Examples Of Rhetoric In Animal Farm

Animal Farm Essay

Rhetoric has an important part in the analysis of a speech or writing. Things like purpose, context, and choices help the reader understand why the author chose to make the speech or write down what they wrote. A good deep analysis of the text allows for the reader to see inside the speakers mind. In the book Animal Farm propaganda and speeches are used to manipulate the minds of the animals. It was a big factor in Napoleon and the pigs’s rise to power. This speech in particular was made by Old Major to tell the animals about his dream of a world without humans where animals worked for themselves instead of humans. Rhetorics are important to think about when analyzing speeches and text. It helps show instances where pathos,

Appeals being ethos, pathos, and logos. Choices and appeals go hand in hand with each other as both have to do with the same topic of rhetorical choices. Old Major makes many of these throughout his speech to try and gain more trust and believers in his dream of a world without humans. One example of this would be the use of pathos which appeals to emotions, trying to get the audience to feel a certain way towards what you’re saying. A quote that shows this can be found closer to the end of the speech “Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades." Old Major tries to get the animals to have a United feeling of anger or hatred towards man saying all men are enemies and can’t be trusted by animals. Another example of the rhetorics in the speech is antithesis. Antithesis is the bringing of a new plan or idea that goes against what is already happening or a different idea. In this case it would be the idea that animals should work for themselves and rebel against man. In the current state of the world they live in animals slave away their lives for the profit of humans getting little in return, Old Major sees this and tells the animals about a world without man. Saying “ that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the

Tone is the way someone voice sounds. Tone allows for the audience or listener to understand the emphasis and emotion behind the words being spoken to them. Old Major shows compassion and empathy for the animals that worked their lives away for the profit of man while also showing a sign of hope for a better future. He starts off the speech talking about the hardships of being an animal. A quote showing this happens very early on in the speech. “In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall? And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span.” This quote shows the sadness of animals life being given very little in return for the hard labors they give. Another quote showing the empathy for animals happens earlier than the first one. Old Major says “the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.” This quote again talks about the painful lives of animals and how it can be better for animals. While he shows compassion and empathy for animals all over Old Major also talks about hope and a better future. Saying “This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep--and all