They say we live in the now, that the past is always gone, and that each day is a fresh beginning, a stepping stone towards a future we fantasise about even when it’s chilly outside. That, for me, is snow, those blustery, icy days of winter. However, I’m content to simply walk through it, leaving a few tracks of my own. I watch them tumble, those feathery gems, yet some of them are on their way to land in my hand, to land on these ungloved fingers and melt in my warmth.
Look at how the snowflakes are whirling; it seems like there’s a ghost standing there. Isn’t it incredible? Sometimes I worry if you’re following me around. On occasion, I’ll walk into the kitchen and see your bowl on your side of the table. I don’t eat apples, yet when I go to the grocery store checkout, I’ll discover a bushel of them in my basket. I don’t drink tea, but every morning at eight o’clock, the time you usually made it, I’ll smell the scent of your favourite blueberry tea. These things were intimidating at first, then nasty. Was it not enough that I had already misplaced you? Is it necessary to constantly reminding me of the pain? Then it occurred to me that it couldn’t possibly be you. You were never unkind to anyone. I came to the conclusion that I was simply going nuts and haunting myself. Isn’t that the more reasonable scenario? Even yet, I couldn’t help but wonder whether I had done something wrong to deserve this.
There’s something about the way raindrops
Fall to the Earth
It falls like the sky is crying
Above me
Cold tears patter on my face
I close my eyes
I cry in the rain so no one sees the tears you gave me
You'll never know how i feel
As we stand here crying
On a night of anguish and rain
Language and the use of eloquence are employed throughout George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm to establish more power. Mr. Jones is banished as a result of Napoleon’s unfair government, which is made possible through the control of words and language employed. The pigs used their eloquent ability and language manipulation to control the farm’s destiny in every circumstance that called into doubt their supremacy. The animals on the farm in this allegory highlight humans’ vulnerability to language manipulation, the false sense of righteousness and selflessness caused by loud words, and the power of persuasive speech without fully understanding the message.
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Animal Farm is written in plain, clear, and accessible language by George Orwell. Orwell avoids emotion and keeps description and conversation to a minimum; even the most heartbreaking passages of the text are written in a direct style. He concentrates on narrating the story, which allows the reader to focus on the lessons he wants us to take away. Orwell demonstrates how speech can be a strong instrument of persuasion through the pigs. The different ways of language that Orwell uses are persuasive questions, controlling questions, and repetition. An example would be, ‘Comrades’, he said quietly, ‘do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!’ pg. 47, there are uses of personal pronouns – Napoleon uses ‘Comrades’ and ‘our’ to get the other animals on his side and uses of questions and repetition – ‘Do you know who is responsible for this?’, ‘do you know the enemy..?’. Napoleon repeats the question and gives them his own answer ‘SNOWBALL’; here, questions are used to control.
Animal Farm investigates the use of propaganda to manipulate people. Orwell depicts the animals being controlled by standard propaganda techniques, such as songs, slogans, and constantly changing information, from the beginning of the novel. Singing “Beasts of England” elicits an emotional response in the animals, reinforcing their devotion to Animalism and the pigs. The use of phrases like Napoleon is always right or four legs good, two legs bad indicates their lack of understanding of the revolution’s sophisticated ideological and cultural ideals. The Seven Commandments of Animalism are always changing, demonstrating how individuals in control of knowledge may manipulate the rest of a population. The pigs, who serve as the leaders of the farm, are the only animals with a strong command of language. Snowball is an eloquent speaker who composes the philosophy of Animalism and persuades his fellow beasts with the power of his oratory. Squealer is adept at lying and spinning stories to maintain control. (For example, when the other animals are upset about Boxer’s cruel fate, Squealer quickly composes a fiction to defuse their anger and confuse the issue.) Napoleon, while not as smart or as eloquent as Snowball, is skilled at imposing his own false view on everyone around him, as when he falsely inserts himself into the historical record of the Battle of the Cowshed.
