Animal Farm: Film or Novel

760 Words4 Pages
The film adaptation of Animal Farm by George Orwell significantly contrasts the novella. The differences provide the reader/viewer two different perspectives on what the story is about and what the author is trying to convey. The setting, techniques used and context are contrasting points between the film and the novella. The movie does not accurately portray Orwell’s intentions since some details are changed or missing. Changed settings create an opportunity for viewers to interpret the film differently. For example, the windmill in the movie is built far from the farm on a knoll. Everyday, the animals had to travel back and forth, no matter what the weather was like. This fact makes the viewer think that the pigs are even crueler; the pigs make the animals carry the heavy stones for construction farther than mentioned in the novella. In Animal Farm, the quarry where the stones are retrieved is found close to the construction site; this enables the animals to carry the stones up the quarry and to the construction site. Also, the corner of the field where the retired animals rest is never shown. This too makes the viewer think the pigs are even more pitiless; if there was more of the field, more can be grown and the pigs would earn more money for themselves. The animals would have to work until their death. In the novella, this land is laid aside for the senior animals, but later is used for growth of barley for beer. As a result, viewers cannot grasp a similar concept given by the novella. Secondly, techniques used in the movie will change the meaning of the plot. In the movie, only the pigs can speak in English. The other animals communicate in their own ways; the horses neigh, the dogs bark, and the cows moo. This technique makes the pigs seem superior to the other animals. In the book, the pigs are selected to be leaders because of their
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