For this blog you will have to do the reading assigned in class today.
After reading the first two chapters of Animal Farm I want you to make some predictions about how this story is a fable and how satire is being used in this story. This is short question but I want to begin to think about this story beyond what you are reading. We will be talking about this in class so any initial thoughts you have on the subject will help during class discussion, which will in turn help you write better essays. See how that works?
You have all been doing a great job with these blog responses. I have seen great improvements in all of your writing and thinking. Let's keep it up!
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I enjoyed reading the first two chapters of Animal Farm. This story has the potential to be fable. From what I see the story is about these farm animals who want independence from their owner Mr. Jones. The animals are made mad for the last time."One of the cows broke in the door of the store-shed with her horn and all the animals began to help themselves from the bins". The lesson that could be learned from this is if you really want something you have to take it into your own hands. Some cases might not be that way but these animals wanted to be fed and took matters into their own hands, even though they did not know how far they would go.
ReplyDeleteIrony is definatly used in this story. The animals, for one, talk. The animals take over the farm and learn to read and write."Then Snowball took a brush between the two knuckles of his trotter, painted out Manor Farm from the top bar of the gate and in its place painted Animal Farm". In my opinion since the farm animals ran of their owners, they will want them back. Already they need the huans. " They had not been milked for twenty-four hours, and their utters were almost bursting". Who is to milk them? Somehow they managed to get them milked. Something tells me that these animals will have even more trouble dealing with everyday life because the humans arent there. My other thought is that Mr. Jones will come back and take back his farm, then the animals will either be sold for money since Mr. Jones needed money. Or that he will kill them out of anger.
I think this story could go either way or a totally different way. This story is very intresting and has got my attention. I am really anxious to see where this story leads and who it is relating to.
Carlee
Well, first off, this story is a fable because it has talking animals that are going to rebel against man. This obviously doesn't happen in real life. Satire is being used to show how man is bad to animals, but it also it satirizes Stalin and Trotsky. Stalin is Napoleon the pig and Trotsky is snowball the pig. Satire is being used to make fun of the communist party. I think the seven rules are going to come into play later on in the story.
ReplyDeleteI think how Orwell uses satire in this story is really going to help him get his points across. I think because of the satire it will be easier to understand the main point of the novel. I think the seven rules are going to be important later on in the story and that those rules are going to cause the animals to have problems later on. The seven rules that snowball comes up with are "1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 2
I have enjoyed this story so far. I would call it very addicting. The fable parts of this story is very obvious. I like the contrast of characterization between Snowball and Napoleon that George uses. The first idea of fable that i notice is that the animals can talk. It is also fable because these animals are living on their own and are doing fine, which in reality would be a total disaster because they cant take care of themselves like the book says they can. "...the harvest was an even bigger success than they had hoped,"(Chapter 3).
ReplyDeleteThe satire Orwell uses is going to be funny, i can already tell. I predict that those rules in chapter 2 are going to come back to haunt the animals.
I have enjoyed it quite a lot. Its been interesting and I'm trying to read it from a satirical point of view so that makes it all the more interesting. You can see that its a fable from the talking animals and the way they take revenge on the humans. But its not hard to see the satire either.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the rules will come back to haunt, as kyle put it, the animals because there was a reason humans did those to begin with and if these animals have the human qualities that Orwell seems to give them, they will turn toward those things too.
By definition the short novel is a fable. For one, it has talking animals. these animals mean to rebel against men, another characteristic of a fable. you can see the satirical side to the story, too. THe animals in this stories are the serfs of the earth in Russia. the humans are symbollic of the czar and royalty in Russia. the animals finally decide they've had enough. it's time to rebel! The russians did this too in 1917 when Vladdimir Lenin came to power. The reds versus the whites war ensued. we already see this somewhat happening in the story
ReplyDeletesatire is always used to ridicule something in hopes of a reform. as you can tell, George Orwell, or George Blair, is a Troskite socialist, and becomes involved in Troskyite versus Stalinist infighting. I do not think this satire is meant to be funny, I believe this is a serious story, like most other fables are.
Clint Bruton
This story, from the very moment it began, was primarily satirical. Obviously, the animals are the common, working class people, and the farmers are the rich and wealthy. Orwell uses the farm as the metaphor for the overworked people and how oppressed they are. He thinks that there should not be a higher class and a working class, but equality. Rule number seven: "All animals are equal." (Ch. 2, P. 43)
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, at the same time, there is that one factor: human nature. It's ironic that animals are displaying human nature, but still, such is the case. The Seven Commandments sound suspiciously like our ten commandments, except they are slightly simpler. Yet, they are still broken. The first time they are broken, the animals came back to the barn where Napoleon was and "noticed that the milk had disappeared." (Ch. 2, P. 44)
I think that this story is not going to go as smoothly as some of the animals seem to think that it is. Personally, I knew the story as a child, but I have forgotten some of it, so I am not going to make any specific predictions. However, I will point this out: "Harrison Bergernon" also had the theme of attempted equality. Did that work out very well? No. No, it didn't. Because of human nature, perfect equality is pretty much impossible. The pigs "had taught themselves to read and write..." (Ch. 2, P. 42) The animals were specifically trying NOT to be like humans, and the pigs are already writing? Can that be good? I don't think so.
--Kelsey Weems
I looked for your email and couldnt find it so im am writeing on here. Im sorry i wrote late i was with family all easter and i was also sick 2 days.
ReplyDeleteI like it so far it easy to read it just takes me a while. Im trying to read it in a satirical point of view but its kinda hard for me. I think that all there rules about the animals are going to change. "... it was notice that the milk had disaperard." (pg44) what i think happen was that a fox or a differnt animal took the milk. the other animal will start causeing them alot of trouble and there going to reilze that men were crul sometime but they also protected them and keeped them safe with a house and food. They also might relize how hard it is to grow and cut food and do all the work and see how the man felt.