Essay One

Introduction

Texts are fundamentally constructs that endeavour to explore and critique the paradigms of their contextual climates.¹ George Orwell’s 1945 novella Animal Farm encapsulates the contextual concerns of his time by conveying the loss of equality which he perceived to be prevalent across totalitarian regimes. Reflecting the repressive Stalinist ideologies of his context, Orwell further explores the absolute subjugation of the human spirit arising from the abuse of power by despotic leaders.² To a large extent, Orwell’s authorial perspectives are shaped by the events of the post WWII era, as he provides a harrowing contextual insight into the abandonment of essential human values facilitated by humanity’s inherent desires for power.³

1. I like to begin my introductions with a general statement relating to the essay question. It allows me to transition more easily into the ideas that I will be talking about. Some people like to directly begin with a thesis statement, and this is fine as well. Just do whatever you are comfortable with!

2. These next two sentences explain the specific ideas that I will be talking about in the body paragraphs. There shouldn’t be much storytelling, just a quick overview of what will be explored (almost like a topic sentence).

3. This is the bulk of my thesis statement expanding upon the essay question. Try to do more than provide a direct answer to the question. A good thesis should incorporate a rationale or reason behind why you agree/disagree with the question.

Paragraph 1

Through its creation of a dystopian state, Animal Farm actualises Orwell’s contextual fears of totalitarianism to explore the perversion of equality amidst a hostile political landscape.⁴ Reflecting Stalin’s Five Year Plans,⁵ Napoleon’s high modality claim, “the needs of the windmill must override anything else” metaphorically condemns the individual to a servant of the state, foregrounding the devaluation of the human identity within totalitarian regimes. Further, his eponymous branding of the windmill as “Napoleon Mill” denotes a profound sense of narcissism that deeply parallels the pervasive nature of Stalin’s cult of personality. This superiority complex displayed by Napoleon becomes a focal point of critique for Orwell, as he highlights the intrinsically despotic tendencies of dictators such as Stalin and Hitler. The paradoxical maxim “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” presents a logical fallacy that displays Orwell’s concerns towards the totalising influence of tyrannical leaders in manipulating language to align with their own agenda of power.⁶ It forges a society where the younger pigs are “discouraged from playing with the other young animals”, revealing a sense of Marxian Entfremdung caused by the pigs’ progressive abuse of power. By extension, the irony within Napoleon’s claim that “true happiness... lay in working hard and living frugally”⁷ underpins the exploitation of the working class, in which they are relegated to a state of modest labour in contrast to the lavish lifestyles of the elite. This repressed lifestyle presents to responders a dramatic loss of freedom and happiness that becomes deeply reminiscent of life within the Gulags. The inclusion of the rhetorical question, “was not the labour problem the same everywhere?” creates an ominous point of similarity between the pigs and the farmers, collectively characterising them as oppressors of their respective farms. It contextualises Orwell’s perception towards the events of the Tehran Conference, as he critiques the eventual political unity between the USSR and the West. As such, Orwell reflects upon the extremist ideologies of his time to convey the diminution of equality and human dignity within a debilitating political landscape.⁸

4. A topic sentence should focus on the idea that you are going to explore and should have a strong link to the essay question. It gives the reader/marker a clear idea of where you are headed with this paragraph.

5. A focus on the specific contextual events during Stalin’s reign shows that you have a deep understanding of the text. It also demonstrates a high level of thought in your interpretation of the novella.

6. As a general rule, I like to follow a structure of TEE when presenting analysis of a quote: T (technique), E (evidence), E (explain).

7. To keep the flow of an essay, I like to use shorter quotes so that the sentences don’t become too tedious to read. Here, I have used ellipsis (the three dots) to indicate that I have excluded a small part of the quote which I thought was not needed. Chop and change quotes whenever you need to, just so long as it still makes sense and retains its meaning.

8. It is always good to end a body paragraph with a brief statement that re-iterates the paragraph’s main focus and how this relates to the essay question.

Paragraph 2

In his projection of society’s decline under totalitarianism, Orwell draws upon the tragic plight of the characters to elucidate the struggle caused by humanity’s myopic pursuit for power.⁹ The use of asyndeton in “they slept on straw, they drank from the pool, they laboured in the field” establishes the banality of life under the reign of the pigs, foregrounding this repressed lifestyle as the quotidian for the animals. Yet, Orwell’s personification in “starvation seemed to stare them in the face” concurrently highlights the animals’ intense struggle for survival on the farm, contextualising the Great Famine elicited by Stalin’s plans for collectivisation. Reflecting the Kulak’s rise against Stalin’s policies, the hens’ revolution emerges as an innate desire for change, yet its tragic end in “nine hens had died in the meantime” symbolically reinforces the transience of rebellion against an overwhelming totalitarian state. Further, the rhetorical question, “was it not right and just that a better world should exist somewhere else?” encapsulates a sentiment of yearning, underscoring the small sense of hope that drives the animals’ desire to endure. In this way, Orwell provides a harrowing image of disempowerment that reinforces his critique of the bourgeoning hubristic motivations of his context.¹⁰ Likewise, the dramatic irony in the pigs orchestrating Boxer’s death to “buy themselves another case of whiskey” serves to further illustrate the way in which the animals are devalued to the point of becoming interchangeable for hedonistic luxuries. Such compassionless acts ultimately reveal a dramatic manipulation of hope and freedom that validates Benjamin’s aphoristic claim of “hunger, hardship, and disappointment being... the unalterable law of life.” Drawing upon the conventions of dystopian literature,¹¹ Orwell utilises the tragic denouement of Animal Farm to contextually highlight the extinguishment of the human spirit in the face of totalitarian control.

9. A topic sentence should clearly outline an idea about power rather than stating something along the lines of “Orwell’s Animal Farm explores the idea of power.”

10. Throughout my body paragraphs, I like to incorporate a sentence that re-emphasises my stance towards the essay question, just to remind the marker.

11. Although the essay question doesn’t specifically mention it, a brief consideration of the text’s form shows a deeper understanding of the text as a whole.

Conclusion

Ultimately,¹² Orwell’s Animal Farm responds to the concerns of the post WWII era through its apocalyptic vision of totalitarian control driven by the inherent desire for power. In allegorising the plight of the animals, Orwell draws upon his own zeitgeist to reveal the deeply tragic loss of human heritage within these dehumanising political environments, utilising the form of a fable as a conduit for his didactic message.