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Language is employed as a tool of social control in a variety of ways. Squealer is a character who utilises language to keep Napoleon in power. In Chapter 6, it states, With some difficulty Muriel spelt it out. It says ‘No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets’ she announced finally. Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so. Because Squealer and Napoleon can easily change the Seven Commandments without any animals noticing, this quote displays power manipulation. The pigs were responsible for rewriting history. The pigs in the story Animal Farm achieve authority and then use that power to influence the animals. From the start, Snowball and Napoleon had everything planned out. Napoleon was the mastermind behind everything, whereas Snowball was a traitor to the animals. In Chapter 7, Squealer was the one rewriting history because he put Snowball out there as Mr. Jones’ agent. Therefore, if anyone wanted to agree with Snowball was automatically assumed as a traitor and enemy to the animal farm. It’s not what actually is done, it is what others portray them as. Another way history was rewritten in Animal Farm involves the rules of Animalism. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill any other animal. All animals are equal. These rules are changed into No animal shall sleep in a bed ‘with sheets’. No animal shall drink alcohol ‘in excess’. No animal shall kill any other animal ‘unless killing is necessary’. All animals are equal ‘but some are more equal than the others’
The concept of Animal Farm is developed throughout the novel by George Orwell. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others, according to the statement. That quote demonstrates how the story’s central theme is leadership and power corruption. Animal Farm is an allegory and satire about the Russian Revolution and how communism came to be. This prompts us to consider how language manipulation could have been used. Animal Farm shows how individuals’ susceptibility to language manipulation, the false sense of righteousness created by powerful words, and the effect of persuasive speech without fully grasping its meaning can frequently lead to confusion and weakness among the masses. Despite the fact that the characters in the story were animals that may be considered stupid, the novel demonstrates that humans are no better when it comes to manipulating one another via the power of words.
‘Then’ written by Morris Gleitzman, is a novel about a ten year old Jewish boy named Felix and a six year old girl named Zelda. The book is set in World War II in Poland. Felix and Zelda are on the run from Nazis until they come across a kind woman named Genia. Genia gives them a fake identity, food and shelter because she cares for Felix and Zelda. But the Nazis are trying to find all the Jews and the people who are against the Nazis. They want the people to suffer. In Then, not all people turn into animals but some people bring out their true kindness due to war. People can become violent, hungry and thirsty, but most importantly people are hiding in unexpected areas like animals and trying to not get caught, but some, even though this may be happening to them they will still try to be who they were before the war happened, kind and caring.
An example to which war turns people into animals is when Felix turns murderous near the end because of war. At the start of the book, Felix is hopeful that he and Zelda would survive and that he wouldn’t dare kill anything or anyone. All the way to the part where he sees that the Nazis killed the only family he had left. He feels numb and is heartbroken and that’s when he wanted to kill as many Nazis to get revenge, which is not like the Felix we knew at the start of the book. In the book, Felix says to Dov, “I want to kill as many of them as I can.” (Pg. 175.) From this you can tell that Felix intends to kill as many Nazis as he can, why? Because, everything the Nazis has done to his loved ones, he isn’t usually like this but the rage that the Nazis caused, gave him the temptation to kill. War is dangerous because you could change a whole lot just from one action, but if a family member dies or gets injured, you would avenge them and kill the people who caused the incident to happen.
Genia may not like Jews, but they are in danger and she has the courage to step up and risk her life to shelter Jewish people. Genia may be a normal polish woman but there’s a war happening and the Germans want to get rid of as many Jewish people as possible, she therefore decides to ignore her own opinion towards Jewish people and protect them; which also meant she was risking her life! Felix asks Genia “If you hate Jewish people so much, why didn’t you hand me over to the Nazis?” (Pg. 45.) this shows that when something brutal is happening, you could risk your life to protect those who are in danger, or protect yourself. From this, some people do what they think is best but there are always consequences which could mean that they could die for doing what they thought was best.
Amon is an example of a Hitler Youth character who expresses his kindness towards anyone, even in a horrible and dangerous situation. Despite Amon being apart of the terrifying Hitler Youth, he shows compassion to Felix and Zelda and making sure that they are cared for and are safe. Throughout the book every time Zelda or Felix gets into trouble, Amon is always there to assist them in anyway possible. Amon says. “Tell Violetta (Zelda) if she gets into trouble, to ask for me. Amon Kurtz.” (Pg. 149.) Morris Gleitzman is implying that even if you are apart of the Nazi or Hitler Youth, you have some good in you. Some people decide not to use it but some people do and it makes people feel that they are safe and are being cared about. Through this, Gleitzman demonstrates that it doesn’t matter what group you are in or who you are, you can still be amiable to people who are in danger and need help.
War doesn’t always turn all people into animals. Some people will become violent, others will become protective and desperate for shelter and food. Felix becomes violent towards the end, Genia may not like Jewish people but she knows they are in danger and decides to risk her life and Amon is apart of the Hitler Youth but is compassionate towards Felix and Zelda. Everything happens for a reason, this whole thing happened because of war, people showed their true kindness, people showed how violent they can be, people risked their lives for someone else; This all doesn’t happen on a normal day. But war can be dangerous because it could impact how you act in the future. War can turn people into animals but everyone is different.
