The Vicar of Wakefield - Oliver Goldsmith

FICTION- II - III SEMESTER- II BA ENGLISH

UNIT I -THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD - OLIVER GOLDSMITH

UNIT II -SILAS MARNER(MACMILLAN) - GEORGE ELIOT

UNIT III -TREASURE ISLAND – R.L.STEVENSON

UNIT IV- LORD JIM – JOSEPH CONRAD

UNIT V -ANIMAL FARM – GEORGE ORWELL

UNIT- I – THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD- OLIVER GOLDSMITH

Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), his pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770), and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1771, first performed in 1773). He is thought to have written the classic children's tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765)

SUMMARY;

The Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith, was originally published in 1766. Goldsmith was an Irish novelist and this novel, written from the point of view of the vicar, was widely popular among Victorians in the late nineteenth century. Goldsmith was friends with Dr. Samuel Johnson, a well-known literary critic and author. Johnson reportedly helped Goldsmith publish the novel in order to pay back rent. Although the novel incorporates multiple genres— everything from poetry to sermons to prose—most critics consider The Vicar of Wakefield to be a fictional memoir told in the first person.

The novel opens with the vicar and his family. Dr. Charles Primrose lives in his country parish with his wife, Deborah, and their children, among whom are George, Olivia, and Sophia. They can afford their comfortable lifestyle because Charles wisely invested inheritance he received from a relative, who passed away before the story begins. Of his wealth, he donates thirty-five pounds to orphans and veterans alike. That money comes from his wages. Charles’ son George is set to marry Arabella Wilmot the next day. Arabella comes from a wealthy family, so the match is considered beneficial to both families until the vicar’s investor goes bankrupt and loses all of the vicar’s money before leaving town in a rush.

As a result, Arabella’s father calls off the wedding and George is sent to town. With his Oxford education, the Primrose family hopes he can make his own way there. The others all move to another parish, humbler in situation than where they lived at the start of the book. It is on land owned by Squire Thornhill. On their way there, they learn about Thornhill’s womanizing reputation. They hear, too, about his uncle’s reputation, which is one of generosity and worth. His uncle is named Sir William Thornhill.

Meanwhile, Sophia nearly drowns but is rescued by a man named Mr. Burchell. The family met him at an inn on their way to their new parish. However, Deborah, who is ambitious for her children and wants them to make advantageous matches, discourages any feelings of attachment Sophia might have for Mr. Burchell. Life settles into happiness and regularity. Both Mr. Burchell and Squire Thornhill visit the family frequently.

Olivia is swayed by Squire Thornhill’s charm and good looks, but she’s not the only one. Both Deborah and Sophia become convinced that their ambitions will be answered should he marry one of them. After Olivia reportedly flees the parish, Charles initially believes Mr. Burchell to be the driving force behind her disappearance. However, when he finds Olivia, he learns that it was Squire Thornhill who persuaded her to leave. He had convinced her they would marry, though he intended only to undergo a mockwedding, and planned to leave her afterwards, which Charles learns is Squire Thornhill’s modus operandi.

Olivia returns home with Charles, only to find that their house is on fire. The family lives, but they lose all of their possessions and money. Squire Thornhill continues to demand that Charles pay rent, despite the fact that the house is destroyed. Since Charles cannot pay, Squire Thornhill has him arrested and brought to debtor’s prison. George, hearing of Squire Thornhill’s behavior, challenges him, but is arrested as well. Sophia is abducted and Olivia reported dead. All seems lost for the vicar, at least until Mr. Burchell returns.

After rescuing Sophia, Mr. Burchell determines that Olivia is alive. The vicar learns that Burchell’s true identity is none other than Sir William Thornhill, the uncle of whom the Primrose family had heard such favorable reports. At the end of the story, there is a double wedding during which George and Arabella are finally able to marry, and Sir William Thornhill marries Sophia. As it turns out, the mockwedding that Squire Thornhill had planned with Olivia wasn’t fake at all, and they are actually married. In a final benevolent twist, the bankrupt investor who lost the vicar’s money at the beginning of the story is rediscovered, and Charles’wealth is restored.

While this work can be viewed as a satire on sentimental fiction, the main theme of the story is faith. Dr. Charles Primrose, the vicar, can be viewed as Job from the Bible, who suffers and suffers but never loses faith, and whose continued devotion is ultimately rewarded by God. Wakefield is an important site for Christian literature. The Wakefield Master, known for writing the Wakefield Mystery Plays, was a celebrated contributor of mystery plays that conveyed the mysteries of the Christian faith in a way that was accessible to the people. The Wakefield Master’s works are well-known and studied in literary criticism to this day. By placing the vicar in Wakefield, Goldsmith draws a bridge between The Vicar of Wakefield and those mystery plays.

The Vicar of Wakefield is mentioned in a number of other literary classics, including but not limited to Middlemarch by George Eliot, Emma by Jane Austen, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. There were three silent film adaptations of The Vicar of Wakefield in 1910, 1913, and 1916.

CHARACTERS

Charles Primrose

He is the vicar in the title, and the narrator of the story. He presents one of the most harmlessly simple and unsophisticated yet also ironically complex figures ever to appear in English fiction. He has a mild, forgiving temper, as seen when he forgives his daughter Olivia with open arms. He is a loving husband and a father of six healthy, blooming children. However, though he usually has a sweet, benevolent temper, he can sometimes be a bit silly, stubborn, or vain. For instance, he is obsessed with a particularly obscure, and not very important, matter of church doctrine. One of his "favourite topics", he declares, is matrimony, and explains that he is proud of being "a strict monogamist." He tactlessly adheres to his "principles" in the face of a violent disagreement with the neighbour who was soon to become his son's father-in-law: he "...was called out by one of my relations, who, with a face of concern, advised me to give up the dispute, at least till my son's wedding was over." However, he angrily cries that he will not "relinquish the cause of truth," and hotly says, "You might as well advise me to give up my fortune as my argument." This is ironic, as he immediately finds out that his fortune is actually almost nothing. This makes Mr. Wilmot break off the intended marriage with Mr. Primrose's son George and Miss Arabella Wilmot, and thus his son's happiness is almost shattered. He is sometimes proud of what he fancies is his ability at arguing, and often misjudges his family's supposed friends and neighbors. However, despite all his faults, he is affectionate, faithful, loving, patient, and essentially good-natured.

