Life In A Medieval Castle

Life In A Medieval Castle Life during the middle ages began at sunrise, when one of the guards sounded the days start. Servants had already begun to make sure that the fires were lit in the kitchen and great hall. Breakfast was not served until mid day. During this time the servants got time to complete their chores while the soups were cooking in the kitchen. All floors had to be cleaned and wash buckets, which were called basins, had to be washed out. Once the lord and the lady of the house woke up, the maids entered into their quarters, and they cleaned and emptied chamber pots, washed the basins, and the laundry woman also began to do the days laundry. The lord and the lady got well dressed before leaving their quarters to go to mass. They always wore elegant clothing which showed their status but also kept them very warm. After a small breakfast was eaten and the lord and his family went to mass. Once the morning service was complete, the lord dealt with the days business. At mid-morning, dinner was serv ed. Dinner was the main meal of the day. During dinner there was usually entertainment and much food. When dinner was finished, the lord may take his knights or special guests hunting while the lady may do embroidering. Usually the lady did not because she oversaw the castle and did not have time. Supper which was different from dinner, was usually eaten right before bedtime. It marked the end of the day for everyone in the castle. After supper the lord and the lady would go to their quarters and the servants would retire to their quarters. This was the almost daily routine of life in a castle. However, life in a castle was not all work. Hunting and hawking were greatly enjoyed by everyone in the castle and when the lord hunted, delicious and sometimes rare animals were brought to the table as food. Some of the past times were quite dangerous. These involved tournaments and rough ball, which was similar to football. Adults and children alike, enjoyed games such as the blind mans blu ff. This game involved tying a players head with a blind fold, and he would chase the other players. To pass time indoors, people played board games and listened to musicians or storytellers. Storytellers would narrate the stories of heroes such as Arthur and his knights. Though life in the middle ages involved a lot of work, the people in the castle enjoyed great entertainment. In a castle, almost everyone had a specific responsibility. The lord was the head of the castle. The lady spent much of her time supervising their work, as well as overseeing the cooking of meals in the kitchen. One of her responsibilities was running the household, managing production, and maintaining adequate supplies. She had to know which rents and fees were owed to the household. The lady also supervised the embroiderers who had the responsibility of making the clothes for the people in the castle and keeping the lady company. In addition, the ladies were responsible for overseeing the education of the young pages. The parents of the children usually devoted little time to them and those children were quickly thrust in to the adult world. Children usually became part adults at age 12 and were allowed to bear arms. Aristocratic children usually had very little contact with their parents. They were usually raised by nurses. The boys had to perform various services for the lord of the castle such as protect the arms and care for his horses. When the boy reached majority, which was usually at age 15, the fathers rule over him came to an end and the boy was considered an adult with full rights. At that point, the boy was a free, responsible individual who set up their own household. Girls were responsible to learn how to run a household and to raise children when they were old enough. These kinds of responsibilities allowed a castle life to run more smoothly. Castles in the medieval times were very uncomfortable and hardships were plenty. A castle had no central heating. The main fireplace heat was saved for the lord and the lady. They were fortunate to have heavy blankets, mattresses made of feathers, fur covers, while the workers had to sleep in the towers which got unbearably cold and damp, especially at night time. The attendants were sometimes lucky to stay with their master or mistress. They slept on the floor but they were able to get some of the heat coming out of the fireplace. When it was summer, everyone enjoyed the warm weather outside because the castle was still cold inside. Workers wrapped themselves in covers which helped them stay warm during cold times. The castle was also a very busy place. Ship and pigs would roam freely around the castle. With the loud noise of all the people in the castle, it caused a busy atmosphere with a loud noise. Hygiene was normal for the people in the middle ages. They took bathes, washed the ir hands, and brushed their teeth. However, disposal of human waste was not as good. Most castles did not have any plumbing which meant that the waste would remain in one place until it was cleaned by the chamber maids. These conditions may seem bad but they were better than the conditions of a lower class citizen. The code of chivalry and courtly love had a significant influence