An Introduction

To
Literature

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 Part I

An Introduction to Drama

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What is literature?

Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken

material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe
anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific
works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works
of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama,
fiction, and nonfiction. The kind of literature we are speaking
of is more specifically, "imaginative literature" or "creative
writing."

That kind of literature can be defined as "verbal art".

It's verbal, and it's an art. The implications of that definition
are twofold: first, we acknowledge that we are dealing with
an art, which implies that an artist has constructed this end
product, which is now available to its audience, and is meant
to strike that audience as profoundly beautiful, or meaningful,
or (ideally) both. Whether it is something visual or verbal, or
both, literature is aiming for that same kind of impact. That
impact is not just intellectual; you do not just think something
is profound; you feel it, too. It moves you.

It's important to recognize the verbal aspect of the art

of literature, because words are the literary artist's only tool.

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How does the writer shape and manipulate language so that it
has that impact? Poets usually use figures of speech,
predetermined structures, and other devices to make words
sound striking together; dramatists use dialogue and sets, and
the talents of live actors and actresses to give their work its
power. And what makes a good poem might not make a good
drama, or what makes a good drama might make a boring
poem, etc. But what's common to fiction, poetry, and drama is
that the writer has this unique, profound, beautiful vision to
somehow embody in words. And if those words add up to
something neither unique, nor profound, nor beautiful, nor in
some way useful, then it's probably not good art.

People study literature because it enriches them; it's

informative, it's entertaining, it's profound, it's beautiful and
moving. The best of it can deepen our experience of being
alive, taking us beneath the superficial surface of people, into
their inner caverns. As a discipline, the study of literature is
an excellent way to sharpen your close reading skills,
assemble excellent critical thinking apparatus, and refine your
general sense of art appreciation.

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This course is an introduction to English literature and its
study. It aims to

1) Provide a general background of English literature

2) Develop primary skills of close readings and analysis and

criticism important to your degree as a whole (understanding
of language)

3) Enable you to perceive the pleasure of literature and take

you to a level of competence and sophistication of response to
literature (understand and enjoy)

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 Literary Genres

Literature is divided into three basic kinds of literature,

classic genres of Ancient Greece, poetry, drama, and prose.
Poetry may then be subdivided into epic, lyric, and dramatic.
Subdivisions of drama include foremost comedy and tragedy,
while e.g. comedy itself has sub-genres, including farce,
comedy of manners, burlesque, satire, and so on. However,
any of these terms would be called "genre", and its possible
more general terms implied.

Dramatic poetry, for instance, might include comedy,

tragedy, melodrama, and mixtures like tragicomedy. This
parsing into sub-genres can continue: "comedy" has its own
genres, for example, including comedy of manners,
sentimental comedy, burlesque comedy, and satirical comedy.

Creative nonfiction can cross many genres but is typically

expressed in essays, memoir, and other forms that may or
may not be narrative but share the characteristics of being
fact-based, artistically-rendered prose.

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 Often, the criteria used to divide up works into genres are
not consistent, and may change constantly, and be subject of
argument, change and challenge by both authors and critics.
However, even a very loose term like fiction ("literature
created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it
may be based on a true story or situation") is not universally
applied to all fictitious literature, but instead is typically
restricted to the use for novel, short story, and novella, but not
fables, and is also usually a prose text.

Genres may easily be confused with literary techniques,

but, though only loosely defined, they are not the same;
examples are parody, Frame story, constrained writing,
stream of consciousness.

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I. An Introduction to Drama
Drama is a type of literature usually written to be
performed. People often make a distinction between drama,
which concerns the written text, or script, for the
performance, and theater, which concerns the performance of
this script. Many of the most honored and influential works of
literature around the world have been dramas. They begin
with the classical Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles,
and Euripides and continue with the plays of such major
dramatists as William Shakespeare in England, Molière in
France, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Germany, Henrik
Ibsen in Norway, and August Strindberg in Sweden. The
honor bestowed on drama is particularly true of the Western
tradition, which is the subject of this article.
Drama comes from Greek words meaning "to do" or "to
act." A play is a story acted out. It shows people going
through some eventful period in their lives, seriously or
humorously. The speech and action of a play recreate the flow
of human life. A play comes fully to life only on the stage.
On the stage it combines many arts those of the author,
director, actor, designer, and others. Dramatic performance
involves an intricate process of rehearsal based upon imagery

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inherent in the dramatic text. A playwright first invents a
drama out of mental imagery. The dramatic text presents the
drama as a range of verbal imagery. The language of drama
can range between great extremes: on the one hand, an
intensely theatrical and ritualistic manner; and on the other,
an almost exact reproduction of real life. A dramatic
monologue is a type of lyrical poem or narrative piece that
has a person speaking to a select listener and revealing his
character in a dramatic situation.

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 Drama is divided into the categories of tragedy,
comedy, melodrama, and tragicomedy. Each of these
genre/forms can be further subdivide by style and content.

Tragedy
Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious,
complete, and of a certain magnitude. The tragedy is
presented in the form of action, not narrative. It will arouse
pity and fear in the audience as it witnesses the action. It
allows for an arousal of this pity and fear and creates an affect
of purgation or catharsis of these strong emotions by the
audience. Tragedy is serious by nature in its theme and deals
with profound problems. These profound problems are
universal when applied to the human experience. In classical
tragedy we find a protagonist at the center of the drama that
is a great person, usually of upper class birth. He is a good
man that can be admired, but he has a tragic flaw, a hamartia,
that will be the ultimate cause of his down fall. This tragic
flaw can take on many characteristics but it is most often too
much pride or hubris. The protagonist always learns, usually
too late, the nature of his flaw and his mistakes that have
caused his downfall. He becomes self-aware and accepts the

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inevitability of his fate and takes full responsibility for his
actions. We must have this element of inevitability in
tragedy. There must be a cause and effect relationship from
the beginning through the middle to the end or final
catastrophe. It must be logical in the conclusion of the
necessary outcome. Tragedy will involve the audience in the
action and create tension and expectation. With the climax
and final end the audience will have learned a lesson and will
leave the theatre not depressed or sullen, but uplifted and
enlightened.

Aristotle's definition of tragedy: A tragedy is the imitation

in dramatic form of an action that is serious and complete,
with incidents arousing pity and fear wherewith it effects a
catharsis of such emotions. The language used is pleasurable
and throughout appropriate to the situation in which it is used.
The chief characters are noble personages ("better than
ourselves," says Aristotle) and the actions they perform are
noble actions.

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Central features of the Aristotelian archetype:
1. The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has
greatness. If the hero's fall is to arouse in us the emotions of
pity and fear, it must be a fall from a great height.

2. Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently great, he/she is not

perfect. Tragic flaw, hubris (excessive pride or passion), and
hamartia (some error) lead to the hero's downfall.

3. The hero's downfall, therefore, is partially her/his own

fault, the result of one's own free choice, not the result of pure
accident or villainy, or some overriding malignant fate.

4. Nevertheless, the hero's misfortune is not wholly deserved.

The punishment exceeds the crime. The hero remains
admirable.

5. Yet the tragic fall is not pure loss - though it may result in
the hero's death, before it, there is some increase in
awareness, some gain in self-knowledge or, as Aristotle puts
it, some "discovery."

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6. Though it arouses solemn emotion - pity and fear, says
Aristotle, but compassion and awe might be better terms -
tragedy, when well performed, does not leave its audience in
a state of depression. It produces a catharsis or an emotional
release at the end, one shared as a common experience by the
audience.

Comedy
Comedy should have the view of a ―comic spirit‖ and is
physical and energetic. It is tied up in rebirth and renewal,
this is the reason most comedy end in weddings, which
suggest a union of a couple and the expected birth of children.
In comedy there is absence of pain and emotional reactions,
as with tragedy, and a replaced use of mans intellect. The
behavior of the characters presented in comedy is ludicrous
and sometimes absurd and the result in the audience is one of
correction of behaviors. This correction of behaviors is the
didactic element of comedy that acts as a mirror for society,
by which the audience learns ―don‘t behave in ludicrous and
absurd ways.‖ The types of comedies can vary greatly; there
are situation comedies, romantic comedies, sentimental
comedies, dark comedies, comedy of manners, and pure

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farce. The comic devices used by playwrights of comedy are:
exaggeration, incongruity, surprise, repetition, wisecracks,
and sarcasm.

Melodrama
Melodrama is drama of disaster and differs from tragedy
significantly, in that; forces outside of the protagonist cause
all of the significant events of the plot. All of the aspects of
related guilt or responsibility of the protagonist are removed.
The protagonist is usually a victim of circumstance. He is
acted upon by the antagonist or anti-hero and suffers without
having to accept responsibility and inevitability of fate. In
melodrama we have clearly defined character types with good
guys and bad guys identified. Melodrama has a sense of strict
moral judgment. All issues presented in the plays are resolved
in a well-defined way. The good characters are rewarded and
the bad characters are punished in a means that fits the crime.

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Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is the most life like of all of the genres. It is
non-judgmental and ends with no absolutes. It focuses on
character relationships and shows society in a state of
continuous flux. There is a mix of comedy and tragedy side
by side in these types of plays.

Characteristics of Drama
Most types of literature, including novels, short stories,
and poems, are written to be read, usually in silence by a
solitary reader. Although works of drama, called plays, are
also often read in this manner, they are created primarily to be
presented in public by a group of performers, each of whom
pretends to be one of the characters in the story the play is
telling. Older plays, such as those written by the Greeks or
Shakespeare, consist almost entirely of the words spoken by
these characters (the dialogue). More recent plays usually
contain non-spoken material (the stage directions) that tells
the actors when to enter or leave the performance space, gives
suggestions about how to speak their dialogue (their lines),
and describes their costumes or their physical surroundings
on stage (the setting).

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 The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who laid the
foundations for the critical study of drama, divided the
elements of drama into plot, character, thought, language, and
spectacle. Aristotle considered plot—the basic story and how
it is told—the most important of these, and this is indeed
typically the case. However, almost all dramas use all of these
elements to some extent, telling a story by means of the
interactions of characters, who express their thoughts through
language within a particular visual setting. The balance of
these elements, however, varies from play to play. During
some periods and in some traditions many or most plays
emphasize some element other than plot. Numerous plays
emphasize a particular character or a relationship between
characters, as does Shakespeare‘s Hamlet. Such plays are
especially popular because audiences have always been
interested in seeing their favorite actors interpret such
demanding roles.
Western theater also has a long tradition of plays
emphasizing thought. Such plays are sometimes said to treat a
particular theme and have been called philosophical plays or
thesis plays. Some of the greatest modern dramatists have
emphasized thought or theme, among them George Bernard

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Shaw of Britain and Ibsen, who addressed social issues of
their day, and Bertolt Brecht of Germany, many of whose
plays criticized capitalism and instructed audiences in his
leftist political views.
Language is almost always an important element in drama,
and it is occasionally the dominant element. This is the case
in the poetic dramas of English romantic authors of the early
19th century and in much of what is called high comedy or
comedy of manners, which dates back to the 17th century in
England. The latter tradition emphasizes nuances of social
class and behavior and typically makes prominent use of
witty dialogue, puns, and other verbal acrobatics.
The types of drama that have emphasized spectacle
include opera, modern musical comedy, 19th-century
melodrama, and court spectacles known as masques that
originated in England during the 16th century. Spectacle can
include lavish costumes, elaborate sets or stage machinery,
and other elements that serve to enrich an audience‘s visual
experience of a play.

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Purposes of Drama
Drama has served a wide variety of functions at different
times and in different places. Roman writer Horace, in one of
the most famous statements about the purpose of literature in
general and drama in particular, said it was designed 'to
delight and to instruct.' Sometimes the purpose of drama has
been considered to be primarily the first of these, sometimes
the second, but generally at least some degree of both has
been present.
From classical times until the Renaissance drama was
closely associated with major religious and civic observances
and served to support both. As a result, plays emphasized
instruction. The Renaissance saw examples of theater that
were almost purely instructional at schools and universities,
along with examples that were almost pure entertainment in
the popular theaters at fairs and marketplaces, and a great
variety of combinations of the two. Subsequent popular
drama stressed entertainment, from presentations in farce and
folk theaters of the 18th century to the offerings of major
commercial theaters today. Much of the more serious, literary
drama from the 18th century on has sought to encourage its
audiences to become better informed and more thoughtful

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about a range of political, social, and moral issues. It is
important to remember that drama is also an art form, and can
offer in addition to relaxing entertainment the often more
demanding experience of aesthetic pleasure. In the early 20th-
century the art theater movement stressed this purpose in
particular, by presenting dramas whose primary goal was
neither conventional entertainment nor instruction but an
aesthetic or artistic experience.
Audiences attend plays from a mixture of motivations,
including curiosity, pleasure-seeking, and a desire for
knowledge or aesthetic experience. But all of these experiences
are intensified by the public nature of drama. Because drama is
a literary form designed for public presentation, writing about
drama has often explored how drama relates to society. Some
theorists have argued that, as an art reflecting social concerns
for a group audience, drama is particularly suited to stimulate
social change. Other theorists have argued that the group
orientation of drama means that to succeed drama can never
seriously challenge the audience‘s general assumptions. Even
though critics disagree about drama's revolutionary potential,
most would agree that a central purpose of drama has always
been to provide a means for a society to reflect upon itself and
its beliefs.

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Dramatic Structure
Dramatic structure involves the overall framework
or method by which the playwright uses to organize the
dramatic material and or action. It is important for
playwrights to establish themes but the challenge comes in
applying structure to the ideas and inspirations.
Understanding basic principals of dramatic structure can be
invaluable to the playwright. Most modern plays are
structured into acts that can be further divided into scenes.
The pattern most often used is a method by where the
playwright sets up early on in the beginning scenes all of the
necessary conditions and situations out of which the later
conditions will develop. Generally the wants and desires of
one character will conflict with another character. With this
method the playwright establishes a pattern of complication,
rising action, climax, and resolution. This is commonly
known as cause to effect arrangement of incidents.
The basic Characteristics of the cause to effect arrangement
are:
Clear exposition of situation
Careful preparation for future events
Unexpected but logical reversals

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Continuous mounting suspense
An obligatory scene
Logical resolution
Point of Attack
The moment of the play at which the main action of the plot
begins. This may occur in the first scene, or it may occur
after several scenes of exposition. The point of attack is the
main action by which all others will arise. It is the point at
which the main complication is introduced. Point of attack
can sometimes work hand in hand with a play‘s inciting
incident, which is the first incident leading to the rising action
of the play. Sometimes the inciting incident is an event that
occurred somewhere in the character‘s past and is revealed to
the audience through exposition.

Exposition
Exposition is important information that the audience
needs to know in order to follow the main story line of the
play. It is the aspects of the story that the audience may hear
about but that they will not witness in actual scenes. It
encompasses the past actions of the characters before the
play‘s opening scenes progress.

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Rising Action
Rising action is the section of the plot beginning with the
point of attack and/or inciting incident and proceeding
forward to the crisis onto the climax. The action of the play
will rise as it set up a situation of increasing intensity and
anticipation. These scenes make up the body of the play and
usually create a sense of continuous mounting suspense in the
audience.

The Climax/Crisis
All of the earlier scenes and actions in a play will build
technically to the highest level of dramatic intensity. This
section of the play is generally referred to as the moment of
the plays climax. This is the moment where the major
dramatic questions rise to the highest level, the mystery hits
the unraveling point, and the culprits are revealed. This
should be the point of the highest stage of dramatic intensity
in the action of the play. The whole combined actions of the
play generally lead up to this moment.

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Resolution/Obligatory Scene
The resolution is the moment of the play in which the
conflicts are resolved. It is the solution to the conflict in the
play, the answer to the mystery, and the clearing up of the
final details. This is the scene that answers the questions
raised earlier in the play. In this scene the methods and
motives are revealed to the audience.

Elements of Drama – (In Brief)

1. Plot - the sequence of events or incidents of which the
story is composed.
A. Conflict is a clash of actions, ideas, desires or wills.
a. person against person.
b. person against environment - external force, physical
nature, society, or "fate."
c. person against herself/himself - conflict with some element
in her/his own nature; maybe physical, mental, emotional, or
moral.
B. Protagonist and Antagonist - the protagonist is the central
character, sympathetic or unsympathetic. The forces working
against her/him, whether persons, things, conventions of
society, or traits of their own character, are the antagonists.

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C. Artistic Unity - essential to a good plot; nothing irrelevant;
good arrangement.
D. Plot Manipulation - a good plot should not have any
unjustified or unexpected turns or twists; no false leads; no
deliberate and misleading information.

