Leadership and Class Division in Animal Farm

1. Leadership and Class Division in Animal Farm A Sample seminar Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

2. Theme # 1:Orwell demonstrates that leadership can cause corruption Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

3. Leadership can cause corruption: Mr. Jones: • initial villain on Animal Farm • was a decent master (or leader) to his animals when the farm was thriving • became corrupt when farm fell on hard times (symbol of the Depression of the 30's), and he and his men began drinking, making them ineffective & corrupt leaders - provided the opportunity to revolt • symbolizes (in addition to the evils of capitalism) Czar Nicholas II. • Old Major describes Man’s (i.e. Mr. Jones’) corrupt leadership: "Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving and the rest he keeps for himself" (Orwell 4). • The threat of Jones’ return is used frequently by Napoleon and Squealer to keep the animals afraid and obedient Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

4. Leadership can cause corruption: Napoleon: • dominant negative force in the text • seems, at first, a good leader, but is eventually overcome by greed and soon becomes power-hungry and manipulative: "Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer--except, of course for the pigs and the dogs" (86). • Rules through fear: “Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back!” (33). • orders the dogs to slaughter other animals to maintain fear and obedience -- this is a climactic turning point in the unspoken conflict of animals versus pigs • becomes a corrupt dictator--represents Stalin Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

5. Theme # 2:Orwell demonstrates how leadership can be corrupted by other forces Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

6. Corruption of leadership by others: Snowball: • very similar to Napoleon at the beginning of the rebellion • often stands in opposition to Napoleon: "Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in the debates. But it was noticed that these two were never in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made, the other could be counted to oppose it" (19-20). • wanted to allow input from others through committees • his leadership is corrupted, not by him, but by Napoleon: “Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball” (68) Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

7. Corruption of leadership by others: • Old Major: • introduces concept of Animalism – nice ideal initially • represents Karl Marx • is respected due to his age, wisdom, and sense of fairness: “no animal must ever tyrannize over his own kind” (12). • his vision is corrupted by the new leadership who make him a symbol of their own ideals: “After the hoisting of the flag, the animals were required to file past the skull [of Old Major] in a reverent manner before entering the barn” (51). Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

8. Symbols used to highlight the concept of leadership Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

9. Symbols of Corrupt Leadership: Alcohol: • represents a corrupting force on those in power • beer represents previous lives of the animals -- Jones lost control of the farm and began being cruel to the animals due to alcohol • alcohol eventually kills Jones: “Jones too was dead - he had died in an inebriates’ home” (85). • originally seen as a grave evil of the new regime, “no animal must ever …drink alcohol,” alcohol later makes the animals suspicious of the pigs -- Napoleon has Squealer change the commandments to accommodate their consumption (12). • Napoleon is eventually indistinguishable from the men, and this is, not coincidentally, is in the presence of alcohol: “the mugs were emptied to the dregs. But as the animals outside gazed at the scene, it seemed to them that some strange thing was happening. What was it that altered in the face of the pigs?” (94). Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

10. Relationships: Class Division Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

11. Lower class Boxer: not overly intelligent – represents working class easily convinced: "Their most faithful disciples were the two carthorses, Boxer and Clover. Those two had great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, but having once accepted the pigs as their teachers, they absorbed everything that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals by simple arguments" (11). Works hard without questioning authority Easily discarded when no longer useful to upper class Class Division: Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

12. Lower class Animals: sheep and other animals are very similar to Boxer and Clover -- depend on their muscles and not their intelligence, which keeps them subservient: “The other animals understood how to vote but could never think of any resolutions of their own” (28). easily brainwashed and led Class Division: Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

13. Class Division: Upper Class Pigs: • support Napoleon • avoid work by ”supervising” lower class: “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others” (25). • live in luxury and enjoy the benefits of the society they control: “It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples" (32). “the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up residence there” (59). Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

14. Class Division: Upper Class The Farmhouse: • represents the place where greed and lust dominate -- first owned by Jones and then by the pigs, but the other animals are never permitted to enter Ribbons & Sugar: • represent luxuries of life • Mollie loves them so much that she leaves the farm for them Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0

15. Class Division: Displaced Upper Class Mollie: • represents former aristocracy – wants luxuries (sugar and ribbons) but would prefer not to work for them • opposes the rebellion because it threatens her way of life • does not want to be in same “class” with Boxer and Clover who must work hard • is easily led away by the promise of luxuries elsewhere – becomes a “traitor” (when she allows a human to pet her) to regain her class • she leaves to regain her comfort-loving bourgeoisie lifestyle Mr. Mehrotra ENG 4U0