careytommy7:
ANIMAL FARM: A MUST READ!
Pardon me, but i think your education is not complete if you've not read George Orwell's Animal Farm. It was a WAEC text for decades... Just to refresh your memories, i visited an online site and pulled these character sketches of three of the major characters from that timeless classic...
I didn't mention anyone's name o! Enjoy the read...
NAPOLEON:
While Jones' tyranny can be somewhat excused due to the fact that he is a dull-witted drunkard, Napoleon's can only be ascribed to his blatant lust for power. The very first description of Napoleon presents him as a "fierce-looking" boar "with a reputation for getting his own way." Throughout the novel, Napoleon's method of "getting his own way" involves a combination of propaganda and terror that none of the animals can resist. Note that as soon as the revolution is won, Napoleon's first action is to steal the cows' milk for the pigs. Clearly, the words of old Major inspired Napoleon not to fight against tyranny, but to seize the opportunity to establish himself as a dictator. The many crimes he commits against his own comrades range from seizing nine puppies to "educate" them as his band of killer guard dogs to forcing confessions from innocent animals and then having them killed before all the animals' eyes.
Napoleon's greatest crime, however, is his complete transformation into Jones — although Napoleon is a much more harsh and stern master than the reader is led to believe Jones ever was. By the end of the novel, Napoleon is sleeping in Jones' bed, eating from Jones' plate, drinking alcohol, wearing a derby hat, walking on two legs, trading with humans, and sharing a toast with Mr. Pilkington. His final act of propaganda — changing the Seventh Commandment to "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL / BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS" — reflects his unchallenged belief that he belongs in complete control of the farm. His restoration of the name Manor Farm shows just how much Napoleon has wholly disregarded the words of old Major.
SQUEALER:
Every tyrant has his sycophants, and Napoleon has one in Squealer, a clever pig who (as the animals say) "could turn black into white." Throughout the novel, he serves as Napoleon's mouthpiece and Minister of Propaganda. Every time an act of Napoleon's is questioned by the other animals — regardless of how selfish or severe it may seem — Squealer is able to convince the animals that Napoleon is only acting in their best interests and that Napoleon himself has made great sacrifices for Animal Farm. For example, after Squealer is questioned about Napoleon's stealing the milk and windfallen apples, he explains that Napoleon and his fellow pigs must take the milk and apples because they "contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig." He further explains that many pigs "actually dislike milk and apples" and tells the questioning animals, "It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples."
"Each time the animals complained about excessive hunger and difficulties, Squealer (the clever pig) would tell them that things were much better than the time of the humans (when Mr Jones was in charge). He also would go on to say to them that no matter how difficult things might get, it will never be as bad as when Mr Jones was in charge of the farm. The majority of the animals were very dumb (especially the sheep) and believed everything Squealer told them."
BENJAMIN
As horses are known for their strength, donkeys are known for their stubbornness, and Benjamin stubbornly refuses to become enthusiastic about the rebellion. While all of his comrades delight in the prospect of a new, animal-governed world, Benjamin only remarks, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." While this reply puzzles the animals, the reader understands Benjamin's cynical yet not-unfounded point: In the initial moments of the rebellion, Animal Farm may seem a paradise, but in time it may come to be another form of the same tyranny at which they rebelled. Of course, Benjamin is proven right by the novel's end, and the only thing that he knows for sure — "Life would go on as it had always gone on — that is, badly" — proves to be a definitive remark about the animals' lives. Although pessimistic, he is a realist. You read your animal farm well bro, you could have added a slot for snowball this useless admin made me take read from a novel I last read 10 yrs ago. Awww I think I would ascribe boxer to the bmc crew 1 Like |