2. Character
A. Direct Presentation - author tells us straight out, by
exposition or analysis, or through another character.
B. Indirect Presentation - author shows us the character in
action; the reader infers what a character is like from what
she/he thinks, or says, or does. These are also called
dramatized characters and they are generally consistent (in
behavior), motivated (convincing), and plausible (lifelike).
C. Character Types - a Flat character is known by one or two
traits; a Round character is complex and many-sided; a Stock
character is a stereotyped character (a mad scientist, the absent-
minded professor, the cruel mother-in-law); a Static character
remains the same from the beginning of the plot to the end; and a
Dynamic (developing) character undergoes permanent change.
This change must be a. within the possibilities of the character; b.
sufficiently motivated; and c. allowed sufficient time for change.

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3. Theme - the controlling idea or central insight. It can be 1.
a revelation of human character; 2. may be stated briefly or at
great length; and 3. a theme is not the "moral" of the story.
A. A theme must be expressible in the form of a statement -
not "motherhood" but "Motherhood sometimes has more
frustration than reward."
B. A theme must be stated as a generalization about life;
names of characters or specific situations in the plot are not to
be used when stating a theme.
C. A theme must not be a generalization larger than is
justified by the terms of the story.
D. A theme is the central and unifying concept of the story. It
must adhere to the following requirements: 1. It must account
for all the major details of the story. 2. It must not be
contradicted by any detail of the story. 3. It must not rely on
supposed facts - facts not actually stated or clearly implied by
the story.
E. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
F. Any statement that reduces a theme to some familiar
saying, aphorism, or cliché should be avoided. Do not use "A
stitch in time saves nine," "You can't judge a book by its
cover, " "Fish and guests smell in three days," and so on.

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4. Points Of View
A. Omniscient - a story told by the author, using the third
person; her/his knowledge, control, and prerogatives are
unlimited; authorial subjectivity.
B. Limited Omniscient - a story in which the author
associates with a major or minor character; this character
serves as the author's spokesperson or mouthpiece.
C. First Person - the author identifies with or disappears in a
major or minor character; the story is told using the first
person "I".
D. Objective or Dramatic - the opposite of the omniscient;
displays authorial objectivity; compared a roving sound
camera. Very little of the past or the future is given; the story
is set in the present.
5. Symbol - a literary symbol means more than what it is. It
has layers of meanings. Whereas an image has one meaning,
a symbol has many.
A. Names used as symbols. B. Use of objects as symbols. C.
Use of actions as symbols.
Note: The ability to recognize and interpret symbols requires
experience in literary readings, perception, and tact. It is easy
to "run wild" with symbols - to find symbols everywhere. The

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ability to interpret symbols is essential to the full
understanding and enjoyment of literature. Given below are
helpful suggestions for identifying literary symbols:

1. The story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be

taken symbolically - symbols nearly always signal their
existence by emphasis, repetition, or position. 2. The meaning
of a literary symbol must be established and supported by the
entire context of the story. A symbol has its meaning inside
not outside a story. 3. To be called a symbol, an item must
suggest a meaning different in kind from its literal meaning.
4. A symbol has a cluster of meanings.

6. Irony - a term with a range of meanings, all of them

involving some sort of discrepancy or incongruity. It should
not be confused with sarcasm which is simply language
designed to cause pain. Irony is used to suggest the difference
between appearance and reality, between expectation and
fulfillment, the complexity of experience, to furnish indirectly
an evaluation of the author's material, and at the same time to
achieve compression.
A. Verbal irony - the opposite is said from what is intended.

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B. Dramatic irony - the contrast between what a character
says and what the reader knows to be true.
C. Irony of situation - discrepancy between appearance and
reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between
what is and what would seem appropriate.
Top Drama has one characteristic peculiar to itself - it is
written primarily to be performed, not read. It is a
presentation of action a. through actors (the impact is direct
and immediate), b. on a stage (a captive audience), and c.
before an audience (suggesting a communal experience). Of
the four major points of view, the dramatist is limited to only
one - the objective or dramatic. The playwright cannot
directly comment on the action or the character and cannot
directly enter the minds of characters and tell us what is going
on there. But there are ways to get around this limitation
through the use of 1. soliloquy (a character speaking directly
to the audience), 2. chorus ( a group on stage commenting on
characters and actions), and 3. one character commenting on
another.

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 Plot Summary

Oedipus, the ruler of Thebes, approaches a group of

unhappy citizens, represented by a priest, and asks them what
is wrong. They answer that the city is dying and that they are
sick and poor. Oedipus sympathizes and tells them that, as
their ruler, he is also troubled by the sickness of the city, and
has already taken steps to see that something be done about it.
The first step he has taken was to send Creon to Apollo's
shrine to see what the god recommends they do. As Creon
appears, he tells them that the god, Apollo, said that there is
bad blood in Thebes, and that until this blood is expelled
Thebes will be a sick city.
This bad blood is the blood of the person who killed
Laios. When Oedipus asks why the case was not investigated,
as he had not come to Thebes at that point, the people answer
that they were too busy trying to solve the Sphinx's riddle.
Oedipus says that no matter what the cost is, he will get to the
bottom of it, both because it harms Thebes, and because Laios
was noble and loyal. The elders say that they do not have any
knowledge of the murder, and suggest that Oedipus call
Tiresias, a blind prophet, to help and advise him. Oedipus

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says that he has already done this, and Tiresias arrives
promptly. Although reluctant to speak, Oedipus forces
Tiresias to reveal what he knows. Tiresias says that Oedipus
is Thebes' pollution and that he killed his father and sleeps
with his mother, and that this is the truth. Oedipus accuses
Tiresias of lying on Creon's behalf so that Creon can kill
Oedipus and take over the position of ruler of Thebes.
Creon enters and says that Oedipus is not making any
sense-of course he did not collaborate with Tiresias, because
he also owns a third of Thebes but chooses not to rule it,
leaving Thebes to Oedipus, which shows that he is not
interested in ruling at all. Jocasta enters and stops the two
men from arguing. When Creon leaves, she asks Oedipus
what happened and he explains the whole story to her. She
tells him not to believe the words of the oracle, as an oracle
once predicted that her son would kill his father and share her
bed, and this has never happened. She bore a son with Laios,
but Laios had the feet of the child bound and had the child
tossed in the wilderness.
Although this story is supposed to calm Oedipus down, it
only worries him more. He asks about the place and time of
Laios' death and for a description of Laios. Every answer

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adds to Oedipus' worry. Jocasta informs him that there was
one survivor who was with Laios when he was attacked, so
Oedipus calls for him. Jocasta also says that Laios had been
killed by a group of people.
While waiting for the survivor, Oedipus tells Jocasta his
life story, that a man had called him a bastard son, so he went
to an oracle to inquire about it as no one would speak to him
about it. The oracle, Delphi, told him that he was to kill his
father and sleep with his mother. As a result, he left his
hometown so that he would protect himself and his parents
from this terrible prediction. On his journey to another town,
he came to a three-pronged fork in the road, where a group of
men attacked him. Oedipus killed all of them except for one.
At this time, a Corinthian enters and asks Oedipus to
come back to Corinth and rule since his father has died.
Afraid of his fate, Oedipus refuses, as he does not want to
harm his mother. However, when Oedipus explains to the
Corinthian his fate, the Corinthian says that Merope and
Polybus were not Oedipus' real parents and that he had given
Oedipus to them as a gift. When he asks where he was found,
Oedipus is told that a herdsman had given him to the
Corinthian in Mount Kithairon where he used to be a

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shepherd, and that his feet were tied together. When the
survivor from Laios' killing enters, the Corinthian identifies
him as the man who had given him Oedipus, and the
herdsman admits that Jocasta had given him the baby to get
rid of it, and that he had thought the Corinthian would take
him far away, never to be seen again.
As a result of discovering all of the horrible prophecies
have been fulfilled, Jocasta hangs herself. Oedipus discovers
her body and takes her brooches off her dress and pierces his
eyes until they bleed and he blinds himself. Then, he asks to
be exiled from Thebes, which Creon grants, and he leaves to
return to his starting place, Mount Kithairon. His daughters,
Antigone and Ismene, are left in the hands of Creon, who
proves to be a true friend of Oedipus.

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 Short Summary
When the play opens, the city of Thebes is wasting away
under a plague that leaves its fields and women barren.
Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has sent his brother-in-law,
Creon, to ask the house of Apollo to ask the oracle how to put
an end to the plague. Creon returns, bearing good news: once
the killer of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes will be
cured of the plague (Laius was Jocasta's husband before she
married Oedipus). Hearing this, Oedipus swears he will find
the murderer and banish him. He asks Creon some questions:
where was Laius murdered? did anyone see the crime? how
many men killed him? Creon answers: Laius was killed
outside the city by a group of robbers, and the only witness
was a shepherd who still lives nearby. Hearing this, Oedipus
asks the people of Thebes if any of them know any
information about the king's death. The Chorus (representing
the people of Thebes) suggests that Oedipus consult Teiresias,
the blind prophet. Oedipus tells them that he has already sent
for Teiresias.
When Teiresias arrives, he seems reluctant to answer
Oedipus's questions, warning him that he does not want to
know the answers. Oedipus threatens him with death, and

35
finally Teiresias tells him that Oedipus himself is the killer,
and that his marriage is a sinful union. Oedipus takes this as
an insult and jumps to the conclusion that Creon paid
Teiresias to say these things. He also mocks Teiresias, telling
him that he is no prophet; a prophet should have been able to
answer the Sphinx's riddle, but Oedipus himself was the only
one who could. Teiresias counters that although he has no
sight, Oedipus is the one who is blind to the truth. He asks
him whose son he is and reminds him of the curse on his
parents' heads. He tells him that he will leave Thebes in
shame. Furious, Oedipus dismisses him, and Teiresias goes,
repeating, as he does, that Laius's killer is right here before
him a man who is his father's killer and his mother's husband,
a man who came seeing but will leave in blindness.
Creon enters, asking the people around him if it is true
that Oedipus slanderously accused him. The Chorus tries to
mediate, but Oedipus appears and charges Creon with
treason. The men fight until Jocasta, Oedipus's wife, arrives.
They explain the nature of their argument to Jocasta, who
begs Oedipus to believe Creon. The Chorus also begs
Oedipus to be open-minded, and Oedipus unwillingly relents
and allows Creon to go. Jocasta asks Oedipus why he is so

36
upset and he tells her what Teiresias prophesied. Jocasta
comforts him by telling him that there is no truth in oracles or
prophets, and she has proof. Long ago an oracle told Laius
that his own son would kill him, and as a result he and Jocasta
gave their infant son to a shepherd to leave out on a hillside to
die with a pin through its ankles. Yet Laius was killed by
robbers, not by his own son, proof that the oracle was wrong.
But something about her story troubles Oedipus; she said that
Laius was killed at a place where three roads meet, and this
reminds Oedipus of an incident from his past, when he killed
a stranger at a place where three roads met. He asks her to
describe Laius, and her description matches his memory. Yet
Jocasta tells him that the only eyewitness to Laius's death
swore that five robbers killed him. Oedipus summons this
witness.
While they wait for the man to arrive, Jocasta asks
Oedipus why he seems so troubled. Oedipus tells her the
story of his past. Once when he was young, a man he met told
him that he was not his father's son. He asked his parents
about it, and they denied it. Still it troubled him, and he
eventually went to an oracle to ask. The oracle told him that
he would kill his father and marry his mother. This so

37
frightened Oedipus that he left his hometown and never
returned. On his journeys, he came across a haughty man at a
crossroads and killed this man when he insulted him. Oedipus
is afraid that the stranger he killed might have been Laius. If
this is the case, Oedipus will be forever banished both from
Thebes (the punishment he swore for the killer of Laius) and
from Corinth, his hometown (because he is afraid of killing
his father and marrying his mother if he returns). If this
eyewitness will swear that robbers killed Laius, then Oedipus
is free, and this is what he prays will happen. Oedipus and
Jocasta enter the castle to wait for the witness.
Jocasta comes back out of the castle, on her way to the
holy temples to pray for Oedipus. A messenger arrives from
Corinth with the news that Oedipus's father Polybus is dead.
Overjoyed, Jocasta sends for Oedipus, glad that she has even
more proof in the uselessness of oracles. Oedipus rejoices, but
then states that he is still afraid of the rest of the oracle's
prophecy: that he will marry his mother. The messenger
assures him that he need not fear approaching Corinth, since
Meropé, his mother, is not really his mother, and for that
matter, Polybus wasn't his father either. Stunned, Oedipus
asks him how he knows this. The messenger replies that years

38
ago a man gave a baby to him and he gave this baby to the
king and queen of Corinth, and this baby was Oedipus
himself. The debility of Oedipus's ankles is a testament to the
truth of his tale, because the baby's feet had been pinned
through the ankles. Oedipus asks the messenger who gave the
baby to him, and he replies that it was one of Laius's servants.
Oedipus sends his men out to find this man. The messenger
suggests that Jocasta should be able to help identify the man.
Suddenly figuring out the horrible truth, Jocasta begs Oedipus
not to carry through with his investigations. Oedipus replies
that he swore to unravel this mystery, and he will. Jocasta
runs inside the castle, saying a final farewell to Oedipus.
Oedipus again swears that he will figure out this secret, no
matter how vile the answer is. He assumes that Jocasta is
ashamed at his seemingly low birth. The Chorus senses that
something bad is going to happen. Oedipus's men lead in an
old shepherd, who is afraid to answer Oedipus's questions.
But finally he tells Oedipus the truth. He did in fact give the
messenger a baby boy, and that baby boy was Laius's son, the
very same son that Jocasta and Laius left on a hillside to die
because of the oracle's prophecy.

39
 Finally the truth is out, and Oedipus runs into the castle,
roaring with anguish. He grabs a sword and searches for
Jocasta with the intent to kill her. But when he enters her
chambers he finds that she has hanged herself. He takes the
gold brooches with which she had fastened her dress and
gouges his eyes out. He enters the stage again, with blood
streaming from his now blind eyes. He cries out that he, who
has seen and done such vile things, shall never see again. He
begs the Chorus to kill him. Creon enters, having heard the
entire story, and begs Oedipus to come inside, where he will
not be seen. Oedipus begs him to let him leave the city, and
Creon tells him that he must consult Apollo first. Oedipus
tells him that banishment was the punishment he declared for
Laius's killer, and Creon agrees with him. Before he goes,
though, Oedipus asks to see his daughters and begs Creon to
take care of them. Then Oedipus is led away and Creon and
the girls go back in the castle. The Chorus, alone, laments the
sad story of Oedipus, the greatest of men, who fell so low.

41
Oedipus The King- Setting
Thebes: The city in which all events take place. Thebes is
deteriorating, with infertile soil, and women who are giving
birth only to stillborns. As a result, its ruler, Oedipus, wants
to find out what is wrong and has sent his brother-in-law,
Creon, to an oracle. This oracle says that there is someone
living in Thebes who is of bad blood.
Sphinx's riddle: Thebes was cursed by this riddle, which
Oedipus solved when he first came to Thebes. As a result, he
was considered the savior of the city, and people expect him
to save Thebes again from its current troubles.
Shrine: Every time someone has a problem, they go to the
appropriate god's shrine to pray. The common belief is that
the gods will solve problems or show people the road to a
solution.
Corinth: The city where Oedipus grew up. He left Corinth
because he was scared of his fate--that he would kill his father
and share a bed with his mother. He left thinking that Polybus
and Melope were his true parents.
Fate: Running from fate drives everyone's actions. Oedipus
tried to avoid his fate by leaving Corinth, so he wouldn't kill
his father and wed his mother. Iokaste discarded her son

41
because of his cursed fate. However, Oedipus ends up
running directly into his and his family's inescapable fate.
Oracles: Fate is predicted by the oracles, and the elders
believe that it is a sin not to believe them. Jocasta, however,
does not believe in the oracles when they predict that her son
will kill his father and have sex with her, because she thinks
her son is dead. In trying to convince Oedipus that the oracles
do not know what they are talking about, she brings out the
truth--that Oedipus is her son and that the oracles have
predicted their fate correctly.

Isthmia: Corinth is a part of this land. The Corinthian comes

to Thebes to tell Oedipus that his father has died, and that the
people of Isthmia want him to become their new ruler.

Mount Kithairon: The mountain where Oedipus was given

to the Corinthian, when a herdsman from Thebes was ordered
to get rid of the child. This is also the place Oedipus chooses
for his new home when he is exiled from Thebes.

