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Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Plot Overview
The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, have defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland, led by the rebel Macdonwald, and one from Norway. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder of the witches’prophecy—that he will be crowned king—might be true, but he is uncertain what to expect. He visits with King Duncan, and they plan to dine together at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her all that has happened.
Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very night. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—ostensibly out of rage at their crime—and easily assumes the kingship. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.
Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the night. Macbeth becomes furious: as long as Fleance is alive, he fears that his power remains insecure. At the feast that night, Banquo’s ghost visits Macbeth. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his guests, who include most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady Macbeth tries to neutralize the damage, but Macbeth’s kingship incites increasing resistance from his nobles and subjects. Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. There, they show him a sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: he must beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession to the throne; he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he knows that all men are born of women and that forests cannot move. When he learns that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth orders that Macduff’s castle be seized and, most cruelly, that Lady Macduff and her children be murdered.
When news of his family’s execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken with grief and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth’s forces. The invasion has the support of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by Macbeth’s tyrannical and murderous behavior. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which she bemoans what she believes to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth’s opponents arrive, Macbeth receives news that she has killed herself, causing him to sink into a deep and pessimistic despair. Nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies Dunsinane, to which he seems to have withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain that the witches’ prophecies guarantee his invincibility. He is struck numb with fear, however, when he learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is indeed coming to Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.
In the battle, Macbeth hews violently, but the English forces gradually overwhelm his army and castle. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff, who declares that he was not “of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb (what we now call birth by cesarean section). Though he realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth continues to fight until Macduff kills and beheads him. Malcolm, now the King of Scotland, declares his benevolent intentions for the country and invites all to see him crowned at Scone.
Characters:
Macbeth - Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made thane of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. He is easily tempted into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once he commits his first crime and is crowned King of Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to political intrigue, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response to every problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare’s great villains, such as Iago in Othello and Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a criminal. He is unable to bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.
Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Early in the play she seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. Interestingly, she and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in love, and many of Lady Macbeth’s speeches imply that her influence over her husband is primarily sexual. Their joint alienation from the world, occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to each another.
The Three Witches - Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms, spells, and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own immortality. The play leaves the witches’ true identity unclear—aside from the fact that they are servants of Hecate, we know little about their place in the cosmos. In some ways they resemble the mythological Fates, who impersonally weave the threads of human destiny. They clearly take a perverse delight in using their knowledge of the future to toy with and destroy human beings.
Banquo - The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will inherit the Scottish throne. Like Macbeth, Banquo thinks ambitious thoughts, but he does not translate those thoughts into action. In a sense, Banquo’s character stands as a rebuke to Macbeth, since he represents the path Macbeth chose not to take: a path in which ambition need not lead to betrayal and murder. Appropriately, then, it is Banquo’s ghost—and not Duncan’s—that haunts Macbeth. In addition to embodying Macbeth’s guilt for killing Banquo, the ghost also reminds Macbeth that he did not emulate Banquo’s reaction to the witches’ prophecy.
King Duncan - The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders. Duncan is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler. His death symbolizes the destruction of an order in Scotland that can be restored only when Duncan’s line, in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies the throne.
Macduff - A Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. The crusade’s mission is to place the rightful king, Malcolm, on the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.
Malcolm - The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to order following Macbeth’s reign of terror. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to Macbeth with Macduff’s aid (and the support of England). Prior to this, he appears weak and uncertain of his own power, as when he and Donalbain flee Scotland after their father’s murder.
Hecate - The goddess of witchcraft, who helps the three witches work their mischief on Macbeth.
Fleance - Banquo’s son, who survives Macbeth’s attempt to murder him. At the end of the play, Fleance’s whereabouts are unknown. Presumably, he may come to rule Scotland, fulfilling the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s sons will sit on the Scottish throne.
Lennox - A Scottish nobleman.
Ross - A Scottish nobleman.
The Murderers - A group of ruffians conscripted by Macbeth to murder Banquo, Fleance (whom they fail to kill), and Macduff’s wife and children.
Porter - The drunken doorman of Macbeth’s castle.
Lady Macduff - Macduff’s wife. The scene in her castle provides our only glimpse of a domestic realm other than that of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She and her home serve as contrasts to Lady Macbeth and the hellish world of Inverness.
Donalbain - Duncan’s son and Malcolm’s younger brother.
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition
The main theme of Macbeth—the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints—finds its most powerful expression in the play’s two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare’s most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder’s aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth’s repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition—helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches—is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one’s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne—Banquo, Fleance, Macduff—and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.
The Relationship Between Cruelty and Masculinity
Characters in Macbeth frequently dwell on issues of gender. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband by questioning his manhood, wishes that she herself could be “unsexed,” and does not contradict Macbeth when he says that a woman like her should give birth only to boys. In the same manner that Lady Macbeth goads her husband on to murder, Macbeth provokes the murderers he hires to kill Banquo by questioning their manhood. Such acts show that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth equate masculinity with naked aggression, and whenever they converse about manhood, violence soon follows. Their understanding of manhood allows the political order depicted in the play to descend into chaos.
At the same time, however, the audience cannot help noticing that women are also sources of violence and evil. The witches’ prophecies spark Macbeth’s ambitions and then encourage his violent behavior; Lady Macbeth provides the brains and the will behind her husband’s plotting; and the only divine being to appear is Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. Arguably, Macbeth traces the root of chaos and evil to women, which has led some critics to argue that this is Shakespeare’s most misogynistic play. While the male characters are just as violent and prone to evil as the women, the aggression of the female characters is more striking because it goes against prevailing expectations of how women ought to behave. Lady Macbeth’s behavior certainly shows that women can be as ambitious and cruel as men. Whether because of the constraints of her society or because she is not fearless enough to kill, Lady Macbeth relies on deception and manipulation rather than violence to achieve her ends.
Ultimately, the play does put forth a revised and less destructive definition of manhood. In the scene where Macduff learns of the murders of his wife and child, Malcolm consoles him by encouraging him to take the news in “manly” fashion, by seeking revenge upon Macbeth. Macduff shows the young heir apparent that he has a mistaken understanding of masculinity. To Malcolm’s suggestion, “Dispute it like a man,” Macduff replies, “I shall do so. But I must also feel it as a man” (4.3.221–223). At the end of the play, Siward receives news of his son’s death rather complacently. Malcolm responds: “He’s worth more sorrow [than you have expressed] / And that I’ll spend for him” (5.11.16–17). Malcolm’s comment shows that he has learned the lesson Macduff gave him on the sentient nature of true masculinity. It also suggests that, with Malcolm’s coronation, order will be restored to the Kingdom of Scotland.
The Difference Between Kingship and Tyranny
In the play, Duncan is always referred to as a “king,” while Macbeth soon becomes known as the “tyrant.” The difference between the two types of rulers seems to be expressed in a conversation that occurs in Act 4, scene 3, when Macduff meets Malcolm in England. In order to test Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland, Malcolm pretends that he would make an even worse king than Macbeth. He tells Macduff of his reproachable qualities—among them a thirst for personal power and a violent temperament, both of which seem to characterize Macbeth perfectly. On the other hand, Malcolm says, “The king-becoming graces / [are] justice, verity, temp’rance, stableness, / Bounty, perseverance, mercy, [and] lowliness” (4.3.92–93). The model king, then, offers the kingdom an embodiment of order and justice, but also comfort and affection. Under him, subjects are rewarded according to their merits, as when Duncan makes Macbeth thane of Cawdor after Macbeth’s victory over the invaders. Most important, the king must be loyal to Scotland above his own interests. Macbeth, by contrast, brings only chaos to Scotland—symbolized in the bad weather and bizarre supernatural events—and offers no real justice, only a habit of capriciously murdering those he sees as a threat. As the embodiment of tyranny, he must be overcome by Malcolm so that Scotland can have a true king once more.
Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Hallucinations
Visions and hallucinations recur throughout the play and serve as reminders of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s joint culpability for the growing body count. When he is about to kill Duncan, Macbeth sees a dagger floating in the air. Covered with blood and pointed toward the king’s chamber, the dagger represents the bloody course on which Macbeth is about to embark. Later, he sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in a chair at a feast, pricking his conscience by mutely reminding him that he murdered his former friend. The seemingly hardheaded Lady Macbeth also eventually gives way to visions, as she sleepwalks and believes that her hands are stained with blood that cannot be washed away by any amount of water. In each case, it is ambiguous whether the vision is real or purely hallucinatory; but, in both cases, the Macbeths read them uniformly as supernatural signs of their guilt.
Violence
Macbeth is a famously violent play. Interestingly, most of the killings take place offstage, but throughout the play the characters provide the audience with gory descriptions of the carnage, from the opening scene where the captain describes Macbeth and Banquo wading in blood on the battlefield, to the endless references to the bloodstained hands of Macbeth and his wife. The action is bookended by a pair of bloody battles: in the first, Macbeth defeats the invaders; in the second, he is slain and beheaded by Macduff. In between is a series of murders: Duncan, Duncan’s chamberlains, Banquo, Lady Macduff, and Macduff’s son all come to bloody ends. By the end of the action, blood seems to be everywhere.
