Pass the Opium
Religion is said to be the opiate of the masses, and it is definitely a point of interest in George Orwell's famous novel Animal Farm. In it, Orwell pointedly attacks religion in general and Christianity in particular through the use of a well placed symbolic bird by the name of Moses. Orwell's stance is rather apparent as Moses darts about the farm scene conveying the duality of Christianity quite superbly. At the first mention of the raven Moses, one immediately gets the impression that he stands for something quite larger than just a simple bird that lives on the Manor Farm. Firstly his name, Moses, is an obvious biblical reference conveying the idea that he may stand for religion or Christianity. It is not a subtle point that Orwell is trying to make with Moses. From the beginning of his involvement in the plot of Animal Farm, Moses is painted as a very special pet of Mr. Jones, the keeper of Manor Farm before the animal revolution. Mr. Jones in himself stands for something larger than just himself, he represents the old government, the government that the animals have pointed their military coup towards. In this case the most obvious connection can be made to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917. In this vein of com
The last mention of Moses at his initial involvement leaves quite an interesting taste in the reader's mouth. This reinforces the idea in the reader's mind that Moses is most definitely standing for Christianity in this story. Bonhoeffer acquired his feelings of negativity towards the church through their participation (or lack thereof) in the Holocaust. This part of Moses's involvement is basically telling the acutely aware reader a very pointed lesson: that not all that shines is sure to be gold (or God in this case). They claimed that Moses's stories of Sugercandy Mountain were all lies, "and yet they allowed him to remain on the farm, not working, with an allowance of a gill of beer a day" (76). Orwell is painting a very critical portrait of Christianity as a tired and pathetic institution that is no longer living up to the ideals it once so vehemently believed in. The pigs need Moses just as the Soviet government needed religion. The most interesting point of Moses's return is the pigs stance on the entire matter. As soon as the fight to liberate the animals from Mr. All the bird is apparently good for is to lie around all day and warm up to Mr. But so far Orwell has not made any criticisms against Christianity or religion, he has merely set up the character. The modern day philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer can be correlated to George Orwell. Jones, all the while getting special treats and even getting to venture inside the farm house.
Common topics in this essay:
Sugercandy Mountain,
Mountain Russians,
Revolution Russia,
Animal Farm,
Moses Orwell's,
Farm Firstly,
Orwell Bonhoeffer,
Manor Farm,
Russia Orwell,
Farm Moses,
sugercandy mountain,
animal farm,
organized religion,
religion opiate,
religion opiate masses,
george orwell,
name moses,
stands larger,
religion christianity,
manor farm,
animal farm moses,
lower class,
|
Acceptance Essays
