Animal Farm (Commentary)

Animal Farm Commentary

This extract was taken from the book, Animal Farm written by George Orwell. The scene holds in the second chapter of the book, after Snowball proclaims the seven commandments for all the animals in the farm. This demonstrates the leadership of Snowball and Napoleon. The animals are all hyped and getting prepared for the harvest after driving away their farmer, Jones and his men.
Snowball and Napoleon use strong military language when they are talking about work (the Harvest). For example, Snowball says “let us make it a point of honour to get in the harvest quicker than Jones and his men could do.” This quote by Snowball has the authoritative military essence in it. The quote also tells us that Snowball is acting as a strong leading figure amongst the animals in the farm and he has become an inspiration for the animals after Old Major’s death. Snowball clearly wants the harvest to be more successful and more rapid than it was when it was run under Jones and his men’s command. So do the majority of the other rebelling animals on the farm. Another sign of the strong military and war language amongst the animals is that they address each other as “comrades”. This has become their own way and approach of addressing each other. George Orwell wrote, “…as the animals trooped down to the hayfield to begin the harvest”. This also shows the kind of military language the animals used because the word “trooped” is generally used to describe the movement of soldiers in an army, especially in any mission.
Another significant theme of the extract is the usage of human ideas by the animals. The pigs milked the cows with their “trotters” when the cows felt “uneasy” as they hadn’t been milked for quite a long time just like their farmer Jones always did when he was in control.
The extract also shows that the animals are trying to obliterate all of their past memories, and start their own independent journey. Some of the animals were thinking if they would get some milk and then a hen said, “Jones used to sometimes mix some of it in our mash.” Napoleon instantaneously changes the topic by crying out, “Never mind the milk Comrades.” Napoleon here clearly tries to change the topic and forget about their past when they were pretty much under the control of Mr. Jones. After changing the subject, Napoleon draws focus on the harvest once again by saying, “The harvest is more important.” Snowball, in the first place, started giving the lecture focusing solely on the harvest, and Napoleon at the end also tries to show his leadership skills by summing up everything saying, “Comrade Snowball will lead the way…The hay is waiting.”
This extract seems to be a very important one as it includes some major themes of the book such as the erasing past memories, usage of powerful military language, and the usage of human ideas.