Deborah Primrose

Dr Charles Primrose's wife. She is faithful, if still rather independent-minded. She has some vanity of her own, however: she has a "passion" for clothes, and is seen making a "wash" (a sort of lotion) for her girls. She is also eager to see her daughters splendidly married, and this ambition sometimes blinds her. Dr Charles Primrose refers to her wife as "a good-natured notable woman; and as for breeding, there were few country ladies who could shew (show) more. She could read any English book without much spelling, but for pickling, preserving, and cookery, none could excel her." She is even prouder of her children than her husband, especially her beautiful girls.

Olivia and Sophia Primrose

Their father originally wished to name each after their aunt Grissel, but other considerations prevented him. They are affectionate, generally dutiful daughters. Of his daughters, the vicar claims, "Olivia...had that luxuriancy of beauty with which painters generally draw Hebe; open, sprightly, and commanding ... Sophia's features were not so striking at first; but often did more certain execution; for they were soft, modest, and alluring. The one vanquished by a single blow, the other by efforts successfully repeated...Olivia wished for many lovers, Sophia to secure one. Olivia was often affected from too great a desire to please. Sophia even represt (repressed) excellence from her fears to offend." They both alike reflect their father's nature of being good- hearted, though prone to occasional fault; Olivia runs away with Mr. Thornhill in a rush of impetuous passion, and even the more sensible Sophia joins in with making "a wash" for herself and dressing up in fancy clothes.

UNIT- 2 – SILAS MARNER- GEORGE ELIOT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian[1]), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels, Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862– 63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England and most of her works are set there. They are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.

Although female authors were published under their own names during her lifetime, she wanted to escape the stereotype of women's writing being limited to lighthearted romances. She also wanted to have her fiction judged separately from her already extensive and widely known work as a translator, editor and critic. Another factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny, thus avoiding the scandal that would have arisen because of her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes.[2]

Middlemarch was described by the novelist Virginia Woolf as "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people".[3] and by Martin Amis[4] and Julian Barnes[5] as the greatest novel in the English language.

SUMMARY

Silas Marner is the weaver in the English countryside village of Raveloe in the early nineteenth century. Like many weavers of his time, he is an outsider—the object of suspicion because of his special skills and the fact that he has come to Raveloe from elsewhere. The villagers see Silas as especially odd because of the curious cataleptic fits he occasionally suffers. Silas has ended up in Raveloe because the members of his religious sect in Lantern Yard, an insular neighborhood in a larger town, falsely accused him of theft and excommunicated him.

Much shaken after the accusation, Silas finds nothing familiar in Raveloe to reawaken his faith and falls into a numbing routine of solitary work. His one attempt at neighborliness backfires: when an herbal remedy he suggests for a neighbor’s illness works, he is rumored to be a sort of witch doctor. With little else to live for, Silas becomes infatuated with the money he earns for his work and hoards it, living off as little as possible. Every night he pulls his gold out from its hiding place beneath his floorboards to count it. He carries on in this way for fifteen years.

Squire Cass is the wealthiest man in Raveloe, and his two eldest sons are Godfrey and Dunstan, or Dunsey. Dunsey is greedy and cruel, and enjoys tormenting Godfrey, the eldest son. Godfrey is good-natured but weak-willed, and, though secretly married to the opium addict Molly Farren, he is in love with Nancy Lammeter. Dunsey talked Godfrey into the marriage and repeatedly blackmails him with threats to reveal the marriage to their father. Godfrey gives Dunsey 100 pounds of the rent money paid to him by one of their father’s tenants. Godfrey then finds himself in a bind when Dunsey insists that Godfrey repay the sum himself. Dunsey once again threatens to reveal Godfrey’s marriage but, after some arguing, offers to sell Godfrey’s prize horse, Wildfire, to repay the loan. The next day, Dunsey meets with some friends who are hunting and negotiates the sale of the horse. Dunsey decides to participate in the hunt before finalizing the sale, and, in doing so, he has a riding accident that kills the horse. Knowing the rumors of Silas’s hoard, Dunsey makes plans to intimidate the weaver into lending him money. His walk home takes him by Silas’s cottage, and, finding the cottage empty, Dunsey steals the money instead.

Silas returns from an errand to find his money gone. Overwhelmed by the loss, he runs to the local tavern for help and announces the theft to a sympathetic audience of tavern regulars. The theft becomes the talk of the village, and a theory arises that the thief might have been a peddler who came through the village some time before. Godfrey, meanwhile, is distracted by thoughts of Dunsey, who has not returned home. After hearing that Wildfire has been found dead, Godfrey decides to tell his father about the money, though not about his marriage. The Squire flies into a rage at the news, but does not do anything drastic to punish Godfrey. Silas is utterly disconsolate at the loss of his gold and numbly continues his weaving. Some of the townspeople stop by to offer their condolences and advice. Among these visitors, Dolly Winthrop stands out. Like many of the others, she encourages Silas to go to church—something he has not done since he was banished from Lantern Yard—but she is also gentler and more genuinely sympathetic.

Nancy Lammeter arrives at Squire Cass’s famed New Year’s dance resolved to reject Godfrey’s advances because of his unsound character. However, Godfrey is more direct and insistent than he has been in a long time, and Nancy finds herself exhilarated by the evening in spite of her resolution. Meanwhile, Molly, Godfrey’s secret wife, is making her way to the Casses’ house to reveal the secret marriage. She has their daughter, a toddler, in her arms. Tiring after her long walk, Molly takes a draft of opium and passes out by the road. Seeing Silas’s cottage and drawn by the light of the fire, Molly’s little girl wanders through the open door and falls asleep at Silas’s hearth.

