In ‘Animal Farm’, Fear and Ignorance Are Two Major Obstacles Which Prevent the Animals from Achieving Their Dream of Freedom. Discuss.

741 Words3 Pages
Sunday 9th June 2013 Jamie Gambin 11.4 In ‘Animal Farm’, fear and ignorance are two major obstacles which prevent the animals from achieving their dream of freedom. Discuss. ‘Animal Farm’ is an allegory written by the author George Orwell, in which fear and ignorance prevent he animals from reaching their ultimate goal of freedom and of living in a utopia. Ignorance or stupidity is a major factor in the downfall of the animals’ limited freedom. One such case is that of Boxer, ‘an enormous beast’ who was ‘as strong as any two ordinary horses put together’. This horse’s own ignorance and loyalty lead to his death at the hands of Napolean, the animal Boxer was most loyal to. Boxer does not enjoy dwelling on his own dilemmas and so allows the pigs to decide for him. Thus he adopts two maxims, ‘I must work harder’ and Napolean is always right’. His stupidity blocks him from realising that he could rally all the farm animals to rebel against the tyrannical pigs. The other horse, Mollie, ‘the foolish, pretty white mare’ is possibly the most stupid animal on the farm but she is very lucky because she manages to escape Animal Farm before Napolean becomes a fully fledged tyrant. The fact that the rest of the animals, besides the pigs, do not trust their own instinct or even themselves contributes to their exploitation by the pigs. The animals are so gullible, that instead of questioning Napolean, they reproach and resolve to work harder and please him more. This is evident in their building of the windmill. They stupidly think that they are working for themselves, not realising that they are only working for Napolean. Also, the element of fear on Animal Farm contributes to their lack of questioning Napolean. The pigs utilise fear by telling the animals that if they do not obey, their old, cruel master Jones will return. In one particular case, the animals grumble
Open Document