Prophecy
Prophecy sets Macbeth’s plot in motion—namely, the witches’ prophecy that Macbeth will become first thane of Cawdor and then king. The weird sisters make a number of other prophecies: they tell us that Banquo’s heirs will be kings, that Macbeth should beware Macduff, that Macbeth is safe till Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane, and that no man born of woman can harm Macbeth. Save for the prophecy about Banquo’s heirs, all of these predictions are fulfilled within the course of the play. Still, it is left deliberately ambiguous whether some of them are self-fulfilling—for example, whether Macbeth wills himself to be king or is fated to be king. Additionally, as the Birnam Wood and “born of woman” prophecies make clear, the prophecies must be interpreted as riddles, since they do not always mean what they seem to mean.
Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Blood
Blood is everywhere in Macbeth, beginning with the opening battle between the Scots and the Norwegian invaders, which is described in harrowing terms by the wounded captain in Act 1, scene 2. Once Macbeth and Lady Macbeth embark upon their murderous journey, blood comes to symbolize their guilt, and they begin to feel that their crimes have stained them in a way that cannot be washed clean. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” Macbeth cries after he has killed Duncan, even as his wife scolds him and says that a little water will do the job (2.2.58–59). Later, though, she comes to share his horrified sense of being stained: “Out, damned spot; out, I say . . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” she asks as she wanders through the halls of their castle near the close of the play (5.1.30–34). Blood symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the consciences of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves.
The Weather
As in other Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth’s grotesque murder spree is accompanied by a number of unnatural occurrences in the natural realm. From the thunder and lightning that accompany the witches’ appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night of Duncan’s murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and political orders.
Key Literary Elements and Techniques:
Elements: Tragic Hero
Exciting Force
Rising Action
Climax
Catastrophe
Tragic Flaw
Technique: Dramatic Irony
Situational Irony
Verbal Irony
Famous quotes
"There 's daggers in men's smiles". - ( Quote Act II, Sc. III).
"what 's done is done". Macbeth ( Quote Act III, Scene II).
"I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none". Macbeth Quote (Act I, Sc. VII).
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair". - ( Quote Act I, Scene I).
"I bear a charmed life". Macbeth Quote (Act V, Sc. VIII).
"Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness." Macbeth Quote (Act I, Scene V).
"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red" Macbeth Quote (Act II, Sc. II).
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." Macbeth Quote (Act IV, Scene I).
"Out, damned spot! out, I say!" - ( Quote Act V, Scene I).
"All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." Macbeth Quote (Act V, Sc. I).
"When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurlyburly 's done,
When the battle 's lost and won". Macbeth Quote (Act I, Scene I).
"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me". Macbeth Quote (Act I, Scene III).
"Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it; he died as one that had been studied in his death to throw away the dearest thing he owed, as 't were a careless trifle". - ( Quote Act I, Sc. IV).
"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't." Macbeth Quote (Act I, Scene V).
"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, and falls on the other." - ( Quote Act I, Scene VII).
"Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?" Macbeth Quote (Act II, Scene I).
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Macbeth Quote (Act V, Scene V).
Animal Farm Summary
Animal Farm is a satirical fable set on Manor Farm, a typical English farm. Orwell employs a third-person narrator, who reports events without commenting on them directly. The narrator describes things as the animals perceive them.
Old Major calls a meeting of all the animals in the big barn. He announces that he may die soon and relates to them the insights he has gathered in his life. Old Major tells the animals that human beings are the sole reason that “No animal in England is free” and that “The life of an animal is misery and slavery.” Therefore the animals must take charge of their destiny by overthrowing Man in a great Rebellion. He relates his dream of rebellion.
Old Major dies soon after the meeting and the other animals prepare for the Rebellion under Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer’s leadership. One night, Mr. Jones passes out drunk, creating the perfect opportunity for the animals to rebel. They are so hungry that they break into the store-shed. When Jones and his men try to whip them into submission, the animals run them off the farm. The animals burn all reminders of their former bondage but agree to preserve the farmhouse “as a museum.” Snowball changes the name of the farm to “Animal Farm” and comes up with Seven Commandments, which are to form the basis of Animalism. They are:
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.
5. No animals shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
The pigs milk the cows, and then the animals go out to begin the harvest. When they return, the milk has disappeared mysteriously. The first harvest is a great success. The animals adhere to the tenets of Animalism happily, and with good result. Each animal works according to his ability and gets a fair share of food.
Every Sunday, Snowball and Napoleon lead a meeting of all the animals in the big barn. The pigs are the most intelligent animals, so they think up resolutions for the other animals to debate. Soon after, the pigs set up a study-center for themselves in the harness-room. Snowball embarks on various campaigns for social and economic improvement. Napoleon opposes whatever Snowball does. Because most of the animals lack the intelligence to memorize the Seven Commandments, Snowball reduces them to the single maxim, “Four legs good, two legs bad.” The sheep take to chanting this at meetings.
As time goes by, the pigs increase their control over the animals and award themselves increasing privileges. They quell the animals’ questions and protests by threatening Mr. Jones’s return. During this time, Napoleon also confiscates nine newborn puppies and secludes them in a loft in order to “educate” them.
By late summer, Snowball’s and Napoleon’s pigeon-messengers have spread news of the Rebellion across half of England. Animals on other farms have begun lashing out against their human masters and singing the revolutionary song “Beasts of England.” Jones and other farmers try to recapture Animal Farm but fail. The animals celebrate their victory in what they call “The Battle of the Cowshed.”
The animals agree to let the pigs make all the resolutions. Snowball and Napoleon continue to be at odds and eventually clash over the windmill. Snowball wants to build a windmill in order to shorten the work week and provide the farm electricity, but Napoleon opposes it. Napoleon summons nine fierce dogs (the puppies he trained) to run Snowball off the farm. Napoleon announces that Sunday meetings will cease and that the pigs will make all the decisions in the animals’ best interest. At this point, Boxer takes on his own personal maxims, “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right.” In the spring, Napoleon announces plans to build the windmill, claiming that it was his idea all along—rewriting history.
Building the windmill forces the animals to work harder and on Sundays. Shortages begin to occur, so Napoleon opens up trade with the human world. Through Squealer, he lies that no resolutions against interaction with humans or the use of money had ever been passed. Napoleon enlists Whymper to be his intermediary, and the pigs move into the farmhouse. Squealer assures the animals that there is no resolution against this, but Clover and Muriel discovers that one of the resolutions has been changed to: “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” Squealer convinces her that there was never a resolution against beds at all.
One night, strong winds shake the farm and the animals awake to discover the windmill destroyed. Napoleon blames Snowball and sentences the expelled pig to death.
In the winter, as conditions become worse on Animal Farm, Napoleon deceives the human world into thinking Animal Farm is prospering. He signs a contract for a quota of four hundred eggs per week, inciting a hen rebellion that results in several deaths. Around the same time, Napoleon begins negotiating with Frederick and Pilkington to sell Animal Farm’s store of timber. He also spreads propaganda against Snowball, claiming that Snowball was always a spy and a collaborator while Napoleon was the true hero of the Battle of the Cowshed, and Squealer warns against Snowball’s secret agents.
Four days later, Napoleon holds an assembly in which he makes several animals confess to treachery and then has the dogs execute them. The dogs try to get Boxer to confess but leave him alone when they cannot overpower him. Afterwards, Clover and some other animals huddle together on a hill overlooking the farm. They reminisce about Animalism’s ideals and consider how much they differ from the violence and terror of Napoleon’s reign. They sing “Beasts of England,” but Squealer informs them that the song is useless now that the Rebellion is completed and that it is now forbidden. The new anthem begins with the lyrics: “Animal Farm, Animal Farm, / Never through me shalt thou come to harm!”
Another commandment is changed to read: “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.” Clover and Muriel convince themselves that the commandment has always been this way. Squealer begins reading the animals statistics regularly to convince them that production is increasing. Napoleon seldom appears in public. The animals now call him “our Leader, Comrade Napoleon.” They attribute all misfortunes to Snowball and all success and luck to Napoleon.
Napoleon continues to negotiate with the farmers and eventually decides to sell the timber to Mr. Pilkington. At last, the windmill is finished and named “Napoleon Mill.” Soon after, Napoleon announces that he will sell the timber to Frederick, quickly changing his allegiance and disavowing his earlier vilification of Frederick. Napoleon says that Pilkington and Snowball have been collaborating. Frederick pays for the timber in fake cash, and the next morning, Frederick and his men invade the farm and blow up the windmill. The animals manage to chase the humans off, though many die or are injured in what they call “The Battle of the Windmill.”
After the battle, the pigs discover a case of whisky in the farmhouse. They drink to excess and soon, Squealer reports that Napoleon is dying and, as his last action, has made the consumption of alcohol punishable by death. But Napoleon recovers quickly and then sends Whymper to procure manuals on brewing alcohol. Squealer changes another commandment to “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.”
Napoleon plans to build a schoolhouse for the thirty-one young pigs he has parented. Towards the end of the winter, Napoleon begins increasing propaganda to distract the animals from inequality and hardship. He creates special “Spontaneous Demonstrations” in which the animals march around and celebrate their triumphs.
In April, Napoleon declares the farm a Republic and is elected unanimously as President. The animals continue to work feverishly, most of all Boxer. One day, Boxer collapses while overexerting himself. Napoleon promises to send him to the veterinarian in Willingdon. A few days later, a horse-slaughterer takes Boxer away in his van. The animals are none the wiser until Benjamin reads the lettering on the side of the van. A few days later, Squealer reports that Boxer died in the hospital despite receiving the best possible care. He claims that Boxer’s last words glorified Animal Farm and Napoleon. He also claims that the van belongs to the veterinarian, who recently bought it from the horse slaughterer and had not yet managed to paint over the lettering. Napoleon promises to honor Boxer with a special banquet. But the pigs use the money from his slaughter to buy a case of whisky, which they drink on the day appointed for the banquet.
