Monday, 23 December 2013

In Animal Farm, in which ways do the animals behave like animals and how do the animals behave like humans?

The
only animals that adopt human characteristics and behave as they do, are the pigs and to a
certain extent Mollie, Moses the raven, the cat and 's guard dogs. The rest of the animals
maintain their natural animal tendencies.

Mollie had been spoiled by Mr Jones
and had been taught to become conceited. She had become used to wearing pretty ribbons and to
eat sugar, habits which she was not prepared to sacrifice after the Rebellion. She was lazy and
shirked doing even basic duties. She eventually ended up being owned by a publican so she could
continue with her spoilt behaviour, a very human trait.

Moses repeatedly went
around the farm to spread lies about Sugar Candy Mountain, an ideal place to which all animals
would go to after death. He did not work and his lies had the support of the pigs since he was
never punished for spreading them. This is a human quality, misleading and deceiving others for
no particular reason, except for the pleasure to confuse. 

The cat became
involved in teaching the birds but would often try to get them closer, for obvious reasons. She,
just like Moses and Mollie, as well as Napoleon's dogs, hardly ever did any work and would
disappear for long periods. Her deceptive and lazy nature make her more human.


Napoleon's guard dogs occupied a privileged position. Napoleon had secretly raised them
since they were puppies and they had become loyal to him, acting on his brutal instructions,
without question. They became tools of Napoleon's tyranny and kept the other animals in check,
subjugating them to their master's authority. In this sense then, their assistance in the
oppression of their fellow animals made them more human, since humans had been ruthlessly
autocratic.

Of all the animals, the pigs, being the cleverest, had easily
adopted human characteristics and quickly adopted their way of life. It started with them
claiming privileges and denying these to other animals, such as their sole claim to the milk and
windfall apples. Thereafter, they moved into the farmhouse and slept in beds. When murmurs were
raised about their behaviour going against the principles of Animalism, they misled the animals,
changed the commandments to suit them, and used propaganda to further confuse the
others.

The pigs went even further, they started drinking alcohol, took to
wearing human garments, walked on their hind legs and started carrying whips. Napoleon even took
to smoking a pipe! The fact that they could read and write completes the cornucopia of human
attributes that they possessed and exercised.

In the end, the pigs became so
similar to the humans that it affected even their physical appearance. It became difficult for
the other animals to distinguish between the two.

The
creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but
already it was impossible to say which was which.

 


No comments:

Post a Comment

In 1984, is Julia a spy? Please provide specific examples from the book. My teacher says that he knows of 17 pieces of evidence which proves that Julia...

There is some evidence to suggest thatwas a spy throughout 's classic novel . Julia portrays herself as a loyal admirer of Big ...