steps, reintegration.

/inston is taken to 0oom 11. O-$rien says that the room 11 is the worst thing in the

world. or each person it is his own personal hell. or some it is death "y fire or "urial ali%e.

or /inston it is a cage containing two rats, with a fiture like a fencing mask attached, into


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which the face of the %ictim is strapped. Then there is a le%er that opens the cage, so that

the rats can get to the face. O-$rien is approaching with the cage, and /inston sense the

"ad smell of the rats. 5e screams. The only way to get out of this is to put someone else

"etween himself and the horror. 6o it to ;ulia6, he screams in a final "etrayal of himself.

/inston is released, and he is often sitting in the ?hestnut Tree ?afF, drinking Gictory inand playing chess. 5e now has a 7o" in a su"3committee, that is made up of others like

himself. On a cold winter day he meets ;ulia, they speak "riefly, "ut ha%e little to say to each

other, ecept that they ha%e "etrayed each other. A memory of a day in his childhood comes

to /inston:s mind> it is false, he is often trou"led "y false memories. 5e looks forward to the

"ullet, they will kill him with some day. ow he realises how pointless it was to resist. 5e

lo%es $ig $rother

Characters

Winston Smith

Orwell named his hero after /inston ?hurchill, England-s great leader during /orld /ar ''.

5e added a common last name& !mith. The action of this no%el is "uilt around the main

person, /inston !mith, and therefore the understanding of his personality and his character

is important for the understanding of the whole "ook. /inston was "orn "efore the !econd

/orld /ar. uring the /ar, there was a lack of food, and /inston had taken nearly all of the

food that was allocated to the family, although his younger sister was star%ing to death. 'n

1984, /inston often dreams of this time, and he often remem"ers how he once stole the

whole piece of chocolate that was gi%en to the family. ' think that /inston now (1984*

somehow regrets his egotistic "eha%iour. 5e also sees a kind of link "etween his "eha%iour

and the "eha%iour of the children that are educated "y the #arty. These children persecute

their own families (#arsons*. 5e finally realises his and the #arty-s guilt. To my mind /inston

is a sort of hero, "ecause he is aware of the danger that he has encountered. !o, for

eample, he knew from the %ery "eginning that his diary would "e found. And as one can

see, the things that are written in this "ook (that freedom is to say that two and two makes

four* are used against him later. 5e also knew that his illegal lo%e affair was an act of

re%olution, would "e disclosed "y the Thought #olice. $ut ne%ertheless he is also somewhat

nai%e. 5e has opened his mind to O-$rien "efore he was sure that he was also against the

#arty.

Julia


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may ha%e "een thinking a"out figures in certain religious faiths when he drew $ig $rother.

The mysterious, powerful, od3like figure who sees and knows e%erything 3 "ut ne%er

appears in person. To 'nner #arty mem"ers, $ig $rother is a leader, a "ogeyman they can

use to scare the people, and their authorisation for doing whate%er they want. 'f any"ody

asks, they can say they are under orders from $ig $rother. or the unthinking proles, $ig$rother is a distant authority figure. or /inston, $ig $rother is an inspiration. $ig $rother

ecites and energises /inston, who hates him. 5e is also fascinated "y $ig $rother and

drawn to him in some of the same ways that he is drawn to O-$rien, de%eloping a lo%e3hate

response to "oth of them that leads to his downfall.

!lot

The plot has three main mo%ements, corresponding to the di%ision of the "ook in three

parts. The first part, the first eight chapters, creates the world of 1984, a totalitarian world

where the #arty tries to control e%erything, e%en thought and emotion. 'n this part, /inston

de%elops his first unorthodo thoughts. The second part of the no%el deals with the

de%elopment of his lo%e to ;ulia, someone with whom he can share his pri%ate emotions. or

a short time they create a small world of feeling for themsel%es. They are "etrayed,

howe%er. O-$rien, whom /inston thought was a re"el like himself, is in reality a chief

in@uisitor of the 'nner #arty. The third part of the no%el deals with /inston:s punishment.

inally he comes to lo%e $ig $rother. enerally, the plot is %ery simple& a re"el, a lo%e affair

with a like3minded, capture, torture, and finally capitulation. Apart from ;ulia, O-$rien, andof course /inston, there are no important characters> there is no attempt to create a range

of social "eha%iour, and the comple personal interactions therein, all traditional concerns of

the no%el. 'ndeed, one of Orwell-s points is that life in 1984 has "ecome totally uniform. !o

the traditional no%el would "e unthinka"le. 'n fact, /inston is the only character worth

writing a"out> all the other characters are half3ro"ots already. !o one could say that the plot

was "uilt around /inston:s mind and life. This ga%e Orwell the opportunity to focus on the

reaction of the indi%idual to totalitarianism, lo%e, and cruelty.

!olitical System

"he !arty

The #arty of Oceania is made up of a"out 19) of the whole population of Oceania:s

mainland. enerally, one could di%ide the #arty into the 'nner #arty, which is compara"le to


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the communist nomenclature, and the Outer #arty. /inston !mith himself is a mem"er of

the Outer #arty. The mem"ers of the 'nner #arty hold high posts in the administration of the

country. They earn compara"ly much money, and there isn-t a lack of anything in their

homes, which look like palaces. The people of the Outer #arty li%e in dull grey and old flats.

$ecause of the war there is often a lack of the most essential things. The life of the Outer#arty is dictated "y the #arty, e%en their spare time is used "y the #arty. There are so3called

community hikes, community games and all sorts of other acti%ities. And refusing

participation in this acti%ities is e%en dangerous. The life of a #arty mem"er is dictated from

his "irth to his death. The #arty e%en takes children away from their parents to educate

them in the ideology of 'ngsoc. (One can find this also in the communist future plans.* The

children are taught in school to report it to the Thought #olice when their parents ha%e

unorthodo thoughts, so3called 6thoughtcrimes6. After their education, #arty mem"ers start

to work mainly for one of the four 2inistries (2inipa, 2initrue, 2inilu%, 2iniplenty*. The

further life of a 6comrade6 continues under the watchful eyes of the #arty. E%erything people

do is recorded "y the telescreens. E%en in their homes people ha%e telescreens. Each

unorthodo action is then punished "y 67oycamps6 (ewspeak word for Iforced la"our

camps6*.

!roles

The proles make up a"out 81) of the population of Oceania. The #arty itself is only

interested in their la"our, "ecause the proles are mainly employed in industry and on farms.

/ithout their la"our, Oceania would "reak down. espite this fact, the #arty completely

ignores this social caste. The curious thing a"out this "eha%iour is that the #arty calls itself

socialist, and generally socialism (at least in the "eginning and middle of this century* is a

mo%ement of the proletariat. !o one could say that the #arty a"uses the word 6'ngsoc6.