42
 General Appreciation of Oedipus The King
The plot of Oedipus The King is a search or knowledge
and its climax is a recognition of truth. The hero here is a man
whose self-esteem is rooted in his pride of intellect. The gods
here manifest themselves not by means of any miracle but by
a prediction which is proved true after a long time. This play
received many explanations. The play, for instance, has been
interpreted to mean that a wicked man is punished or that an
imprudent man pays the price the price or that an innocent
man is victimized by fate. The plot is well-knitted. Each
episode leads logically to the next one and everything that
happens in the story is well-motivated.
In addition, there is a good use of dramatic irony in the
play. Dramatic irony occurs when we, the audience, know
something that characters on the stage do not know. It is used
here to highlight the weaknesses of Oedipus personality and
foreshadow the tragic end of the play. There is irony in "I will
fight for him as if he were my father." Here, the audience
knows that he is his father and that Oedipus himself is the
sinner who has killed his father. This dramatic irony helps to
intensify the tragic effect when the revelation is made. It also
produces a tragic atmosphere over the scene.

43
 The characters are well-portrayed in a good dramatic
way. Creon was honest, calm, rational. These qualities served
in the play to be as a standard by which we can judge the
rashness of Oedipus. Jocasta was a loving wife but she could
not escape from her fate.

Oedipus The King can be considered a didactic play. It

may be asserted that the play teaches the reader to cultivate
the virtue of modesty or self-restraint, or self-control, or
caution. This can be seen through the contrast between
Oedipus and Creon. Creon's personality illustrates this
virtue. He is all the time respectable, cautious and reverent.
He represents the very real power of human law and of the
human need for an orderly, stable society. When we first see
Creon in Oedipus the King, Creon is shown to be separate
from the citizens of Thebes. He tells Oedipus that he has
brought news from the oracle and suggests that Oedipus hear
it inside. The news is that the murderer of king Laius lives on
the soil of Thebes and must be killed or banished if the people
are to expect any relief in their present suffering. It has
become clear that Creon speaks on the basis of sure
knowledge. So, Creon enjoys the full confidence of his sister,

44
Jocasta. In the final scene Creon gives a good account of
himself and reinforce the good impression which we have
formed of him. He tells Oedipus, who is now blind, that he
has not come to reproach him but to show his help and
kindness.

45
 Oedipus as a Tragic Hero
Oedipus is the main character and the tragic hero in the
play Oedipus The King a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles.
A tragedy in Greek drama deals with the downfall of a man
from power. This downfall is brought about be a flaw in his
character or by some specific sin. So, king Oedipus finds his
kingdom ravaged by disease and famine. It is clear that gods
are angry with someone. Then, Oedipus discovers that he
himself is the sinner and his two sins are the most detestable
known to a society that is parricide and incest. He killed his
father and married his mother. Thus, we see the downfall of
Oedipus after this discovery. Moreover, in this play, all the
Aristotelian conceptions about tragedy are applicable.
According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is a noble man and
Oedipus is the king of Thebes. This stature of Oedipus is
what makes his downfall more terrifying. Although the tragic
hero is great, he is not perfect. Aristotle says that his fall is
caused by "some error". This can clearly be seen in Oedipus
the King. Oedipus has committed two sins. He killed an old
man on the road to discover later that it is his father who has
been killed. Also he married a widow who is his mother.

46
However, he has committed these two sins without intention
nor knowledge.
Actually, we are terrified with what Oedipus has done.
Yet, the gods are just: the suicide of his mother-wife and his
own blindness are mean of expiating crimes which, though
unconscious, still crimes. So, we feel pity for Oedipus and
horror at the situation he finds himself in. Also we may
experience fear because the failure of Oedipus the king is so
great. However these two negative emotions are purged
because, at the end of the play, we feel relieved toward
Oedipus end which affirms the human values.

47
Jocasta
Jocasta has a brief but essential and crucial role to play in
the drama. Her first speech on the stage shows her to be a
moderate kind of person with a balanced mind. She scolds
both her husband and her brother for quarrelling over private
matters when the city is passing through a critical phase of its
existence. Jocasta gives further expression to her philosophy
of life when she urges Oedipus to entertain fears of any kind.
What has a man to do with fear? She asks. She believes that
chance rules human lives and that the future is all unknown.
After the discovery of the truth, Jocasta tries to prevent
Oedipus from learning the truth, though he pays no attention
to her. A little later, we learn that she has hanged herself in
her fit of sorrow and grief. This end which Jocasta meets is
the only right end for a woman in her position. This end also
contributes to the effect of catharsis in the play. She shares
Oedipus's life and tragedy. However, she is, in a moral sense,
neither guilty nor innocent.

48
Creon
Creon is one of the main characters in Oedipus The King.
He is Jocasta's brother and a devout follower of the oracle of
Apollo, and as the play opens, he is returning from the oracle
with the news that Laius's killer must be found. He is a loyal
friend to Oedipus, unresentful of the accusations Oedipus
makes against him and kind to him when Oedipus finally
discovers the horrible truth.
Oedipus The King can be considered a didactic play. It
may be asserted that the play teaches the reader to cultivate
the virtue of modesty or self-restraint, or self-control, or
caution. This can be seen through the contrast between
Oedipus and Creon. Creon's personality illustrates this virtue.
He is all the time respectable, cautious and reverent. He
represents the very real power of human law and of the
human need for an orderly, stable society. When we first see
Creon in Oedipus the King, Creon is shown to be separate
from the citizens of Thebes. He tells Oedipus that he has
brought news from the oracle and suggests that Oedipus hear
it inside. The news is that the murderer of king Laius lives on
the soil of Thebes and must be killed or banished if the people
are to expect any relief in their present suffering. It has

49
become clear that Creon speaks on the basis of sure
knowledge. So, Creon enjoys the full confidence of his sister,
Jocasta. In the final scene Creon gives a good account of
himself and reinforce the good impression which we have
formed of him. He tells Oedipus, who is now blind, that he
has not come to reproach him but to show his help and
kindness

Teiresias
Teiresias is a blind prophet who knows the truth about
Oedipus's parentage. Oedipus calls on him to find Laius's
killer but becomes angry when Teiresias claims that Oedipus
himself is the killer. As he leaves he tells Oedipus that he is
his wife's son and his father's killer, and that Oedipus will
leave Thebes in shame, but Oedipus does not listen, instead
accusing Teiresias of conspiring with Creon to overthrow
him. Tiresias has the special gift of foresight and prophecy,
which he learns from the gods. In many ways, he is the gods'
messenger. Though Oedipus accuses him, too, of treason,
Tiresias is proved right in the end.

51
The Chorus
The chorus is considered the nucleus from which tragedy
evolved. It has a central place in the drama throughout
classical ages. The use of the chorus varied depending on he
playwright. Most often, it acts as "ideal spectator" as in
Oedipus The King. It clarifies the experiences and feelings of
the characters.
The Chorus and their leader are seen throughout the play.
The Chorus usually represents the townspeople as a whole as
they respond to the new twists in the plot. The Chorus is also
a way for Sophocles to reveal the major themes of his
tragedy.
The Chorus reacts to events as they happen, generally in a
predictable, though not consistent, way. It generally expresses
a longing for calm and stability. For example, in Oedipus the
King, it asks Oedipus not to banish Creon. In moments like
these, the Chorus seeks to maintain the status quo, which is
generally seen to be the wrong thing. The Chorus is not
cowardly so much as nervous and complacent—above all, it
hopes to prevent upheaval.
The Chorus is given the last word in the play. At the end
of Oedipus the King, the Chorus combines the people of

51
―Thebes‖ with the audience in the theater. The message of the
play, delivered directly to that audience, is one of complete
despair: ―count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last‖
(1684). Because the Chorus, and not one of the individual
characters, delivers this message, the play ends by giving the
audience a false sense of closure. That is, the Chorus makes it
sound like Oedipus is dead, and their final line suggests there
might be some relief. But the audience must immediately
realize, of course, that Oedipus is not dead. He wanders, blind
and miserable, somewhere outside of Thebes. The audience,
like Oedipus, does not know what the future holds in store.
The play‘s ability to universalize, to make the audience feel
implicated in the emotions of the Chorus as well as those of
the protagonist, is what makes it a particularly harrowing
tragedy, an archetypal story in Western culture.

52
 Part II

An Introduction To Novel

53
 Literary Elements of the Novel
Plot
Plot is the author's arrangement of incidents in a story It is
the organizing principle that controls the order of events. This
structure is, in a sense, what remains after a writer edits out
what is irrelevant to the story being told.
Events can be presented in a variety of orders. A
chronological arrangement begins with what happens first,
then second, and so on, until the last incident is related. That
is how "Rip Van Winkle" is told. The events in William
Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily ",however, are not arranged in
chronological order because that would give away the story's
surprise ending; instead, Faulkner moves back and forth
between the past and present to provide information that leads
up to the final startling moment.
Some stories begin at the end and then lead up to why or
how events worked out as they did. Another common strategy
is the flashback, a device that inform about events that
happened before the opening scene of a work.

54
Character
Character is essential to plot. Characters are influenced by
events just as events are shaped by characters.
The methods by which a writer creates-people in a story so
that they seem actually to exist are called characterization.

A character is usually but not always a person. In Jack

London's Call of the Wild, the protagonist is a devoted sled
dog; in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, the antagonist is an
unfathomable whale. Perhaps the only possible qualification
to be placed on character is that whatever it is—whether an
animal or even an inanimate object, such as a robot — it must
have some recognizable human qualities. The action of the
plot interests, us primarily because we care about what
happens to people and what they do. We may identify with a
character's desires and aspirations, or we may be disgusted by
his or her viciousness and selfishness.
In most stories we expect characters to act plausibly and
in ways consistent with their personalities, but that does not
mean that characters cannot develop and change. A dynamic
character undergoes some kind of change because of the
action of the plot.

55
 The protagonist in a story is usually a dynamic character
who experiences some conflict that makes an impact on his or
her life- Less commonly; static characters can also be
protagonists.

The extent to which a character is developed is another

means by which character can be analyzed. The novelist E.
M. Forster coined the terms flat and round to distinguish
degrees of character development. flat character embodies
one or two qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily
described in a brief summary. Flat characters tend to be one-
dimensional. They are readily accessible because their
characteristics are few and simple; they are not created to be
psychologically complex.
Some flat characters are immediately recognizable as stock
characters.Stock characters are types rather than individuals.
Round characters are more complex than flat or stock
characters. Round characters have more depth and require
more attention. They may surprise us or puzzle us. Although
they are more fully developed, round characters are also more
difficult to summarize, because we are aware of competing
ideas, values, and possibilities in their lives.

56
Setting
Setting is the context in which the action of a story
occurs. The major elements of setting are the time, place, and
social environment that frame the characters. These elements
establish the world in which the characters act. In most stories
they also serve as more than backgrounds and furnishings.
If we are sensitive to the contexts provided by setting, we
are better able to understand the behavior of the characters
and the significance of their actions.
Settings can be used to evoke a mood or atmosphere that will
prepare the reader for what is to come

Point of View
Point of view refers to who tells us the story and how it is
told. What we know and how we feel about the event's in a
story are shaped by the author s choice of a point of view-
The teller of a story, the narrator, inevitably affects our
understanding of the characters' actions by filtering what is
told through his or her own perspective. The narrator should
not be confused with the author- who has created the
narrative voice, because the two are usually diviner.

57
 The possible ways of telling a story are many, and more
than one point of view can be worked into a single story.
However, the various points of view that storytellers draw
upon can be conveniently grouped into two broad categories:

(1) the third-person narrator, and

(2) the first-person narrator.
The third-person narrator uses he, she ,or they to tell the
story and does not participate in the action- The first-person
narrator uses I and is a major or minor participant in the
action. A second-person narrator, you, is possible but rarely
used because of the awkwardness in thrusting the reader into
the story, as in "You are minding your own business on a
park bench when a drunk steps out of the bushes and demands
your lunch bag".
Let's look now at the most important and most often used
variations within first- and third-person narrations.
THIRD-PERSON NARRATOR (non participant(
1. Omniscient (the narrator lakes us inside the character)
2. Limited omniscient (the narrator takes us inside one or two
characters)
3. Objective (the narrator is outside the characters(

58
FIRST-PERSON NARRATOR (participant)
1. Major character
2. Minor character

No type of third-person narrator appears as a character in

a story- The omniscient narrator is all-knowing. From this
point of view, the narrator can move from place to place and
pass back and forth through time, slipping into and out of
characters as no human being possibly could in real life.
This narrator can report the characters' thoughts and
feelings as well as what they say and do.
There is also the stream of consciousness technique. This
technique takes a reader inside a character's mind to reveal
perceptions, thoughts, and feelings on a conscious or
unconscious level. A stream of consciousness suggests the
flow of thought as well as its content.
With a first-person narrator, the I presents the point of
view of only one character's consciousness. The reader is
restricted to the perceptions thoughts, and Feelings of that
single character. This is Melville's technique with the lawyer
in "Banleby, the Scrivener" (p. 83). Everything learned about
the characters, action, and plot comes from the unnamed

59
lawyer.Bartleby remains a mystery because we are limited to
what the lawyer knows and reports. The lawyer cannot
explain what Banleby means because he does not entirely
know himself. Melville's use of the first person encourages us
to identify with the lawyer's confused reaction to Bartleby so
that we pay attention not only to the scrivener but also to the
lawyer's response to him.
We are as perplexed as the lawyer and share his effort to
make sense of ٍ Banleby.
One of the primary reasons for identifying the point of
view in a story is to determine where the author stands in
relation to the story. Behind the
narrative voice of any story is the author, manipulating events
and providing or withholding information. It is a mistake to
assume that the narrative voice of a story is the author. The
narrator, whether a third-person participant or a third-person
non participant, is a creation of the writer

61
Symbolism
A symbol is a person, object, or event that suggests more
than its literal meaning. This basic definition is simple
enough, but the use of symbol in literature makes some
students slightly nervous because they tend to regard it as a
booby trap, a hidden device that can go off during a
seemingly harmless class discussion. "I didn't see that when I
was reading the story" is a frequently heard comment. This
son of surprise and recognition is both natural and common.
Most readers go through a story for the first time getting their
bearings, figuring out what is happening to whom and so on.
Patterns and significant details often require a second or
third reading before they become evident—before a symbol
sheds light on a story. Then the details of a work may
suddenly fit together and its meaning may be-reinforced,
clarified, or enlarged by the symbol.
Common sense is a good place to begin. Symbols appear
all around us anything can be given symbolic significance.
Without symbols our lives would be curiously stark and
vacant. Awareness of a writer's use of symbols is not all that
different from the kinds of perceptions and interpretations
that allow us to make sense of our daily lives. We know, for

61
example, that a ring used in a wedding is more than Just a
piece of jewelry because if suggests the unity and intimacy of
a closed circle. The bride's gown may be white because we
associate innocence arid purity with that color. Or consider
the meaning of a small alligator sewn on a shirt or some other
article of clothing. What started out as a company trademark
has gathered around it a range of meanings suggesting
everything from quality and money to preppmess –and
silliness. The ring, the white gown, and the alligator
trademark are symbolic because each has meanings that go
beyond its specific qualities and functions.
Symbols such as these that are widely recognized by a
society or culture are called conventional symbols. The
Christian cross, the Star of David, or a nation's flag all have
meanings understood by large groups of people. Certain kinds
of experiences also have traditional meanings in Western
cultures. Winter, the setting sun, and the color black suggest
death, while spring, the rising sun, and the color green evoke
images of youth and new beginnings. (It is worth noting,
however, that individual cultures sometimes have their own
conventions; some Oriental countries associate white rather
than black with death and mourning. And obviously the

62
alligator trademark would mean nothing to anyone totally
unfamiliar with American culture. These broadly shared
symbolic meanings are second nature to us.Writers use
conventional symbols to reinforce meanings.
A literary symbol can include traditional, conventional, or
public meanings, but it may also be established internally by
the total context of the work in which it appears. A literary
symbol can be a setting, character, action, object, name, or
anything else in a work that maintains its literal significance
while suggesting other meanings. Symbols cannot be
restricted to a single meaning; they are suggestive rather than
definitive. Their evocation of multiple meanings allows a
writer to say more with less. Symbols are economical devices
for evoking complex ideas without having to resort to
painstaking explanations that would make a story more like
an essay than an experience.
When a character, object, or incident indicates a single,
fixed meaning the writer is using allegory rather than symbol.
Unlike with symbols, which have literal functions as well as
multiple meanings, the primary focus in allegory is on the
abstract idea called forth by the concrete object.

