Animal Farm Essay

I believe that the animals’ lives have not changed significantly from the beginning Animal Farm to the end of it. Life for the farm animals in the novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, started out dreary, short, and somewhat hopeless. By the end of the book, the humans have been chased out of their farm, but the animals are now led by the pigs. However, the pigs have slowly progressed to become just like the humans, so the living conditions of the animals have not changed. Their leaders remain the same kind of creatures through the book, whether pig or human, because their behavior is so similar. The lives of the animals are harsh and unforgiving from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. The farm animals were oppressed by the parasitical humans, who beat and starved them, but also profited from them. The humans (Mr. Owens specifically) have superintendence over the animals and force them to work long hours with little sustenance, despite the fact that the animals are far from indefatigable. Mr. Owens is an inebriate, and sometimes to forgets to feed them at all. After they are too old to work (such as in the case of horses), or reach a certain age (in the case of the pigs), the animals are sent to be slaughtered. Through all his cruelty, Mr. Owens benefits from the animals’ hard work. The animals rebel against the humans after the pigs (led by Snowball) canvas support for the revolution, and the animals’ living conditions improve for a short while. After Snowball is chased out, Napoleon takes over and slowly increases their working hours and decreases their food. He maintains the illusion that the animals will be offered retirement after they have reached a certain age. However, Boxer is sent to be made into glue after he is hurt and unable to work anymore, rather than being sent to a hospital like Napoleon claims. The pigs also have whips which they carry around. In this way, the animals are still being beaten, starved, and slaughtered in a contemptible way. Their daily lives have not changed significantly. The similarities between the pigs and humans also support my opinion that the animals’ lives do not change much from the beginning of the book to the end. The pigs and humans both are important to the animals, since they control every aspect of their lives. Mr. Owens, the owner of the farm at the beginning of the book, was a greedy, cruel farmer. He beat and starved the animals and worked them extremely hard. Compared to their work, he did almost nothing, drinking in his home instead. After Mr. and Mrs. Owens and all the other humans are chased off the farm, the animals take over the farm, with the pigs in charge. Although Snowball is a fair leader at first, he is chased off by Napoleon. Napoleon was already planning his machinations quite early on, and his plan to get complete power works. He works the animals harder than ever, and their rations are quite low. While the animals are toiling, the pigs are free to gambol about and do as they please. By the end of the book, the pigs have begun walking on two legs, sleeping in beds, wearing clothes, carrying whips, and drinking alcohol. These are all human characteristics. Therefore, the beings with control over the animals’ lives have changed little. Both Napoleon and Mr. Owens are selfish, ruthless beings who care only for their own profit. From the beginning to the end of Animal Farm, the farm animals are (excluding the pigs) treated badly. Their lives are work-filled, tough, and short. Although the farm changes hands from the humans to their fellow farm animals (pigs), their lives do not improve significantly for the better. In the end, they are actually worse off. The pigs and humans are similar in their behavior, attire, and selfish wishes. I do not think their lives overall have changed significantly over the course of the novel, because their treatment and leaders are roughly the same. Their lives stay mostly the same, because those two things almost completely control their lives.