on the life of nobles. The code of chivalry affected knights in particular. The code of Chivalry came to mean an idealization of the life and manners of a knight at home in his castle and with his court. Courtly love also had strict rules. It was practiced all over Europe. The rules of courtly love allowed nobles to show how they really felt for each other. This kind of event was common between nobles and ladies. The harshness of the castles made them less than desirable to live in but for the lord and lady it was better than the common peoples homes. The life of individuals involved hard work life for the average person during the Middle Ages was very routine but they enjoyed entertainment as well. Everyone in the castle had a specific responsibility which made life run more efficiently even though a castle was busy and very loud. The code of chivalry and courtly love also were a great part of life. They dictated how a noble should lead their lives and how to hold themselves when with others. This was life in the middle ages. Books Blackwood, Gary L. Life in a Medieval Castle. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2000. Print. Bouchard, Constance Brittain. Strong of Body, Brave and Noble: Chivalry and Society in Medieval France. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998. Print. Brochard, Philippe, and Patrice Pellerin. Castles of the Middle Ages. Morristown, NJ: Silver Burdett, 1980. Print.. Gravett, Christopher. Castle. New York: Knopf, 1994. Print. Hinds, Kathryn. Life in the Middle Ages. New York: Benchmark, 2001. Print. Jordan, William C. Family. The Middle Ages. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1996. 79-81. Print. White, T. H. The Once and Future King. New York: Ace, 1987. Print. Encyclopedias Castle The New Encyclopedia Britannica Macropedia. ed. 2005. Print. Jordan, William C. Family. The Middle Ages. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1996. 79-81. Print.

Maze Learning

MAZE LEARNING 1 MAZE LEARNING Ana Iqbal Mirajkar Bahria University BS-04 MAZE LEARNING 2 Abstract This experiment was conducted to uncover the underlying principles of transfer of training in maze learning. The aim was to see if transfer of training facilitated maze learning. It was assumed that practice of one maze would assist the chances of transfer in another and that participants who had prior knowledge of mazes would perform better. A sample of 56 students was chosen conveniently from Bahria University.All participants performed the same experiment on maze A and B, which is they traced a maze twice with the experimenter’s help, had a break of ten seconds and then had five minutes to find the goal. The results were analyzed using percentages. The findings of the results indicated that practice of one maze assists transfer of training on the other and that participants with prior knowledge had more successful trials than the ones who did not. Thus, both hypotheses were pro ved. Key words: maze, learning, memory, cognitive mapping MAZE LEARNING Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience (Feldman, 2009).Peter Gray, a psychologist, defines learning as any process through which experience at 3 one time can alter an individual's behavior at a future time. Hence learning can be anything that brings about a change in one’s behaviour, or another definition common to all theories of psychology would describe simply a stimulus that generates a response(S-? R) (Herbert Terrace). Learning has been an important area of research in psychology; psychologists have done extensive research on how human beings acquire learning and what factors facilitate learning.One such experiment is done by Ivan Pavlov where he introduced the concept of classical conditioning and concluded that learning occurs gradually through pairing and association (Pavlov). Whereas a gestalt psychologist by the name of Wolfgang Kohler concluded that n ew behaviour is learned due to insight. According to Frederic Vestor there are four types of learning. The first being auditive learning which is learning by using the auditory channels that is using the ear to listen and mouth to speak. Second is visual learning that is learning using the eyes.Haptic learning is the third type of learning which occurs by touching and feeling and the fourth type is learning through the intellect. Training is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. Areas that use training extensively are job training such as worker endowment and physical training for sports. Transfer of training was originally defined as the extent to which learning of a response in one task or situation influences the response in another task or situation (Adams, 1987).While Thorndike and Woodworth (1901) predicted that transfer would occur as long as the aims, method, and approaches used for the learning task were similar to the transfer task. They found support for the generalization of responses when there was similarity in the stimuli and responses in the learning and transfer environment. Types of transfer of training are positive which means previous training facilitates new training such as learning to add numbers in math courses helps when one learns multiplication.Negative transfer occurs when previous training hinders new training, whereas zero transfer is when previous trainings have no effect on new ones. Wolfgang Kohler would say that learning occurs through sudden insight while Thorndike would contradict by saying that it happens gradually over a long period of time. Generally it is noted that learning is both intentional and unintentional and has no specific time requirements. That is MAZE LEARNING one can learn in a day or can take months. Whereas training is usually intentional and there are certain time bound aries for training.Furthermore, learning focuses on achieving permanent 4 changes in behaviour while training focuses on the acquisition of new skills and knowledge with training interventions being event driven. Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain and later retrieve information (Kendra Cherry). The process of forming a memory is composed of three components encoding, storage and retrieval. In order for pieces of information to make sense the brain encodes all the information to form memories and stores it.A memory, when brought into consciousness is known as retrieved memory. Memories can be of three types; sensory memory that is collected from the first hand experiences and is very brief. Short term memory is what is in the conscious awareness, whereas long term memory is what is not in the conscious awareness and might have to be retrieved, according to Freud short term memory would be the conscious and long term memory the unconscious. Ebbingha us, who was a pioneer of the experimental study of memory, did extensive research on memory, memory formation and memory decay.Through his experiments he devised the forgetting curve of memory which revealed a relationship between forgetting and time. He suggested that information, initially, is often lost very quickly after it is learned but after a certain point the amount of forgetting levels off. This indicates that information stored in long-term memory is surprisingly stable. (Hermann Ebbinghaus) Labyrinth is a term in Greek Mythology, which basically denotes a maze in which the Minotaur was confined (The Free Dictionary).The most ancient of labyrinths are Cretan labyrinths that are surrounded by an aura of mysticism and skepticism, this was the elaborate structure designed to hold Minotaur. Next are the Egyptian Labyrinth and the Leminian Labyrinth which are more densely routed and complex than the Cretan Labyrinth. Although the true origins of the mazes and labyrinths probab ly go back to Neolithic times, the earliest mazes were actually parts of architectural monuments built in Egypt and on Crete about 4000 years ago (Christopher Berg).Edward Chase Tolman, a pioneer in the areas of learning and motivation, claimed that everything important in psychology can be investigated in essence through the continued experimental and theoretical analysis of the determinants of rat behavior at a choice-point in a maze. A maze is defined by Webster as a confusing, intricate network of MAZE LEARNING 5 winding pathways; specifically with one or more blind alleys. Furthermore, one could perceive a maze as a complex structure with a series of interconnecting pathways that eventually has to be solved by pursuing a goal.The term is also used to refer to a graphical puzzle that replicates the maze on a two dimensional medium (S. E. Smith). Mazes, in psychology, have contributed greatly to understanding complex human behavior. Moreover, maze studies have helped uncover asto unding principles about learning that can be applied to many species, including humans. The fact that researchers have even used mazes to figure out if men and women are different in the way they perceive suggests the important role mazes have played throughout. In this context a study was carried out by B.Jones that looked at trial and error learning in humans using a virtual maze and at looked at the gender differences where the participants were tested using the Online Psychology Laboratory Maze. Another study which attempted to uncover if multiple trials allow a researcher to determine how ability can develop and change over trials and that the importance of task components fluctuates during the stages of learning (O'Neill, 1978). The findings gave the impression that repeated trail can help the participant develop the knowledge of the maze and make fewer errors.Yet one more research finding on mazes indicated that no matter how well the maze is learned, the subject will never a ble to dispense with sensory guidance and that there is throughout this type of functioning a close cooperation between sensory and motor adjustments (Ailene Morris). There are two main categories of mazes which are then further subdivided into various types. A Unicursal maze is without branches, it has no dead ends and there is one path that leads to the end whereas, a multicursal maze is one with branches and dead ends. Among the various types of mazes are Blind Alleys are mazes that have a branch that is a dead end.Simply-connected mazes have pathways that never re-connect with one another, so every path leads to additional paths, a fork, or to a dead end and there is only one solution to a simply-connected maze. A multiplyconnected maze contains one or more passages that loop back into other