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Minor Characters Are Just as Important as Major Characters in Animal Farm. to What Extent Do You Agree? Essay Example

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Minor Characters Are Just as Important as Major Characters in Animal Farm. to What Extent Do You Agree? Essay Example
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a satirical and allegorical novel of the failed Russian Revolution. The animals of Animal Farm live under the tyranny of their farmer, Mr. Jones. The animals are taught to rebel against the only real enemy they have. As the novel progresses the farm falls under the control of the pigs. The events of the story unfold as a result of the actions of characters such as Napoleon, Old Major and Boxer, but these results would not have been possible if not for the blind faith and loyalty of the animals. Although not all the animals were present to witness the result, they all had important roles to play and are just as important as the ‘major’ characters.

Although Mr. Jones plays a minor role in the events of the story, he “is lord of all the animals” he uses this power to oppress the animals. Without Mr. Jones’s harsh reign over the animals, they (the animals) would not have rebelled against him. He was not a fair and humane farmer and when Old Major pointed this out to the animals by stating “[it is]crystal clear [that], [….] all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings” , the animals grew a sense of hate towards Mr. Jones. This is an example of how the oppression of the animals is an important factor of the rebellion.

Old Major, a prize Middle White Boar, was highly inspiring with his speeches of equality and such “that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say”. He created the foundation of Animalism by putting forth the ideas that “ no animal must ever live in a house, sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade”. Old Major claimed, “the answer to all our problems […] is summed in a single word – Man. Man is the only real enemy we have”. These principals were taken up by most of the animals without any argument. At some moments of the novel these commandments were changed by Squealer (Napoleon’s

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