Chapter 8 Animal Farm Essay
QUESTION 8: ANIMAL FARM – CONTEXUAL QUESTIONS
1.1 They are all symbols of oppression which were identified with man. The symbols were burnt in order to break away completely from the oppression brought about and inflicted by man.
1.2. Later in the novel we find that the ruling class i.e. the pigs use the very same symbols such as the whip to control the animals on the farm. Meals and decorations such as the ribbons that where initially perceived as being emblems of oppression were ironically worn by the leaders such as Napoleon. Boxer was an industries worker who was true to the principles of animalism, the destruction of boxers straw hat in the fire could be perceived as being a sacrificial since the very hat that helped him to ward …show more content…
of the flies is destroyed in the fire, moreover this sacrificial hat could serve as an example to the other animals
2. The pigs considered themselves as the intelligentsia on animal farm and were responsible for the innovation and leadership skills and as such deserved to work in comfort. Until now the farm house was viewed as a museum and a symbol of oppression. Since the leadership has past into the hands of the pigs, the ruling class, the pigs believed that they were now superior and where entitled to stay in the house.
3. The ability of the pigs to read and write and the modernisation of the farm such as the building of the windmill could be attributed to them. Moreover the manipulative skill of the pigs gives them the advantage to manage the farm and keep the other animals in a state of subservience.
4. By using techniques such as propaganda distortion and misinformation .Squealer is able to prey on the ignorance and gullibility of the other animals.
5. The dogs like the KGB or secret police in Russia, instils fear in the animals and all forms of rebellion or protest is kept down.
6. I disagree with the statement Napoleon, as a dictator with an iron rod, ruled animal farm; he was a self serving leader who ignored the welfare of the animals. Many of the brilliant ideas of dispelled snowball where usurped by napoleon. For example the building of the windmill was the brainchild of snowball which napoleon misleads the other animals into believing that it was his original idea.
7. The seven commandments where breached numerous times by the ruling class the pigs to serve their own purpose. For example the commandment such as animals should not sleep in beds was amended to read “with sheets”. the commandment which stated that animals should consume alcohol was amended to,alcohol must be drank in moderation. With reference to the commandments four legs good to legs bad was changed to four legs good two legs better. It is these breaches in the seven commandments such as those mentions violated the seven commandments.
OTHELLO – ESSAY QUESTION
Emilia and Desdemona a can be held accountable for their own deaths.
To a large extent I am disinclined to agree with the assertion. To a minor extent Emilia and Desdemona can be seen as innocent victims of circumstances beyond their control, as unwitting victims contribute to their own tragic ends. I will now endeavour to substantiate my pint of view
Emilia is a loyal hand maiden to Desdemona. Her loyalty to Desdemona is beyond reproach. She also wants to gain the approval of hr husband; she strives in every possible way to achieve this. Emilia is later deceived by her husband Iago into stealing the handkerchief to fulfil his perverted end. Iago wants to implicate Cassio as Desdemona’s lover. To achieve this he places the handkerchief, which is a sacred gift given to Othello by his late mother, in Cassio’s living quarters. It is this ocular proof in the hands of Cassio, convinces Othello that Desdemona is having an extra marital affair with Cassio. By not enquiring the reason for stealing the handkerchief places the blame on Emilia to a small extent, at this point in time she did not realise the gravity of her actions. However her devotion towards her husband and her trusting nature exonerates her from being held accountable for her own …show more content…
death.
It is the malevolent Iago who manipulates Emilia into deceit, must bear the brunt of the tragic consequences when Emilia realises that she was deceived into stealing the handkerchief, she implicates her husband Iago for the tragic death of Desdemona and the downfall of Othello. It is her honesty and integrity that remains untarnished to the very end.
Desdemona from the very beginning to the end is a n noble human being.