Orwell again had pointed at another regime, the aBis, who had put 6socialism6 into their

name. One of the main phrases of the #arty is 6#roles and animals are free6. 'n Oceania, the

proles li%e in %ery desolate and poor @uarters. ?ompared with the districts where the

mem"ers of the #arty li%e, there are far fewer telescreens, and policemen. And as long as

the proles don-t commit crimes (crimes in our sense, not in the sense of the party 3

Thoughtcrime* they don-t ha%e any contact with the state. Therefore in the districts of the

proletarians one can find things that are a"olished and for"idden to #arty mem"ers. or

eample, old "ooks, old furniture, prostitution and alcohol (mainly "eer* Ecept 6Gictory in6

all of these things are not a%aila"le to #arty mem"ers. The proletarians don-t participate in

the technological de%elopment. They li%e like they used to do many years ago. To my mind,


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the #arty ignores the #roles "ecause they pose no danger to their rule. The working class is

too uneducated and too unorganised to pose any real threat. !o there is not really a need to

change the political attitudes of this class.

Ne#speak

ewspeak is the official language of Oceania and has "een de%ised to meet ideological needs

of 'ngsoc, or English !ocialism. 'n the year 1984, no"ody really uses ewspeak in speech

nor in writing. Only the leading articles are written in this 6language6. $ut it is generally

assumed that in the year += ewspeak will replace Oldspeak, or common English. The

purpose of ewspeak is not only to pro%ide a medium of epression for the world3%iew and

mental ha"its proper to de%otees of 'ngsoc, "ut to make all other methods of thought

impossi"le. Another reason for de%eloping ewspeak is to make old "ooks, or "ooks which

were written "efore the era of the #arty, unreada"le. /ith ewspeak, ou"lethink will "e

e%en easier. 'ts %oca"ulary is constructed so as to gi%e eact and often %ery su"tle

epression to e%ery meaning that a #arty mem"er could properly wish to epress, while

ecluding all other meanings and also the possi"ility of arri%ing at them "y indirect methods.

This is done partly "y the in%ention of new words, "ut chiefly "y eliminating undesira"le

words "y stripping such words as remained of unorthodo meanings whate%er. enerally

ewspeak words are di%ided into three groups& the A, $(also called compound words* and

the ? Goca"ulary.

A-Vocabulary: The A3Goca"ulary consists of the words needed in "usiness and e%eryday life,

for such things as drinking, working, and the like. The words of this group are nearly entirely

composed of Oldspeak words, "ut in comparison, their num"er is %ery small. e%ertheless,

the meaning of these words is much more defined, and it allows no other interpretation.

B-Vocabulary:The $3Goca"ulary consists of words which ha%e "een deli"erately constructed

for political purposes. /ithout the full understanding of the principles of 'ngsoc it is %ery

difficult to use and understand these words correctly. The $3Goca"ulary consists in all cases

of compound words, two or more words merged together in an easily pronouncea"le form.

Eample& goodthink 3 oodthink means %ery roughly orthodoy, or if it is regarded as a %er"

6to think in a good manner6. The word is inflected as follows& noun3%er" goodthink> past

tense and past participle, goodthinked> present participle, goodthinking> ad7ecti%e,

goodthinkful> ad%er", goodthinkwise> %er"al noun, goodthinker. The $3/ords are not

constructed according to any etymological plan. The words of which they are made up can

"e placed in any order, mutilated in any way which makes them easy to pronounce (e.g.

thoughtcrime, crimethink thinkpol, thought police*. 2any of the $3/ords are euphemisms.


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!uch words for instance as 7oycamp (forced la"our camp* or 2inipa (2inistry of #eace in

charge of the army*, mean almost eact opposite of what they appear to mean. Again some

words are am"i%alent, ha%ing the connotation good when applied to the party, and "ad when

applied to its enemies. enerally, the name of any organisation, "uilding, and so on is cut

down to a minimum num"er of sylla"les and to a minimum of length, in an easilypronouncea"le way. This isn-t only in ewspeak> already other, especially totalitarian

systems, tended to used a""re%iations for political purpose (aBi, ?omintern, estapo, ....*.

$ut the difference is that only in ewspeak this instrument is used deli"erately. The #arty

intended to cut down the possi"ility of associations with other words.

C-Vocabulary:The ?3/ords consist of technical and scientific terms.

rom the foregoing account it is %ery easy to see that in ewspeak the epression of

unorthodo opinions, a"o%e a %ery low le%el, is impossi"le. 't is only possi"le to say 6$ig

$rother is ungood6. $ut this statement can-t "e sustained "y reasoned arguments, "ecause

the necessary words are not a%aila"le. 'deas inimical to 'ngsoc can only "e entertained in a

%ery %ague and wordless form, and can only "e named in %ery "road terms. One can in fact

only use ewspeak for political unorthodoy, "y illegitimately translating some of the words

"ack into Oldspeak. or eample 6All mans are e@ual6 is a possi"le ewspeak sentence, "ut

only in the same sense in which 6All man ha%e the same weight6 is a possi"le Oldspeak

sentence. 't does not contain a grammatical error, "ut it epresses a palpa"le untruth, i.e.

that all man ha%e the same siBe, weight ..... The concept of political e@uality no longer eist.

'n 1984, when Oldspeak is still the normal means of communication, the danger

theoretically eists that in using ewspeak words one might remem"er their original

meanings. 'n practice, it is not difficult for a person well grounded in ou"lethink to a%oid

doing this, "ut within a couple of generations e%en the possi"ility of such a lapse will ha%e

%anished. A person growing up with ewspeak as his sole language will no more know that

e@ual had once had the secondary meaning of 6politically e@ual6 (also free,....*. There will "e

many crimes and errors which will "e "eyond of the power to commit, simply "ecause they

are now nameless and therefore unimagina"le. 't is to "e foreseen that with time ewspeak

words will "ecome fewer and fewer, their meanings more and more and more rigid, and the

possi"ility of putting them to improper uses always diminished. !o when Oldspeak has "een

once and for all superseded the last link with the past will ha%e "een se%ered.

$ou%lethink

ou"lethink is a kind of manipulation of the mind. enerally, one could say that ou"lethink

makes people accept contradictions, and it makes them also "elie%e that the party is the


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only institution that distinguishes "etween right and wrong. This manipulation is mainly done

"y the 2initrue (2inistry of Truth*, where /inston !mith works. /hen a person that is well

grounded in ou"lethink recogniBes a contradiction or a lie "y the #arty, then the person

thinks that he is remem"ering a false fact. The use of the word ou"lethink in%ol%es

dou"lethink. /ith the help of the 2initrue, it is not only possi"le to change written facts, "utalso facts that are remem"ered "y people. !o complete control of the country and its

citiBens is pro%ided. The fact of faking history had already "een used "y the aBis, who told

the people that already erman Jnights "elie%ed in the principles of ational !ocialism.