63
Theme
Theme is the central idea or meaning of a story. It provides
a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting,
point of view, symbols, and other elements of a story are
organized. In some works the theme is explicitly stated. Most
modem writers, however, present their themes implicitly. So
determining the underlying meaning of a work often requires
more effort.
One reason for the difficulty is that the theme is fused into
the elements of the story, and these must be carefully
examined in relation to one another as well as to the work as a
whole- But then that's the value of determining the theme, for
it requires a close analysis of all the elements of a work This
close reading often results in sharper insights into this
overlooked character or that seemingly unrelated incident.
Accounting for the details and seeing how they fit together
result in greater understanding of the story. Such familiarity
creates pleasure in much the same way that a musical piece
heard more than once becomes a rich experience rather than
simply a repetitive one.
Themes are not always easy to express, but some
principles can aid you in articulating the central meaning of a

64
work. First distinguish between the theme of a story and its
subject. They are not equivalents. Many stories share
identical subjects, such as fate. death, innocence, youth,
loneliness, racial prejudice, and disillusionment- Yet each
story usually makes its own statement about the subject and
expresses some view of life.

65
 Animal Farm
Introduction

When Animal Farm was published in 1945, its British

author George Orwell (a pseudonym for Eric Arthur Blair)
had already waited a year and a half to see his manuscript in
print. Because the book criticized the Soviet Union, one of
England's allies in World War II, publication was delayed
until the war ended. It was an immediate success as the first
edition sold out in a month, nine foreign editions had
appeared by the next year, and the American Book-of-the-
Month Club edition sold more than a half-million copies.
Although Orwell was an experienced columnist and essayist
as well as the author of nine published books, nothing could
have prepared him for the success of this short novel, so brief
he had considered self-publishing it as a pamphlet. The novel
brought together important themes—politics, truth, and class
conflict—that had concerned Orwell for much of his life.
Using allegory-the weapon used by politica1 satirists of the
past, including Voltaire and Swift-Orwell made his politca1
statement. In a twentieth-century fable that could be read as
an entertaining story about animals or, on a deeper level, a

66
savage attack on the misuse of pohtica1 power. While Orwell
wrote Animal Farm as a pointed criticism of Stalinist Russia,
reviews of the book on the fiftieth-anniversary of its
publication declared its message to be still relevant. In a play
on the famous line from the book, "Some animals are more
equal than others." an Economist reviewer wrote, "Some
classics are more equal than others," and as proof he noted
that Animal Farm has never been out of print since it was first
published and continues to sell well year after year.
George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair in Bengal,
India, in 1903, into a family that had to struggle to make ends
meet. The son of a British civil servant, Orwell was brought
to England as a toddler. The boy became aware of class
distinctions while attending St. Cyprian's preparatory school
in Sussex, where he received a fine education but felt out of
place. He was teased and looked down upon because he was
not from a wealthy family. This experience made him
sensitive to the cruelty of social snobbery. As a partial-
scholarship student whose parents could not afford to pay his
entire tuition, Orwell was also regularly reminded of his
lowly economic status by school administrators. Conditions
improved at Eton, where he studied next, but instead of

67
continuing with university classes, in 1922 he joined the
Indian Imperial Police. Stationed in Burma, his class-
consciousness intensified as he served as one of the hated
policemen enforcing British control of the native population.
Sickened by his role as imperialist, he re turned to England in
1927 and resigned his position. He planned to become a
writer, a profession in which he had not before shown much
interest.
In 1928, perhaps to erase guilt from his colonial
experiences, he chose to live amongst the poor of London,
and later, Paris. In Paris, he published articles in local
newspapers, but his fiction was rejected. His own life finally
provided the material for his first book, published in 1933.
Down and Out in Paris and London, which combined
fictional narrative based on his time spent in those two cities
with social criticism, was his first work published as George
Orwell. The pseudonym was used so his parents would not be
shocked by the brutal living conditions described in the book.
The next year, Orwell published Burmese Days, a novel
based on his stay in Burma. Subsequent novels, including A
Clergyman's Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying and
Coming Up for Air, all contain autobiographical references

68
and served as vehicles for Orwell to explore his growing
political convictions.
In 1936, Orwell traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to write
about the Spanish Civil War and ended up joining the battle,
fighting against Spanish leader Francisco Franco on the side
of the Republicans. Wounded, he returned to England. Two
nonfiction books, The Road to Wigan Pier, a report on
deplorable conditions in the mining communities of northern
England, and Homage to Catalonia, the story of his
participation in the Spanish Civil War, allowed Orwell to
explicitly defend his political ideas. Dozens of pointed essays
also revealed his political viewpoint.
By that time, Orwell clearly saw himself as a political
performer whose tool was writing. He wrote in a 1946 essay,
"Why I Write." that "every line of serious work that I have
written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly,
against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I
understand it."
Orwell's next book, Animal Farm, a fable about the events
during and following the Russian Revolution, was well liked
by critics and the public. He had had trouble finding a
publisher during World War II because the work was a

69
disguised criticism of Russia, England's ally at the time.
When it was finally published, just after the war, it was a
smashing success.
The money Orwell made from Animal Farm allowed
him, in 1947, to rent a house on Jura, an island off the coast
of Scotland, where he began to work on 1984. His work was
interrupted by treatment for tuberculosis, which he had
contracted in the 1930s, and upon his release from the
hospital in 1948 Orwell returned to Jura to complete the
book. Under doctor's orders to work no more than one hour a
day, but unable to find a typist to travel to his home, he typed
the manuscript himself and collapsed upon completion of the
book. For the next two years he was bedridden. Many critics
claim that Orwell's failing health may have influenced him to
make 1984 so pessimistic, and Orwell admitted that they were
probably right.
Orwell did plan to write other books, according to his
friends, and married while in the hospital, but three months
later in 1950 he finally died of tuberculosis.

71
 Short Summary
Animal Farm is set on an English farm named Manor
Farm, owned by Mr. Jones. The fable-like story concerns the
rebellion of the farm animals, and is told entirely from their
point of view. The story opens with Mr. Jones stumbling into
bed, unable to lock up the farm properly after a night of
excessive whisky drinking. Old Major, the venerable and
well-respected pig, has called all the animals together for a
meeting to take place after Mr. Jones has gone to bed, and
they gather outside the big barn on the farm. Old Major tells
them all that he had a miraculous dream last night, in which
he saw his approaching death, and also understood more
clearly the life of animals. He wants to impart his realizations
to the rest of the animals while he still can, as well as rouse
them to take the action that he has come to feel is necessary.
Old Major points out to the animals that the cause of their
miserable existences is the tyranny of Man, who is a lazy,
incompetent creature who steals the fruits of animals' labor
for his own benefit. Old Major describes his vision of an
England where animals could live in peaceful and plentiful
coexistence with each other, free from the cruel tyranny of
Man. He exhorts the animals to band together to defeat their

71
common enemy, and teaches them all "Beasts of England,"
the song which becomes their revolutionary anthem and battle
cry. The animals are greatly moved by Old Major's speech,
and rally around the rebellion idea, singing "Beasts of
England" until Mr. Jones is roused from his sleep and fires a
shot into the air, quieting the animals to sleep.
Three days later, Old Major dies and is buried. His
revolutionary fervor lives on, and the animals begin to flesh
in the revolutionary ideology with which they will overthrow
Mr. Jones. Two of the pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, emerge
as the leaders of the animals. Another pig named Squealer is
also prominent for his persuasive speaking ability. These
three pigs create a system of tenets and name it "Animalism,"
and begin imparting it to the rest of the animals, often
simplifying and slowly reasoning with the less-intelligent
animals such as the Sheep, or the frivolous animals, like
Mollie the white mare.
Revolution comes earlier than anyone expected, when Mr.
Jones gets so drunk that he is unable to go feed the animals.
After a day and a half without food, the hungry animals
finally riot and break into the feeding area themselves,
prompting Mr. Jones and his field hands to come outside. The

72
animals attack them with a vengeance, and the men flee,
leaving Manor Farm to the animals. Mrs. Jones wakes up
during the commotion, and when she discovers what has
happened, she runs off with a suitcase of clothes herself. The
animals rejoice, walking over the farm to examine their
property, and celebrate with extra rations of food. The next
morning, Snowball repaints the sign reading "Manor Farm" to
say "Animal Farm," and he and Napoleon introduce the
animals to The Seven Commandments, which form the tenets
of their "Animalism":

Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill another animal.
All animals are created equal.

The cows by this time need milking, so the pigs manage to

milk them. Several of the animals want some of the milk for
themselves, but Napoleon distracts them, saying that they

73
have more important things to attend to and that he will take
care of it. Later that day, the animals notice that the milk had
disappeared.
The Animalism regime begins very promisingly, with all
the animals working industriously to improve the farm, and
enjoying the feeling of self-governance and "animal pride"
which their regime produces. The animals observe a flag-
raising ritual on Sundays, which is a day of rest for them.
Snowball forms an array of committees aimed at social
improvements, education, training, and the like. The
education program achieves the greatest success. Boxer the
horse becomes the most admired of all the animals for his
zealous devotion to the cause and his personal motto "I will
work harder". After the discovery that the stupider animals
could not learn the Seven Commandments, Snowball reduces
the tenets down to the maxim "Four legs good, two legs bad,"
which even the sheep can memorize, and bleat for hours on
end. After the apple harvest, the pigs announce that they will
reserve all the apples and milk for themselves, to fuel their
strenuous efforts to manage the farm. The other animals
reluctantly acquiesce.

74
 News of the rebellion at Animal Farm spreads quickly to
the rest of the animals in England, all of whom learn the
words to "Beasts of England". Mr. Jones gathers some
townsmen and attempts to reclaim his farm, but the animals
successfully defend it. Snowball and Boxer are given medals
for their courageous fighting. Soon thereafter, Mollie runs off
to work pulling a dogcart for a man who feeds her sugar
lumps, and she is never spoken of again. When winter comes,
Snowball begins talking of a plan to build a windmill to
increase the productivity of the farm. Napoleon, who by this
times disagrees with Snowball about almost everything, is
bitterly opposed, and the animals become divided into two
camps of supporters. During a debate, Napoleon whistles for
nine large dogs that he has trained, and they attack Snowball
and drive him off the farm. Napoleon becomes the single
leader of the animals, and announces that they will go through
with the windmill scheme after all.
The animals begin working like slaves to complete the
harvest and build the windmill. When Napoleon announces
that Animal Farm will begin trading with the men who run
nearby farms, the animals think they remember Old Major
speaking against evil human habits such as trade. Squealer

75
convinces the animals that they are only imagining it. The
pigs then move into the farmhouse, and Squealer again
convinces that animals that they are only imagining the earlier
rules against sleeping in beds. Some of the animals go to
check the Fourth Commandment, and discover that it now
reads "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets". The
windmill is destroyed in a storm, and Napoleon blames it on
Snowball, and places a reward on his head.
A hard winter comes, and the animals face near-
starvation. Napoleon announces that the hens will have to
give up their eggs to be sold for money to buy grain. The hens
refuse at first, but Napoleon cuts off their food rations until
they relent, after nine of them have died from starvation.
Soon after, Napoleon announces that an attempted rebellion
has been discovered, and has several of the farm animals
executed. The remaining animals react with fear and horror,
and huddle around Clover the mare for comfort. She reminds
them of Old Major's glorious speech and leads them all in
"Beast of England," which prompts Napoleon to forbid the
singing of the song.
The animals discover that after the executions, another
commandment is different from how they remembered it; the

76
Sixth Commandment now reads "No animal shall kill another
animal without cause". Napoleon has a long poem praising
his leadership painted on the side of the barn. The farm is
again attacked by neighboring farmers, who the animals
repel, but only with great difficulty. Napoleon celebrates the
victory by drinking lots of whisky, and the Fifth
Commandment soon reads "No animal shall drink alcohol in
excess". Boxer's injury sustained in the attack is slow-healing.
Rations continue to be reduced for the animals, except
for the pigs, who are allowed to wear green ribbons on
Sundays, drink beer daily, and actually seem to be gaining
weight. Boxer falls ill and Napoleon promises to send him to
a hospital, but the animals read the sign of the truck as he is
hauled away and discover that he is being taken to the
butcher's. Squealer eventually convinces the animals that they
are mistaken.
Years pass, and many of the older animals die off.
Squealer assumes a position of power, and learns to walk
upright. He teaches the sheep to change their chant to "Four
legs good, two legs better," and the Seven Commandments
are replaced with a single commandment: "All animals are
created equal, but some animals are more equal than others".

77
The pigs invite the neighboring farmer to dinner to inspect the
efficiency of Animal Farm, and the men congratulate the pigs
on their achievements, noting that the animals at Animal
Farm did more work and required less food than any farm in
the county. As the animal watch the dinner proceedings
through the window, they realize with horror that they can no
longer tell the pigs' faces from the human ones.

CHARACTER LIST

Old Major
An old boar that dreams of a better life and incites the
animals to overthrow man. He is the inspiring force behind
the Rebellion and founding of Animal Farm.
Snowball
A young, intelligent, persuasive, and important boar known
for his oratory skills. He is expelled by Napoleon.
Napoleon
An ambitious, power-hungry, ruthless and eminent boar who
stoops to any level to gain his goal.

78
Boxer
A big, powerful, honest, and devoted carthorse who does not
have many brains but always comes forward whenever any
hand work is needed.

Clover
A motherly mare who is truly concerned about the welfare of
the animals. She has a good shoulder to cry on and is a source
of strength and confidence, especially to Boxer.
Benjamin
A cynical, skeptical donkey who believes everything remains
the same with nothing ever changing.
Moses
A timid raven who entertains the animals with tales of 'a land
of promises and better life on Sugarcandy Mountain.'
Mollie
A vain, unconcerned frivolous mare caring only for her own
finery, pleasure, and comforts.
Squealer
A pig who is Napoleon's henchman and a very effective
propagandist.

79
Jones
The irresponsible farm-owner who is overthrown by the
animals.
Frederick
A tough, shrewd businessman involved in lawsuits and the
owner of a small but well-kept farm.
Pilkington
An easy-going gentleman farmer who wastes most of his time
in fishing and hunting.
Whymper
A not-so important solicitor who acts as a medium between
humans and animals (especially Napoleon)

81
 Theme Analysis
The theme of Animal Farm is not difficult to understand.
Orwell intended to criticize the communist regime he saw
sweeping through Russia and spreading to Europe and even
the United States. Though he agreed with many Marxist
principles, Orwell was unable to accept the communist
interpretation of socialism because he saw many similarities
between the communist governments and the previous czarist
regimes in old Russia. Communism, he thought, was
inherently hypocritical.
In his self-proclaimed "fairy-story," Orwell uses his
allegorical farm to symbolize the communist system. Though
the original intention of overthrowing Mr. Jones (who
represents the Czars), is not inherently evil in itself,
Napoleon's subsequent adoption of nearly all of Mr. Jones'
principles and harsh mistreatment of the animals proves to the
reader that indeed communism is not equality, but just
another form of inequality. The pigs and dogs take most of
the power for themselves, thinking that they are the best
administrators of government. Eventually the power corrupts
them, and they turn on their fellow animals, eliminating
competitors through propaganda and bloodshed. This is of

81
course a reference to Stalin, who murdered many of his own
people in order to maintain his dictatorship of Russia.
Thanks in part to Animal Farm, much of the Western
world finally realized the danger of communism. Soon a
Cold War began between the world's greatest superpowers-
the Soviet Union and the United States. In the end, America
would prove that capitalism and democracy could outlive a
system of government-mandated equality.

82
 CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Old Major
Old Major is a twelve-year old Berkshire Boar who
provides the political philosophy on which Animal Farm is
founded. His philosophy of Animalism is a mixture of Marx
and Lenin. Out of his philosophy come the original animal
rebellion and Seven Commandments. As an idealist and
visionary, he shows the animals how their lives are miserable,
enslaved, laborious, and unhappy under the cruelty of Farmer
Jones and inspires them to revolt sometime in the future. He
wants to establish a utopian society on the farm, a heaven on
earth, where the animals live happily in equality, freedom,
and plenty. His dreams, however, are not concrete; he never
has a plan for implementation.
Old Major has been a show pig for Farmer Jones. As a
result, he has been pampered and has lived a life of ease.
Unlike the other farm animals, he has not been expected to do
hard labor or scratch out a meager existence for survival.
Most of the time he has been isolated in a stall filled with
clean hay and plenty of food, allowing him much time to
think, theorize, and observe the other animals at a distance.

