It's Not Strange To Mistake Change For Progress

2 Pages 514 Words

“It is not strange…to mistake change for progress.” -- Millard Fillmore

At the beginning of the story, Manor Farm is prospering. However, the animals are very tired and often unfed. The cruel owner, Mr. Jones, is often drunk, and neglects taking care of the animals. They are desperate for any change. Meanwhile, Old Major begins talking of his “Socialist Utopia”, where the animals would overthrow the unkind owner and establish their own government, Animalism, where all animals are equal. The exhausted, underfed animals agree to this, because it appeals to them as a place where they would be happy. Animalism was captivating in part because the animals were desperate for a change. In the Battle of Cowshed, they overthrew the farmer and his wife and accomplished what they had set out to do. They renamed the farm “Animal Farm”, and established the Seven Commandments, which basically stated that no animal was to have contact with humans, or kill another animal. The last of these was “ All animals are equal.” The animals began to do everything on the farm themselves. By the end of each day, they were still exhausted, however, they ate as much as they liked. They also believed that there was a difference between working at Manor Farm and working at Animal Farm: they now weren’t working for some human who didn’t feed them, but were working for their own benefit, because all the crops they produced would be divided equally among them. This mentality continued in the more feeble-minded animals until the very end. However, some of them were beginning to see a significant attitude in the pigs (the wisest animals, and self-appointed leaders) after only a short time. The pigs begin, little by little, to take more food than the rest of the animals, covering it up with: “ The pigs need more food, for they are managing the whole farm”. As time goes on, they take more and more food, and change the commandments to suit their n...