Sym%olism

'n 6Nineteen Eighty-Four6 Orwell draws a picture of a totalitarian future. Although the action

takes place in the future, there are a couple of elements and sym"ols taken from the

present and past. !o, for eample, Emmanuel oldstein, the main enemy of Oceania, is, as

one can see from the name, a ;ew. Orwell draws a link to other totalitarian systems of our

century, like the aBis and the ?ommunists, who had anti3!emitic ideas, and who used ;ews

as so3called scapegoats, who were responsi"le for all "ad and e%il things in the country. This

fact also shows that totalitarian systems want to ar"itrate their perfection. Emmanuel

oldstein somehow also stands for Trotsky, a leader of the 0e%olution, who was later

declared an enemy. Another sym"ol that can "e found in Nineteen Eighty-Four is the fact

that Orwell di%ides the fictional superstates in the "ook according to the di%ision that can "e

found during the ?old /ar. !o Oceania stands for the Cnited !tates of America , Eurasia for0ussia and Eastasia for ?hina. The fact that the two socialist countries Eastasia and Eurasia

(in our case 0ussia and ?hina* are at war with each other, corresponds to our history (Csuri

ri%er*. Other, non3historical sym"ols can "e found. One of these sym"ols is the paperweight

that /inston "uys in the old 7unk3shop. 't stands for the fragile little world that /inston and

;ulia ha%e made for each other. They are the coral inside of it. As Orwell wrote& 6't is a little

chunk of history, that they ha%e forgotten to alter6. The 6olden ?ountry6 is another sym"ol.

't stands for the old European pastoral landscape. The place where /inston and ;ulia meet

for the first time to make lo%e to each other, is eactly like the 6olden ?ountry6 of

/inston:s dreams.


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Work : Summaries & Interpretations : Clegryman's

$aughter

Ine(

!ummary ("elow*

?haracters 3 orothy 5areK The 0e%erend ?harles 5are (orothy:s father*K 2r /ar"urtonK

o""yK 2rs ?ree%yK !ir Thomas

Summary

eorge Orwell:s 6A ?E0H2A:! AC5TE0L is set in a small %illage, Jnype 5ill, in thecounty of !uffolk.

The main character of the no%el is $orothy )are, the only child of the 0e%erend ?harles

5are, 0ector of !t. Athelstan:s.

The first part of the "ook is a description of orothy:s life as a clergyman:s daughter in rural

England in the 19s.

5er day is filled completely with church work. !he has a round of %isits to "e made e%ery

day ecept !undays.

6(...* she made from half a doBen to a doBen %isits at parishioners: cottages. !he penetrated

into cramped interiors and sat on lumpy, dust3diffusing chairs gossiping with o%erworked,

"lowsy housewi%es> she spent hurried half3hours gi%ing a hand with the mending and the

ironing, and read chapters from the ospel (...*.6 Mpage 48N

orothy is an acti%e mem"er and leader of the !unday !chool, the irl uides, the $and of

5ope and the ?ompanionship of 2arriage as well as attending the 2others: Cnion.

6orothy was honorary secretary of three (...* leagues, "esides "eing captain of the irl

uides. The $and of 5ope and the ?ompanionship of 2arriage languished almost

mem"erless, and the 2others: Cnion only kept going "ecause gossip and unlimited strong

tea made the weekly sewing3parties accepta"le.6 Mpage 49N
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The only mem"er of the parish to whom orothy en7oys a special relationship is 2r

/ar"urton. orothy likes his sarcastic wit and sense of humour, although he is neither a

church3goer nor an accepted mem"er of the %illage community.

2r /ar"urton is scandal3ridden, as he 6had li%ed, or rather stayed periodically, in open

concu"inage with a woman whom he called his housekeeper.6

65e was a man of independent income, calling himself a painter (...* and he had come to

Jnype 5ill two years earlier and "ought one of the new %illas "ehind the 0ectory. (...* #eople

in town said that he was a 6proper old rascal6> young girls were afraid of him, not without

reason.6 Mpage DN

At the time the story takes place, the woman 3 the 6housekeeper6 3 had already left him.

One e%ening, orothy %isits 2r /ar"urton after working for the parish play (she is making a

pair of 7ack "oots to "e worn "y the children*.

After a %i%id con%ersation, 2r /ar"urton accompanies her "ack home. 5e tries to kiss her

good"ye and at that %ery moment, the town3gossip, a "usy3"ody neigh"our, 2rs !emprill,

looks out of her window and notices the incident.

This will ha%e an important effect on the rest of her life.

There is a sudden cut in the "ook.

The reader now finds himself in ondon and to his great surprise, orothy is wandering the

streets of ondon, in tattered clothes, not knowing who she is or where she comes from.

Apparently she suffers from amnesia.

A group of young people pick her up 3 primarily "ecause she still has some money with her 3

to go hop3picking.

orothy introduces herself as Ellen. This is the name which first comes into her mind, as it is

the name of her daily help in the 0ectory, in Jnype 5ill.

orothy:s life, which is now Ellen:s life, can "e di%ided into three parts&


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Firstlythe hop3picking in Jent, together with East Enders and gypsies. Orwell descri"es the

poor life farm la"ourers lead.

6't was %ery cold on those !eptem"er mornings (...*. Hour "reakfast was always the same 3

"acon, tea and "read fried in the grease of the "acon. /hile you ate it you cooked another

eactly similar meal, to ser%e for dinner, and then, carrying your dinner3pail, you set out for

the fields, a mile3and3a3half walk through the "lue, windy dawn, with your nose running so

in the cold that you had to stop occasionally and wipe it on your sacking apron. (...*

As the afternoon wore on you grew almost too tired to stand, and the small green hop lice

got into your hair and into your ears and worried you, and your hands, from the sulphurous

7uice, were as "lack as a egro:s ecept that they were "leeding. (...*

/hen you got "ack to the camp, at half past si or therea"outs, you s@uatted down "y thestream that that ran past the huts, and washed your face, pro"a"ly for the first time that

day. 't took you a"out twenty minutes or so to get the coal"lack filth off your hands. (...*

Hou cooked your supper, which was usually "read and tea and "acon again. (...* $efore you

had got to eaten your supper you were dropping with sleep. (...* /hen finally you managed

to drag yourself away to your nest of straw, it was none too warm or comforta"le. (...* 't is

not only prickly, "ut, unlike hay, it lets in the draught from e%ery possi"le direction. (...*

As to what you earned "y hop3picking, it was 7ust enough to keep "ody and soul together,

and no more.6 Mpages 19, 11, 11=11


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6 orothy took Pippins!eeklyand laid it across her knees, feeling herself far too sleepy to

read. A huge headline stared her in the face& 6#A!!'O 0A2A ' ?OCT0H 0E?TO0H6.