83
As a result, he does not have a realistic picture of the nature
of animals or humans.
Old Major dies at the end of the first chapter and is buried
on the farm. After the animal rebellion, his skull is dug up
and paid weekly tributes by the animals for a period of time.
Even after the formal tributes have ceased, the common
animals speak about Old Major and consider him their hero.
Napoleon mentions him at the end of the book when Old
Major's vision is a problem for him with the other animals.

Snowball
Snowball is one of the pre-eminent pigs who is a
contender for leadership of Animal Farm. He is more
vivacious, quicker in speech, and more inventive than
Napoleon. He is also much more concerned about the welfare
of all the animals. He proves that he is a good thinker,
strategist, and planner. He not only plans the 'Battle of
Cowshed' in advance, but also fights bravely during the battle
and is acclaimed a hero and decorated after the victory.
Unfortunately, he is not considered to have the same depth of
character as Napoleon and, therefore, loses out to him.

84
 Unlike Old Major, Snowball acts as well as thinks. He
corrects Mollie's mistaken ideas during the discussion on
Animalism, devises the flag which symbolizes the animals'
hopes, organizes various committees and classes, and
physically changes the name of Manor Farm to Animal Farm.
He also compresses the Seven Commandments to a simple
maxim: 'Four legs good, two legs bad'. A persuasive speaker,
he is also good at debates and discussions.
Like Major, he too is a dreamer, but with a difference. He
dreams of a world of practicality and machines, symbolized
by the windmill, which he believes will make life easier for
all the animals. It is, in fact, the windmill, which becomes the
bone of contention between him and Napoleon. In the end,
Snowball is defeated by and sent into exile. Once off the
farm, Napoleon makes the exiled pig his scapegoat, blaming
him for all the ills on the farm.
On the satiric level, Snowball is like Trotsky, who was the
planner and spokesman of the Russian Revolution.

85
Napoleon
Napoleon is a large and rather fierce-looking Berkshire
Boar who is being bred for sale by Farmer Jones. Though not
much of a talker, he has the reputation for getting his work
done in his own way. He too is a thinker, but his thinking is
usually manipulative. He outwits Snowball through a power
play and quickly seizes the leadership role of Animal Farm
for himself. To a large extent, the entire novel is the story of
the rise of Napoleon to the position of an all powerful,
dictatorial ruler.
Shortly after the animal rebellion, Napoleon's true nature
is seen when he seizes the milk and the apples for his own
benefit. He is not interested in creating a utopian society for
the animals; his only interest is in seizing power for himself.
He proves that he is secretive and scheming when he hides
the dogs and trains them to protect him at any price. Unlike
Snowball, he does not normally speak to the animals as a
group; instead, he spreads his propaganda individually,
intimidating the animals when they are isolated.
Napoleon is obviously a plotter. He knows that he must
rid the farm of Snowball, his contender. He waits for the
opportune moment and then sends his guard dogs to attack his

86
enemy. Once he is rid of Snowball, he quickly sets himself up
as the dictatorial ruler of Animal Farm and begins to shower
himself with special privileges. He gives himself more food
than the other animals, changes the Seven Commandments to
meet his own wants and needs, makes all pigs into a special,
ruling class, presents himself with titles and medals, and
seizes the farmhouse for his own quarters. By the end of the
novel, he is even using the barley from the farm to make
alcohol for his own consumption, eating off of china dishes,
wearing human clothing, walking upright on his hind legs,
reading the newspaper, and talking on the telephone.
Napoleon knows he must divert attention away from what
he is doing and uses several different tactics. He forces the
animals to work harder than ever. In addition to their normal
six-day work week, he insists that they do "voluntary" work
on Sunday afternoons. He sets Snowball up as his scapegoat
and blames any ill fortune on the farm on him. He purges the
farm of any animals that cross him by holding public
executions. He holds constant ceremonies and parades in
which he is presented as the benevolent ruler. He uses
Squealer to constantly spread propaganda that Napoleon is
working for the good of all the animals.

87
 At the end of the novel, he has become a total dictator who
seizes whatever he wants. On the satiric level, Napoleon is
intended to be a reflection of Stalin.

Boxer
Orwell states that the idea for the book came to him from
the sight of a huge carthorse driven by a little boy who was
whipping it whenever it tried to turn. "It struck me that if only
such animals became aware of their strength we should have
no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much
the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat. Thus Boxer,
representing the long suffering Russian workers and peasants,
is the hero of the tale."
Boxer is not very intelligent. In reading classes, he could
not get beyond letter the D. But what he lacked in
intelligence, he made up for with hard work. As a big,
powerful farmhorse, he represents the simple, honest, strong,
and devoted worker. His philosophy is always to work harder,
and he is seen throughout the novel doing more than his fair
share. As a result, he represents 'goodness of common man'
and becomes an inspiration to all the other animals on the
farm.

88
 Because of his lack of intelligence and his trusting nature,
Boxer accepts everything that Napoleon and Squealer say. In fact,
his life is ruled by the slogan of "Napoleon is always right." Even
when Napoleon has his guard dogs attack Boxer, he does not see
through the leader. Though heroic and very faithful to Napoleon
all his life, when old, Boxer is sold to be made into glue instead of
being given the pension promised to all animals.
On a satiric level, Boxer is the symbol of the workers of the
world who are used by the ruling classes to advance their own
goals.
Squealer
Squealer is a small, fat pig with bright eyes and a happy spirit.
Known to be an exceptional speaker, he is the pig chosen by
Napoleon to be his henchman and propagandist. As the right-hand
person to Napoleon, he faithfully executes the commands of his
leader. He changes the Commandments to suit the needs of
Napoleon, revises the history of Animal Farm to reflect what his
leader chooses, constantly warns the common animals that Jones
is an ever present threat, and generally keeps the masses under
control. On a satiric level, Squealer is the typical propagandist that
is always attached to a dictatorship.

89
 KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS

SETTING
The novel is set in Hertfordshire, where Orwell lived,
wrote, tended his garden, and kept poultry. Though the setting
is the South of England, it is not stressed in the story, but
serves only as a background. The farm lends a perfect rural,
pastoral, and nostalgic backdrop for Old Major's dream.

POINT OF VIEW
Orwell tells the story of Animal Farm through a third
person, impersonal and omniscient point of view. The
narrator is never involved in the action of the story, but seems
to appear somewhere outside or above everything that is
going on. This point of view allows Orwell to see into the
minds of the characters and understand their motivations. As
a result, Orwell lets his readers know what the animals do not,
for the animals do not understand anything more than they
see or hear. The reader, on the other hand, is made to
understand the ruthless purposes and motives behind all the
actions of Napoleon and Squealer. The reader is also made to
realize that Boxer, like all the common animals, are simply

91
used by Napoleon and discarded or killed when no longer
needed; but the animals are never able to see this. This point
of view also helps Orwell to point out the difference between
what a animal thinks about himself versus what others think
about him. The reader knows what Boxer feels about himself
and also what the pigs think about him. The omniscient point
of view also helps Orwell to move freely and make the reader
see, hear, know, and focus on whatever and wherever he
chooses.

CONFLICT
The conflict in Animal Farm is really between Marxist
Socialism (Old Major) and Russian Communism (Napoleon)
as represented by the two attitudes expressed by the two
different groups in the novel.

Protagonist
The protagonist is the group of common animals
searching for a utopian world and largely represented by
characters like Old Major and Snowball and supported by the
'proletariat'.

91
Antagonist
The antagonist is the combination of all the forces acting
against such an idealistic world, largely represented by the
power-hungry Napoleon and his henchman, Squealer.

Climax
The ultimate climax is reached when Napoleon changes
Animal Farm into a republic and elects himself President,
assuring the maintenance of his seized power. The result of
Napoleon's victory over the masses is that the pigs start
walking on their hind legs and acting totally like humans. It is
an indication that Animal Farm has really returned to the
status of Manor Farm.

Outcome
The story ends in tragedy for the common animals are
helpless against the power of Napoleon. Even in Utopia,
totalitarianism leads to ruin.

92
THEMES
Major Theme
The major theme of the novel is the sad triumph of evil
over good. The animals try to create a utopia, a paradise
where society brings out and develops the best in a being.
Unfortunately, the animals that gain control of Animal Farm
begin to act in a manner similar to the humans that they had
kicked off the farm. At the end of the novel, the pigs cannot
be distinguished from the humans.
Minor Theme
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is
another theme of Animal Farm. When the animals seize
control of the farm, the leaders are corrupted by their power.
Allegorically, Orwell is exposing the perversion of Marxist
Socialism by Communism. In the novel, he is emphasizing
the suppression, oppression, and frustration of the good, well
meaning, and benevolent animals, just as Communism
suppresses man.
MOOD
The mod varies from the comic to the tragic, with the overall
mood being one of tension. The whole story is filled with
irony and bitter sarcasm.

93
 Style Analysis of Animal Farm.
The novel Animal Farm by George Orwell was a very
interesting, complex, and informing novel. In the novel,
George Orwell uses farm animals to portray people of power
and the common people during the Russian Revolution. The
novel starts off with Major explaining to all the animals in
the farm how they are being treated wrongly and how they
can over throw their owner, Mr. Jones. They finally gang up
on their owner and he leaves the farm. Then they start their
own farm with their own rules and commandments.
Originally the two people in charge of the "Animal Farm",
which they titled it, were Napoleon and Snowball. Napoleon
was really greedy and wanted all the power to be his, so he
got the animals to turn on Snowball and make him leave the
farm. After Napoleon took over the pigs started disobeying
the commandments that the pigs, as well as all the other
animals, organized and wrote down at the beginning of their
take over. Soon the pigs have disobeyed, and/or changed
every law there was from the beginning, and the pigs start
acting and looking like humans. After that "Animal Farm"
slowly starts to loose power and Mr. Jones takes back over.

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 Diction, language and imagery are three important
elements in a style analysis. A word choice that is used a lot
in the novel is "rebellion". Rebellion is a word used instead of
a revolution or a war. Another word that is used a lot in the
novel is "comrade". Comrade means an intimate friend or
associate. Comrade is used in that form in the novel, instead
of saying that someone was their friend the animals called
him their comrade. "‘No, comrades, a thousand times no!‘"(p.
28), that quote was used when one of the animals is
expressing to his friends that they will no longer take what
man has to offer. Personification is the attribution of human
characteristics to something that is not human. The word
"enemy" is a personification, because it is a not human word
that is given human characteristics. The word enemy is used
in the novel to represent human beings or Mr. Jones. Another
literary figure of speech that is used in the novel a lot is
analogy. George Orwell is constantly comparing the
communist and communist state, which is an analogy.
Diction, language, and imagery are a major part of the literary
analysis in Animal Farm.

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 Tone and attitude are two things that are important in
the style analysis of Animal Farm. Tone and attitude is what
you feel when you read a novel. The main tones of the novel
were self-importance, apathy, passion, pain, and
unfriendliness. Often times when reading this novel there is a
sad feeling about what is going on. "‘The execution of the
traitors this afternoon was the final act.‘"(p. 96), this quote
was said by Squealer and the tone of how it was said, not to
mention the content of the sentence, were very sad and gave
you an evil picture of what Napoleon was doing. The novel is
about the communistic state that Europe was going through at
the time when this novel was written. The novel challenges a
person to show their feelings towards communism. I felt
angry and was very disappointed with communism and often
hoped that they would have chosen a different type of
government, and maybe Europe would have done a little bit
better.
Another major part of tone and attitude is
personification. There is a lot of personification in this
novel. Almost every character is a representation of an
authority figure in Europe at that time. For example Boxer

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was a representation of the Proletarians during the communist
manifesto.
Another major part of attitude and tone in Animal Farm
is the key word in the novel. "‘All men are enemies, all
animals are comrades.‘"(p.31), "‘Whatever goes upon two
legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has
wings, is a friend.‘"(p. 31), "Beasts of England"(p.96), are all
examples of key words and phrases used to set the tone and
attitude in animal farm. Tone and attitude are very important
in the style analysis of Animal Farm.

Another part of a style analysis is the point of view. The

novel, Animal Farm, has an objective and dramatic point of
view. When a novel has an objective or a dramatic point of
view in a way that the author is the narrator and he tells what
has happened or what was said. An example of a way that
Orwell uses his third person perspective is, "‘No
sentimentally, comrade!" cried Snowball, from whose
wounds the blood was still dripping. ‗War is war. The only
good human being is dead.‘"(p. 59) In that quote the author,
George Orwell, is telling what the animals are saying. By
sating "cried Snowball" you can tell that the author is telling

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you about what happened rather than having the animals tell
their novel themselves.
Another characteristic of an objective or dramatic point of
view is that in the novel you never read about is the author‘s
comments, interpretations. Another thing you don‘t read
about is what the characters are thinking, and you never enter
the character‘s mind. The point of view is very important in
the style analysis of Animal Farm.

A major part of a style analysis is the detail of the novel.

The detail in a style analysis is information on the novel that
involves the history of what is happening during the time
when, which the novel is written. A quote that George Orwell
said about how he wrote this novel was "Animal Farm was
the first novel in which I tried with full consciousness of what
I was doing, to fuse political and artistic purpose into one
whole.".
His novel was written as a satire, or a take off on
communism. The novel was written during the Russian
Revolution. During this time many things happened. This first
was that Zar Nicholas the II allowed the Russians to get into
the war with Japan. Zar used all the money for war, which

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they ended up loosing. Three people that took over after Zar
Nicholas were Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky. In 1847 they
started the communist manifesto. Karl Marx started the
communist manifesto and in it he said Burgeons, the middle
class, the Proletarians, the working class, and the Aristocracy,
which was the royalty. Karl also differentiated communism,
socialism, and capitalism. Capitalism meant the majority
working for the minority. Communism meant the majority
working for the majority and that the government would
control and deliver goods. Socialism meant that the
government controls factories and health care. Karl Marx
objective was to put communism forth. He also tried to put
forth totalarism, which is where people are dependent are
totally dependent on government and people have no say.
Germany was getting more power, and they started the First
World War. In England the church was in power, not the
isolationists, and they had the best Navy. In America, the
country was growing and was participating in both wars,
including the Spanish/American war. These were all the
things that were going on during the time period in which
Animal Farm was written.

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 Another part of a style analysis is characterization. In
the novel all the characters were portrayed as animals instead
of the people whom George Orwell represented them as. The
first character you hear about in the story is Major, he is
supposed to be Karl Marx who was a philosopher and knew
almost everything. Napoleon, a pig in the story, was supposed
to be Stolen, who was smart, evil, a dictator and killed people
he didn‘t like. Snowball was supposed to be Trotsky, who
was a hardworking and kind person. Mr. Jones was supposed
to be Zar Nicholas, who started the Russian Revolution.
Squealer was the gossip carrier on the farm, he was supposed
to represent the Pravda, which was a Russian newspaper that
was owned by Russia. Boxer was a representation of the
Proletarians, who worked hard and were the "common man".
Molly was a representation of the Aristocracy, who was a
traitor and always got away without doing any work. Fox
Wood farm was supposed to be like England in Churchill.
Pinchwill farm was a representation of Hitler in Germany and
how they stole from people. The sheep were the followers,
who couldn‘t think for themselves, and were mindless and
loyal. The dogs were the army and the bodyguards. Moses
represented organized religion during the time of the Russian

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Revolution. All the characters and who they really represent
are important in the style analysis of Animal Farm.

Part of a style analysis of Animal Farm is organization.

Animal Farm follows a single line of action, it goes in
chronological order. The novel never foreshadows, and never
has flashbacks. The paragraphs are often small, and almost
always are smaller than one page long. Often the paragraphs
have anywhere from three to ten sentences. "Now when
squealer described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the
animals that they did remember it. At any rate, they
remembered that at the critical moment of the battle Snowball
had turned to flee. But Boxer was still a little uneasy."(p. 91)
is an example of a very short paragraph in the novel. The
fable, Animal Farm was placed in a farm setting. At the start
of the novel it talks about how the animals want to start a
rebellion against humans, because of the way they are treated.
The climax of the novel is when the animals have a change of
heart and blame Snowball for everything that has gone wrong
in the rebellion. They, also, kick Snowball out of the farm and
start to let Napoleon take over. Little did the animals know,
but Snowball was the good guy, and they later realize that

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when at the end of the novel they turn into humans due to
their behavior. All these things attribute to the organization
part of the style analysis of Animal Farm.

