"You should know by now that 'Animal Farm' is an allegory. That is, the characters and events in the book all stand for something else."
"In fact we can clearly see three levels of meaning in the novel."
"*1. Literal"
"A kind of fairy story or fable about animals."
"*2. Historical"
"A criticism of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath."
"*3. General"
"A more general criticism of the betrayal of political ideals."
6
"*Satire"
"To satirise something is to ridicule something by mocking or making fun of it."
"Orwell uses this method to criticise what he saw as the failure of Communism in Russia."
"The satire in 'Animal Farm' is very obvious because real historical figures such as Stalin are portrayed as animals (most of them in an uncomplimentary way)."
" "
"For many years 'Animal Farm' was banned in Russia, because the authorities there were so sensitive about its satirical content."
7
"*Language"
"As we can tell from the novel, Orwell was against the use of language which was meaningless, or which was used to confuse or deceive others."
"In fact, he made it clear in his other works that he believed writing should be kept as simple as possible."
"This is certainly true of 'Animal Farm' which may even be read by young children. Throughout, the language is appropriate to the idea that the book is a kind of fairy story."
" "
"The presentation of the story as a kind of fable also demands simple language."
"It is also worth noting that Orwell is critical of the wordy language or jargon used by Snowball and Squealer in the novel."
7
"*Irony"
"Irony is hard to define precisely and there are different types of irony."
"A general definition is that irony exists when the readers are aware of something which the characters are not aware of."
"For example, there is strong irony when Boxer looks to Napoleon for permission to release the dog which has attacked him in Chapter Seven."
"We readers realise what Boxer does not; that it was Napoleon who had ordered the dogs to attack him in the first place."
" "
"Orwell uses irony many times in the novel. More examples follow on the next page."
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"Irony (cont.)"
"Other example of irony include:"
" "
"Ch. 2 - The pigs 'attend to' the problem of what to do with the milk."
" "
"Ch. 8 - Squealer is found lying beside the ladder."
" "
"Ch. 9 - The pigs acquire another crate of whisky."
" "
"Ch. 9 - Boxer is sent to the knacker's yard"
" "
"Ch. 10 - The pigs become human - like those they originally rebelled against."
10
"*Humour"
"There is much humour in 'Animal Farm'."
"Some is created by the ridiculous idea of animals thinking and acting like humans, and some by Orwell's irony as described in the previous two pages."
" "
"Here are a few of my favourite comic moments from the book:"
"*1. The cat persuading the birds to join a committee."
"*2. The vanity and cowardice of Mollie - a veru unlikely revolutionary!"
"*3. Snowball's wordy proof that a wing is a leg."
"*4. The ridiculous way in which the old ram is said to have been killed in Chapter 7."
"*5. The 'Comrade Napoleon is dying' story - Ch. 8"