(...* or the space of fi%e seconds or therea"outs orothy was actually gaBing at a "lackish,

smudgy "ut @uite recognisa"le portrait of herself.6 Mpage 1+N

5er memory slowly comes "ack to her. !he writes to her father and asks him for money to

come home. As she gets no reply to any of her three letters and it:s the end of the hop3

picking season, she finds herself destitute in ondon.

ow, in this secondpart of Ellen:s (orothy:s* life, Orwell descri"es the down3and3out life of

the poorest of the poor in ondon.

#eople looking for work, like Ellen (orothy* in the "eginning.

5owe%er, she can:t find a 7o", 7ust "y ringing at door"ells and asking to "e a kitchen maid.

!he seeks shelter in the li"rary during the day and sleeps on the streets at night.

6(!cene& Trafalgar !@uare. imly %isi"le through the mist, a doBen people, orothy among

them, are grouped a"out one of the "enches near the north parapet.*

"orothy(starting up*& 6Oh, this cold, this cold ' don:t know whether it:s worse when you:re

sitting down or when you:re standing up. Oh, how can you all stand itP !urely you don:t ha%e

to do this e%ery night of your li%esP6

Charlie(singing*& 6?heer up, cully, you:ll soon "e dead $rrh #erishing ;esus Ain:t my fish3

hooks "lue6 (...*

or the rest, she grew used to the life that she was leading 3 used to the enormous sleepless

nights, the cold, the dirt, the "oredom and the horri"le communism of the [email protected] Mpage

1D+, 18=N

E%entually, when orothy is in prison for sleeping on the streets, a rich uncle finds her and,

on her father:s re@uest, takes her in.

5e then finds her a 7o" as a teacher in a small pri%ate school.


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The thirdpart of Ellen:s life is a description of her life as a teacher who suffers the moods

and greediness of the owner of the school, 2rs ?ree%y, who practically lets her star%e.

Ellen (orothy* has no other alternati%e "ut to stay on.

!he tries to impro%e the teaching conditions and succeeds in arousing the children:s

interests in school su"7ects "ut she is "rought down again "y 2rs ?ree%y and the parents,

who only want the children to learn how to read, write and do simple arithmetic and nothing

more intellectually.

They don:t want their children to de%elop independent minds.

6$ut one day a "rilliant idea struck her. !he "ought a roll of cheap plain wallpaper at an

upholsterer:s shop, and set the children to making a historical chart. (...* The children

always, orothy had found, showed more intelligence when it was a @uestion of making

something instead of merely learning.6

Mpage +++N

6$ut of course, it could not last.6

6't:s the fees ':m after, notde#eloping the childrens minds. The parents don:t want it6 (the

modern kind of teaching* 6and there:s an end of it. /ell, there:s 7ust two su"7ects, that they

dowant their children taught, and that:s handwriting and arithmetic.6 Mpage +=3+


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Although she left the %illage under mysterious circumstances she is accepted again "y the

parish as the gossip, 2rs !emprill, had to lea%e the %illage after "eing li"elled.

The %illagers feel guilty of ha%ing thought "adly of orothy and are now particularly nice

towards her.

!he resumes her way of life like "efore and the circle closes.

Characters

$orothy )are

orothy 5are is the main character in the no%el. !he is the clergyman:s daughter the story is

a"out.

!he is the only child of the 0e%erend ?harles 5are, 0ector of the small %illage of Jnype 5ill.

And this is practically all ' am going to say here.

't may seem a little strange, not gi%ing a characterisation of the main character, "ut ' don:t

think it wise to do so.

'n the part Contents' descri"ed orothy as a person, the sudden change in her personality,

caused "y her amnesia and her life.

' ga%e a short description of what her life as a clergyman:s daughter in the %illage was like,

her parish work, her work as leader of %arious church groups (2other:s Cnion, etc.*.

'n the second part ' showed what her life was like, li%ing under the most horri"le po%erty

and in the third part what life she led as a school teacher.

', too, ga%e a summary of orothy:s thoughts, of her own philosophy of life and what it is all

a"out. /hat more can you say a"out a person if you know his (her * opinion on life as a

wholeP

' think you and ' and e%ery"ody who read the "ook knows orothy and can 3 at least in

parts 3 identify with her.

To say more would "e repeating myself.


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"he *e+eren Charles )are ,$orothys .ather/

The 0e%erend ?harles 5are is a %ery typical clergyman of England in the 19s.

5e is said to "e a %ery difficult and moody man.

6#ro"a"ly no one who had e%er spoken to the 0ector for as long as ten minutes would ha%e

denied that he was a 6difficult6 kind of man.6 Mpage 1


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uncomforta"le hours of the morning to cele"rate 5oly ?ommunion e%ery /ednesday and

riday. $ut that a clergyman has any duties outside the four walls of the church was a thing

that had ne%er seriously occurred to him.6 Mpage 18N

5owe%er conser%ati%e and old3fashioned, ?harles 5are has his own thoughts of 7ustice.

/hen orothy appeals to him for help and money, when she is still with the hop3pickers or

later from ondon, he wants to help her, and orothy wrongs him in assuming he doesn:t

want to know anything a"out her, "ut he 7ust doesn:t know how to help her and so lets too

much time pass "y.

'n the end, he gets his cousin, !ir Thomas, to do something a"out orothy:s situation

0r War%urton

2r /ar"urton is practically the only mem"er of the %illage of Jnype 5ill whom orothy likes.

5e can "e regarded as her friend, although their relationship is of a curious kind.

2r /ar"urton 6was a man of independent income, calling himself a painter 3 he produced

a"out half a doBen mediocre landscapes e%ery year 3 and he had come to Jnype 5ill two

years earlier and "ought one of the new %illas "ehind the 0ectory. There he had li%ed, or

rather stayed periodically, in open concu"inage with a woman whom he called his

housekeeper.6 Mpage DN

5owe%er, "y the time the no%el is set the woman has left him.

2r /ar"urton is 6a fine, imposing3looking man, though entirely "ald (he was at great pain to

conceal this* and he carried himself with such a rakish air as to gi%e the impression that his

fairly siBea"le "elly was merely a kind of annee to his chest. 5is age was forty3eight, and

he owned to forty3four. #eople in town said that he was a 6proper old rascal6> young girls

were afraid of him, not without reason.6 Mpage 8N

orothy likes him although she knows of his "ad reputation.

!he %isits him in the e%enings and en7oys indulging in philosophical de"ates with him.

/hen 2r /ar"urton comes and takes her away from 2rs ?ree%y and "ack home again, he

proposes marriage to orothy, "ut she declines. 2r /ar"urton is more fascinated "y orothy

3 especially in the "eginning, when he can:t understand her religious "elief at all 3 than he is


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in lo%e with her. $ut "oth show great respect for the other and although orothy declines his

proposal, she %ery sincerely thinks it o%er.