Part of a style analysis of Animal Farm is the sentence

structure of it. The novel was told in a simple and
straightforward way. The sentences were often short and
lacked detail. The sentences often included just one subject,
verb and object. "Old Major cleared his throat and began to
sing."(p. 32) is an example of one of the many very simple
sentences in Animal Farm. The lack of complexity and
description in the sentence‘s led the novel to be boring and
often left the reader wanting more description. Often times in
the novel Orwell would start sentences using but, and, and so.
"But I believe that at the Battle of the Cowshed he was a good
comrade."(p. 91) is an example of a sentence in which the
word ‗but‘ was used to start a sentence. Sentence structure is
an important part of the style analysis of Animal Farm.

Irony is a part of the style analysis of Animal Farm.

The definition of irony is a contrast or contradiction. Irony
means a difference between the writer‘s attitude and what is

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really meant. A major ironic thing that happened in Animal
Farm is when Boxer is sent to the hospital. After Boxer had
almost worked himself to death he is told that he is going to
go to the hospital and when the van comes to get him it says
"Alfred Simmons, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler,
Willington. Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels
Supplied."(p. 123) on the side of it. Even though the horse
being sold for glue is not the irony in the novel, the contrast
between what the animals believe what the narrator tells us,
and what we know to be the truth is the irony in it. Irony is
very important in the style analysis of Animal Farm.

The title of the book Animal Farm was an excellent title

for the novel. The reason the title was so good was because,
not only did the animals call it "Animal Farm", but that‘s
what it was. It was an animal farm. Animals ruled it,
governed it, and did everything humans would do, but
without the help from any outside source. The novel was very
good and was very beneficial to learning about the times of
the Russian Revolute.

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 Metaphor Analysis

Beasts of England: The Beasts of England Song

Soon and late the day is coming,

Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone.

Rings shall vanish from our noses,

And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.

Riches more than mind can picture,

Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels
Shall be ours upon that day.

Bright will shine the fields of England,

Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes

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On the day that sets us free.

For that day we all must labour,

Though we die before it break;
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom's sake.

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,

Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken well and spread my tidings
Of the golden future time.

Comrade Napoleon: Comrade Napoleon

Friend of fatherless!
Fountain of happiness!
Lord of the swill-bucket! Oh, how my soul is on
Fire when I gaze at thy
Calm and commanding eye,
Like the sun in the sky,
Comrade Napoleon!

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7 Rules: The 7 Rules of the Farm

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol in excess.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.
7. All animals are equal.

Farmhouse: The Jones' farmhouse represents in many ways

the very place where greed and lust dominate. Unlike the
barn, which is the fortress of the common man, the genuine
concept of socialism, the farmhouse, where Napoleon and the
pigs take over, symbolizes the Kremlin. Even today the
Kremlin is an important place to Russian leaders, who,
instead of embracing Marxism, have created their own
distorted view of communism and have shoved it down their
peoples' (animals') throats.
Animalism: The vague yet often referred to concept of
animalism is used by Orwell to signify the generic view of
socialism. This view was first expounded by Karl Marx (old

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Major), who, in Orwell's opinion was naive in thinking that
his philosophy would actually work. Orwell, although
agreeing with the overall concept of equality though
socialism, was critical of Marx because he didn't take into
account the greed and jealousy which would eventually
undermine the entire cause. This idea was shown through
Napoleon and the other pigs, who, through persuasion and
force became the dominant authority on the farm.

Gun/Flag: Probably the most profound metaphor in Orwell's

Animal Farm is the idea of the gun and flag. The
nationalism the animals' feel is demonstrated through their
daily processions and rituals where they practically worship
the flag (their institution of the state and obviously not God).
These processions and parades grow more dramatic with the
fall of socialism and the rise of Napoleon's dictatorship. In
this way, Orwell points out that unlike Marx's (old Major's)
original concept of freedom through equality, Stalin believes
that inequality between nations is the key to success. This
sounds surprisingly like capitalism, the very system
communism is meant to combat.

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 The gun represents the triumphant yet violence-ridden
overthrow of Mr. Jones in the Battle of Cowshed. Again,
opposing Marx's ideal that rebellion is to be accomplish
through honesty, innocence, and passive determination,
Napoleon and even Snowball (Trotsky) rise to power
prematurely by using death and destruction, the very system
Jones used on them. Thus they prove themselves no better
than Jones and the previous administration.
The fact that Napoleon outlaws Beasts of England
demonstrates the formal power of the state. No longer is
socialism just a generic belief in equality made by everyday
common animals, but now it is a money-hungry powerhouse
of oppression run by the government.

Battle of Cowshed: The Battle of Cowshed is a clear

metaphor for the overthrow of the old Russian government
based on czars (Mr. Jones). In Russia, this change took the
Soviet Union out of World War I and eventually led to the
rise of Lenin and Stalin. The violence used in the battle,
however was not condoned by Marx (old Major) or Orwell,
who both believed in pacifism. Snowball and Napoleon,
though, were too greedy and were required to use force in

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order to establish their corrupt government. More on this in
the Gun/Flag section.

Sugarcandy Mountain: Orwell uses Sugarcandy Mountain

to symbolize the Christian concept of Heaven. Really the
Church is criticized in Animal Farm because it is the
institution that inspires the animals to work using "lies" and
manipulation. Moses, the especial raven of Mr. Jones, and
later Napoleon, is the vehicle from which the working class
hears about this land where clover and sugar is unmeasured
and free to everyone. It's troubling to many that Orwell
thought of the Church in such a cynical way. But once again
this shows that Orwell wasn't loyal or afraid of any system.

Ribbons & Sugar: Orwell's use of ribbons and sugar

symbolizes the luxuries of life enjoyed by the old middle
class under the old government. Mollie, the symbol for the
capitalist, is particularly fond of ribbons and sugar— so much
so that she leaves the farm for them.
Milk: Orwell uses milk to represent the care and love that
mothers give to their children. When Napoleon takes the
milk for himself and the other pigs, he is, in essence, stealing

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the very core of the people. Now he can raise the children
(other farm animals) as a tool of the state. No longer is the
power in the family; now the cornerstone of civilization is in
the totalitarian government of Napoleon (Stalin).

Alcohol: Orwell uses beer to represent the "Old" Russia. He

first notes that the reason Jones lost control of the farm and
began being cruel to the animals was because of alcohol. It
symbolizes, more than anything, a corrupt government— a
government drunk on prosperity (a prosperity which never
trickles down to the common animal). But it's eventually this
drunkenness which ruins and leads to the inevitable collapse
of this system. Jones lost power over the animals when he
became drunk and lazy; even Napoleon will eventually be
overthrown because of the alcohol he intakes. Orwell alludes
to this near the end of the book when he says that in
generations to come there will be still more uprisings.
"Some day it was coming: it might not be soon, it might not
be within the lifetime of any animal now living, but still it
was coming."
Alcohol was originally seen as a grave evil of the new
regime. Old Major repeatedly warns the animals against

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taking on Man's ways, but his concerns are not heeded.
Really it was the issue of alcohol that made many of the
animals suspicious of the pigs. Thus, Napoleon had Squealer
change the commandments.
It's interesting that even today many of the Russian leaders
have a drinking habit.

Windmill: The windmill is used by Orwell to symbolize

Soviet industry. If you'll notice in the book, the windmill was
destroyed several times before it finally was complete. This
represents the trials the communists in Russia went through to
establish their armament-production industry. Eventually,
however, Russian industry did stabilize, despite the lack of
safety precautions and trivial concern for the people's well
being. This allowed them to put the first artificial satellite,
Sputnik I, into space before the United States. Despite their
early success, Soviet industry fell behind the Western world,
led by the United States. Russian industry stalled from the
lack of initiative and morale. The average middle-class
worker received no special treatment and was treated as a
"person of the state."

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 Established laws could be broken by any important
member of the Communist regime. The original ideology of
Marxism was innocent enough, but it was twisted and
convoluted by Lenin and Stalin. Russian communism was a
hypocritical system which would inevitably falter and
collapse, thus proving Orwell's point that Marx was naive.
Ironically, Orwell didn't write a final collapse of the
windmill, which would perhaps have symbolized the
U.S.S.R.'s failure in the cold war. In 1990, the Russian
Communist government collapsed due to lack of funds. Of
course Orwell could not have known this, although he did
forecast a future rebellion on Animal Farm and in Russia.

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 Bit and Spur Shall Rust Forever: Hollow Symbols in
George Orwell's Animal Farm
by Mike Yank

George Orwell's political fable Animal Farm portrays a

reenactment of the Russian Revolution, with major characters
cast as farm animals and communism renamed "Animalism."
True to the historical story, the aristocratic players manipulate
the proletariat, deluding them with illusions of dignity and
improved living conditions, while masterfully holding all of
the power for themselves. Once Napoleon seizes control, he
carefully dismantles the Animalistic system Old Major had
preached by slowly altering the common symbols of freedom
and patriotic sayings, and establishes a devious government at
least as unjust as its precursor in its place. The meat of
Animalism decays as Marxism did, resulting in a system of
desired shape lacking desired thought, grossly symbolized in
the following passage by Old Major's remains:

The skull of old Major, now clean of flesh, had been

disinterred from the orchard and set up on a stump at the foot
of the flagstaff, behind the gun. After the hoisting of the flag,

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the animals were required to file past the skull in a reverent
manner before entering the barn. -(Animal Farm, 46-47)
Orwell uses symbols in terms of hollowness throughout
Animal Farm to portray the empty promises behind false
front the pigs put up, and in turn the tragedy of the animals
celebrating their own demise. In addition to the skull, Orwell
also "hollows out" the meanings of the Manor Farm flag and
the farm anthem to show the sad fall of the utopian farm.
Once Napoleon chases away Snowball and reconstructs
Animal Farm, he imposes many new procedures, among them
the revamping of Sunday meetings. Rather than meeting to
plan out the week's work, the animals are given orders. They
also have to worship the decayed skull of Old Major, which
vividly symbolizes the folly of the animals under Napoleon's
rule. It expresses their ignorance in the most graphic way
possible: the reverence of a hollow idealism. Major's head
represents Animalism, the product of his mind. The skull
represents the frame of Animalism and his brains the theory
behind it, since the skull supports the head and the brains
form the basis of thought. The frame of Animalism is the
revolution, new social structure and everything else required

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to support the theory, for the theory alone cannot guide a
society.
The deceased head the animals worshipped contains a
skull frame, but the brains and flesh have decayed. Therefore,
the animals worshipped the revolution and new social
structure without realizing that the theory, or spirit, of the
movement have been abandoned by their new leader,
Napoleon. They celebrate their situation without realizing that
the social goals they fought for are gradually disappearing
under their new ruler. Their ideal is in fact dead as the head of
its originator.
A close analysis of the passage supports this
interpretation. The phrase "clean of flesh" serves as a
euphemism for the gross state of the skull. This elegant
phrasing hides the disgust of the object from the reader, as the
propaganda issued by Squealer the pig hides the disgust of
Napoleon's abuse of the Animalistic system from the animals.
Furthermore, the skull has moved from the orchard to a tree
stump. Like the skull, the state of the Animalistic society
moves from a productive, growing position to a dead spot,
thanks to the corrupt Napoleon. Finally, the skull now resides
by and associates with the flagpole, a vehicle for propaganda

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and another symbol that is emptied, or "hollowed out" to
show the downfall of Animal Farm.
Snowball introduces the green flag hoisted up the flagpole
to celebrate Animal Farm's success each week. Its color
"represent[s] the green fields of England, while [its] hoof and
horn signif[y] the future Republic of Animals." (24) Its
original meaning is lost when Napoleon removes the hoof and
horn as one of his final acts in the work. As the now-humane
swine strips the flag of its animalian features, it too becomes
a hollow representation of its ideal: while meaning to
symbolize the future dominance of animals, it instead ends up
symbolizing their oppression. By this point, the pigs have
abandoned their front legs as they have abandoned their old
lifestyle, betraying the original farm commandment
"whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy" (19). By
removing the hoof, the animal leg marker, from the flag, the
pigs remove their animal legs from the ground, leaving the
rest of the farm with a dominating symbol of their betrayal.
An image of an English field waves above the farm, rather
than an image of the animals conquering an English field. The
animals do not realize that the flag becomes devoid of proper
meaning, just as they did not realize that the Animalistic

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façade as established by Napoleon was devoid of proper
meaning. They continue to practice the tradition of hoisting
the flag, again celebrating a symbol of their own demise.
After explaining his utopian dream to the animals, Old
Major sings the rallying tune "Beasts of England" to them,
stirring up their emotions with the almost magic anthem
about the inevitable freedom they shall enjoy:

Rings shall vanish from our noses,

And the harness from our back,

Bit and spur shall rust forever,

Cruel whips no more shall crack.

-(Animal Farm, 9)

The song tells of a future where the objects that enslave them,
such as the bit and spur, will not touch them. This song
becomes the anthem of the farm and opens Sunday meetings.

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The animals are "taken aback" (72) when Napoleon outlaws it
on account of it losing relevance to their society. He claims
that it should be abolished since it strives for an ideal that has
already been reached. Its replacement, "Animal Farm, Animal
Farm / Never through me shalt thou come to harm" (73),
gives a message with biting irony that is lost on the animals
rather than an optimistic one. The animals are led to sing that
Animal Farm shall never harm them, but the phrasing
suggests a hidden second meaning. The pigs claim that the
animals shall never harm them "through" Animal Farm; in
other words, the Animal Farm's pleasant appearance prevents
the subjects from protesting, so the farm itself shields the
rulers. Again, the animals engage in a procedure, singing at
the start of each Sunday meeting, which loses its original
meaning to the hands of Napoleon's reign, while retaining
some semblance of its original form similar enough not to
give the plot away.

The irony of the animals worshipping the symbols of their

own demise runs throughout Animal Farm, making a
poignant jab on this society based around a false idealism.
While the "bit and spurs" may rust forever, the political

118
chains administered by the pigs grip the animals more tightly,
as they are led to celebrate their own tragedy.

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 BACKGROUND INFORMATION-BIOGRAPHY

GEORGE ORWELL
George Orwell was the pen name of an English writer, Eric
Blair. He was born in Motihari, Bengal in India in 1903, the
second child of an Anglo-Indian family.
At the age of eight, he was sent to boarding school in
England. After winning a scholarship, Orwell went to Eton,
where he studied from 1917 to 1921 and was exposed to
liberal and socialist ideas. From 1922 until 1927, he served in
the Indian Imperial Police in Burma; he resigned because the
climate affected his health and because he believed that the
British rule in Burma was unjust.
He returned to Europe to pursue a writing career and first
lived in Paris and then London. At first he could not find a
publisher for his works. As a result, he led a life of poverty,
doing odd jobs to make ends meet. His first book, Down and
Out in Paris and London, was published under his pseudonym
in 1933; largely autobiographical in nature, it told about
living among the poor. Since the book was not a financial
success, he supplemented his writing income by teaching
school. His next two published books were novels. Burmese

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Days, published in 1934, was based upon his experiences in
Burma, and A Clergyman's Daughter, published in 1935, was
based upon his teaching experience.
By 1935, Orwell had essentially become a political writer
and novelist and was largely able to earn a living from his
literary efforts. He was greatly influenced by leftist ideas and
became a member of the Independent Labour Party. In 1936,
Orwell married Eileen O'Shaughversy. In the same year, he
served in the loyalist forces during the Spanish Civil War and
was wounded in the fighting. When Communists began to
control the Spanish political scene, Orwell and his wife left
Spain, fearing imprisonment.
Upon returning to England, he published Homage to
Catalonia, a book about his war experience. A year later, in
1939, he published another novel, Coming Up for Air that
predicted the outbreak of World War II. By the time the war
began, he had grown disillusioned and left the Independent
Labour Party. His political views against totalitarianism were
later revealed in Animal Farm, published in 1945, and in
1984, published in 1949; both books met with great success,
especially in the United States. Orwell also published
collections of his essays, including Inside the Whale and

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Other Essays; The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the
English Genius; Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays; and
Dickens, Dali, and Others: Studies in Popular Culture.
Orwell's first wife died in 1945, and he married Sonia
Brownell. He continued to write and express his hatred of
cruelty and totalitarianism. Though he was critical of
Communism, he considered himself a socialist. He died, in
1950, at the age of forty-seven due to a long illness.

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 LITERARY/HISTORICAL INFORMATION

It is important to realize that George Orwell wrote Animal

Farm on various levels:

As a Children's Story:
The novel is a children's story in its own right because the
author tried to parody the style of children's books. He wrote
an animal story simple enough for a child, but added
sophisticated humor, wit, fantasy, and satire for his adult
audience. The style is straight forward, almost like a fairy
tale, and was enjoyed by children of all ages for its cunning
and charm.