Silas is having one of his fits at the time and does not notice the little girl enter his cottage. When he comes to, he sees her already asleep on his hearth, and is as stunned by her appearance as he was by the disappearance of his money. A while later, Silas traces the girl’s footsteps outside and finds Molly’s body lying in the snow. Silas goes to the Squire’s house to find the doctor, and causes a stir at the dance when he arrives with the baby girl in his arms. Godfrey, recognizing his daughter, accompanies the doctor to Silas’s cottage. When the doctor declares that Molly is dead, Godfrey realizes that his secret is safe. He does not claim his daughter, and Silas adopts her.

Silas grows increasingly attached to the child and names her Eppie, after his mother and sister. With Dolly Winthrop’s help, Silas raises the child lovingly. Eppie begins to serve as a bridge between Silas and the rest of the villagers, who offer him help and advice and have come to think of him as an exemplary person because of what he has done. Eppie also brings Silas out of the benumbed state he fell into after the loss of his gold. In his newfound happiness, Silas begins to explore the memories of his past that he has long repressed.

The novel jumps ahead sixteen years. Godfrey has married Nancy and Squire Cass has died. Godfrey has inherited his father’s house, but he and Nancy have no children. Their one daughter died at birth, and Nancy has refused to adopt. Eppie has grown into a pretty and spirited young woman, and Silas a contented father. The stone-pit behind Silas’s cottage is drained to water neighboring fields, and Dunsey’s skeleton is found at the bottom, along with Silas’s gold. The discovery frightens Godfrey, who becomes convinced that his own secrets are destined to be uncovered as well. He confesses the truth to Nancy about his marriage to Molly and fathering of Eppie. Nancy is not angry but regretful, saying that they could have adopted Eppie legitimately if Godfrey had told her earlier.

That evening, Godfrey and Nancy decide to visit Silas’s cottage to confess the truth of Eppie’s lineage and claim her as their daughter. However, after hearing Godfrey and Nancy’s story, Eppie tells them she would rather stay with Silas than live with her biological father. Godfrey and Nancy leave, resigning themselves to helping Eppie from afar. The next day Silas decides to visit Lantern Yard to see if he was ever cleared of the theft of which he was accused years before. The town has changed almost beyond recognition, though, and Silas’s old chapel has been torn down to make way for a new factory. Silas realizes that his questions will never be answered, but he is content with the sense of faith he has regained through his life with Eppie. That summer Eppie is married to Aaron Winthrop, Dolly’s son. Aaron comes to live in Silas’s cottage, which has been expanded and refurbished at Godfrey’s expense.

Silas Marner The title character, Silas is a solitary weaver who, at the time we meet him, is about thirty-nine years old and has been living in the English countryside village of Raveloe for fifteen years. Silas is reclusive and his neighbors in Raveloe regard him with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. He spends all day working at his loom and has never made an effort to get to know any of the villagers. Silas’s physical appearance is odd: he is bent from his work at the loom, has strange and frightening eyes, and generally looks much older than his years. Because Silas has knowledge of medicinal herbs and is subject to occasional cataleptic fits, many of his neighbors speculate that he has otherworldly powers.

Despite his antisocial behavior, however, Silas is at heart a deeply kind and honest person. At no point in the novel does Silas do or say anything remotely malicious and, strangely for a miser, he is not even particularly selfish. Silas’s love of money is merely the product of spiritual desolation, and his hidden capacity for love and sacrifice manifests itself when he takes in and raises Eppie.

Silas’s outsider status makes him the focal point for the themes of community, religion, and family that Eliot explores in the novel. As an outcast who eventually becomes Raveloe’s most exemplary citizen, Silas serves as a study in the relationship between the individual and the community. His loss and subsequent rediscovery of faith demonstrate both the difficulty and the solace that religious belief can bring. Additionally, the unlikely domestic life that Silas creates with Eppie presents an unconventional but powerful portrait of family and the home.

Though he is the title character of the novel, Silas is by and large passive, acted upon rather than acting on others. Almost all of the major events in the novel demonstrate this passivity. Silas is framed for theft in his old town and, instead of proclaiming his innocence, puts his trust in God to clear his name. Similarly, Dunsey’s theft of Silas’s gold and Eppie’s appearance on Silas’s doorstep—rather than any actions Silas takes of his own accord—are the major events that drive the narrative forward. Silas significantly diverges from this pattern of passivity when he decides to keep Eppie, thereby becoming an agent of his eventual salvation.

Godfrey Cass

Godfrey is the eldest son of Squire Cass and the heir to the Cass estate. He is a good-natured young man, but weak-willed and usually unable to think of much beyond his immediate material comfort. As a young man he married an opium addict, Molly Farren, with whom he had a daughter. This secret marriage and Godfrey’s handling of it demonstrate the mixture of guilt and moral cowardice that keep him paralyzed for much of the novel. Godfrey consented to the marriage largely out of guilt and keeps the marriage secret because he knows his father will disown him if it ever comes to light.

Despite his physically powerful and graceful presence, Godfrey is generally passive. In this respect he is similar to Silas. However, Godfrey’s passivity is different from Silas’s, as his endless waffling and indecisiveness stem entirely from selfishness. Godfrey is subject to constant blackmail from Dunsey, who knows of Godfrey’s secret marriage, and Godfrey is finally freed of his malicious brother simply by an accident. He is delivered from Molly in a similarly fortuitous way, when Molly freezes to death while en route to Raveloe to expose their marriage to Godfrey’s family. Even Godfrey’s eventual confession to Nancy is motivated simply by his fright after the discovery of Dunsey’s remains. This confession comes years too late—by the time Godfrey is finally ready to take responsibility for Eppie, she has already accepted Silas as her father and does not want to replace him in her life.