No%%y

6o""y was twenty3si years old and was a widower, and had "een successi%ely a seller of

newspapers, a petty thief, a $orstal "oy, a soldier, a "urglar and a tramp.6Mpage 1N

65e had that happy temperament that is incapa"le of taking its own re%erses %ery seriously.

5e was always de"onair, always singing in a lusty "aritone %oice .6 Mpage 1N

6o""y counted it as a sin to pass a potato field without getting at least a pocketful. 't was

o""y who did most of the stealing, while the others kept guard. 5e was a "old thief.6 Mpage

9


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2rs ?ree%y is introduced further& 6Though she was not in the least dirty or untidy there was

something discoloured a"out her whole appearance, as though she li%ed all her life in a "ad

light> and the epression of her mouth, sullen and ill3shaped with the lower lip turned down,

recalled that of a toad. !he spoke in a sharp, commanding %oice, with a "ad accent and

occasional %ulgar turns of speech. Hou could tell her at a glance for a person who kneweactly what she wanted, and would grasp it as ruthlessly as any machine> nor a "ully

eactly 3 you could somehow infer from her appearance that she would not take enough

interest in you to want to "ully you 3 "ut a person who would make use of you and then

throw you aside with no more compunction than if you had "een a worn3out scru""ing3

"rush.6 Mpage 199N

This %ery precise description of 2rs ?ree%y right in the "eginning of the part in orothy:s life

as a school teacher with 2rs ?ree%y tells the reader eactly what to think of the

schoolmistress and what to epect of orothy:s life with her. E%en the last prediction (that

2rs ?ree%y would throw you away if she didn:t need you any more 7ust like a scru""ing3

"rush* is pro%ed correct when she fires Ellen (orothy*.

Actually, there is nothing more to add to Orwell:s description of 2rs ?ree%y. E%erything said

in this introductory description is pro%ed right "y 2rs ?ree%y:s actions and "eha%iour

towards orothy from her first to her last day and from the shared "reakfast to late at night.

Sir "homas

!ir Thomas is ?harles 5are:s cousin. 5e li%es in ondon. 5e is 6a widower, a good3hearted,

chuckle3headed man of a"out sity3fi%e, with an o"tuse rosy face and curling moustaches.

5e dressed "y preference in checked o%ercoats and curly3"rimmed "owler hats that were at

once dashingly smart and four decades out of date.6 Mpage 191N

65is chief characteristic was an a"ysmal mental %agueness. 5e was one of those people who

say 6on:t you knowP6 and 6/hat /hat6 and lose themsel%es in the middle of their

sentences.6 Mpage 191N

!ir Thomas has three children, 6the youngest "eing the same age as orothy6 Mpage 19+N.

5e is anious to sol%e the pro"lem of orothy:s situation as he is fed up of hearing his

relati%es discussed in the papers.


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6 As far as his own inclinations went !ir Thomas was not in the least anious to help his

cousins, for orothy herself he had ne%er seen, and the 0ector he looked on as a cadging

poor relation of the worst possi"le type. $ut the fact was that he had had 7ust a"out as

much of this 60ector:s aughter6 "usiness as he could stand. The accursed chance that

orothy:s surname was the same as his own had made his life a misery for the pastfortnight, and he foresaw further and worse scandals if she were left at large any longer.6

Mpage 191N

5e gi%es orders that a 7o" should "e arranged for orothy, so 6in the end e%erything was

arranged, and with surprising ease> not "y !ir Thomas, who was incapa"le of arranging

anything, "ut "y his solicitor, whom he had suddenly thought of consulting.6 Mpage 19


24/36


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help in a house that is going to "e pulled down in the future. Orwell has made notes of

doBens of houses in this region, and here are two eamples&

5ouse in /igan, near !choles @uarter&

?ondemned house, four rooms (two up, two down* R coal hole, walls falling to pieces, water

comes into upstairs rooms in @uantities, downstairs windows will not open. 0ent


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'n the sith chapter of the "ook, Orwell takes a look at the food of a family li%ing on the

dole, or on a %ery low wage. enerally, the food of an a%erage family costs fifteen shillings a

week, including fuel for cooking. Of course, these families could li%e on e%en less money, "ut

especially in the poor families one can see the trend not to "uy the cheapest, and most

nutritious things, "ut rather to "uy something 6 tasty6, in order to forget one:s dull life. Thistrend results in a general physical degeneration among the poor people. !o, for eample, in

industrial towns the mortality is at a %ery high le%el. Another fact that can "e o"ser%ed is

that hardly anyone, ecept children of course, has his own teeth. 'n the net chapter Orwell

criticises the ugliness of the industrial towns (e.g.& $irmingham, ?o%entry, orwich

2arket.....*

!art2

'n the second part Orwell descri"es his personal idea of socialism, and what socialism is like

in England. The general idea of Orwell:s is that socialism and communism are no longer

mo%ements of the working class. The mo%ement is lead "y the middle3class, the

"ourgeoisie. $ut firstly he eplains how the English class3system works. 'n $ritain it isn-t

possi"le to determine the class of a person "y simply looking at his income. 'n England the

tradition plays a %ery important part, and therefore one can find middle3class persons with

an income up to +, pounds a year, and down to pounds a year. The things that make

up a middle3class person are his "eha%iour, "irth and profession. The people around 4

pounds led a life on two social le%els> so, for eample, they had a standard of li%ingcompara"le to a well3situated worker, "ut knew e%erything a"out good "eha%iour, how to

gi%e a ser%ant a tip, how to ride a horse, a"out a decent dinner, although they could ne%er

afford a ser%ant or a good dinner. One could say that they are struggling to li%e genteel li%es

on what are %irtually working3class incomes. !o the colonies ('ndia and Africa* are %ery

attracti%e to this social caste, for the people would earn as much as in England (if they had a

7o" in the administration or army*, and could afford a ser%ant and many things more and,

what was most important, they could act like "ig gentleman. Another aspect of the class3

system in $ritain is the almost inherited re7ection of the lower classes. Orwell here tells a

story of his early "oyhood, when he felt that lower3class people were almost su"human, that

they had coarse faces, hideous accents, gross manners, and that they hated e%eryone who

was not like themsel%es. This re7ection somehow results from the time "efore the war (/orld

/ar One* when it was impossi"le or at least %ery dangerous for a well3dressed person to go

through a slum street. /hole @uarters were considered unsafe "ecause of hooligans. $ut

ne%ertheless the re7ection of the lower3class also has physical roots. !o the children of the


27/36

middle3class were always taught that the working3class smelled. And this is o"%iously an

impassa"le "arrier, for no feeling of like and dislike is so fundamental as a physical feeling.

