Oppression In George Orwell's Animal Farm

A drunk Mr. Jones makes his way to bed, while all the animals gather in the big barn per Old Major’s request. Old Major brings to the other animals’ attention that Man is the cause of their problems. His solution is to get rid of Man which he shares with the other animals before he passes. The other pigs believe that it is their duty to plan for this rebellion. However, one day with no plan the animals rebel because the men have forgotten to feed them once again and they are tired of the oppression.

Old Major persuades the other animals to share his indignation over the men who oppress them through the respect he gains from the animals because of his wisdom. Old Major proves to the other animals that the men treat them unjustly by saying

Orwell choose the word “forced” to convey negative thoughts about how the men treat the animals. The denotation of “forced” is obtain or impose by coercion or physical power. This relates to the main idea because the men obtain their desires from the animals through maltreatment and this relates to the main idea because the animals rebel due to the unjust treatment they receive. The animals consider this oppression because they work hour after hour with no chance to be lethargic. The way the men put the animals to work is similar to the capitalist system in Europe in the mid-1800s in which workers of all ages labored for 14-16 hours a day for adequate wages. The long work hours oppress the workers in Europe just like how the long working hours oppress the animals on Manor farm. To elaborate on his point that the men treat the animals unjustly, Old Major adds “And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span” (29). As stated in the previous quote,

Through Old Major’s speech, the readers can see that Orwell foreshadows the animals’ rebellion. Therefore, after Old Major sadly passes away, the pigs begin planning a rebellion. However, the rebellion comes a lot earlier than the animals expect because the men oppress the animals by forgetting to feed them. After many hours that lengthen into the evening, “the animals were still unfed. At last, they could not stand it no longer” (38). The men mistreat the animals for way too long, and to the animals being unfed was the last straw in their miserable lives. Even while only eating the bare nutrients in order to survive, the men still expect the animals to perform their jobs to their full potential. Consequently, the animals then break into the storage shed that contains food and help themselves to food. The men then enter the shed with whips to punish the animals, and “this was one more than the hungry animals could bear..they flung themselves upon their tormentors” (38). After being abused and mistreated the animals could no longer tolerate their poor living conditions, so they carry out the rebellion by kicking man off Manor farm. The animals rebel against the men similar to the way the Bolshevik Party revolted against the czar regime. The Communist League, which despised the way everyone toiled for hours and hours at work, contrived the