Years go by, and though Animal Farm’s population has increased, only a few animals that remember the Rebellion remain. Conditions are still harsh despite technological improvements. The pigs and dogs continue to do no manual labor, instead devoting themselves to organizational work. One day, Squealer takes the sheep out to a deserted pasture where, he says, he is teaching them a song. On the day the sheep return, the pigs walk around the yard on their hind legs as the sheep chant, “Four legs good, two legs better.” The other animals are horrified. Clover consults the barn wall again. This time Benjamin reads to her. The Seven Commandments have been replaced with a single maxim: “All animals are equal / But some animals are more equal than others.”
The pigs continue the longstanding pattern of awarding themselves more and more privileges. They buy a telephone and subscribe to magazines. They even wear Jones’s clothing. One night, Napoleon holds a conciliatory banquet for the farmers. Pilkington makes a speech in which he says he wants to emulate Animal Farm’s long work hours and low rations. Napoleon announces that the farm will be called “Manor Farm” again, the animals will call each other “Comrade” no longer, and they no longer will march ceremoniously past Old Major’s skull (a practice he denies understanding). He also declares that the farm’s flag will be plain green, devoid of the symbols of the Rebellion. As the animals peer through the windows to watch the humans and pigs play poker, they cannot distinguish between the pigs and the humans.
Characters:
Benjamin
The donkey. He is the oldest animal on the farm and stereotypically stubborn and crotchety. He is also intelligent, being the only animal (aside from the pigs) that can read fluently. He never laughs, preferring to make cynical comments, especially the cryptic line, “donkeys live a long time.” Despite Benjamin’s unfriendly nature, he has a special affinity for Boxer. The Rebellion does not change Benjamin’s personality, although he eventually helps the animals read the lettering on the side of the van and the maxim that replaces the Seven Commandments. Benjamin represents the human (and also stereotypically Russian) tendency towards apathy; he holds fast to the idea that life is inherently hard and that efforts for change are futile. Benjamin bears a similarity to Orwell himself. Over the course of his career, Orwell became politically pessimistic and predicted the overtake of the West by totalitarian governments.
Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher
The dogs. When Bluebell and Jessie give birth to puppies, Napoleon confiscates them and secludes them in a loft, where he transforms them into fierce, elitist guard dogs.
Boxer
The male of the two horses on the farm. He is “an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work” (26). Boxer has a special affinity for Benjamin. With his determination to be a good public servant and his penchant for hard work, Boxer becomes Napoleon’s greatest supporter. He works tirelessly for the cause of Animal Farm, operating under his personal maxims, “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right.” The only time Boxer doubts propaganda is when Squealer tries to rewrite the story of Snowball’s valor at the Battle of the Cowshed, a “treachery” for which he is nearly executed. But Boxer recants his doubts when he learns that the altered story of the battle is directly from Napoleon. After Boxer is injured while defending the farm in the Battle of the Windmill, Napoleon sends him to be slaughtered for profit. The pigs use the money from the slaughter to buy themselves a case of whisky. Boxer is not pugnacious despite his name, but he is as strong as his name implies. In this way, Boxer is a painfully ironic character. He is strong enough to kill another animal, even a human, with a single blow from his hoof, and the dogs cannot manage to overpower him in Chapter VII. Still, Boxer lacks the intelligence and the nerve to sense that he is being used. Boxer represents the peasant or working class, a faction of humanity with a great combined strength--enough to overthrow a manipulative government--but which is uneducated enough to take propaganda to heart and believe unconditionally in the government’s cause.
the Cat
The only cat on Manor Farm. She is lazy and indifferent, but she does participate in the Battle of the Cowshed.
Clover
The female of the two horses on the farm. She is “a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal.” Clover is Boxer’s faithful companion as well as a motherly figure to the other animals. Like Boxer, Clover is not intelligent enough to read, so she enlists Muriel to read the altered Seven Commandments to her. She sees the incongruities in the government’s policies and actions, but she is not smart or defiant enough to fight for the restoration of justice. Clover represents those people who remember a time before the Revolution and therefore half-realize that the government is lying about its success and adherence to its principles, but are helpless to change anything.
the Dogs
Nine puppies, which Napoleon confiscates and secludes in a loft. Napoleon rears them into fierce, elitist dogs that act as his security guards. The dogs are the only animals other than the pigs that are given special privileges. They also act as executioners, tearing out the throats of animals that confess to treachery. The dogs represent the NKVD and more specifically the KGB, agencies Joseph Stalin fostered and used to terrorize and commit atrocities upon the Soviet Union’s populace.
Frederick
The owner of Pinchfield, the small farm adjacent to Manor Farm. He is a hard-nosed individual who is known for his frequent legal troubles and demanding business style. He cheats the animals out of their timber by paying for it with fake banknotes. Frederick represents Adolf Hitler. Rumors of the exotic and cruel animal tortures Frederick enacts on his farm are meant to echo the horror stories emerging from Nazi Germany. Frederick’s agreement to buy the timber represents the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression treaty, and his subsequent betrayal of the pact and invasion of Animal Farm represents the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.
Jones
The owner of Manor Farm and a drunkard. His animals overthrow him in the Rebellion. When he tries to recapture his property, they defeat him, steal his gun, and drive him off again. Mr. Jones dies in a home for alcoholics in another part of the country. He represents the kind of corrupt and fatally flawed government that results in discontent and revolution among the populace. More specifically, Jones represents the latter days of imperial Russia and its last leader, the wealthy but ineffective Czar Nicholas II.
Minimus
A pig with “a remarkable gift for composing songs and poems.” Under Napoleon’s rule, Minimus sits with him and Squealer on the barn platform during meetings. Minimus composes propaganda songs and poems under Napoleon’s rule. Though we never hear Minimus complain about his duties as propaganda writer, he represents the Soviet Union’s artists, who were forced to use their talents to glorify communism rather than express their personal feelings or beliefs.
Mollie
The white mare that draws Mr. Jones’s trap. Her personality is superficial and adolescent. For example, when she arrives at the big meeting in Chapter 1, Orwell writes, “Mollie … Came mincing daintily in, chewing a lump of sugar. She took a place near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with” (27). Mollie is the only animal not to fight in the Battle of the Cowshed, instead hiding in her stall. She eventually flees the farm and is last seen, bedecked in ribbons, eating sugar and letting her new owner stroke her nose. Mollie represents the class of nobles who, unwilling to conform to the new regime, fled Russia after the Revolution.
Moses
A tame raven that is Mr. Jones’s “especial pet.” He is a spy, a gossip, and a “clever talker” (37). He is also the only animal not present for Old Major’s meeting. Moses gets in the way of the pigs’ efforts to spread Animalism by inventing a story about an animal heaven called Sugarcandy Mountain. Moses disappears for several years during Napoleon’s rule. When he returns, he still insists on the existence of Sugarcandy Mountain. Moses represents religion, which gives people hope of a better life in heaven. His name connects him to the Judeo-Christian religions specifically, but he can be said to represent the spiritual alternative in general. The pigs dislike Moses’s stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, just as the Soviet government opposed religion, not wanting its people to subscribe to a system of belief outside of communism. Though the Soviet government suppressed religion aggressively, the pigs on Animal Farm let Moses come and go as he pleases and even give him a ration of beer when he returns from his long absence.
Muriel
The white goat. Muriel can read fairly well and helps Clover decipher the alterations to the Seven Commandments. Muriel is not opinionated, but she represents a subtle, revelatory influence because of her willingness to help bring things to light (as opposed to Benjamin).
Napoleon
One of the leaders among the pigs, Napoleon is a “large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar” that is up for sale. He is the only Berkshire boar on the farm. He is “not much of a talker” and has “a reputation for getting his own way” (35). Napoleon expels Snowball from the farm and takes over. He modifies his opinions and policies and rewrites history continually to benefit the pigs. Napoleon awards special privileges to the pigs and especially to himself. For example, he dines on Mr. Jones’s fine china, wears Mr. Jones’s dress clothes, and smokes a pipe. As time goes on, Napoleon becomes a figure in the shadows, increasingly secluding himself and making few public appearances. Eventually, Napoleon holds a conciliatory meeting with the neighboring human farmers and effectively takes over Mr. Jones’s position as dictator. Napoleon represents the type of dictator or tyrant who shirks the common good, instead seeking more and more power in order to create his own regime. Orwell reflects Napoleon’s greed for power with a name that invokes Napoleon Bonaparte, the very successful French leader who became “Emperor” and brashly invaded Russia before being defeated by Russia. But Napoleon the pig more directly represents Stalin in his constantly changing policies and actions, his secret activities, his intentional deception and manipulation of the populace, and his use of fear tactics and atrocities.
Old Major
A prize Middle White boar that the Joneses exhibited under the name “Willingdon Beauty.” He is, “stout … But still a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance” (26). In addition to his laurels in the exhibition world, Major is highly respected among his fellow farm animals. His age is twelve years, which makes him a senior among them, and he also claims to have had over four hundred children. He is the one who calls the meeting in the first chapter to discuss his strange dream. Major claims to “understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living” (28). Months after his death, the pigs disinter his skull and place it at the base of the flagpole beside the gun. Major symbolizes two historical figures. First, he represents Karl Marx, the father of Marxism. Marx’s political hypotheses about working-class consciousness and division of labor worked infinitely better in theory than in practice, especially when corrupt leaders twisted them for their personal gain. Second, Major represents Vladimir Lenin, the foremost of the three authors of the Russian Revolution and the formation of the Soviet Union. Lenin died during the Soviet Union’s early years, leaving Trotsky (Snowball) and Stalin (Napoleon) to vie for his leadership position.
