Explanation
“Now comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: this is the plain truth.”
(Orwell, 28)
This rant is very significant because it is the catalyst that drives the animals to take action which is the whole plot of the book. Old Major summarizes the horrible life of an England farm animal and relays this message to the rest of the Farm; it is time to win back our freedom. The other animals finally realize their horrid situation and agree decide to carry out Old Major’s notion to strike back. When the time comes is something in question but none the less, the animals know it will take place. This passage is what sparks the animal revolution.
“You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come- cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knackers, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond. “
(Orwell, 30)
This entire passage is a huge foreshadow to me. The details as to how everyone will die are way too specific to be a coincidence. Yes it could be that Old Major had seen all this before, but if the author has put it in this book it must mean that it is