?lass hatred, religious hatred, differences of education, of temperament, of intellect, e%en

differences of moral code can "e got o%er> "ut physical repulsion cannot. $ut what a"out

those middle3class people whose %iews are not reactionary "ut 6ad%anced6P $eneath hisre%olutionary mask, is he so much different from the otherP Are there any changes in his

ha"its, his taste and his manners, his ideology, as it is called in the communist 7argonP 's

there any change at all ecept that he %otes a"our or ?ommunistP 't can "e o"ser%ed that

the middle3classed communist still associates with the middle3class, still li%es among the

middle3class, and his tastes are those of a "ourgeois person. The main thing Orwell criticises

is that middle3class communists and socialists often speak against their own class, "ut that

they e%idently ha%e the "eha%iour and manner of a middle3class person. The socialists who

make propaganda for 6proletarian solidarity6 generally don-t e%en ha%e a lot of contact with

the class they are 6fighting for6. The only contact with the working3class that socialists

generally ha%e is with the lower3class intelligentsia at the %arious political workshops.

enerally, Orwell says that socialism is a nearly impossi"le thing.

Work : Summaries & Interpretations : nimal Farm

Summary

The story takes place on a farm somewhere in England. The story is told "y an all3knowing

narrator in the third person. The action of this no%el starts when the oldest pig on the farm,Old 2a7or, calls all animals to a secret meeting. 5e tells them a"out his dream of a

re%olution against the cruel 2r ;ones. Three days later 2a7or dies, "ut the speech gi%es the

more intelligent animals a new outlook on life. The pigs, who are considered the most

intelligent animals, instruct the other ones. uring the period of preparation two pigs

distinguish themsel%es, apoleon and !now"all. apoleon is "ig, and although he isn-t a

good speaker, he can assert himself. !now"all is a "etter speaker, he has a lot of ideas and


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he is %ery %i%id. Together with another pig called !@uealer, who is a %ery good speaker, they

work out the theory of 6Animalism6. The re"ellion starts some months later, when 2r ;ones

comes home drunk one night and forgets to feed the animals. They "reak out of the "arns

and run to the house, where the food is stored. /hen 2r ;ones sees this he takes out his

shotgun, "ut it is too late for him> all the animals fall o%er him and dri%e him off the farm.The animals destroy all whips, nose rings, reins, and all other instruments that ha%e "een

used to suppress them. The same day the animals cele"rate their %ictory with an etra

ration of food. The pigs make up the se%en commandments, and they write them a"o%e the

door of the "ig "arn.

They run thus&

1. /hate%er goes upon two legs is an enemy.

+. /hate%er goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.

. o animal shall wear clothes.

4. o animal shall sleep in a "ed.

=. o animal shall drink alcohol.


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with a human. $ut the pigs ensure them that there ne%er has "een such a resolution, and

that this was an e%il lie of !now"all. !hortly after this decision the pigs mo%e to the

farmhouse. The other animals remem"er that there is a commandment that for"ids sleeping

in "eds, and so they go to the "ig "arn to look at the commandments. /hen they arri%e

there they can-t "elie%e their eyes, the fourth commandment has "een changed to& 6oanimal shall sleep in "ed &ith sheets6. And the other commandments ha%e also "een

changed& 6o animal shall kill another animal without reason6, and 6o animal shall drink

alcohol in ecess6. !ome months later a hea%y storm destroys the windmill, which is nearly

finished. apoleon accuses !now"all of destroying the mill, and he promises a reward to the

animal that gets !now"all. The re"uilding of the mill takes two years. Again ;ones attacks

the farm, and although the animals defend it, the windmill is once again destroyed. The pigs

decide to re"uild the mill again, and they cut down the food rations to a minimum. One day

$oer "reaks down. 5e is sold to a "utcher, "ut apoleon tells the pigs that $oer has "een

"rought to a hospital where he has died. Three years later, the mill is finally completed.

uring this time apoleon deepens the relations with the neigh"ouring farm, and one day

apoleon e%en in%ites the owners of this farm for an inspection. They sit inside the

farmhouse and cele"rate the efficiency of his farm, where the animals work %ery hard with a

minimum of food. uring this cele"ration, all the other animals meet at the window of the

farm, and when they look inside they can-t distinguish "etween man and animal.

Sym%olism3Interpretation

The no%elAnimal Farmis a satire of the 0ussian re%olution, and therefore full of sym"olism.

enerally, Orwell associates certain real characters with the characters of the "ook. 5ere is a

list of the characters and things and their meaning&

'r (ones:2r ;ones is one of Orwell-s ma7or (or at least most o"%ious* %illain in Animal arm.

Orwell says that at one time ;ones was actually a decent master to his animals. At this time

the farm was thri%ing. $ut in recent years the farm had fallen on harder times and the

opportunity was seen to re%olt. The world3wide depression "egan in the Cnited !tates when

the stock market crashed in Octo"er of 19+9. The depression spread throughout the world

"ecause American eports were so dependent on Europe. The C.!. was also a ma7or

contri"utor to the world market economy. ermany along with the rest of Europe was

especially hard hit. The parallels "etween crop failure of the farm and the depression in the

19s are clear. Only the leaders and the die3hard followers ate their fill during this time

period. 2r ;ones sym"olises (in addition to the e%ils of capitalism* ?Bar icholas '', the


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leader "efore !talin (apoleon*. ;ones represents the old go%ernment, the last of the ?Bars.

Orwell suggests that ;ones was losing his 6edge6. 'n fact, he and his men had taken up the

ha"it of drinking. Old 2a7or re%eals his feelings a"out ;ones and his administration when he

says, 62an is the only creature that consumes without producing. 5e does not gi%e milk, he

does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catchra""its. Het he is lord of all the animals. 5e sets them to work, he gi%es "ack to them the

"are minimum that will pre%ent them from star%ing and the rest he keeps for himself.6 !o

;ones and the old go%ernment are successfully uprooted "y the animals. ittle do they know

history will repeat itself with apoleon and the pigs.

)ld 'a*or:Old 2a7or is the first ma7or character descri"ed "y Orwell in Animal arm. This

6pure3"red6 of pigs is the kind, grandfatherly philosopher of change 3 an o"%ious metaphor

for Jarl 2ar. Old 2a7or proposes a solution to the animals: desperate plight under the ;ones

6administration6 when he inspires a re"ellion of sorts among the animals. Of course the

actual time of the re%olt is untold. 't could "e the net day or se%eral generations down the

road. $ut Old 2a7or-s philosophy is only an ideal. After his death, three days after the "arn3

yard speech, the socialism he professes is drastically altered when apoleon and the other

pigs "egin to dominate. 't-s interesting that Orwell does not mention apoleon or !now"all

at any time during the great speech of old 2a7or. This shows how distant and out3of3touch

they really were> the ideals Old 2a7or proclaimed seemed to not e%en ha%e "een considered

when they were esta"lishing their new go%ernment after the successful re%olt. 't almost

seems as though the pigs fed off old 2a7or-s inspiration and then used it to "enefitthemsel%es (an interesting twist of capitalism* instead of following through on the old

2a7or-s honest proposal. This could "e Orwell-s attempt to dig !talin, whom many consider

to "e someone who totally ignored 2ar-s political and social theory. Csing Old 2a7or-s

apparent nai%ety, Orwell concludes that no society is perfect, no pure socialist ci%ilisation can

eist, and there is no way to escaping the e%il grasp of capitalism. (2ore on this in the

apoleon section.* Cnfortunately, when apoleon and !@uealer take o%er, old 2a7or

"ecomes more and more a distant fragment of the past in the minds of the farm animals.