Pilkington
The owner of Foxwood, the large, unkempt farm adjacent to Manor Farm. He is an easy-going man who prefers pursuing his hobbies to maintaining his land. At the book’s end, Mr. Pilkington offers a toast to the future cooperation between human farms and Animal Farm. He also says he plans to emulate Animal Farm’s low rations and long work hours. Pilkington can be seen to represent the Allies. Allied countries explored the possibility of trade with the Soviet Union in the years leading up to World War II but kept a watchful distance. Ominously, as Friedrich Hayek points out in The Road to Serfdom (1944), communist principles had strong proponents among many Allied nations as well. Pilkington’s unwillingness to save Animal Farm from Frederick and his men parodies the Allies’ initial hesitance to enter the War. Napoleon’s and Pilkington’s poker game at the end of the book suggests the beginnings of a power struggle that would later become the Cold War.
Pinkeye
A pig that Napoleon enlists as his taster, lest someone try to poison him.
the Sheep
The sheep are loyal to the tenets of Animal Farm, often breaking into a chorus of “Four legs good, two legs bad” and later, “Four legs good, two legs better!” The Sheep--true to the typical symbolic meaning of “sheep”--represent those people who have little understanding of their situation and thus are willing to follow their government blindly.
Snowball
One of the leaders among the pigs, Snowball is a young pig that is up for sale. He is more intelligent than Napoleon but lacks Napoleon’s depth of character. He is also a brilliant orator. Snowball, who represents Leon Trotsky, is a progressive politician and aims to improve Animal Farm with a windmill and other technological advances, but Napoleon expels him before he can do so. In his absence, Snowball comes to represent an abstract idea of evil. The animals blame misfortunes on him, including the windmill’s destruction, and entertain the idea that he is lurking on one of the neighboring farms, plotting revenge. Napoleon uses the animals’ fear of Snowball to create new propaganda and changes history to make it seem as though Snowball was always a spy and a traitor. Snowball’s name is symbolic in this way. Napoleon encourages the animals’ fear of him to grow or snowball so that it becomes so great it is almost palpable. Snowball’s name may also refer to Trotsky’s call (following Marx) to encourage a revolution outside the Soviet Union that would “snowball” into an international proletariat revolution. Snowball can more generally be said to represent systems of belief outside of communism, which the government demonizes in order to lionize its own system.
Squealer
The best known of the porker pigs, Squealer has “very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements, and a shrill voice.” He is also “a brilliant talker” who is talented in the art of argument. The other pigs say Squealer “could turn black into white” (35). Under Napoleon’s rule, Squealer acts as the liaison to the other animals. He lies to them, rewriting history and reading them encouraging, but false, statistics. Squealer is especially good at playing on the animals’ ignorance and gullibility. He represents the propaganda machine of a totalitarian government.
Whymper
A solicitor in Willingdon who acts as Animal Farm’s intermediary to the human world. He is “a sly-looking little man with side whiskers.” He visits the farm every Monday to get his orders and is paid in commissions. Mr. Whymper’s business-minded attitude towards Animal Farm, which allows him to ignore the injustices and atrocities committed there, make him a parody of nations that conducted business with the Soviet Union while turning a blind eye to its internal affairs.
Major Themes
The Soviet Union under Stalinism
Animal Farm is a satire of totalitarian governments in their many guises. But Orwell composed the book for a more specific purpose: to serve as a cautionary tale about Stalinism. It was for this reason that he faced such difficulty in getting the book published; by the time Animal Farm was ready to meet its readers, the Allies were cooperating with the Soviet Union. The allegorical characters of the novel represent specific historical figures and different factions of Imperial Russian and Soviet society. These include Karl Marx (Major), Vladimir Lenin (Major), Leon Trotsky (Snowball), Joseph Stalin (Napoleon), Adolf Hitler (Frederick), the Allies (Pilkington), the peasants (Boxer), the elite (Mollie), and the church (Moses).
The resemblance of some of the novel’s events to events in Soviet history is indubitable. For example, Snowball’s and Napoleon’s power struggle is a direct allegory of Trotsky’s and Stalin’s. Frederick’s trade agreement with Napoleon, and his subsequent breaking of the agreement, represents the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact that preceded World War II. The following Battle of the Windmill represents World War II itself.
Despite his fairy-tale clarity in satirizing some historical events, Orwell is less specific about others. For example, the executions in Chapter VII conflate the Red Terror with the Great Purge. The executions themselves bear resemblance to both events, although their details connect them more to the Moscow Trials than to the Red Terror. Squealer’s subsequent announcement that the executions have ended the Rebellion connects them to the period of the Red Terror, however. Orwell leaves some ambiguity in the identities of the Rebellion and the Battle of the Cowshed. These ambiguities help the reader focus on the overall satire of Stalinism and the broader warning about the evils of totalitarian government.
The Inevitability of Totalitarianism
Orwell held the pessimistic belief that totalitarianism was inevitable, even in the West. According to Russell Baker, who wrote the preface to Animal Farm’s 1996 Signet Classics version, Orwell’s pessimism stemmed from his having grown up in an age of dictatorship. Witnessing Hitler’s and Stalin’s movements from afar, as well as fighting totalitarianism in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell came to believe in the rise of a new species of autocrat, worse even than the tyrants of old. This cynicism is reflected in both of his highly successful novels, Animal Farm and 1984. Orwell emphasizes the insidiousness of totalitarianism early in the novel, when the pigs take the fresh milk and apples. The pigs justify their actions on the basis of their superiority; they are smart and need more nutrition than the other animals to fuel their brainpower. There is no scientific basis for the pigs’ claim—in fact, if anyone needs more food to fuel their labor, it is the manual laborers—but they can count on the animals’ being too ignorant to realize that. In this way, Orwell makes the point that totalitarianism need not be blatant in order to be operating. It can hide under the guise of the “greater good” as it did in the Soviet Union before the totalitarianism became obvious.
Orwell uses a cyclical structure in Animal Farm, which helps advance the idea of totalitarianism’s predictability. The novel begins with Jones as autocratic tyrant and ends with Napoleon not only in Jones’s position, but in his clothes as well. Over the course of the novel, Napoleon essentially becomes Jones just as Stalin becomes an autocrat after pretending to espouse equality and freedom. Orwell cements this idea in the book’s final scene, where he writes, “Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which” (139). The circularity of Orwell’s story prevents the reader from imagining a better future for Animal Farm. After all, even if another Rebellion were to take place, its leaders would eventually come to emulate Napoleon.
According to Baker, technology turned out to be the force freeing people from Orwell’s age of dictators. But “technology” can be just another banner under which to rally the people. While Orwell does portray technology as a source of progress in Animal Farm, he points out that it is useless unless it is in the people’s hands. Most notably, even when the windmill is finished it is used for milling corn instead of its original purpose of supplying the animals with electricity in their stalls.
Intelligence and Education as Tools of Oppression
From the very beginning of the novel, we become aware of education’s role in stratifying Animal Farm’s population. Following Major’s death, the pigs are the ones that take on the task of organizing and mobilizing the other animals because they are “generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals” (35). At first, the pigs are loyal to their fellow animals and to the revolutionary cause. They translate Major’s vision of the future faithfully into the Seven Commandments of Animalism. However, it is not long before the pigs’ intelligence and education turn from tools of enlightenment to implements of oppression. The moment the pigs are faced with something material that they want—the fresh milk—they abandon their morals and use their superior intellect and knowledge to deceive the other animals.
The pigs also limit the other animals’ opportunities to gain intelligence and education early on. They teach themselves to read and write from a children’s book but destroy it before the other animals can have the same chance. Indeed, most of the animals never learn more than a few letters of the alphabet. Once the pigs cement their status as the educated elite, they use their mental advantage to manipulate the other animals. For example, knowing that the other animals cannot read the Seven Commandments, they revise them whenever they like. The pigs also use their literacy to learn trades from manuals, giving them an opportunity for economic specialization and advancement. Content in the role of the intelligentsia, the pigs forgo manual labor in favor of bookkeeping and organizing. This shows that the pigs have not only the advantage of opportunity, but also the opportunity to reject whatever opportunities they like. The pigs’ intelligence and education allow them to bring the other animals into submission through the use of propaganda and revisionism. At the book’s end, we witness Napoleon’s preparations to educate a new generation of pigs and indoctrinate them into the code of oppression.
Propaganda and Duplicity
Working as a propagandist during World War II, Orwell experienced firsthand both the immense power and the dishonesty of propaganda. Many types of governments make use of propaganda, not only totalitarian ones. Consider, for instance, the arguments that led many United States citizens to go along with the idea of invading Iraq after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Propaganda serves the positive task of uniting the people, sometimes at the cost of misleading them. Orwell takes a firm stance on the harmfulness of propaganda in Animal Farm while acknowledging its value for rallying a mistreated and disillusioned populace.