Nancy Lammeter Nancy is the pretty, caring, and stubborn young lady whom Godfrey pursues and then marries. Like Godfrey, Nancy comes from a family that is wealthy by Raveloe standards. However, her father, unlike Squire Cass, is a man who values moral rectitude, thrift, and hard work. Nancy has inherited these strict values and looks disapprovingly on what she sees as Godfrey’s weakness of character. She is, however, exhilarated by Godfrey’s attention, in part because of the status he embodies.

Nancy lives her life according to an inflexible code of behavior and belief. She seems to have already decided how she feels about every question that might come up in her life, not necessarily on the basis of any reason or thought, but simply because anything else would represent a sort of weakness in her own eyes. When Nancy is younger, this “code” of hers demands that she and her sister dress alike on formal occasions. When she is older, Nancy’s code forbids her to adopt a child, as in her mind such an action represents a defiance of God’s plan. Nancy is neither well educated nor particularly curious, and her code marks her as just as much a product of Raveloe’s isolation and rusticity as Dolly Winthrop. Nancy is, however, a genuinely kind and caring person, as evidenced by her forgiveness of Godfrey after his confession.

UNIT- III -Treasure Island – R.L.Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, most noted for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and A Child's Garden of Verses. Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor health. As a young man, he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided the model for Long John Silver in Treasure Island. In 1890, he settled in Samoa where, alarmed at European and American encroachment upon the South Sea islands, his writing turned away from romance and adventure toward a darker realism. He died in his island home in 1894.[1]

A celebrity in his lifetime, Stevenson's critical reputation has fluctuated since his death, though today his works are held in general acclaim. In 2018 he was ranked, just behind Charles Dickens, as the 26th-most-translated author in the world.[2]

Summary

Jim Hawkins is a young boy who lives at his parents’ inn, the Admiral Benbow, near Bristol, England, in the eighteenth century. An old sea captain named Billy Bones dies in the inn after being presented with a black spot, or official pirate verdict of guilt or judgment. Jim is stirred to action by the spot and its mysterious, accurate portent of Billy’s death. Hastily, Jim and his mother unlock Billy’s sea chest, finding a logbook and map inside. Hearing steps outside, they leave with the documents before Billy’s pursuers ransack the inn.

Jim realizes that the contents he has snatched from the sea chest must be valuable, so he takes one of the documents he has found to some local acquaintances, Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney. Excited, they recognize it as a map for a huge treasure that the infamous pirate Captain Flint has buried on a distant island. Trelawney immediately starts planning an expedition. Naïve in his negotiations to outfit his ship, the Hispaniola, Trelawney is tricked into hiring one of Flint’s former mates, Long John Silver, and many of Flint’s crew. Only the captain, Smollett, is trustworthy. The ship sets sail for Treasure Island with nothing amiss, until Jim overhears Silver’s plans for mutiny. Jim tells the captain about Silver and the rest of the rebellious crew.

Landing at the island, Captain Smollett devises a plan to get most of the mutineers off the ship, allowing them leisure time on shore. On a whim, Jim sneaks into the pirates’ boat and goes ashore with them. Frightened of the pirates, Jim runs off alone. From a hiding place, he witnesses Silver’s murder of a sailor who refuses to join the mutiny. Jim flees deeper into the heart of the island, where he encounters a half-crazed man named Ben Gunn. Ben had once served in Flint’s crew but was marooned on the island years earlier.

Meanwhile, Smollett and his men have gone ashore and taken shelter in a stockade the pirates have built. Jim returns to the stockade, bringing Ben with him. Silver visits and attempts a negotiation with the captain, but the captain is wary and refuses to speak to him. The pirates attack the stockade the next day, and the captain is wounded. Eager to take action, Jim follows another whim and deserts his mates, sneaking off to hunt for Ben’s handmade boat hidden in the woods.

After finding Ben’s boat, Jim sails out to the anchored ship with the intention of cutting it adrift, thereby depriving the pirates of a means of escape. He cuts the rope, but he realizes his small boat has drifted near the pirates’ camp and fears he will be discovered. By chance, the pirates do not spot Jim, and he floats around the island until he catches sight of the ship drifting wildly. Struggling aboard, he discovers that one of the watchmen, Israel Hands, has killed the other watchman in a drunken fit. Jim takes control of the ship, but Israel turns against him. Jim is wounded but kills Israel.

Jim returns to the stockade but finds it occupied by the pirates. Silver takes Jim hostage, telling the boy that the captain has given the pirates the treasure map, provisions, and the use of the stockade in exchange for their lives. Jim realizes, however, that Silver is having trouble managing his men, who accuse him of treachery. Silver proposes to Jim that they help each other survive by pretending Jim is a hostage. However, the men present Silver with a black spot and inform him that he has been deposed as their commander.

In a desperate attempt to gain control of his crew, Silver shows them the treasure map to appease them. Silver leads Jim and the men to the treasure site, but they are shocked to find it already excavated and the treasure removed. The men are angered and near mutiny again. At that moment Dr. Livesey, Ben Gunn, and the others fire on the pirate band, which scatters throughout the island. Jim and Silver flee, and are guided by the others to Ben’s cave, where Ben has hidden the treasure, which he had discovered months before.

