Animal Farm Essays (1243 words) - British Films, Cold War Films

Animal Farm Many great works have been inspired by events in history. George Orwell's Animal Farm provides an unusual outlook on the Russian Revolution and its leaders by using animals to represent their human counterparts. Orwell attacks communist society and points out weaknesses in its government officials. He calls for a close examination of the treatment of Russian citizens and questions whether they have any rights at all. Orwell was careful in his designation of animals in Animal Farm, especially in regards to the power reserved for the pigs. Animal Farm uses the perfect combination of animal symbolism to relate the occurrences on Manor Farm to actual historical events of the Russian Revolution through the use of such characters as Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer, and Boxer. Napoleon is undoubtedly the most devout and corrupt character in the novel. His domineering and brutal methods of ruling the farm draw strange but clear comparison to his human counterpart Joseph Stalin. Napoleon is described as "a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way" (Orwell 25). He Ingram 2 dominates the political scene on Manor Farm, controls the education of the youth, and is a brilliant strategist when it comes to rallying support for his cause. Napoleon, throughout the novel, fails to present an idea that is original, but tends to take credit for the ideas of others (Meyers 108). Like Stalin, Napoleon is not a good speaker and is certainly not as clever as his political opponent. However, he makes good use of his resident"smooth-talker," Squealer, to insure that his subjects see the purpose of his twisted commands, while those who oppose him are merely torn apart by dogs that Napoleon reared to protect him and distribute justice as he sees fit in much the same way that Stalin used the KGB. Napoleon relies on flashy displays of power like the firing of the shotgun and fancy titles such as "Terror of Mankind," "Protector of the Sheepfold," and "Fountain of Happiness" to feed his hunger for power and invoke the other animal's support at the deepest emotional level (Smyer 86). Yet throughout his brutal reign as sole leader of the farm, Napoleon maintains a harsh regiment of work that tax the bodies of every animal under his command. Only Napoleon and the other pigs enjoy the fruits of their labor while the others are left to exist with minimal food Ingram 3 and only their pride to sustain them through their slave-like lives. Communism is not as corrosive to Napoleon as much as the ambitious accumulation of power (Hammond 162). Nonetheless, this leader's Stalin-like qualities make for a harsh life for those around him and provide the farm with poverty and inequality. Unlike Napoleon, Snowball exhibits a desire to help his fellow animals, making him Napoleon's greatest opponent and only obstacle. Snowball is also modeled after a Russian leader. His description of being "a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive" (Orwell 25) makes him the perfect representation of Leon Trotsky. "Snowball embodies an expanding, dynamic view of reality; his social fabric will be permeable to the dynamic energies of an ever-changing technology" (Smyer 85). His good intentions are evident to all of the animals, and his means of assuring a better life consists of a more humane work schedule and even a retirement plan for elderly animals. Laws are also established which are conducive to the overall ideas and fundamentals of Animalism?summed up by "Four legs Good, Two legs Bad" (Orwell 40). Orwell's view of Snowball's role in this society is Ingram 4 best summed up by the following: Snowball also busied himself with organizing the other animals into what he called Animal Committees.... He formed the Egg production Committee for the hens, the Clean Tails Committee for the cows, the Wild Comrades Re-education Committee...and various others, besides instituting classes in reading and writing. (Orwell 39) Snowball is a scholar of many areas and even studies military strategy which helps him lead the animals to victory at the Battle of Cowshed where Farmer Jones attempts to regain his farm (Meyers 109). Snowball's dynamic speeches and innovative ideas give insight to his superior intelligence, which allows him to maintain control of Animal Farm until he is chased away by Napoleon's dogs. Trotsky also possessed this same intellect and speaking ability and fell victim to Lenin's KGB agents who forced him to flee of hid life. After Snowball's exile, Napoleon diminishes the population's faith

Alderfers modified need hierarchy model Essay Example

Alderfers modified need hierarchy model Essay Example Alderfers modified need hierarchy model Paper Alderfers modified need hierarchy model Paper This model condenses Maslows five levels of needs into only three levels based on the core needs of existence, relatedness and growth. Existence needs are concerned with sustaining human existence and survival, and cover physiological and safety needs of a material nature. Relatedness needs are concerned with relationships to the social environment, and cover love or belonging, affiliation, and meaningful interpersonal relationships of safety or esteem nature. Growth needs are consist of the development of potential, and cover self-esteem and self-actualisation. Alderfer proposed a number of basic propositions relating to the three need relationships. Some of these propositions followed Maslows theory, some were the reverse of the theory. Like Maslow, Alderfer suggests that individuals progress through the hierarchy from existence needs, to relatedness needs, to growth needs, as the lower-level needs become satisfied. However, Alderfer suggests these needs are more a continuum than hierarchical level. More than one need may be activated at the same time. Individuals may also progress down the hierarchy. Unlike Masolws theory, the results of Alderfers work suggest that lower-level needs do not have to be satisfied before a higher-level need emerges as a motivating influence. ERG theory states that an individual is motivated to satisfy one or more basic sets of needs. Therefore if a persons needs at a particular level are blocked then attention should be focused on the satisfaction of needs at the other levels. For example, if a subordinates growth needs are blocked because the job does not allow sufficient opportunity for personal development, then the manager should attempt to provide greater opportunities for the subordinate to satisfy existence and relatedness needs. Herzbergs two-factor theory Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and developed a specific content theory of work motivation. He used the critical incident method of obtaining data for analysis. There are two questions been asked in the study. (1) when did you feel particularly good about your job-what turned you on; (2) when did you feel exceptionally bad about you job-what turned you off? Herzberg concluded that job satisfiers are related to job content and that job dissatisfiers are allied to job context. Herzberg labeled satisfiers motivators, and he called the dissatisfiers hygiene factors. This theory is Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation. Herzbergs original study consisted of interviews with 203 accountants and engineers, chosen because of their growing importance in the business world, from different industries in the Pittsburgh. Responses obtained from this critical incident method were interesting and fairly consistent. Reported good feelings were generally associated with job experiences and job content. An example was the accounting supervisor who felt good about given the job of installing new computer equipment. He took pride in his work and was gratified to know that the new equipment made a big difference in the overall functioning of his department. Reported bad feeling, on the other hand, were generally associated with the surrounding or peripheral aspects of the job-the job context. An example of these feeling was related by an engineer whose first job was to keep tabulation sheets and manage the office when the boss was gone. It turned out that his boss was always too busy to train him and became annoyed when he tried to ask questions. The engineer said that he was frustrated in this job context and that he felt like a flunky in a deaf-end job. The motivation-hygiene theory has extended Maslows hierarchy of need theory and is more directly applicable to the work situation. Herzbergs theory suggests that if management is to provide positive motivation then attention must be given not only to hygiene factors, but also to the motivating factors. The work of Herzberg indicates that it is more likely good performance leads to job satisfaction rather than the reverse.