In Chapter IX, Orwell demonstrates the positive value of propaganda. By this point, the animals are so downtrodden that they are desperate for something in which to believe. (Note the irony, though: it is Napoleon who has robbed them of their belief in the original version of Animalism.) The falsely optimistic statistics, the songs, and especially the Spontaneous Demonstrations give the animals something to live for. This chapter is an exception in terms of portraying propaganda in a positive light. For the majority of Animal Farm, Orwell skewers propaganda and exposes its nature as deception.
Squealer represents a totalitarian government’s propaganda machine. Eloquent to a fault, he can make the animals believe almost anything. This fact is especially clear in Squealer’s interactions with Clover and Muriel. Each time Clover suspects that the Seven Commandments have been changed, Squealer manages to convince her that she is wrong. After the executions, Napoleon abolishes the singing of “Beasts of England” in favor of a new anthem, the lyrics of which contain a promise never to harm Animal Farm. In this propagandist maneuver, Napoleon replaces the revolutionary spirit of “Beasts of England” with the exact opposite, a promise not to rebel. In addition to being a source of manipulation, propaganda is an agent of fear and terror. Orwell demonstrates this quite clearly with Napoleon’s vilification of Snowball and his assurances that Snowball could attack the animals at any minute. He uses similar fear tactics regarding Frederick and Pilkington. The most egregious example of propaganda in the novel is the maxim that replaces the Seven Commandments: “All animals are equal / But some animals are more equal than others.” The idea of “more equal” is mathematically improbable and a nonsensical manipulation of language, but by this time, the animals are too brainwashed to notice.
Violence and Terror as Means of Control
In Animal Farm, Orwell criticizes the ways that dictators use violence and terror to frighten their populaces into submission. Violence is one of the yokes from which the animals wish to free themselves when they prepare for the Rebellion. Not only does Jones overwork the animals and steal the products of their labor, but he can whip or slaughter them at his discretion. Once the pigs gain control of the animals, they, like Jones, discover how useful violence and terror can be. They use this knowledge to their full advantage. The foremost example of violence and terror in the novel is the pattern of public executions. The executions can be said to represent both the Red Terror and the Great Purge, but they stand more broadly for the abuse of power. For example, they are also similar to the Taliban’s public executions in Kabul’s soccer stadium in modern Afghanistan.
Capital punishment for criminals is a hotly debated issue. Killing suspected criminals, as Napoleon does, is quite another issue. The executions perhaps best symbolize the Moscow Trials, which were show trials that Stalin arranged to instill fear in the Soviet people. To witnesses at the time, the accused traitors’ confessions seemed to be given freely. In fact, they were coerced. Napoleon likely coerces confessions from many of the animals that he executes. Orwell’s use of the allegory genre serves him well in the execution scene. Execution with weapons is a violent and horrifying act, but many people have become desensitized to it. Orwell’s allegorical executioners, the dogs that kill cruelly, portray the bloody and inescapably animalistic side of execution.
Terror comes also in threats and propaganda. Each time the animals dare to question an aspect of Napoleon’s regime, Squealer threatens them with Jones’s return. This is doubly threatening to the animals because it would mean another battle that, if lost, would result in a return to their former lifestyle of submission. Jones’s return is such a serious threat that it quashes the animals’ curiosity without fail. The other major example of fear tactics in the novel is the threat of Snowball and his collaborators. Napoleon is able to vilify Snowball in the latter’s absence and to make the animals believe that his return, like Jones’s, is imminent. Snowball is a worse threat than Jones, because Jones is at least safely out of Animal Farm. Snowball is “proved” to be not only lurking along Animal Farm’s borders but infiltrating the farm. Napoleon’s public investigation of Snowball’s whereabouts cements the animals’ fear of Snowball’s influence. In modern language, Snowball is pegged as the terrorist responsible for the infringements on the rights and liberties instigated by the pigs.
Exploitation and the Need for Human Rights
Exploitation is the issue around which the animals unite. Initially, the animals do not realize Jones is exploiting them. For this reason, Old Major’s speech is a revelation of momentous proportions. Major explains to the animals that they are enslaved and exploited and that Man is to blame. He teaches them not only what exploitation means, but also the fact that it is not inevitable. Orwell suggests that exploitation is, in fact, bound to happen when one class of society has an advantage over another. The opposite of exploitation, according to Major, is the state of being “rich and free.” Major’s ideas about animal rights symbolize the importance—and scarcity—of human rights in an oppressive regime. Gaining freedom does not necessarily lead people also to become rich, but it is better to be poor and free than poor and exploited.
All the animals on Animal Farm are exploited under Napoleon’s control, save the pigs. Even the dogs, which work closely with the pigs, are exploited. The dogs face perhaps even a worse form of exploitation than the other animals, because they are made into agents of intimidation and death. Whereas Napoleon exploits the other animals’ physical strength and their ignorance, he exploits the dogs’ viciousness and turns them into villains against their parents’ wishes.
Boxer’s life is a particularly sad example of exploitation because he exploits himself, believing wholeheartedly in Napoleon’s goodness. In the end, Napoleon turns the tables and exploits Boxer, having him slaughtered for profit. By the end of the novel, we see clearly how the animals participate in their own exploitation. They are beginning to build a schoolhouse for the thirty-one young pigs Napoleon has fathered (perhaps an oblique reference to the “Thirty Tyrants” of ancient Greece). That schoolhouse will never benefit the animals that build it; rather, it will be used to educate the pigs and indoctrinate them into the cycle of exploiting others. Throughout the novel, Orwell shows us how the lack of human rights results in total helplessness. However, though it underscores the need for human rights, the novel does not suggest how to achieve them. After all, once the animals expel Jones and gain rights for themselves, the pigs take those rights away and the cycle of exploitation continues with new players.
Apathy and Acceptance
In the beginning of Animal Farm, the idea of freedom rouses the animals as if from a long slumber. Immediately following Major’s death, the animals begin preparing themselves for the Rebellion; just the idea of revolution is enough to motivate them, since they do not expect it to happen in their lifetimes. By the book’s end, the animals have become as apathetic as Benjamin always was. Despite the many hardships and injustices they face, the animals’ pride as well as Napoleon’s propaganda keep them invested in the “greater good” and the illusion of freedom. If Benjamin is the harbinger of apathy, Boxer is its antithesis. Strong not only in body but also in spirit, Boxer will make any sacrifice for the benefit of Animal Farm. With Boxer’s eventual betrayal by the leaders he served so unconditionally, Orwell lays bare another type of apathy—theirs. Far from truly considering Boxer a loyal comrade, the pigs treat him as apathetically as they would a mere object. Symbolically, they even make a profit by having him turned into literal objects—glue and bone meal.
Boxer’s enthusiasm does not give him an advantage, but the other animals’ eventual apathy gives them a defense mechanism against the painful reality of their lives. It is no coincidence that Animal Farm’s most apathetic and cynical animal, Benjamin, is one of those that survives the longest. Benjamin’s emotional detachment from situations, whether they are good or bad, keeps him from being disappointed. In his apathy and cynicism, Benjamin represents the stereotypical “gloomy” Russian and also the perennially pessimistic Orwell himself.
Literary Elements/Techniques:
Irony
Omniscient Narrator
Foreshadowing
Satire
Anthropomorphism
Key quotes:
•"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 1
•"All men are enemies. All animals are comrades."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 1
•"THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
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.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 2
•"The animals were happy as they had never conceived it possible to be. Every mouthful of food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was truly their own food, produced by themselves and for themselves, not doled out to them by a grudging master."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 3
•"I will work harder!"
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 3
•"FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD"
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 3, pg. 29
•"It was given out that the animals there practiced cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was what came of rebelling against the laws of Nature, Frederick and Pilkington said."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 4
•"'I have no wish to take life, not even human life,' repeated Boxer, and his eyes were full of tears."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 4
•"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 5
•"Napoleon is always right."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 5
•"All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 6
•"The human beings did not hate Animal Farm any less now that it was prospering; indeed, they hated it more than ever."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 6
•"They were always cold, and usually hungry as well."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 7
•"If a window was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say that Snowball had come in the night and done it, and when the key of the store-shed was lost, the whole farm was convinced that Snowball had thrown it down the well. Curiously enough, they went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 7
•"If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 7
•"they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes." Chapter 7
•"some of the animals remembered--or thought they remembered--that the Sixth Commandment decreed 'No animal shall kill any other animal.' And though no one cared to mention it in the hearing of the pigs or the dogs, it was felt that the killings which had taken place did not square with this."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 8
•"It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, 'Under the guidance of our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days'; or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would exclaim, 'Thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this water tastes!'"
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 8
•"Reading out the figures in a shrill, rapid voice, he provedto them in detail that they had more oats, more hay, more turnips than they had had in Jones's day, that they worked shorter hours, that their drinking water was of better quality, that they lived longer, that a larger proportion of their young ones survived infancy, and that they had more straw in their stalls and suffered less from fleas."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 9
•"Besides, in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, as Squealer did not fail to point out."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 9
•"Napoleon had denounced such ideas as contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10
•"Only old Benjamin professed to remember every detail of his long life and to know that things never had been, nor ever could be much better or much worse - hunger, hardship and disappointment being, so he said, the unalterable law of life."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10, pg. 109
•"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS"
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10
•"No question now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
- George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10
Night by Elie Wiesel
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Night Summary
Eliezer Wiesel is a fourteen-year-old boy living in Sighet, Transylvania, at the start of World War II. He is very devout and wants to study Jewish mysticism. His father, who is a prominent leader of the Jewish community, thinks that he is too young. Nevertheless, Eliezer starts studying the cabbala with Moché the Beadle, a poor and humble man who works in the Hasidic temple. Moché teaches him that he must seek to ask God the right questions even though we will never understand the answers he gives us.
