Thursday, 9 December 2010

Animalism in Orwell's Animal Farm


Principles of Animalism 1: The basic ideas Old Major passes on in his first speech are that humans are the enemy because they overwork the animals and treat them badly. He says all animals should cooperate to overthrow the humans. He teaches that all animals are equal, even the wild creatures like rats and rabbits, and that they should all protect each other as friends. All humans are enemies. He warns the animals never to live in houses, sleep in beds, wear clothes, drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, touch money or engage in trade - these are all the evil habits of humans. Particularly, no animal must ever try to exert power over another animal - strong or weak, they are all brothers. As a symbol of Animalism and its ideas, he teaches them the song, Beasts of England.

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