As a Fable:
Animal Farm is a fable in the sense that its characters are
animals, each with his own personality and human
characteristics. The animals think, meet, talk, act, obey,
disobey, aspire, fight, and respect their leaders -- just like
men; but the animals are used to expose the follies, foibles,
and failings of humans.

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 In a fable, everything is pointed and has some purpose;
situations, relationships, heroes, scapegoats, friends are all
developed to make a point. The law abiding, simple animals
in the story only want peace, which is impossible under the
harsh and merciless pigs that rule. Squealer's rationalizing,
persuasion and defensive tactics point out the hazards of
propaganda. Through him, Orwell warns, "Keep the truth
away from the people, tell your lies boldly and persistently,
and people can be made to believe anything."
As a fable, the story is warm, amusing, and friendly on the
surface. Underneath, there is great meaning, for it becomes a
political fable on the story of the Russian Revolution and its
betrayal of the people. It is also a modern beast fable in which
the events that occur in an animal utopia parallel the post
revolutionary development in the Soviet Union.

As a Political Satire:
Animal Farm is also an example of a literary form known
as 'Political Satire,' blending a critical attitude with wit and
humor for the purpose of mocking or ridiculing the follies of
man's political behavior and institutions. To be effective,
satire must be terse and concise, to say a great deal in a brief

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space. Orwell's Animal Farm meets this requirement. The
author succinctly shows that the principles of Communism
are noble, but man's nature prevents them from being
implemented. Man simply cannot resist the temptation of
power, as shown through the animals. On the farm, corruption
develops, a secret-brigade of nine dogs is formed, and the
tyrannical Napoleon creates an autocratic state.

Appalled by the evils of autocratic rule in the Soviet

Union, Nazi Germany, and Spain (which Orwell experienced
first-hand), the author felt impelled to protest against it.
Animal Farm is his protest against autocracy, despotism, and
totalitarianism and becomes a systematic satire of the Soviet
Union during the rule of Stalin. Orwell says that his main
intention in the book is to show the falsity of the popular idea
that Soviet Russia was a socialist state; he wanted to save
socialism from Communism.

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The novel meets all the requirements of a good satire
because:

A. It is inspired by a personal grievance or a passion for

reform, for Orwell's Spanish experience and anti-Stalin
obsession inspired Animal Farm.

B. It is an attack on a group of persons or a social evil, for the

book exposes Russian Communism and arouses hatred for
despotic rulers, such as the superior class of pigs and dogs.

C. It is intended to ridicule, not abuse, though it is often

bitter, for Orwell ridicules the 'short memory' of the animals,
who quickly forget what has happened to them in the
immediate past and begin to act just like the humans they
have overthrown.

D. It hates the sin and not the sinner, for Orwell points out the
evils of the ruthlessness and dishonesty of Napoleon, the
cunning, rationalizing tactics of Squealer, and the ferocity of
the dogs; but he does not make the reader hate the animals
(sinners) in general.

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E. It contrasts the ideal with the real, as seen in the animal's
seven Commandments and their amendment.

F. It takes the shortest route to its target, for Orwell spares no

words in making the reader think, feel, and see that the
animals were wrong in their failure to become kind and
sensible rulers.

G. It is more playful then hurtful through its dependence on

irony, sarcasm, wit, and humor.

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POINT OF VIEW
Orwell tells the story of Animal Farm through a third person,
impersonal and omniscient point of view. The narrator is
never involved in the action of the story, but seems to appear
somewhere outside or above everything that is going on. This
point of view allows Orwell to see into the minds of the
characters and understand their motivations. As a result,
Orwell lets his readers know what the animals do not, for the
animals do not understand anything more than they see or
hear. The reader, on the other hand, is made to understand the
ruthless purposes and motives behind all the actions of
Napoleon and Squealer. The reader is also made to realize
that Boxer, like all the common animals, are simply used by
Napoleon and discarded or killed when no longer needed; but
the animals are never able to see this. This point of view also
helps Orwell to point out the difference between what a
animal thinks about himself versus what others think about
him. The reader knows what Boxer feels about himself and
also what the pigs think about him. The omniscient point of
view also helps Orwell to move freely and make the reader
see, hear, know, and focus on whatever and wherever he
chooses.

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 ALLEGORY - SYMBOLISM

An allegory is a series of metaphors or symbols

continued throughout an entire story so as to represent or
describe one series of facts by using another that is analogous
to its main features. 'Animal Farm' is intended to be an
allegory of Russian history from 1917-1943, including the
period of World War I, the Economic Policy Plan, and the
first Five Year Plan. All the characters of 'Animal Farm'
parallel figures in Russian history during this period.
Napoleon represents Stalin, and Snowball reflects Trotsky.
Mollie represents all those Russians who fled the country
after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Boxer, the faithful
workhorse, represents the faithful proletariat, and the Russian
Orthodox Church has a parallel in Moses, the raven.
In a similar manner, the Battle of Cowshed represents the
civil war that followed the Russian Revolution. Jones is
helped by men from the neighboring farms of Foxwood and
Pinchfield, just as some western countries sent troops to help
the Russian forces; the Battle of Windmill symbolizes the
industrialization of Russia. Even in some of the small details,
parallels can be seen. The hen's revolt against Napoleon when

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the latter orders to sell the eggs corresponds to the feudal
lords' revolt against Stalin when he makes farming collective.
Although the book has much to say about basic human
nature, Orwell's main purpose is to show how Communism
fails to create a utopian society. 'Animal Farm', Orwell wrote,
"was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of
what I was doing to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose
into the whole." Some of his allegorical parallels are listed
below.

Animal Farm = History of Russia

Old Major's philosophy = The philosophies of Marx and
Lenin
Animalism = Communism
Other Animals = Bolsheviks (common people )
Mr. Jones = Czar of Russia
Seven Commandments = Communist Manifesto
Skull of Old Major = Lenin's body
Old Major's death = Lenin's death followed by struggle for
power

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Windmill Construction = Russian construction of steel mills
and electric plants
Napoleon's sale of timber to Frederick = Stalin entered into
a non-aggression pact with Hitler's Germany
Frederick's declaration of war on = Hitler's declaration of
war on Russia Animal Farm
Windmill destroyed, animals died = Stalingrad destroyed
Sugarcandy = In 1944 Stalin wrote letters to Pope to conduct
services
Napoleon's entertaining of humans in the farmhouse =
Different meetings between Stalin and Churchill in Russia

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Important Quotations Explained
1. ―Four legs good, two legs bad.‖
This phrase, which occurs in Chapter III, constitutes
Snowball‘s condensation of the Seven Commandments of
Animalism, which themselves serve as abridgments of Old
Major‘s stirring speech on the need for animal unity in the
face of human oppression. The phrase instances one of the
novel‘s many moments of propagandizing, which Orwell
portrays as one example of how the elite class abuses
language to control the lower classes. Although the slogan
seems to help the animals achieve their goal at first, enabling
them to clarify in their minds the principles that they
support, it soon becomes a meaningless sound bleated by the
sheep (―two legs baa-d‖), serving no purpose other than to
drown out dissenting opinion. By the end of the novel, as the
propagandistic needs of the leadership change, the pigs alter
the chant to the similar-sounding but completely antithetical
―Four legs good, two legs better.‖

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2. Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tiding
Of the golden future time.

These lines from Chapter I constitute the first verse of the

song that Old Major hears in his dream and which he teaches
to the rest of the animals during the fateful meeting in the
barn. Like the communist anthem Internationale, on which it
is based, ―Beasts of England‖ stirs the emotions of the
animals and fires their revolutionary idealism. As it spreads
rapidly across the region, the song gives the beasts both
courage and solace on many occasions. The lofty optimism of
the words ―golden future time,‖ which appear in the last verse
as well, serves to keep the animals focused on the Rebellion‘s
goals so that they will ignore the suffering along the way.
Later, however, once Napoleon has cemented his control over
the farm, the song‘s revolutionary nature becomes a liability.
Squealer chastises the animals for singing it, noting that the
song was the song of the Rebellion. Now that the Rebellion is
over and a new regime has gained power, Squealer fears the
power of such idealistic, future-directed lyrics. Wanting to

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discourage the animals‘ capacities for hope and vision, he
orders Minimus to write a replacement for ―Beasts of
England‖ that praises Napoleon and emphasizes loyalty to the
state over the purity of Animalist ideology.

3. At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine

enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding
into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only
sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping
jaws.

These words from Chapter V describe Napoleon‘s violent

expulsion of Snowball from Animal Farm, which parallels the
falling-out between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky.
Napoleon, who is clearly losing the contest for the hearts and
minds of the lower animals to his rival Snowball, turns to his
private police force of dogs to enforce his supremacy. As
Stalin did, Napoleon prefers to work behind the scenes to
build his power by secrecy and deception, while Snowball, as
Trotsky did, devotes himself to winning popular support
through his ideas and his eloquence. Napoleon‘s use of the
attack dogs in this passage provides a blatant example of his

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differences with Snowball and points beyond the story to
criticize real leaders for their use of such authoritarian tactics.
More generally, this episode is the first of many in which the
political positioning of the Rebellion‘s early days gives way
to overt violence, openly subverting the democratic principles
of Animal Farm. It signals the deterioration of Animal Farm
from a society based on equal rights to a society in which
those who are powerful determine who gets what rights.

4. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal
than others.

The ultimate example of the pigs‘ systematic abuse of

logic and language to control their underlings, this final
reduction of the Seven Commandments, which appears in
Chapter X, clothes utterly senseless content in a seemingly
plausible linguistic form. Although the first clause implies
that all animals are equal to one another, it does not state this
claim overtly. Thus, it is possible to misread the word ―equal‖
as a relative term rather than an absolute one, meaning that
there can be different degrees of ―equal‖-ness, just as there

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can be different degrees of colorfulness, for example (more
colorful, less colorful). Once such a misreading has taken
place, it becomes no more absurd to say ―more equal‖ than to
say ―more colorful.‖ By small, almost imperceptible steps
like these, the core ideals of Animal Farm—and any human
nation—gradually become corrupted.
The revision of the original phrase also points to the
specific form of corruption on Animal Farm. The initial,
unmodified phrase makes reference to all animals, its
message extending to the entire world of animals without
distinction. Similarly, Old Major expresses ideals that posit
the dignity of all, the comradeship of all, the inclusion of all
in voting and decision-making, so that no one group or
individual will oppress another. The revised phrase, however,
mentions an ―all,‖ but only in order to differentiate a ―some‖
from that ―all,‖ to specify the uniqueness, the elite nature, and
the chosen status of that ―some.‖ The pigs clearly envision
themselves as this privileged ―some‖; under their totalitarian
regime, the working animals exist only to serve the larger
glory of the leadership, to provide the rulers with food and
comfort, and to support their luxurious and exclusive
lifestyle.

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5. ―If you have your lower animals to contend with,‖ he said,
―we have our lower classes!‖

This quip, delivered by Mr. Pilkington to Napoleon and

his cabinet during their well-catered retreat inside the
farmhouse in Chapter X, makes fully explicit the process of
ideological corruption that has been taking place throughout
the novella. Old Major‘s notion of the absolute division of
interests between animals and humans here gives way to a
division between two classes, even cutting across species
lines. Pigs and farmers share a need to keep down their
laboring classes. Mr. Pilkington‘s witticism lays bare the ugly
but common equation of laborers with animals.
Moreover, the quote serves to emphasize directly the
significance of Animal Farm as a social commentary,
cementing the conceptual link between the downtrodden
animals and the working classes of the world. Orwell
explodes his ―fairy story,‖ as he termed it, by bringing it into
the realm of human consequence, thereby making its terrors
all the more frightening to his readership.

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 Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Compare and contrast Napoleon and Snowball. What
techniques do they use in their struggle for power? Does
Snowball represent a morally legitimate political alternative
to the corrupt leadership of Napoleon?

As Joseph Stalin did, Napoleon prefers to work behind the

scenes to build his power through manipulation and deal-
making, while Snowball devotes himself, as Leon Trotsky
did, to winning popular support through his ideas, passionate
speeches, and success in debates with his opponent. Snowball
seems to work within the political system, while Napoleon
willingly circumvents it. Napoleon, for instance, understands
the role of force in political control, as is made clear by his
use of the attack dogs to expel Snowball from the farm.
Despite Napoleon‘s clearly bullying tactics, Orwell‘s text
doesn‘t allow us to perceive Snowball as a preferable
alternative. Snowball does nothing to prevent the
consolidation of power in the hands of the pigs, nor does he
stop the unequal distribution of goods in the pigs‘ favor—he
may even, in fact, be complicit in it early on. Furthermore, the

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ideals of Animal Farm—like Orwell‘s ideal version of
socialism—are rooted in democracy, with all of the animals
deciding how their collective action should be undertaken.
For any one animal to rise to greater power than any other
would violate that ideal and essentially render Animal Farm
indistinguishable from a human farm—an unavoidable
eventuality by the end of the novella. Though their motives
for power may be quite different—Napoleon seems to have a
powerful, egocentric lust for control, while Snowball seems
to think himself a genius who should be the one to guide the
farm toward success—each represents a potential dictator.
Neither pig has the other animals‘ interests at heart, and thus
neither represents the socialist ideals of Animal Farm.

2. Why do you think Orwell chose to use a fable in his

condemnation of Soviet communism and totalitarianism?
Fiction would seem a rather indirect method of political
commentary; if Orwell had written an academic essay, he
could have named names, pointed to details, and proven his
case more systematically. What different opportunities of
expression does a fable offer its author?

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 Historically, fables or parables have allowed writers to
criticize individuals or institutions without endangering
themselves: an author could always claim that he or she had
aimed simply to write a fairy tale—a hypothetical,
meaningless children‘s story. Even now, when many nations
protect freedom of speech, fables still come across as less
accusatory, less threatening. Orwell never condemns Stalin
outright, a move that might have alienated certain readers,
since Stalin proved an ally against Adolf Hitler‘s Nazi forces.
Moreover, the language of a fable comes across as gentle,
inviting, and unassuming: the reader feels drawn into the
story and can follow the plot easily, rather than having to
wade through a self-righteous polemic. In writing a fable,
Orwell expands his potential audience and warms it to his
argument before he even begins.
Because fables allow for the development of various
characters, Orwell can use characterization to add an element
of sympathy to his arguments. Especially by telling the story
from the point of view of the animals, Orwell draws us in and
allows us to identify with the working class that he portrays.
Thus, a fable allows him to appeal more intensely to emotion
than a political essay might enable him to do.

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Additionally, in the case of Animal Farm, the lighthearted,
pastoral, innocent atmosphere of the story stands in stark
contrast to the dark, corrupt, malignant tendencies that it
attempts to expose. This contrast adds to the story‘s force of
irony: just as the idyllic setting and presentation of the story
belies its wretched subject matter, so too do we see the
utopian ideals of socialism give way to a totalitarian regime
in which the lower classes suffer.
Finally, by writing in the form of a fable, Orwell
universalizes his message. Although the specific animals and
events that he portrays clearly evoke particular parallels in the
real world, their status as symbols allows them to signify
beyond specific times and places. Orwell himself encourages
this breadth of interpretation: while the character of
Napoleon, for example, refers most directly to Stalin in deed
and circumstance, his name evokes his resemblance to the
French general-turned-autocrat Napoleon.

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3. From whose perspective is Animal Farm told? Why would
Orwell have chosen such a perspective?

Animal Farm is not told from any particular animal‘s

perspective; properly speaking, it doesn‘t have a protagonist.
Rather, it is told from the perspective of the common animals
as a group: we read, for example, that ―[t]he animals were
stupefied. . . . It was some minutes before they could take it
all in.‖ This technique enables Orwell to paint a large portrait
of the average people who suffer under communism. Through
this choice of narrative perspective, he shows the loyalty,
naïveté, gullibility, and work ethic of the whole class of
common animals. In this way, he can effectively explore the
question of why large numbers of people would continue to
accept and support the Russian communist government, for
example, even while it kept them hungry and afraid and even
after its stated goals had clearly and decisively failed.

