Animal Farm Essay -- Animal Farm Essays

George Orwell’s political satire â€Å"Animal Farm† makes some interesting contrasts between the patriotic character of Old Major, an older majestic looking pig, and Napoleon, a pig who seems to bide his time waiting for the right moment to seize control for his own evil purpose. Old Major makes a patriotic speech to the assembled group, expounding the virtues of animalism (socialism) In effect he is calling for a utopian socialism in which the community must sacrifice for the collective well being of its members. He begins with the rhetorical question: â€Å"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: that is the plain truth†. (Ch I) The comparison (analogy) with the original concept of Karl Marx’s socialism is clear: â€Å"1) complete equality of all citizens, 2) abolition of private ownership of the means of production (factories, mines, railways, etc.), 3) the replacement of a market economy with one in which everyone got whatever they needed in return for such labor as they were able to give.† ...