Her undoing was her unquestioning devotion towards Othello and the significant characters such as Casisio. Her naivety is responsible for acceptance of all things at face value. She never conceived for a moment that the sinister Iago’s motives where perverted. The dramatic turn in Othello’s attitude towards her was never question by the ingenuous Desdemona. Ironically she turns to Iago for advice enquiring Othello’s change in attitude. The treacherous Iago assures her that he will question Othello regarding this. Desdemona does unknowing of Iagos ulterior motives as she trusts him and does not think this will create further problems. It is seen in the latter end of the novel that Emelia educates Desdemona about men this is seen in act 4 scene 3 lines 80 -96 when Desdemona asks Emilia “is it true that woman are unfaithful to their husbands “this further reinforces Desdemona’s naivety. In view of the afore mentioned arguments Desdemona is rather a victim of circumstances than her own
transgressions.
Iagos role in this tragedy is pivotal from the very inception. Iago has his own agenda which is self serving. As a master of sophistry he presents his reasons as being reasonable but actually false. Being a nihilist Iago looks for the bad in humans, Iago was motivated by the greed jealousy and lust for Desdemona, from the very beginning. Iago suffers from self persecution complex where he considered himself the victim. This is indicated when he felt that he deserves the position of lieutenant rather than Cassio. This serves as his motive for his iniquity scheme in plotting the downfall of Othello Cassio and Desdemona. In the case of Emilia he suspects her of having an affair with Othello. Iago uses Emilia’s devotion to exploit her to carry out his ominous motives this is indicated when Emelia steals the handkerchief in search of his approval. Moreover the megalomaniac Iago uses Desdemona’s trust to achieve his ulterior motives in bringing about the downfall of Othello and Cassio. This is evident in Iagos instigations of Cassio by convincing him to ask Desdemona to plead on his behalf to have him re instated as lieutenant. This only reinforces Othello suspicions Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.
I trust that this validates my contention that Emilia and Desdemona are seen as innocent victims of circumstances beyond their control. It is the antagonist Iago who is in the main responsible for the tragic deaths of Emilia and Desdemona.
Word count (491)
1.1 They are all symbols of oppression which were identified with man. The symbols were burnt in order to break away completely from the oppression brought about and inflicted by man.
1.2. Later in the novel we find that the ruling class i.e. the pigs use the very same symbols such as the whip to control the animals on the farm. Meals and decorations such as the ribbons that where initially perceived as being emblems of oppression were ironically worn by the leaders such as Napoleon. Boxer was an industries worker who was true to the principles of animalism, the destruction of boxers straw hat in the fire could be perceived as being a sacrificial since the very hat that helped him to ward …show more content…
of the flies is destroyed in the fire, moreover this sacrificial hat could serve as an example to the other animals
2. The pigs considered themselves as the intelligentsia on animal farm and were responsible for the innovation and leadership skills and as such deserved to work in comfort. Until now the farm house was viewed as a museum and a symbol of oppression. Since the leadership has past into the hands of the pigs, the ruling class, the pigs believed that they were now superior and where entitled to stay in the house.
3. The ability of the pigs to read and write and the modernisation of the farm such as the building of the windmill could be attributed to them. Moreover the manipulative skill of the pigs gives them the advantage to manage the farm and keep the other animals in a state of subservience.
4. By using techniques such as propaganda distortion and misinformation .Squealer is able to prey on the ignorance and gullibility of the other animals.
5. The dogs like the KGB or secret police in Russia, instils fear in the animals and all forms of rebellion or protest is kept down.
6. I disagree with the statement Napoleon, as a dictator with an iron rod, ruled animal farm; he was a self serving leader who ignored the welfare of the animals. Many of the brilliant ideas of dispelled snowball where usurped by napoleon. For example the building of the windmill was the brainchild of snowball which napoleon misleads the other animals into believing that it was his original idea.