After spending three days carrying the loot to the ship, the men prepare to set sail for home. There is a debate about the fate of the remaining mutineers. Despite the pirates’ submissive pleas, they are left marooned on the island. Silver is allowed to join the voyage, but he sneaks off the ship one night with a portion of the treasure and is never heard from again. The voyage home comes to a close. Eventually, Captain Smollet retires from the sea, and Ben becomes a lodge- keeper. Jim swears off treasure-hunting forever and suffers from nightmares about the sea and gold coins. Characters

Jim Hawkins As the narrator of Treasure Island and the instigator of its most important plot twists, Jim is clearly the central character in the novel. Probably around twelve or thirteen years old, he is the quiet and obedient son of the owner of an inn near Bristol, England. As events unfold throughout the novel, Jim’s character changes dramatically, showing increasing cleverness, courage, maturity, and perspective. In the first chapters, Jim is an easily frightened boy who is closely associated with his home and family. Scared by the crusty old seaman Pew, Jim runs to his mother for protection. After his father dies and he embarks on the adventure, Jim starts to think for himself and shows increasing initiative. Jim makes repeated mistakes, but he learns from them, which signals that he is maturing. He grows up quickly during this trip, starting as the cabin boy but eventually naming himself the new captain after he reclaims the ship from the pirates. Although he is courageous, Jim’s impetuous individualism reminds us that he is still a youth. His tendency to act on his whims and his growing self-awareness also shows that he is caught between two worlds—between childhood and adulthood, and between the lawful, rational world and the lawless pirate world. Jim’s story is therefore not merely a fanciful adventure tale but also a narrative about growing up. Jim’s narrative of his heroic acts is valuable because he records them modestly, giving us an insider view of heroism that is not very glamorous. Jim is not arrogant, but instead is humbled by his mistakes and successes. He takes full responsibility for his errors rather than finding excuses for them, and he confesses to moments of panic, indecision, and regret rather than bragging exclusively of his successes. Jim’s remarkable honesty and sincerity often make the heroic or noble claims of the grown-ups—pirates and honorable citizens alike—seem like empty bluster. Jim’s inclusion of both his follies and his fortunes make his narrative seem more genuine and the adventure more real.

Characters

Long John Silver Long John Silver is a very complex and self-contradictory character. He is cunning and mendacious, hiding his true intentions from Squire Trelawney while posing as the ship’s genial cook. He is very disloyal, shifting sides so frequently that we cannot be sure of his true affiliations. He is greedy and has an almost animal nature, caring little about human relations, as we see in his cold-blooded murder of Tom Redruth. Nonetheless, Silver is without question the most vital and charismatic character in the novel. Though lacking a leg, he moves swiftly and powerfully across unsteady decks and spryly hoists himself over fences. His physical defect actually showcases his strength of character, revealing with every step his ability to overcome obstacles. Likewise, Silver’s mental resolve is impressive: he is the only one of the pirates not to be spooked by Ben’s imitation of the dead Flint’s voice. He remains rational in the face of his men’s collective superstitions, driving them forward to the treasure site. Silver’s “two-hundred- year-old” parrot, which screeches dead men’s words, gives the pirate an almost satanic aura. He has obvious leadership abilities, as he is able to maintain control of his ragged and surly band of mutineers to the very end of their search, through heavy losses and suspicions of treachery.

Despite Silver’s formidable and frightening appearance, he is quick to inspire trust in those who meet him. Captain Smollett and Dr. Livesey both have great confidence in Silver’s character at the outset of the voyage. His friendliness and politeness never seem fake, deceitful, or manipulative. Silver describes himself as a “gentleman of fortune,” a term that, while clearly a euphemism for “pirate,” does emphasize something genuinely gentlemanly about Silver. When Livesey requests a private chat with the hostage Jim, the other pirates protest loudly, but Silver allows it because he trusts a gentleman like Livesey. This trust on Silver’s part seems noble and real. Additionally, the affection between Silver and Jim seems sincere from the very beginning. Though Jim is a mere cabin boy, Silver speaks to him fondly; toward the end of the trip, he remarks that Jim reminds him of himself when he was young and handsome. Likewise, Jim publicly calls Silver “the best man here,” and his wish for Silver’s happiness in the last paragraphs of the novel is sincere. Overall, Silver’s behavior indicates that he is more than a mere hoodlum. There is something valuable in him for Jim’s development, as the name “Silver” suggests.

Characters

Dr. Livesey Dr. Livesey first appears to be an ideal authority figure for the young Jim. Jim entrusts the treasure map to Livesey because Livesey is a respected, knowledgeable man. As the adventure unfolds, Livesey shows that Jim’s respect is merited, proving himself competent, clever, fair, and loyal. Livesey devises the brilliant plan of stalling the pirate brigade by sending Ben Gunn to give spooky imitations of their dead leader, Flint. He also comes up with the ruse of sending the pirates on the wild-goose chase to find the treasure. Livesey is not afraid of action and bravely fires on the pirates at the treasure site. He is noble in his willingness to provide medical attention to the wounded pirates, his enemies. He speaks tenderly to them and seems genuinely to care for their health. More so than the gruff Captain Smollett or the naïve Squire Trelawney, Livesey represents the best of the civilized world of men.

Despite his credentials and valuable achievements in the tale, however, Livesey is simply not charismatic. He does what is reasonable, practical, and ethical, but never acts impetuously or spontaneously, as the pirates and Jim do. Livesey thinks up ingenious plans, but only puts them into practice if they are safe and efficient. He gives the pirates the treasure map only when he knows it is useless. On the whole, Livesey never risks anything, and therefore Jim, as we do, sees him as good but not grand, decent but not inspirational. It is significant that while Jim gives a sentimental farewell to the memory of Silver at the end of his narrative, he omits mention of Livesey, despite Livesey’s importance in the adventure. Jim does not have an emotional connection to Livesey, and, by extension, does not have an emotional connection to the decent, civilized world Livesey represents. Jim does not fit completely into Silver’s world, but he does not fit completely into Livesey’s steady, practical world either. UNIT - IV- Lord Jim – Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad (3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-British writer regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language. Though he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he was a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature. Conrad wrote stories and novels, many with a nautical setting, that depict trials of the human spirit in the midst of what he saw as an impassive, inscrutable universe.