Napoleon:apoleon is Orwell-s chief %illain in Animal arm. The name apoleon is %ery

appropriate since apoleon, the dictator of rance, was thought "y many to "e the Anti3

?hrist. apoleon, the pig, is really the central character on the farm. O"%iously a metaphor

for !talin, ?omrade apoleon represents the human frailties of any re%olution. Orwell

"elie%ed that although socialism is good as an ideal, it can ne%er "e successfully adopted

due the to uncontrolla"le sins of human nature. or eample, although apoleon seems at


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apoleon decides that !now"all must "e eliminated. 't might seem that this was a

spontaneous reaction, "ut a careful look tells otherwise. apoleon was setting the stage for

his own domination long "efore he really "egan 6dishing it out6 to !now"all. or eample, he

took the puppies away from their mothers in an effort to esta"lish a pri%ate police force.

These dogs would later "e used to eliminate !now"all, his arch3ri%al. !now"all representseo awidowitsch Trotsky, the arch3ri%al of !talin in 0ussia. The parallels "etween Trotsky

and !now"all are uncanny. Trotsky too, was eiled, not from the farm, "ut to 2eico, where

he spoke out against !talin. !talin was %ery weary of Trotsky and feared that Trotsky

supporters might try to assassinate him. The dictator of 0ussia tried hard to kill Trotsky, for

the fear of losing leadership was %ery great in the craBy man-s mind. Trotsky also "elie%ed in

communism, "ut he thought he could run 0ussia "etter than !talin. Trotsky was murdered in

2eico "y the 0ussian internal police, the JG 3 the precursor of the J$. Trotsky was

found with a pick ae in his head at his %illa in 2eico.

Boer:The name $oer is cle%erly used "y Orwell as a metaphor for the $oer 0e"ellion in

?hina in the early twentieth century. 't was this re"ellion which signalled the "eginning of

communism in red ?hina. This form of communism, much like the distorted !talin %iew of

socialism, is still present today in the oppressi%e socialist go%ernment in ?hina. $oer and

?lo%er are used "y Orwell to represent the proletariat, or unskilled la"our class in 0ussian

society. This lower class is naturally drawn to !talin (apoleon* "ecause it seems as though

they will "enefit most from his new system. !ince $oer and the other low animals are not

accustomed to the 6good life,6 they can-t really compare apoleon-s go%ernment with the lifethey had "efore under the cBars (;ones*. Also, since usually the lowest class has the lowest

intelligence, it is not difficult to persuade them into thinking they are getting a good deal.

The proletariat is also @uite good at con%incing themsel%es that communism is a good idea.

Orwell supports this contention when he narrates, 6Their most faithful disciples were the two

carthorses, $oer and ?lo%er. Those two had great difficulty in thinking anything out for

themsel%es, "ut ha%ing once accepted the pigs as their teachers, they a"sor"ed e%erything

that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals "y simple arguments.6 ater, the

importance of the proletariat is shown when $oer suddenly falls and there is suddenly a

drastic decrease in work producti%ity. $ut still he is taken for granted "y the pigs, who send

him away in a glue truck. Truly $oer is the "iggest poster3child for gulli"ility.

Pigs:Orwell uses the pigs to surround and support apoleon. They sym"olise the communist

party loyalists and the friends of !talin, as well as perhaps the uma, or 0ussian parliament.

The pigs, unlike other animals, li%e in luury and en7oy the "enefits of the society they help


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to control. The ine@uality and true hypocrisy of communism is epressed here "y Orwell,

who criticised 2ar-s o%ersimplified %iew of a socialist, 6utopian6 society. O"%iously, eorge

Orwell doesn-t "elie%e such a society can eist. Toward the end of the "ook, Orwell

emphasises, 6!omehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the

animals themsel%es any richer ecept, of course, the pigs and the dogs.6

"ogs:Orwell uses the dogs in his "ook, Animal arm, to represent the J$ or perhaps more

accurately, the "odyguards of !talin. The dogs are the arch3defenders of apoleon and the

pigs, and although they don-t speak, they are definitely a force the other animals ha%e to

reckon with. Orwell almost speaks of the dogs as mindless ro"ots, so dedicated to apoleon

that they can-t really speak for themsel%es. This contention is supported as Orwell descri"es

apoleon-s early and suspicious remo%al of si puppies from their mother. The reader is left

in the dark for a while, "ut is later enlightened when Orwell descri"es the chase of !now"all.

apoleon uses his 6secret dogs6 for the first time here> "efore !now"all has a chance to

stand up and gi%e a counter3argument to apoleon-s disappro%al of the windmill, the dogs

%iciously attack the pig, forcing him to flee, ne%er to return again. Orwell narrates, 6!ilent

and terrified, the animals crept "ack into the "arn. 'n a moment the dogs came "ounding

"ack. At first no one had "een a"le to imagine where these creatures came from, "ut the

pro"lem was soon sol%ed& they were the puppies whom apoleon had taken away from their

mothers and reared pri%ately. Though not yet full3grown, they were huge dogs, and as

fierce3looking as wol%es. They kept close to apoleon. 't was noticed that they wagged their

tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had "een used to do to 2r ;ones.6 The use ofthe dogs "egins the e%il use of force which helps apoleon maintain power. ater, the dogs

do e%en more dastardly things when they are instructed to kill the animals la"elled

6disloyal.6 !talin, too, had his own special force of 6helpers6. 0eally there are followers loyal

to any politician or go%ernment leader, "ut !talin in particular needed a special police force

to eliminate his opponents. This is how Trotsky was killed.

'ollie:2ollie is one of Orwell-s minor characters, "ut she represents something %ery

important. 2ollie is one of the animals who is most opposed to the new go%ernment under

apoleon. !he doesn-t care much a"out the politics of the whole situation> she 7ust wants to

tie her hair with ri""ons and eat sugar, things her social status won-t allow. 2any animals

consider her a traitor when she is seen "eing petted "y a human from a neigh"ouring farm.

!oon 2ollie is confronted "y the 6dedicated6 animals, and she @uietly lea%es the farm. 2ollie

characterises the typical middle3class skilled worker who suffers from this new communism

concept. o longer will she get her sugar (nice salary* "ecause she is now 7ust as low as the


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other animals, like $oer and ?lo%er. Orwell uses 2ollie to characterise the people after any

re"ellion who aren-t too recepti%e to new leaders and new economics. There are always

those resistant to change. This continues to dispel the "elief Orwell hated and according to

which "asically all animals act the same. The nai%ety of 2arism is criticised, socialism is not

perfect, and it doesn-t work for e%eryone.