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 Key Facts
full title · Animal Farm: A Fairy Story
author · George Orwell (pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair)
type of work · Novella
genre · Dystopian animal fable; satire; allegory; political
roman à clef (French for ―novel with a key‖—a thinly veiled
exposé of factual persons or events)
language · English
time and place written · 1943–1944, in London
date of first publication · 1946
publisher · Harcourt Brace & Company
narrator · Animal Farm is the only work by Orwell in which
the author does not appear conspicuously as a narrator or
major character; it is the least overtly personal of all of his
writings. The anonymous narrator of the story is almost a
nonentity, notable for no individual idiosyncrasies or biases.
point of view · The story is told from the point of view of the
common animals of Animal Farm, though it refers to them in
the third person plural as ―they.‖
tone · For the most part, the tone of the novel is objective,
stating external facts and rarely digressing into philosophical
meditations. The mixture of this tone with the outrageous

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trajectory of the plot, however, steeps the story in an ever-
mounting irony.
tense · Past
setting (time) · As is the case with most fables, Animal Farm
is set in an unspecified time period and is largely free from
historical references that would allow the reader to date the
action precisely. It is fair to assume, however, that Orwell
means the fable to be contemporaneous with the object of its
satire, the Russian Revolution (1917–1945). It is important to
remember that this period represented the recent past and
present at the time of writing and that Orwell understands the
significance of the story‘s action to be immediate and
ongoing rather than historical.
setting (place) · An imaginary farm in England
protagonist · There is no clear central character in the novel,
but Napoleon, the dictatorial pig, is the figure who drives and
ties together most of the action.
major conflict · There are a number of conflicts in Animal
Farm—the animals versus Mr. Jones, Snowball versus
Napoleon, the common animals versus the pigs, Animal Farm
versus the neighboring humans—but all of them are
expressions of the underlying tension between the exploited

144
and exploiting classes and between the lofty ideals and harsh
realities of socialism.
rising action · The animals throw off their human oppressors
and establish a socialist state called Animal Farm; the pigs,
being the most intelligent animals in the group, take control
of the planning and government of the farm; Snowball and
Napoleon engage in ideological disputes and compete for
power.
climax · In Chapter V, Napoleon runs Snowball off the farm
with his trained pack of dogs and declares that the power to
make decisions for the farm will be exercised solely by the
pigs.
falling action · Squealer emerges to justify Napoleon‘s
actions with skillful but duplicitous reinterpretations of
Animalist principles; Napoleon continues to consolidate his
power, eliminating his enemies and reinforcing his status as
supreme leader; the common animals continue to obey the
pigs, hoping for a better future.
themes · The corruption of socialist ideals in the Soviet
Union; the societal tendency toward class stratification; the
danger of a naive working class; the abuse of language as
instrumental to the abuse of power

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motifs · Songs; state ritual
symbols · Animal Farm; the barn; the windmill
foreshadowing · The pigs‘ eventual abuse of power is
foreshadowed at several points in the novel. At the end of
Chapter II, immediately after the establishment of the
supposedly egalitarian Animal Farm, the extra milk taken
from the cows disappears, and the text implies that Napoleon
has drunk it himself. Similarly, the dogs‘ attack on Boxer
during Napoleon‘s purges, in Chapter VII, foreshadows the
pigs‘ eventual betrayal of the loyal cart-horse.

146
 Literary Terms
Act A major division in the action of a play. The ends of
acts are typically indicated by lowering the curtain or turning
up the houselights. Playwrights frequently employ acts to
accommodate changes in time, setting, characters onstage, or
mood. In many full-length plays, acts are further divided into
scenes, which often mark a point in the action when the
location changes or when a new character enters.

Allegory A narration or description usually restricted to a

single meaning because its events, actions, characters,
settings, and objects represent specific abstractions or ideas.
Although the elements in an allegory may be interesting in
themselves, the emphasis tends to be on what they ultimately
mean. Characters may be given names such as Hope, Pride,
Youth, and Charity; they have few if any personal qualities
beyond their abstract meanings. These personifications are
not symbols because, for instance, the meaning of a character
named Charity is precisely that virtue.

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Allusion A brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or
idea in history or literature. Allusions conjure up biblical
authority, scenes from Shakespeare‘s plays, historic figures,
wars, great love stories, and anything else that might enrich
an author‘s work. Allusions imply reading and cultural
experiences shared by the writer and reader, functioning as a
kind of shorthand whereby the recalling of something outside
the work supplies an emotional or intellectual context, such as
a poem about current racial struggles calling up the memory
of Abraham Lincoln.

Ambiguity Allows for two or more simultaneous

interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of
which can be supported by the context of a work. Deliberate
ambiguity can contribute to the effectiveness and richness of
a work, for example, in the open-ended conclusion to
Hawthorne‘s "Young Goodman Brown." However,
unintentional ambiguity obscures meaning and can confuse
readers.

148
Antagonist The character, force, or collection of forces in
fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist and gives rise to
the conflict of the story; an opponent of the protagonist, such
as Claudius in Shakespeare‘s play Hamlet..

Antihero A protagonist who has the opposite of most of the

traditional attributes of a hero. He or she may be bewildered,
ineffectual, deluded, or merely pathetic. Often what
antiheroes learn, if they learn anything at all, is that the world
isolates them in an existence devoid of God and absolute
values. Yossarian from Joseph Heller‘s Catch-22 is an
example of an antihero..

Aside In drama, a speech directed to the audience that

supposedly is not audible to the other characters onstage at
the time. When Hamlet first appears onstage, for example, his
aside "A little more than kin, and less than kind!" gives the
audience a strong sense of his alienation from King Claudius.

Biographical criticism An approach to literature which

suggests that knowledge of the author‘s life experiences can
aid in the understanding of his or her work. While

149
biographical information can sometimes complicate one‘s
interpretation of a work, and some formalist critics (such as
the New Critics) disparage the use of the author‘s biography
as a tool for textual interpretation, learning about the life of
the author can often enrich a reader‘s appreciation for that
author‘s work.

Catharsis Meaning "purgation," catharsis describes the

release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the
end of a tragedy. In his Poetics, Aristotle discusses the
importance of catharsis. The audience faces the misfortunes
of the protagonist, which elicit pity and compassion.
Simultaneously, the audience also confronts the failure of the
protagonist, thus receiving a frightening reminder of human
limitations and frailties. Ultimately, however, both these
negative emotions are purged, because the tragic
protagonist‘s suffering is an affirmation of human values
rather than a despairing denial of them.

Character, characterization A character is a person presented

in a dramatic or narrative work, and characterization is the
process by which a writer makes that character seem real to

151
the reader. A hero or heroine, often called the protagonist, is
the central character who engages the reader‘s interest and
empathy. The antagonist is the character, force, or collection
of forces that stands directly opposed to the protagonist and
gives rise to the conflict of the story. A static character does
not change throughout the work, and the reader‘s knowledge
of that character does not grow, whereas a dynamic character
undergoes some kind of change because of the action in the
plot. A flat character embodies one or two qualities, ideas, or
traits that can be readily described in a brief summary. They
are not psychologically complex characters and therefore are
readily accessible to readers. Some flat characters are
recognized as stock characters; they embody stereotypes such
as the "dumb blonde" or the "mean stepfather." They become
types rather than individuals. Round characters are more
complex than flat or stock characters, and often display the
inconsistencies and internal conflicts found in most real
people. They are more fully developed, and therefore are
harder to summarize. Authors have two major methods of
presenting characters: showing and telling. Showing allows
the author to present a character talking and acting, and lets
the reader infer what kind of person the character is. In

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telling, the author intervenes to describe and sometimes
evaluate the character for the reader. Characters can be
convincing whether they are presented by showing or by
telling, as long as their actions are motivated. Motivated
action by the characters occurs when the reader or audience is
offered reasons for how the characters behave, what they say,
and the decisions they make. Plausible action is action by a
character in a story that seems reasonable, given the
motivations presented.

Chorus In Greek tragedies (especially those of Aeschylus

and Sophocles), a group of people who serve mainly as
commentators on the characters and events. They add to the
audience‘s understanding of the play by expressing traditional
moral, religious, and social attitudes. The role of the chorus in
dramatic works evolved through the sixteenth century, and
the chorus occasionally is still used by modern playwrights
such as T. S. Eliot in Murder in the Cathedral. .
Closet drama A play that is written to be read rather than
performed onstage. In this kind of drama, literary art
outweighs all other considerations

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Comedy A work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the
reader or audience, in which no terrible disaster occurs and
that ends happily for the main characters. High comedy refers
to verbal wit, such as puns, whereas low comedy is generally
associated with physical action and is less intellectual.
Romantic comedy involves a love affair that meets with
various obstacles (like disapproving parents, mistaken
identities, deceptions, or other sorts of misunderstandings)
but overcomes them to end in a blissful union. Shakespeare‘s
comedies, such as A Midsummer Night‘s Dream, are
considered romantic comedies.

Comic relief A humorous scene or incident that alleviates

tension in an otherwise serious work. In many instances these
moments enhance the thematic significance of the story in
addition to providing laughter. When Hamlet jokes with the
gravediggers we laugh, but something hauntingly serious
about the humor also intensifies our more serious emotions.

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Conflict The struggle within the plot between opposing
forces. The protagonist engages in the conflict with the
antagonist, which may take the form of a character, society,
nature, or an aspect of the protagonist‘s personality. See also
character, plot.

Connotation Associations and implications that go beyond

the literal meaning of a word, which derive from how the
word has been commonly used and the associations people
make with it. For example, the word eagle connotes ideas of
liberty and freedom that have little to do with the word‘s
literal meaning. See also denotation.

Crisis A turning point in the action of a story that has a

powerful effect on the protagonist. Opposing forces come
together decisively to lead to the climax of the plot.

Dénouement A French term meaning "unraveling" or

"unknotting," used to describe the resolution of the plot
following the climax.

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Dialogue The verbal exchanges between characters. Dialogue
makes the characters seem real to the reader or audience by
revealing firsthand their thoughts, responses, and emotional
states.

Drama Derived from the Greek word dram, meaning "to do"
or "to perform," the term drama may refer to a single play, a
group of plays ("Jacobean drama"), or to all plays ("world
drama"). Drama is designed for performance in a theater;
actors take on the roles of characters, perform indicated
actions, and speak the dialogue written in the script. Play is a
general term for a work of dramatic literature, and a
playwright is a writer who makes plays.

Dramatic monologue A type of lyric poem in which a

character (the speaker) addresses a distinct but silent audience
imagined to be present in the poem in such a way as to reveal
a dramatic situation and, often unintentionally, some aspect of
his or her temperament or personality.

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Electra complex The female version of the Oedipus
complex. Electra complex is a term used to describe the
psychological conflict of a daughter‘s unconscious rivalry
with her mother for her father‘s attention. The name comes
from the Greek legend of Electra, who avenged the death of
her father, Agamemnon, by plotting the death of her mother

Foil A character in a work whose behavior and values

contrast with those of another character in order to highlight
the distinctive temperament of that character (usually the
protagonist). In Shakespeare‘s Hamlet, Laertes acts as a foil
to Hamlet, because his willingness to act underscores
Hamlet‘s inability to do so.

Irony A literary device that uses contradictory statements or

situations to reveal a reality different from what appears to be
true. It is ironic for a firehouse to burn down, or for a police
station to be burglarized. Verbal irony is a figure of speech
that occurs when a person says one thing but means the
opposite. Sarcasm is a strong form of verbal irony that is
calculated to hurt someone through, for example, false praise.
Dramatic irony creates a discrepancy between what a

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character believes or says and what the reader or audience
member knows to be true. Tragic irony is a form of dramatic
irony found in tragedies such as Oedipus the King, in which
Oedipus searches for the person responsible for the plague
that ravishes his city and ironically ends up hunting himself.
Situational irony exists when there is an incongruity between
what is expected to happen and what actually happens due to
forces beyond human comprehension or control. The suicide
of the seemingly successful main character in Edwin
Arlington Robinson‘s poem "Richard Cory" is an example of
situational irony. Cosmic irony occurs when a writer uses
God, destiny, or fate to dash the hopes and expectations of a
character or of humankind in general. In cosmic irony, a
discrepancy exists between what a character aspires to and
what universal forces provide. Stephen Crane‘s poem "A Man
Said to the Universe" is a good example of cosmic irony,
because the universe acknowledges no obligation to the
man‘s assertion of his own existence.
Melodrama A term applied to any literary work that relies on
implausible events and sensational action for its effect. The
conflicts in melodramas typically arise out of plot rather than
characterization; often a virtuous individual must somehow

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confront and overcome a wicked oppressor. Usually, a
melodramatic story ends happily, with the protagonist
defeating the antagonist at the last possible moment. Thus,
melodramas entertain the reader or audience with exciting
action while still conforming to a traditional sense of justice.

Paradox a statement whose two parts seem contradictory yet

make sense with more thought. Christ used paradox in his
teaching: "They have ears but hear not." Or in ordinary
conversation, we might use a paradox, "Deep down he's really
very shallow." Paradox attracts the reader's or the listener's
attention and gives emphasis.

Point of view the perspective from which the story is told.

The most obvious point of view is probably first person or
"I."
The omniscient narrator knows everything, may reveal the
motivations, thoughts and feelings of the characters, and
gives the reader information.
With a limited omniscient narrator, the material is presented
from the point of view of a character, in third person.

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The objective point of view presents the action and the
characters' speech, without comment or emotion. The reader
has to interpret them and uncover their meaning.
A narrator may be trustworthy or untrustworthy, involved or
uninvolved.

A persona is a fictional character. Sometimes the term means

the mask or alter-ego of the author; it is often used for first
person works and lyric poems, to distinguish the writer of the
work from the character in the work.
Characters may be classified as round (three-dimensional,
fully developed) or as flat (having only a few traits or only
enough traits to fulfill their function in the work); as
developing (dynamic) characters or as static characters.

Plot An author‘s selection and arrangement of incidents in a

story to shape the action and give the story a particular focus.
Discussions of plot include not just what happens, but also
how and why things happen the way they do. Stories that are
written in a pyramidal pattern divide the plot into three
essential parts. The first part is the rising action, in which
complication creates some sort of conflict for the protagonist.

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The second part is the climax, the moment of greatest
emotional tension in a narrative, usually marking a turning
point in the plot at which the rising action reverses to become
the falling action. The third part, the falling action (or
resolution) is characterized by diminishing tensions and the
resolution of the plot‘s conflicts and complications. In medias
res is a term used to describe the common strategy of
beginning a story in the middle of the action. In this type of
plot, we enter the story on the verge of some important
moment.

Prologue The opening speech or dialogue of a play,

especially a classic Greek play, that usually gives the
exposition necessary to follow the subsequent action. Today
the term also refers to the introduction to any literary work.
See also drama, exposition.

Sarcasm is one kind of irony; it is praise which is really an

insult; sarcasm generally invovles malice, the desire to put
someone down, e.g., "This is my brilliant son, who failed out
of college."

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Satire The literary art of ridiculing a folly or vice in order to
expose or correct it. The object of satire is usually some
human frailty; people, institutions, ideas, and things are all
fair game for satirists. Satire evokes attitudes of amusement,
contempt, scorn, or indignation toward its faulty subject in
the hope of somehow improving it.

Scene In drama, a scene is a subdivision of an act. In

modern plays, scenes usually consist of units of action in
which there are no changes in the setting or breaks in the
continuity of time. According to traditional conventions, a
scene changes when the location of the action shifts or when a
new character enters. See also act, convention, drama.

Script The written text of a play, which includes the dialogue

between characters, stage directions, and often other
expository information. See also drama, exposition, prologue,
stage directions.

Sentimentality A pejorative term used to describe the effort

by an author to induce emotional responses in the reader that
exceed what the situation warrants. Sentimentality especially

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pertains to such emotions as pathos and sympathy; it cons
readers into falling for the mass murderer who is devoted to
stray cats, and it requires that readers do not examine such
illogical responses. Clichés and stock responses are the key
ingredients of sentimentality in literature. See also cliché,
stock responses.

Subplot The secondary action of a story, complete and

interesting in its own right, that reinforces or contrasts with
the main plot. There may be more than one subplot, and
sometimes as many as three, four, or even more, running
through a piece of fiction. Subplots are generally either
analogous to the main plot, thereby enhancing our
understanding of it, or extraneous to the main plot, to provide
relief from it.

Symbol: in general terms, anything that stands for something

else. Obvious examples are flags, which symbolize a nation;
the cross is a symbol for Christianity; Uncle Sam a symbol
for the United States. In literature, a symbol is expected to
have significance. Keats starts his ode with a real nightingale,
but quickly it becomes a symbol, standing for a life of pure,

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unmixed joy; then before the end of the poem it becomes only
a bird again.

Tragicomedy A type of drama that combines certain

elements of both tragedy and comedy. The play‘s plot tends
to be serious, leading to a terrible catastrophe, until an
unexpected turn in events leads to a reversal of circumstance,
and the story ends happily. Tragicomedy often employs a
romantic, fast-moving plot dealing with love, jealousy,
disguises, treachery, intrigue, and surprises, all moving
toward a melodramatic resolution. Shakespeare‘s Merchant of
Venice is a tragicomedy.

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