Conrad is considered an early modernist, though his works contain elements of 19th- century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters have influenced numerous authors, and many films have been adapted from, or inspired by, his works. Numerous writers and critics have commented that Conrad's fictional works, written largely in the first two decades of the 20th century, seem to have anticipated later world events.[5][6]

Writing near the peak of the British Empire, Conrad drew, among other things, on his native Poland's national experiences[7]:290, 352[note 5] and on his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European- dominated world—including imperialism and colonialism—and that profoundly explore the human psyche.[7]:448–49

Summary Lord Jim is the story of a man named Marlow's struggle to tell and to understand the life story of a man named Jim. Jim is a promising young man who goes to sea as a youth. He rises quickly through the ranks and soon becomes chief mate. Raised on popular sea literature, Jim constantly daydreams about becoming a hero, yet he has never faced any real danger. Finally, his chance comes. He is serving aboard a vessel called the Patna, carrying Muslim pilgrims to Mecca, when the ship strikes an underwater object and springs a leak. With a storm approaching, the crew abandons her and her passengers to their fate. Jim, not thinking clearly, abandons the ship with the rest of the crew. The Patna does not sink, however, and Jim, along with the rest of the officers, is subjected to an official inquiry by his fellow seamen. It is at this inquiry, where Jim is stripped of his officer's certification, that he first meets Marlow. Seeing something in Jim that he recognizes, or perhaps fears, in himself, Marlow strikes up a tortured friendship with Jim. Jim tells him his story, and Marlow helps him obtain a series of jobs. The Patna incident haunts him, though; each time it is mentioned, Jim flees his current situation, enlisting Marlow's help once again. Finally, with the help of Stein, an expatriate trader, Marlow gets Jim situated as post manager in the remote territory of Patusan. Jim is initially captured by one of the warring factions of the area, but soon escapes and finally becomes a hero by defeating a local bandit. He falls in love with Jewel, the beautiful, half-native stepdaughter of the previous trading post manager, a bitter little man called Cornelius. Jim becomes the spiritual leader of Patusan. Its citizens place their trust in him and rely on him to enforce justice. One day, Gentleman Brown, a pirate, shows up in Patusan with his crew in search of provisions. A skirmish ensues, and Brown holes up atop a hill. Cornelius, annoyed by Jim's success and his own failures, secretly meets with Brown and a conspiracy, including a dissenting Patusan faction, is formed against Jim. Jim, unaware of the plot, agrees to let Brown leave the area peacefully (Brown guesses at Jim's dishonorable past, and Jim decides it would be still more dishonorable to kill Brown simply because Brown knows the truth about him). Cornelius guides Brown down an alternate river channel, which leads him to the camp of Dain Waris, the son of Jim's closest ally, Doramin. Brown and his men ambush the camp, killing Dain Waris. Jim, realizing that he has still not been able to escape his initial failure aboard the Patna, ignores Jewel's pleas and goes to Doramin's compound, where the grieving father shoots and kills him. Much of the novel is concerned with Marlow's attempts to piece together Jim's story from a variety of sources. Finally, he recounts the story to a group of acquaintances. At this point in time, though, Brown has not yet come to Patusan, and the story remains unfinished. Once events are completed, Marlow writes them down in manuscript form, which he then sends to a member of the audience of the first part of the story. The novel fragments time, and Marlow juxtaposes different, non-chronological pieces of Jim's story for maximum effect, all the while seeking to discover the source of his own fascination with Jim and the meaning behind the story. Characters

• Jim Also known as "Lord Jim," or "Tuan Jim." The hero of our story, Jim is a young man who, inspired by popular literature, goes to sea dreaming of becoming a hero. He gets his chance when the ship he is aboard gets damaged, and fails utterly by abandoning ship with the rest of the crew. Haunted by his failure and stripped of his officer's certificate, he wanders from job to job, finally becoming the manager of a remote trading post. He falls in love with Jewel, a beautiful, half- native girl, and, by defeating a local bandit, becomes leader of the people. His dreams of heroism lead to his failure to kill a marauding white pirate, Gentleman Brown, which in turn leads to the death of Dain Waris, his best friend and son of Doramin, the local chief. Jim allows Doramin to shoot him in retribution.

• Marlow The narrator of this story and a ship's captain. Marlow first encounters Jim at the inquiry where Jim loses his certification. Feeling that Jim is "one of us," he takes an interest in him, first helping him find employment as a water clerk and as a trading post manager for Stein, then compulsively piecing together Jim's story and perpetuating it through various retellings. It is Marlow who filters and interprets most of the narrative for the reader.

• Jewel Daughter of the Dutch-Malay woman and stepdaughter of Cornelius. She and Jim fall in love, and she makes him promise never to leave her. She is a pragmatic woman and encourages Jim to fight to survive after Dain Waris's death. Marlow encounters her after Jim's death at Stein's, where she, broken and saddened, reminds Marlow that her prediction of Jim's infidelity has come true.

• Stein The owner of a large trading post, he sends first Cornelius and then Jim to Patusan. Stein was forced to flee Europe as a young man after becoming involved in revolutionary activities. Having made his way to the East Indies, he has become successful as a trader. A thoughtful, analytical man who immediately "diagnoses" Jim for Marlow, he collects butterflies and beetles.

• Gentleman Brown A white pirate who, having barely escaped Spanish officials in the Philippines, comes to Patusan hoping to steal some provisions. He is rather famous in this part of the world, and is used as the stock bad guy whenever locals are telling stories. He is proud, terrified of confinement. He and his men are attacked upon arrival in Patusan by Dain Waris and his band, who have had advance warning of their coming. Although he had initially wanted to conquer and loot Patusan, he realizes he is outnumbered and negotiates with Jim. In those negotiations, Brown shows that he is aware that Jim has a dark past, thereby appealing to Jim's tortured sense of ideals and receiving permission to retreat in safety. Brown has been conspiring with Cornelius and the Rajah Allang, though, and on his way back to his ship, he surprises Dain Waris and his men at their camp. Dain Waris is killed, which will lead to Jim's death. Brown and his men are shipwrecked soon after. Brown is the only survivor, although he dies soon afterward. Marlow visits him on his deathbed and gets part of the story from him. Brown is an important contrast to Jim, as a man who lives a romantic life, but one that is far from moral or idealized. Unlike Jim, Brown is quick to own up to his past and his fears.