7. The seven commandments where breached numerous times by the ruling class the pigs to serve their own purpose. For example the commandment such as animals should not sleep in beds was amended to read “with sheets”. the commandment which stated that animals should consume alcohol was amended to,alcohol must be drank in moderation. With reference to the commandments four legs good to legs bad was changed to four legs good two legs better. It is these breaches in the seven commandments such as those mentions violated the seven commandments.
OTHELLO – ESSAY QUESTION
Emilia and Desdemona a can be held accountable for their own deaths.
To a large extent I am disinclined to agree with the assertion. To a minor extent Emilia and Desdemona can be seen as innocent victims of circumstances beyond their control, as unwitting victims contribute to their own tragic ends. I will now endeavour to substantiate my pint of view
Emilia is a loyal hand maiden to Desdemona. Her loyalty to Desdemona is beyond reproach. She also wants to gain the approval of hr husband; she strives in every possible way to achieve this. Emilia is later deceived by her husband Iago into stealing the handkerchief to fulfil his perverted end. Iago wants to implicate Cassio as Desdemona’s lover. To achieve this he places the handkerchief, which is a sacred gift given to Othello by his late mother, in Cassio’s living quarters. It is this ocular proof in the hands of Cassio, convinces Othello that Desdemona is having an extra marital affair with Cassio. By not enquiring the reason for stealing the handkerchief places the blame on Emilia to a small extent, at this point in time she did not realise the gravity of her actions. However her devotion towards her husband and her trusting nature exonerates her from being held accountable for her own …show more content…
death.
It is the malevolent Iago who manipulates Emilia into deceit, must bear the brunt of the tragic consequences when Emilia realises that she was deceived into stealing the handkerchief, she implicates her husband Iago for the tragic death of Desdemona and the downfall of Othello. It is her honesty and integrity that remains untarnished to the very end.
Desdemona from the very beginning to the end is a n noble human being.
Her undoing was her unquestioning devotion towards Othello and the significant characters such as Casisio. Her naivety is responsible for acceptance of all things at face value. She never conceived for a moment that the sinister Iago’s motives where perverted. The dramatic turn in Othello’s attitude towards her was never question by the ingenuous Desdemona. Ironically she turns to Iago for advice enquiring Othello’s change in attitude. The treacherous Iago assures her that he will question Othello regarding this. Desdemona does unknowing of Iagos ulterior motives as she trusts him and does not think this will create further problems. It is seen in the latter end of the novel that Emelia educates Desdemona about men this is seen in act 4 scene 3 lines 80 -96 when Desdemona asks Emilia “is it true that woman are unfaithful to their husbands “this further reinforces Desdemona’s naivety. In view of the afore mentioned arguments Desdemona is rather a victim of circumstances than her own
transgressions.
Iagos role in this tragedy is pivotal from the very inception. Iago has his own agenda which is self serving. As a master of sophistry he presents his reasons as being reasonable but actually false. Being a nihilist Iago looks for the bad in humans, Iago was motivated by the greed jealousy and lust for Desdemona, from the very beginning. Iago suffers from self persecution complex where he considered himself the victim. This is indicated when he felt that he deserves the position of lieutenant rather than Cassio. This serves as his motive for his iniquity scheme in plotting the downfall of Othello Cassio and Desdemona. In the case of Emilia he suspects her of having an affair with Othello. Iago uses Emilia’s devotion to exploit her to carry out his ominous motives this is indicated when Emelia steals the handkerchief in search of his approval. Moreover the megalomaniac Iago uses Desdemona’s trust to achieve his ulterior motives in bringing about the downfall of Othello and Cassio. This is evident in Iagos instigations of Cassio by convincing him to ask Desdemona to plead on his behalf to have him re instated as lieutenant. This only reinforces Othello suspicions Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.
I trust that this validates my contention that Emilia and Desdemona are seen as innocent victims of circumstances beyond their control. It is the antagonist Iago who is in the main responsible for the tragic deaths of Emilia and Desdemona.
Word count (491)