3.1.1
Education
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Learning and Education
Education divides the animals into classes; there is never true equality throughout Animal Farm.
Class divisions
- Education divides the animals into classes; there is never truly equality throughout Animal Farm.
- The pigs are “recognised as the cleverest of the animals” and it is the pigs who take control. Squealer refers to them as the “brainworkers” and this is why, he argues, they get special privileges.
- At first, Snowball starts “reading and writing classes”. He wants to educate the animals and spread Animalism.
Manipulating the uneducated
- Instead of leading, helping and teaching, the pigs begin to use the animal’s lack of education and learning to control and manipulate them: “proved by science, comrades” and “Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!”
- The lack of education and understanding means that the animals blindly trust what the pigs say and are loyal to them, even though they are being abused.
Resistance to learning
- Other animals aren’t interested in learning.
- Mollie only wants to write her name and Benjamin refuses to use his ability to read.
- This lack of interest means that the animals are ignorant; they are unable to object to what is done to them.
Abusing the uneducated
- Boxer is unable to learn “past the letter D”, but he is “content” with just these four letters. He is manipulated to “work harder” and that “Napoleon is always right” and his trust and loyalty is completely abused by the pigs and he is later betrayed and sold to the “knacker’s” so that the pigs can buy whiskey and get drunk.
The advantaged and disadvantaged
- The animals that are able to read have a huge advantage over the other animals. Snowball reads about “Caesar’s campaigns” to prepare his military strategy and he reads books to plan for the windmill.
- The animals who don’t read cannot see the manipulation of the commandments and Boxer cannot see that he is being taken to “the knacker’s”. The animals that make the rules (“commandments”) are the animals that are able to write them.
- The uneducated animals have a disadvantage and the pigs use this to manipulate them; their lack of education makes them weak and easy to control.
Education and Learning - Context
In Animal Farm, education and knowledge gives power and a higher social standing.
Importance of education
- Orwell is clearly suggesting that education is empowering and extremely important. Revolutions can only be successful if the people are educated and aware.
- Orwell wrote: “I meant the moral to be that revolutions only affect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job.”
- So, Orwell’s message was that the population need to be educated and strong enough to overthrow their leaders after a revolution, otherwise an equal and socialist society is impossible and the revolution is wasted.
1Important Plot Features
2Characters & Their Links to History
2.1Key Characters
3Key Themes & Orwell's Purpose
4Language, Form & Structure
4.1Language, Form & Structure
5Recap: Main Quotes
5.1Characters Quotes
5.2Text Structure Quotes
Jump to other topics
1Important Plot Features
2Characters & Their Links to History
2.1Key Characters
3Key Themes & Orwell's Purpose
4Language, Form & Structure
4.1Language, Form & Structure
5Recap: Main Quotes
5.1Characters Quotes
5.2Text Structure Quotes
Practice questions on Education
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- 5What gives a higher social standing in _Animal Farm_?Multiple choice
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