• Cornelius Husband of the Dutch-Malay woman, he is the previous manager of Stein's Patusan post. A bitter, conniving man, he betrays Jim to Gentleman Brown and causes the death of Dain Waris. He is Jewel's stepfather, and treats her badly, even asking for Jim to give him money in exchange for her.

• Dutch-Malay woman A woman with a mysterious past, she is Jewel's mother and Cornelius's wife (although Cornelius is not Jewel's father). As a favor to her, Stein gives Cornelius a post in Patusan. She dies a horrible death with Cornelius, who has always tormented her, trying to break down the door to her room.

• Crew of the Patna Jim's fellow officers aboard the Patna, they immediately begin to try to leave the damaged ship after the collision. A physically repulsive and dishonorable lot, they flee before the inquiry. One of them, the third engineer, dies of a heart attack on board and is found by rescuers. Marlow meets with another of them in a hospital. The man is delirious from the effects of alcoholism and is hallucinating pink toads, but he tells Marlow that he personally watched the Patna sink (the ship did not actually sink). The captain is an enormous, disgusting man who bullies Jim. Jim encounters another of the engineers in the workplace of his first post-Patna employer, which causes him (Jim) to skip town. • Captain Brierly One of the most decorated and respected ship's captains in the area. He is on the board of inquiry that tries Jim. Secretly, he makes Marlow an offer of money to help Jim run away. Not long after the inquiry, he commits suicide, motivated by some secret shame. He is implicitly contrasted with Jim.

• Chester and Robinson Two disreputable characters who offer Jim, through Marlow, a job taking a wreck of a ship to a desolate island to collect guano. Both have questionable pasts and can be compared with both Jim and Gentleman Brown. The guano-collecting mission, under someone else's command, leaves port and is never heard from again; it is thought to have been wiped out by a hurricane.

• French lieutenant Marlow meets the French lieutenant in a Sydney café many years after the events of the novel. The lieutenant was the man who stayed aboard the damaged Patna as his gunboat towed her back into port. Although his act was heroic, he seems to have been motivated more by duty and professionalism. His prosaic attitude and his failure to describe the mystery of the experience adequately in words disappoints and even disgusts Marlow. • Doramin Chief of the Bugis; a wise, kind old man and a "war-comrade" of Stein's. Stein gives Jim a silver ring as a token of introduction to Doramin. Doramin saves Jim after his escape from the Rajah Allang, who had been holding him prisoner. Doramin is the father of Dain Waris, Jim's closest friend. When Dain Waris is killed because of Jim's misjudgment, Doramin shoots and kills Jim, who has offered himself up as a sacrifice.

• Dain Waris Doramin's son and Jim's best friend. The two are soul mates, and Dain Waris serves as Jim's second-in-command. He leads the initial attack on Gentleman Brown, but is not entirely successful, lacking Jim's charisma as a leader of men. He is killed when Cornelius leads Brown down the river channel behind his camp, after Jim foolishly frees Brown and his men. • Bugis A group of traders from Celebes who immigrate to Patusan many years before Jim arrives there. They are constantly embroiled in conflict with the Rajah Allang, who wants to shut down their trading activities and enjoy a monopoly for himself. Doramin is their chief.

• Tamb'Itam A Malay who came to Patusan and was enslaved by the Rajah Allang. Freed by Doramin, he becomes Jim's loyal servant and adviser. He escapes with Jewel after Jim's death and is the one to give Marlow the most complete account of Jim's final days.

• Rajah Allang Also known as Tunku Allang. The corrupt, unofficial ruler of Patusan; the uncle of the legitimate but underage and possibly mentally-incompetent Sultan. He tries to enforce a monopoly on trade in the area. Allang captures Jim upon his arrival in Patusan. He also secretly allies with Gentleman Brown against Jim.

• Sherif Ali A fanatic Muslim bandit who terrorizes Patusan from a stronghold in the hills. Jim defeats Ali to become a hero in Patusan.

Plot Overview

Old Major, a prize-winning boar, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs—Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer— formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal, committing his great strength to the prosperity of the farm and adopting as a personal maxim the affirmation “I will work harder.”

At first, Animal Farm prospers. Snowball works at teaching the animals to read, and Napoleon takes a group of young puppies to educate them in the principles of Animalism. When Mr. Jones reappears to take back his farm, the animals defeat him again, in what comes to be known as the Battle of the Cowshed, and take the farmer’s abandoned gun as a token of their victory. As time passes, however, Napoleon and Snowball increasingly quibble over the future of the farm, and they begin to struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals. Snowball concocts a scheme to build an electricity-generating windmill, but Napoleon solidly opposes the plan. At the meeting to vote on whether to take up the project, Snowball gives a passionate speech. Although Napoleon gives only a brief retort, he then makes a strange noise, and nine attack dogs—the puppies that Napoleon had confiscated in order to “educate”—burst into the barn and chase Snowball from the farm. Napoleon assumes leadership of Animal Farm and declares that there will be no more meetings. From that point on, he asserts, the pigs alone will make all of the decisions—for the good of every animal.