'oses:2oses is perhaps Orwell-s most intriguing character in Animal arm. This ra%en, first

descri"ed as the 6especial pet6 of 2r ;ones, is the only animal who doesn-t work. 5e-s also

the only character who doesn-t listen to Old 2a7or-s speech of re"ellion. Orwell narrates,

6The pigs had an e%en harder struggle to counteract the lies put a"out "y 2oses, the tame

ra%en. 2oses, who was 2r ;ones-s especial pet, was a spy and a tale3"earer, "ut he was also

a cle%er talker. 5e claimed to know of the eistence of a mysterious country called

!ugarcandy 2ountain, to which all animals went when they died. 't was situated somewhere

up in the sky, a little distance "eyond the clouds, 2oses said. 'n !ugarcandy 2ountain it was

!unday se%en days a week, clo%er was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and

linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated 2oses "ecause he told tales and did no

work "ut some of them "elie%ed in !ugarcandy 2ountain, and the pigs had to argue %ery

hard to persuade them that there was no such place.6 2oses represents Orwell-s %iew of the

?hurch. To Orwell, the ?hurch is 7ust used as a tool "y dictatorships to keep the working

class of people hopeful and producti%e. Orwell uses 2oses to criticiBe 2ar-s "elief that the

?hurch will 7ust go away after the re"ellion. ;ones first used 2oses to keep the animals

working, and he was successful in many ways "efore the re"ellion. The pigs had a real hardtime getting rid of 2oses, since the lies a"out 5ea%en they thought would only lead the

animals away from the e@uality of socialism. $ut as the pigs led "y apoleon "ecome more

and more like 2r ;ones, 2oses finds his place again. After "eing away for se%eral years, he

suddenly returns and picks up right where he left off. The pigs don-t mind this time "ecause

the animals ha%e already realised that the 6e@uality6 of the re%olt is a farce. !o apoleon

feeds 2oses with "eer, and the full circle is complete. Orwell seems to offer a %ery cynical

and harsh %iew of the ?hurch. This pro%es that Animal arm is not simply an anti3communist

work meant to lead people into capitalism and ?hristianity. 0eally Orwell found loop3holes

and much hypocrisy in "oth systems. 't-s interesting that recently in 0ussia the go%ernment

has "egun to allow and support religion again. 't almost seems that like the pigs, the

Jremlin officials of today are trying to keep their people moti%ated, not in the ideology of

communism, "ut in the 6old3fashioned6 hope of an after3life.


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'uriel:2uriel is a knowledgea"le goat who reads the commandments for ?lo%er. 2uriel

represents the minority of working class people who are educated enough to decide things

for themsel%es and find critical and hypocritical pro"lems with their leaders. Cnfortunately

for the other animals, 2uriel is not charismatic or inspired enough to take action and oppose

apoleon and his pigs.

)ld Ben*amin:Old $en7amin, an elderly donkey, is one of Orwell-s most elusi%e and

intriguing characters on Animal arm. 5e is descri"ed as rather unchanged since the

re"ellion. 5e still does his work the same way, ne%er "ecoming too ecited or too

disappointed a"out anything that has passed. $en7amin eplains, 6onkeys li%e a long time.

one of you has e%er seen a dead donkey.6 Although there is no clear metaphoric

relationship "etween $en7amin and Orwell-s criti@ue of communism, it makes sense that

during any re"ellion there are those who ne%er totally em"race the re%olution, those so

cynical they no longer look to their leaders for help. $en7amin sym"olises the older

generation, the critics of any new re"ellion. 0eally this old donkey is the only animal who

seems as though he couldn-t care less a"out apoleon and Animal arm. 't-s almost as if he

can see into the future, knowing that the re%olt is only a temporary change, and will flop in

the end. $en7amin is the only animal who doesn-t seem to ha%e epected anything positi%e

from the re%olution. 5e almost seems on a whole different maturity le%el compared with the

other animals. 5e is not sucked in "y apoleon-s propaganda like the others. The only time

he seems to care a"out the others at all is when $oer is carried off in the glue truck. 't-s

almost as if the old donkey finally comes out of his shell, his perfectly fitted demeanour,when he tries to warn the others of $oer-s fate. And the animals do try to rescue $oer, "ut

it-s too late. $en7amin seems to "e finally confronting apoleon and re%ealing his knowledge

of the pigs- hypocrisy, although "efore he had "een completely independent. After the

animals ha%e forgotten ;ones and their past li%es, $en7amin still remem"ers e%erything.

Orwell states, 6Only old $en7amin professed to remem"er e%ery detail of his long life and to

know that things ne%er had "een, nor e%er could "e much "etter or much worse> hunger,

hardship, and disappointment "eing, so he said, the unaltera"le law of life.6

%ats . %abbits:The rats and the ra""its, who are regarded as wild animals, somehow

represent the socialist mo%ement, the so3called 62ensche%iki6. 'n the %ery "eginning of the

"ook the animals %ote if rats and ra""its should "e comrades.

Pigeons:The pigeons sym"olise !o%iet propaganda, not to 0ussia, "ut to other countries,

like ermany, England, rance, and e%en the Cnited !tates. 0ussia had created an iron


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curtain e%en "efore //''. The ?ommunist go%ernment ra%ed a"out its achie%ements and its

ad%anced technology, "ut it ne%er allowed eperts or scientists from outside the country to

check on its %alidity. Orwell mentions the fact that the other farmers "ecame suspicious and

worried when their animals "egan to sing $easts of England. 2any /estern go%ernments

ha%e had similar pro"lems with their people in this century. There was a huge 60ed !care6 inthe Cnited !tates in the 19+s. 'n the 19=s in the Cnited !tates, ;oseph 2c?arthy was a

legislati%e mem"er of the go%ernment from /isconsin. 5e accused hundreds of people of

supporting the communist regime, from famous actors in 5ollywood to middle3class ordinary

people. The fear of communism "ecame a pho"ia in America and anyone speaking out

against the go%ernment was a suspect.

Farm buildings:The farm stands for the Jremlin. 'n the early days of the C!!0 there were

sightseeing tours through the Jremlin. ater it "ecame the residence of !talin.

!indmill:The /indmill for eample stands for the 0ussian industry, that has "een "uilt "y

the working3class. (?lo%er...*

Fredericks:!tands for 5itler. There has also "een an arrangement and secret deals. (Allusion

to ritB.*

Fo&ood:owood farm represents England.

Pinch/ield:#inchfield sym"olises ermany.

"estruction o/ the !indmill:This destruction is a sym"ol for the failure of the i%e Hear #lan.

Documents

Summaries Interpretations Nineteen Eighty-Four