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Eliezer Wiesel is a fourteen-year-old boy living in Sighet, Transylvania, at the start of World War II. He is very devout and wants to study Jewish mysticism. His father, who is a prominent leader of the Jewish community, thinks that he is too young. Nevertheless, Eliezer starts studying the cabbala with Moché the Beadle, a poor and humble man who works in the Hasidic temple. Moché teaches him that he must seek to ask God the right questions even though we will never understand the answers he gives us.
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Despite ominous signs, the Jews in Sighet refuse to believe that the Fascists could ever do anything to hurt them. Moché is deported along with other non-Hungarians and taken to a concentration camp. He manages to escape and comes back to warn the townspeople of the atrocities that he has seen. They refuse to believe him, however, and think that he is either insane or just wants attention. People continue on in their normal, everyday lives through 1943. In 1944 the townspeople remain foolishly optimistic even after the Fascists come to power, Germany invades Hungary, and the German army itself arrives in Sighet. Eliezer's father refuses to try to escape the country. On Passover the persecution of the Jews begins. Jews are first forbidden from leaving their homes for three days, required to wear the yellow star, and then crowded into two ghettos. Even among the ghettos, people carry on as normal until one day when Eliezer's father is unexpectedly summoned to a meeting of the Jewish Council. He returns bearing bad news: all Jews will be deported. Eliezer goes to wake up the neighbors, and everyone begins to pack in preparation for the upcoming journey.
The first convoy of deported prisoners is kept standing in the middle of the hot courtyard, and Eliezer and others run to bring the parched individuals water. Eliezer's family is scheduled to leave in the last group, and they are moved into the smaller ghetto, where an old family servant named Martha offers to hide them in the country. The family refuses to be separated from one another, and they join the rest of the community in the synagogue to be deported. The next day, the prisoners are crowded into cattle wagons on a train.
Inside the train it is so crowded that people have to take turns sitting down. Young people openly copulate with each other, and the prisoners are forced to give up all their valuables. A woman named Madame Schaechter is on the train and begins to lose her mind, having earlier been separated from her husband and two older sons. She starts to scream hysterically about a flaming furnace she claims to see in the distance, and she scares the other occupants of the train. They try to silence her by beating and gagging her, but she nevertheless screams repeatedly throughout the night. Finally, when the train arrives at Birkenau/Auschwitz, the prisoners see the flaming chimney that Madame Schaechter had prophesied.
Upon arriving at Birkenau, Eliezer is separated from his mother and sister, but manages to stay close to his father. The prisoners then march past SS officer Dr. Mengele, who "selects" who will live and who will go to the crematory. Eliezer and his father are told they are going to the crematory and are filled with terror as they march closer and closer to a fiery pit. At the last minute, the line of men turns away from the flames. The prisoners are then forced to strip, run, bathe, and redress, all the while being pummeled by veteran prisoners and SS guards. Eliezer and his father are taken to the gypsies' camp, where they are harangued by an SS officer. The prisoners then march to Auschwitz.
At Auschwitz conditions are better and the fellow prisoners not as brutal. Finally, the prisoners are allowed to sleep. Eliezer refuses to eat his first ration, a plate of thick soup, but the day is much better, with people sitting and talking with each other in the sun. For several weeks the prisoners follow a tight schedule of meals, roll call, and bed. At the camp Eliezer and his father meet a distant relative, Stein of Antwerp, who is seeking news about his family. Eliezer lies to him, telling him that his family is well, and the man retains his will to live until he finds out the truth. The prisoners are then transferred to Buna.
At Buna Eliezer is placed in a good work unit, the musician's block. All he has to do is work in a warehouse counting electrical fittings. He meets a Polish violin player named Juliek and also befriends two Czech brothers named Yossi and Tibi. The foreman Franek gets Eliezer's father placed in the same block also. Eliezer is summoned to the dentist to get his gold crown removed, but he feigns illness twice and manages to keep it for awhile. However, Franek beats his Eliezer's father until Eliezer gives the crown to him in exchange for some extra food. One day the Kapo (head of the block) Idek flies into a violent rage and beats Eliezer. A young French girl passing as Aryan comforts him in German. Many years later, Eliezer meets this woman in Paris, and she confesses that she is Jewish and never spoke German in the concentration camp except to him.
Another day Eliezer accidentally walks in on Idek having sex with a young Polish girl. He laughs out loud, and Idek punishes him by having him publicly lashed twenty-five times. On a Sunday, an air-raid siren goes off, and the prisoners are locked down. They regain hope that Germany will soon be defeated. Two cauldrons of soup are accidentally left out, and one starving man crawls over to them and dies with his face in the soup.
The SS begins having public hangings during roll call. Eliezer is disturbed by the first execution, although the man condemned to death is calm and unafraid. Afterwards, all the prisoners are required to march past his hanging body. The only time that the prisoners weep at a hanging was when a young child, "a sad-eyed angel," is hanged for conspiring to blow up the electric power station. The entire group of prisoners cries, and a man standing behind Eliezer wonders out loud where God is.
Eliezer refuses to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Though he does not doubt God's existence, he does question his justice, and he accuses him for the existence of concentration camps. Eliezer's father does not want to observe the religious holidays either, although most of the other prisoners do. The SS holds a selection for the crematories right after the new year. Dr. Mengele holds judgment once again, and Eliezer runs as fast as possible past him. He passes, but his father does not. Luckily, however, his father convinces the SS officers that he is still strong enough to live and escapes death. Akiba Drumer, formerly a devout religious mystic, loses his faith and his will to live, and he goes to the crematory.
During winter Eliezer's foot swells up from the cold, and he has to go to the hospital to get an operation. A bedmate warns him to escape the hospital before the next selection because all the invalids will be taken to the crematory. The doctor for Eliezer's operation is kindly, and although Eliezer panics that his leg has been amputated, tells him that he will be able to walk in a fortnight. Soon, however, the camp is to be evacuated because the Russian army is approaching. Eliezer and his father decide to be evacuated with the rest of the prisoners, instead of remaining behind in the hospital.
The prisoners are forced to run for more than forty-two miles without resting. Guards shoot those who fall behind, and others are trampled underfoot by the crowd behind them. When they are finally allowed to rest, Eliezer and his father have to keep each other from falling asleep and dying in the snow. A man named Rabbi Eliahou comes around looking for his son, who he was separated from during the run. Eliezer realizes that the man's son had purposely run away from his burdensome, weak father, and he prays to God for strength not to behave as callously towards his own father.
When they reach Gleiwitz, the prisoners are so crowded into barracks that people are piled on top of each other. Eliezer finds himself lying on top of Juliek, who has miraculously transported his violin all the way there. In the middle of the night, Juliek plays Beethoven soulfully on his violin for an audience of dead and dying men. After three days, there is another selection, and Eliezer creates a disturbance so that his father doesn't have to go to the crematory. The prisoners are then crammed into cattle wagons, a hundred per car.
Inside the car, men are dying, and Eliezer becomes indifferent to life and death. Eliezer's father looks almost dead, and Eliezer has to prevent him from being thrown out of the car when the train stops. The prisoners are not fed for ten days. Once, some German workmen throw pieces of bread into the car for entertainment, and the prisoners become murderous beasts trying to get at the food. One man even kills his own father for a piece of bread. Another time, someone randomly tries to strangle Eliezer, who is saved at the last minute by Meir Katz, who subsequently loses his will to live.
When they arrive at Buchenwald, Eliezer's father is too weak to go on and begs his son to let him sleep in the snow. After much argument, Eliezer goes to the barracks and falls asleep. The next morning he searches for his father but half hopes that he doesn't find him. He eventually finds him and spends much time taking care of him, giving him his own rations of coffee, soup, and bread. Knowing that he is about to die of dysentery, Eliezer's father tries to tell his son where the gold is buried. Eliezer's father is repeatedly attacked by his bunkmates and has his food stolen from him. The doctor refuses to examine him, and the head of the block advises Eliezer to eat his father's rations. When his father calls to Eliezer for water, an SS guard shatters his skull with a truncheon. His father does not die, but his body is removed the next day, January 29, 1945. Eliezer is ashamed that he is somewhat relieved to be free of him.
Eliezer remains at Buchenwald until April 11 and is transferred to the children's block. There is no more story to tell after his father dies. Right before liberation, there is much confusion in the camp. The Jews think that they will all be shot, but they are evacuated from the camp in thousands each day. On April 11, there is a battle between the camp resistance organization and the SS, with the resistance winning. That evening an American tank arrives at the camp.
After being freed, the prisoners think only of food. No one thinks of revenge. Eliezer becomes hospitalized for two weeks of food poisoning. When he recovers, he looks at himself in the mirror for the first time since he was in the ghetto. The eyes of a corpse look back at him.