Napoleon now quickly changes his mind about the windmill, and the animals, especially Boxer, devote their efforts to completing it. One day, after a storm, the animals find the windmill toppled. The human farmers in the area declare smugly that the animals made the walls too thin, but Napoleon claims that Snowball returned to the farm to sabotage the windmill. He stages a great purge, during which various animals who have allegedly participated in Snowball’s great conspiracy—meaning any animal who opposes Napoleon’s uncontested leadership—meet instant death at the teeth of the attack dogs. With his leadership unquestioned (Boxer has taken up a second maxim, “Napoleon is always right”), Napoleon begins expanding his powers, rewriting history to make Snowball a villain. Napoleon also begins to act more and more like a human being—sleeping in a bed, drinking whisky, and engaging in trade with neighboring farmers. The original Animalist principles strictly forbade such activities, but Squealer, Napoleon’s propagandist, justifies every action to the other animals, convincing them that Napoleon is a great leader and is making things better for everyone—despite the fact that the common animals are cold, hungry, and overworked. Mr. Frederick, a neighboring farmer, cheats Napoleon in the purchase of some timber and then attacks the farm and dynamites the windmill, which had been rebuilt at great expense. After the demolition of the windmill, a pitched battle ensues, during which Boxer receives major wounds. The animals rout the farmers, but Boxer’s injuries weaken him. When he later falls while working on the windmill, he senses that his time has nearly come. One day, Boxer is nowhere to be found. According to Squealer, Boxer has died in peace after having been taken to the hospital, praising the Rebellion with his last breath. In actuality, Napoleon has sold his most loyal and long-suffering worker to a glue maker in order to get money for whisky.

Years pass on Animal Farm, and the pigs become more and more like human beings—walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. Eventually, the seven principles of Animalism, known as the Seven Commandments and inscribed on the side of the barn, become reduced to a single principle reading “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Napoleon entertains a human farmer named Mr. Pilkington at a dinner and declares his intent to ally himself with the human farmers against the laboring classes of both the human and animal communities. He also changes the name of Animal Farm back to the Manor Farm, claiming that this title is the “correct” one. Looking in at the party of elites through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer tell which are the pigs and which are the human beings.

UNIT V -Animal Farm – George Orwell

GEORGE ORWELL

Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, biting social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism.

As a writer, Orwell produced literary criticism and poetry, fiction and polemical journalism; and is best known for the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics and literature, language and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked George Orwell second among "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".[8]

Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Two Minutes Hate", "Room 101", "memory hole", "Newspeak", "doublethink", "proles", "unperson", and "thoughtcrime".[

Plot Overview Old Major, a prize-winning boar, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs—Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer— formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal, committing his great strength to the prosperity of the farm and adopting as a personal maxim the affirmation “I will work harder.”

Mr. Frederick, a neighboring farmer, cheats Napoleon in the purchase of some timber and then attacks the farm and dynamites the windmill, which had been rebuilt at great expense. After the demolition of the windmill, a pitched battle ensues, during which Boxer receives major wounds. The animals rout the farmers, but Boxer’s injuries weaken him. When he later falls while working on the windmill, he senses that his time has nearly come. One day, Boxer is nowhere to be found. According to Squealer, Boxer has died in peace after having been taken to the hospital, praising the Rebellion with his last breath. In actuality, Napoleon has sold his most loyal and long-suffering worker to a glue maker in order to get money for whisky.

Characters

Napoleon From the very beginning of the novella, Napoleon emerges as an utterly corrupt opportunist. Though always present at the early meetings of the new state, Napoleon never makes a single contribution to the revolution—not to the formulation of its ideology, not to the bloody struggle that it necessitates, not to the new society’s initial attempts to establish itself. He never shows interest in the strength of Animal Farm itself, only in the strength of his power over it. Thus, the only project he undertakes with enthusiasm is the training of a litter of puppies. He doesn’t educate them for their own good or for the good of all, however, but rather for his own good: they become his own private army or secret police, a violent means by which he imposes his will on others.

Although he is most directly modeled on the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Napoleon represents, in a more general sense, the political tyrants that have emerged throughout human history and with particular frequency during the twentieth century. His namesake is not any communist leader but the early-eighteenth-century French general Napoleon, who betrayed the democratic principles on which he rode to power, arguably becoming as great a despot as the aristocrats whom he supplanted. It is a testament to Orwell’s acute political intelligence and to the universality of his fable that Napoleon can easily stand for any of the great dictators and political schemers in world history, even those who arose after Animal Farm was written. In the behavior of Napoleon and his henchmen, one can detect the lying and bullying tactics of totalitarian leaders such as Josip Tito, Mao Tse-tung, Pol Pot, Augusto Pinochet, and Slobodan Milosevic treated in sharply critical terms.

Characters

Snowball Orwell’s stint in a Trotskyist battalion in the Spanish Civil War—during which he first began plans for a critique of totalitarian communism—influenced his relatively positive portrayal of Snowball. As a parallel for Leon Trotsky, Snowball emerges as a fervent ideologue who throws himself heart and soul into the attempt to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s infrastructure. His idealism, however, leads to his downfall. Relying only on the force of his own logic and rhetorical skill to gain his influence, he proves no match for Napoleon’s show of brute force.

Although Orwell depicts Snowball in a relatively appealing light, he refrains from idealizing his character, making sure to endow him with certain moral flaws. For example, Snowball basically accepts the superiority of the pigs over the rest of the animals. Moreover, his fervent, single- minded enthusiasm for grand projects such as the windmill might have erupted into full-blown megalomaniac despotism had he not been chased from Animal Farm. Indeed, Orwell suggests that we cannot eliminate government corruption by electing principled individuals to roles of power; he reminds us throughout the novella that it is power itself that corrupts.

Characters

Boxer

The most sympathetically drawn character in the novel, Boxer epitomizes all of the best qualities of the exploited working classes: dedication, loyalty, and a huge capacity for labor. He also, however, suffers from what Orwell saw as the working class’s major weaknesses: a naïve trust in the good intentions of the intelligentsia and an inability to recognize even the most blatant forms of political corruption. Exploited by the pigs as much or more than he had been by Mr. Jones, Boxer represents all of the invisible labor that undergirds the political drama being carried out by the elites. Boxer’s pitiful death at a glue factory dramatically illustrates the extent of the pigs’ betrayal. It may also, however, speak to the specific significance of Boxer himself: before being carted off, he serves as the force that holds Animal Farm together