Despite ominous signs, the Jews in Sighet refuse to believe that the Fascists could ever do anything to hurt them. Moché is deported along with other non-Hungarians and taken to a concentration camp. He manages to escape and comes back to warn the townspeople of the atrocities that he has seen. They refuse to believe him, however, and think that he is either insane or just wants attention. People continue on in their normal, everyday lives through 1943. In 1944 the townspeople remain foolishly optimistic even after the Fascists come to power, Germany invades Hungary, and the German army itself arrives in Sighet. Eliezer's father refuses to try to escape the country. On Passover the persecution of the Jews begins. Jews are first forbidden from leaving their homes for three days, required to wear the yellow star, and then crowded into two ghettos. Even among the ghettos, people carry on as normal until one day when Eliezer's father is unexpectedly summoned to a meeting of the Jewish Council. He returns bearing bad news: all Jews will be deported. Eliezer goes to wake up the neighbors, and everyone begins to pack in preparation for the upcoming journey.
The first convoy of deported prisoners is kept standing in the middle of the hot courtyard, and Eliezer and others run to bring the parched individuals water. Eliezer's family is scheduled to leave in the last group, and they are moved into the smaller ghetto, where an old family servant named Martha offers to hide them in the country. The family refuses to be separated from one another, and they join the rest of the community in the synagogue to be deported. The next day, the prisoners are crowded into cattle wagons on a train.
Inside the train it is so crowded that people have to take turns sitting down. Young people openly copulate with each other, and the prisoners are forced to give up all their valuables. A woman named Madame Schaechter is on the train and begins to lose her mind, having earlier been separated from her husband and two older sons. She starts to scream hysterically about a flaming furnace she claims to see in the distance, and she scares the other occupants of the train. They try to silence her by beating and gagging her, but she nevertheless screams repeatedly throughout the night. Finally, when the train arrives at Birkenau/Auschwitz, the prisoners see the flaming chimney that Madame Schaechter had prophesied.
Upon arriving at Birkenau, Eliezer is separated from his mother and sister, but manages to stay close to his father. The prisoners then march past SS officer Dr. Mengele, who "selects" who will live and who will go to the crematory. Eliezer and his father are told they are going to the crematory and are filled with terror as they march closer and closer to a fiery pit. At the last minute, the line of men turns away from the flames. The prisoners are then forced to strip, run, bathe, and redress, all the while being pummeled by veteran prisoners and SS guards. Eliezer and his father are taken to the gypsies' camp, where they are harangued by an SS officer. The prisoners then march to Auschwitz.
At Auschwitz conditions are better and the fellow prisoners not as brutal. Finally, the prisoners are allowed to sleep. Eliezer refuses to eat his first ration, a plate of thick soup, but the day is much better, with people sitting and talking with each other in the sun. For several weeks the prisoners follow a tight schedule of meals, roll call, and bed. At the camp Eliezer and his father meet a distant relative, Stein of Antwerp, who is seeking news about his family. Eliezer lies to him, telling him that his family is well, and the man retains his will to live until he finds out the truth. The prisoners are then transferred to Buna.
At Buna Eliezer is placed in a good work unit, the musician's block. All he has to do is work in a warehouse counting electrical fittings. He meets a Polish violin player named Juliek and also befriends two Czech brothers named Yossi and Tibi. The foreman Franek gets Eliezer's father placed in the same block also. Eliezer is summoned to the dentist to get his gold crown removed, but he feigns illness twice and manages to keep it for awhile. However, Franek beats his Eliezer's father until Eliezer gives the crown to him in exchange for some extra food. One day the Kapo (head of the block) Idek flies into a violent rage and beats Eliezer. A young French girl passing as Aryan comforts him in German. Many years later, Eliezer meets this woman in Paris, and she confesses that she is Jewish and never spoke German in the concentration camp except to him.
Another day Eliezer accidentally walks in on Idek having sex with a young Polish girl. He laughs out loud, and Idek punishes him by having him publicly lashed twenty-five times. On a Sunday, an air-raid siren goes off, and the prisoners are locked down. They regain hope that Germany will soon be defeated. Two cauldrons of soup are accidentally left out, and one starving man crawls over to them and dies with his face in the soup.
The SS begins having public hangings during roll call. Eliezer is disturbed by the first execution, although the man condemned to death is calm and unafraid. Afterwards, all the prisoners are required to march past his hanging body. The only time that the prisoners weep at a hanging was when a young child, "a sad-eyed angel," is hanged for conspiring to blow up the electric power station. The entire group of prisoners cries, and a man standing behind Eliezer wonders out loud where God is.
Eliezer refuses to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Though he does not doubt God's existence, he does question his justice, and he accuses him for the existence of concentration camps. Eliezer's father does not want to observe the religious holidays either, although most of the other prisoners do. The SS holds a selection for the crematories right after the new year. Dr. Mengele holds judgment once again, and Eliezer runs as fast as possible past him. He passes, but his father does not. Luckily, however, his father convinces the SS officers that he is still strong enough to live and escapes death. Akiba Drumer, formerly a devout religious mystic, loses his faith and his will to live, and he goes to the crematory.
During winter Eliezer's foot swells up from the cold, and he has to go to the hospital to get an operation. A bedmate warns him to escape the hospital before the next selection because all the invalids will be taken to the crematory. The doctor for Eliezer's operation is kindly, and although Eliezer panics that his leg has been amputated, tells him that he will be able to walk in a fortnight. Soon, however, the camp is to be evacuated because the Russian army is approaching. Eliezer and his father decide to be evacuated with the rest of the prisoners, instead of remaining behind in the hospital.
The prisoners are forced to run for more than forty-two miles without resting. Guards shoot those who fall behind, and others are trampled underfoot by the crowd behind them. When they are finally allowed to rest, Eliezer and his father have to keep each other from falling asleep and dying in the snow. A man named Rabbi Eliahou comes around looking for his son, who he was separated from during the run. Eliezer realizes that the man's son had purposely run away from his burdensome, weak father, and he prays to God for strength not to behave as callously towards his own father.
When they reach Gleiwitz, the prisoners are so crowded into barracks that people are piled on top of each other. Eliezer finds himself lying on top of Juliek, who has miraculously transported his violin all the way there. In the middle of the night, Juliek plays Beethoven soulfully on his violin for an audience of dead and dying men. After three days, there is another selection, and Eliezer creates a disturbance so that his father doesn't have to go to the crematory. The prisoners are then crammed into cattle wagons, a hundred per car.
Inside the car, men are dying, and Eliezer becomes indifferent to life and death. Eliezer's father looks almost dead, and Eliezer has to prevent him from being thrown out of the car when the train stops. The prisoners are not fed for ten days. Once, some German workmen throw pieces of bread into the car for entertainment, and the prisoners become murderous beasts trying to get at the food. One man even kills his own father for a piece of bread. Another time, someone randomly tries to strangle Eliezer, who is saved at the last minute by Meir Katz, who subsequently loses his will to live.
When they arrive at Buchenwald, Eliezer's father is too weak to go on and begs his son to let him sleep in the snow. After much argument, Eliezer goes to the barracks and falls asleep. The next morning he searches for his father but half hopes that he doesn't find him. He eventually finds him and spends much time taking care of him, giving him his own rations of coffee, soup, and bread. Knowing that he is about to die of dysentery, Eliezer's father tries to tell his son where the gold is buried. Eliezer's father is repeatedly attacked by his bunkmates and has his food stolen from him. The doctor refuses to examine him, and the head of the block advises Eliezer to eat his father's rations. When his father calls to Eliezer for water, an SS guard shatters his skull with a truncheon. His father does not die, but his body is removed the next day, January 29, 1945. Eliezer is ashamed that he is somewhat relieved to be free of him.
Eliezer remains at Buchenwald until April 11 and is transferred to the children's block. There is no more story to tell after his father dies. Right before liberation, there is much confusion in the camp. The Jews think that they will all be shot, but they are evacuated from the camp in thousands each day. On April 11, there is a battle between the camp resistance organization and the SS, with the resistance winning. That evening an American tank arrives at the camp.
After being freed, the prisoners think only of food. No one thinks of revenge. Eliezer becomes hospitalized for two weeks of food poisoning. When he recovers, he looks at himself in the mirror for the first time since he was in the ghetto. The eyes of a corpse look back at him.
Character List
Eliezer Wiesel (identification number A-7713)
The narrator of the book, Eliezer is taken to concentration camps in Czechoslovakia and Germany at the age of fourteen. As a young boy in Sighet, Transylvania, he is very devout and interested in Jewish mysticism, and his religious faith evolves (but is never extinguished) during his time in concentration camps. Though he is separated from his mother and sister upon first arriving at Birkenau, Eliezer manages to remain close to his father during almost the entirety of his stay in concentration camps. He is very devoted to his father, and the two share rations and look out for each other. However, the harshness of camp life weakens Eliezer's filial devotion, which causes him much shame and guilt. Eliezer becomes concerned primarily with feeding himself and with escaping Nazi brutality, and this instinct of self-preservation often outweighs concern for his father, who he expects to take care of himself. A few months before the concentration camps are liberated, Eliezer's foot swells from the cold, and he has to undergo an operation.
Eliezer's father (Chlomo Wiesel)
Eliezer's father is very respected within the Jewish community of his hometown, and he spends most of his time occupying himself with community affairs. He is a member of the Jewish Council, which is the first group to hear about deportation, and he refuses to try to escape the country. In the concentration camps, he and Eliezer take care of one another. A fifty-year-old man, he is becoming increasingly weak and dried up, and he finds it harder than Eliezer to escape the abuse of concentration camp life. On the last march to Gleiwitz, he becomes very weak and sick, and at Buchenwald he catches a deadly case of dysentery. He dies on January 29, 1945, after an SS officer shatters his skull with a truncheon. His last word is a whispered "Eliezer."
Moché the Beadle
A poor, humble man who works at the Hasidic synagogue in Sighet, Moché is well-liked by all the townspeople. He helps Eliezer to study the cabbala, and he teaches him that it is more important to ask God the right questions than to try to find the right answers. Early in the war, Moché is deported to Nazi concentration camps because he is a foreigner. He manages to escape and tries to warn the townspeople of the horrors of the Holocaust. They ignore him and think he's mad.
Eliezer's mother
Eliezer is separated from his mother upon arriving at Birkenau. She dies in the concentration camp.
Tzipora
Eliezer's seven-year-old sister, Tzipora and her mother are separated from Eliezer and his father upon arriving at Birkenau. She also dies in the concentration camp.
Martha
An old Gentile servant of the Wiesel family. When the Wiesels are moved into the smaller ghetto, she offers to hide the family in the country. Eliezer's father refuses to flee, and Eliezer decides to stay with the rest of his family.
Madame Schaechter
Madame Schaechter is in the same train car as Eliezer during the initial deportation to Auschwitz. She had been separated from her husband and two older sons, and she is accompanied by another younger son. She loses her mind during the journey and screams hysterically and repeatedly about a flaming furnace that she apparently sees in the distance. She terrifies the other occupants of the train, and she is repeatedly beaten by young men trying to silence her.
Dr. Mengele
The SS officer who decides who is to go to the crematories during selections. Eliezer sees him twice, once upon arrival at Birkenau and again at Buna.
Stein of Antwerp
Stein of Antwerp is the husband of Reizel, who is the niece of Eliezer's mother. He finds Eliezer and his father at Auschwitz and is desperate to hear news of his family. Eliezer lies and tells him his family is doing fine, which keeps him alive for awhile.
Juliek
A Polish violin player in the musician's block at Buna. He later reappears at Gleiwitz when Eliezer discovers that he is lying on top of him in the incredibly crowded barracks. He plays Beethoven soulfully in the night.
Franek
The Polish foreman of the musician's block at Buna. He gets Eliezer's father to work in the same block as Eliezer, but he later forces Eliezer to give him his gold crown by repeatedly beating his father.
Yossi and Tibi
Czech brothers who Eliezer befriends in the musician's block at Buna. Together they all sing Hasidic melodies, talk about Palestine, and plan to emigrate from Europe when freed.
Alphonse
A German Jew who is head of the musician's block at Buna. He is very kindly and tries to give his charges extra soup whenever he can.
Idek
The Kapo of the musician's block at Buna. He is prone to flying into violent rages at other prisoners. Eliezer catches him having sex with a young Polish girl, and Idek retaliates by having Eliezer lashed twenty-five times.
Akiba Drumer
A fellow prisoner at Auschwitz and Buna, Akiba Drumer is a deeply devout mystic with a beautiful baritone voice. He loses his faith at Buna and, simultaneously, his will to live. He is sent to the crematories after the selection at Buna.
Zalman
A young man who had worked with Eliezer in the warehouse at Buna. Eliezer later sees him in the run to Gleiwitz. Zalman has a stomach cramp, and when he tries to stop to go to the bathroom, he is trampled underfoot by the crowd behind him.
Rabbi Eliahou
A very devout, pure, and well-liked rabbi who appears after the run to Gleiwitz. He is looking for his son, who had been with him for three years in the concentration camp, because they had gotten separated during the run. Eliezer realizes that the son had consciously tried to get away from his father because he no longer wanted the responsibility of looking out for another human being.
Meir Katz
A friend of Eliezer's father who worked in the garden at Buna. He is better nourished and stronger than the other prisoners because he had had access to vegetables. In the train to Buchenwald, Meir Katz saves Eliezer's life when someone tries to strangle him, but he soon loses his will to live and dies.
Understanding themes in "Night" by Elie Wiesel serves Wiesel's purposes in writing the narrative. Including the inhumanity of humans toward others and the struggle to have faith in a benevolent God during suffering.
Night themes include the dangers of silence and the importance of remembering. Putting into practice these core principles can help prevent human rights atrocities.
Silence
As Eliezer and his family exit the train at Auschwitz, they are shocked at its existence, causing one of the prisoners to insult them, in disbelief that it was 1944 and they had never heard of Auschwitz. They weren't alone.
How many otherwise good humans were aware of the existence of concentration camps but chose to remain silent? It is silence which allows the Nazi takeover in Europe. Another silence Wiesel emphasizes is the silence of God to allow such atrocities to occur. Wiesel counsels his readers to not be silent witnesses to hate.
The Importance of Remembering
One of Wiesel's main objectives in writing Night is to remind his audience that the Holocaust occurred, in hopes that it will never repeat itself. Wiesel has maintained his vigilance against hatred and inhumanity through the Elie Wiesel foundation for humanity.
The Existence of Evil
Philosophers and religious scholars have theorized on the existence of evil for centuries, asking the question "How or why does God allow evil to exist if he is, in fact, all powerful and good. Throughout the narrative, Eliezer answers the question by asserting his God is dead.
Despite his avowal that his faith is dead, he maintains scraps of it, praying, for example, that he will never betray his father as Rabbi Eliahou's son does. He also recognizes that those prisoners who completely lose their faith soon die.
The Animalization of Humans
Eliezer comments on how prisoners themselves become inhuman in concentration camps. In addition to the kapos who treat regular prisoners almost as cruelly as the SS, Eliezer witnesses three instances of sons turning against their fathers:
(1) He witnesses a son abusing his father; (2) He witnesses Rabbi Eliahou's son abandon him during the forced evacuation from Buna; (3) He witnesses a son beat his own father over a piece of bread on the train to Buchenwald.
Eliezer feels guilt over the manner in which he treats his father, feeling him a burden at times.
Inhumanity
Eliezer is shocked that human beings can be so cruel. The first section of the narrative portrays the entire city of Sighet in denial. When foreign Jews are deported, the town insists all is well. When Moshe the Beadle returns and reports Nazi atrocities, the town insists all is well. When the Fascists take over in Hungary, the town insists all is well.
When the SS begin patrolling the streets, the town insists all is well. When Eliezer suggests they move to Palestine, his father refuses. When Martha the former servant offers them refuge, even after most of the town had been expelled, they remain.
Those in Sighet cannot comprehend that other human beings can be so evil.
Techniques/Elements:
In the book "Night" Eli Wiesel uses a fragmented and curt writing style in the first person narrative. The style serves to help the reader to feel the presence of the speaker. Wiesel shifts around through his stories but constantly returns to the theme of the inhumane treatment the Jews received, his disgust with the Nazi's behavior, and the absence of God's presence during his experience.
Description/ Motifs
Night Quotes
•"What can we expect? It's war..."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 1
•"I wanted to come back to Sighet to tell you the story of my death. So that you could prepare yourselves while there was still time. To live? I don't attach any importance to my life any more. I'm alone. No, I wanted to come back, and to warn you. And see how it is, no one will listen to me."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 1
•"The yellow star? Oh well, what of it? You don't die of it."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 1
•"A prolonged whistle split the air. The wheels began to grind. We were on our way."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 1
•"The doors were nailed up; the way back was finally cut off. The world was a cattle wagon hermetically sealed."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 2
•"Men to the left! Women to the right!
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3
•"Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight short, simple words. Yet that was the moment when I parted from my mother."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3
•"Do you see that chimney over there? See it? Do you see those flames? (Yes, we did see the flames.) Over there-that's where you're going to be taken. That's your grave, over there."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3
•"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3
•"Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3
•"The night was gone. The morning star was shining in the sky. I too had become a completely different person. The student of the Talmud, the child that I was, had been consumed in the flames. There remained only a shape that looked like me. A dark flame had entered into my soul and devoured it."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3
•"I did not deny God's existence, but I doubted His absolute justice."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3
•"I was a body. Perhaps less than that even: a starved stomach. The stomach alone was aware of the passage of time."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 4
•"Keep your anger and hatred for another day, for later on. The day will come, but not now."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 4
•"I was thinking of my father. He must have suffered more than I did."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 4
•"If it could only have lasted ten times ten hours!"
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 4
•"Where is He? Here He is--He is hanging here on this gallows."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 4
•"Whose was that tear? Mine? His?"
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 5
•"Whenever I dreamed of a better world, I could only imagine a universe with no bells."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 5
•"I've got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He's the only one who's kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 5
•"Yet another last night. The last night at home, the last night in the ghetto, the last night in the train, and, now, the last night in Buna. How much longer were our lives to be dragged out from one 'last night' to another?"
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 5
•"We were masters of nature, masters of the world. We had forgotten everything--death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger than cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die, condemned and wandering, mere numbers, we were the only men on earth."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 6
•"I shall always remember that smile. From which world did it come?"
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 6
•"How could I forget that concert, given to an audience of dying and dead men!"
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 6
•"When they withdrew, next to me were two corpses, side by side, the father and the son. I was fifteen years old."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 7
•"We were all going to die here. All limits had been passed. No one had any strength left. And again the night would be long."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 7
•"I probably brought him more satisfaction than I had done during my whole childhood."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 8
•"But I had no more tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like-free at last!"
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 8
•"After my father's death, nothing could touch me any more."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 9
•"From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me."
- Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 9
-----------------------
Department of Education · City of New York
THE LEON M. GOLDSTEIN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE SCIENCES
at Kingsborough
1830 Shore Boulevard
Brooklyn, New York 11235
“Academic Excellence in a Caring Community”
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