passages, rather than leading to dead ends. A more complex form of the multiply-connected maze is the braid maze. A weave maze has pathways that go under and over each other and can be in mu ltiple dimensions, while a logic maze must be navigated by adhering to logical rules in addition to following its passages such as symbols or following colour schemes.A Plainair maze, however, is a maze on something other than a flat surface. For example, a maze painted on the outside of a cube or sphere. MAZE LEARNING A principle that is derived from the extensive study of mazes is known as cognitive mapping; 6 making a mental picture of one's physical or spatial environment (APA). A cognitive map allows one to construct and accumulate spatially defined images whose function is to enhance recall and learning of information. This type of spatial thinking can also be used in non-spatial tasks. Chaining is a behaviour technique that involves breaking a task down into smaller components.The simplest or first task in the process is taught first, and then after this has been learned, the next task can be taught. This continues until the entire sequence is successfully chained together (K endra Cherry). Maze learning is an example of a successive chaining, when animal runs down a maze it chains the route through the subsequent goals and dead ends all in all the entire stimuli present in the environment gives the animal clues and make his cognitive map (Terrace). The aim of this study is to see if transfer of training facilitates performance.It is assumed that the practice of one maze will facilitate the chances of transfer of training on the second maze and that participants having knowledge of practical will have more successful trials than participants who do not have any prior knowledge. Method Participants: There were two groups of participants that participated in the study. Group 1 composed of 28 people who had no prior knowledge of maze leaning. While Group 2 composed of 29 participants who had prior knowledge of maze learning. The total sample was that of 56 students who were chosen conveniently from Bahria University.The design of the experiment was independ ent measures design. Materials: Match box, scissor, glue, mazes A, stop watch and a blindfold. Two mazes were extracted from the internet and the participants of group 2 constructed the entire maze using match sticks to cover all the branches and boundaries of the maze. It was later discovered that both mazes were multicursal and simply connected. Procedure: The experiment was conducted in the experimental lab, with controlled conditions. In the first phase of the experiment participants from group 1, who had no prior knowledge of maze learning, were tested.The experimenter blindfolded the participant and traced their finger, twice, along maze A (in some cases a thin object such as a pen or pencil was used). During the whole procedure it was tediously made sure that the participant did not see the mazes. Following MAZE LEARNING 7 this the participant was given a ten second break and then told to complete the maze again with no help from the experimenter this time. After given five m inutes to complete this maze, the participant was told to stop and the blindfold was undone for two minutes.The same procedure was then followed for maze B that is tracing twice with the experimenter’s help, a break and then five minutes for the trial for maze B. Throughout the experimenter observed the errors made and the progress of the participant. In the second phase of the experiment the participants from group 2, who had prior knowledge of maze learning, were tested following the exact same procedure that is tracing twice maze A and then later maze B with an experimenter’s help, a break of ten seconds, then five minutes for the trial for maze A and later maze B.Results Table I Showing results of Maze A of Group 1 Participants 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Successive Trials 1 3 3 2 4 0 1 1 4 2 5 0 1 4 Errors 0 4 7 3 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 5 14 0 MAZE LEARNING 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 4 5 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 4 0 3 10 4 2 4 0 3 10 8 20 20 7 10 8 8 Total 5 2 146 Table II Showing results of Maze B of Group 1 Participants 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Successful Traits 5 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 Errors 10 0 4 4 0 3 5 2 0 MAZE LEARNING 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 5 0 8 4 3 2 2 5 2 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 3 2 1 4 13 0 15 0 9 0 20 0 11 3 2 2 25 1 3 2 9 Total 58 148 Table III Showing results of Maze A of Group 2 Participants 1 2 3 4 Successful Trials 5 0 3 3 Errors 1 2 3 3 MAZE LEARNING 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 3 1 1 7 7 3 4 3 5 4 3 4 3 1 1 4 1 2 2 2 3 2 0 0 8 4 2 3 1 12 4 1 0 2 2 7 4 5 4 1 1 14 0 1 1 5 0 10 Total 79 91 MAZE LEARNING Table IV Showing results of Maze B of Group 2 Participants 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Successful Traits 5 0 0 6 4 8 10 1 10 11 7 5 3 7 7 2 8 5 1 4 4 2 1 3 2 4 Errors 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 1 5 7 0 3 0 0 3 3 0 2 0 2 1 0 5 0 1 MAZE LEARNING 27 28 0 5 3 0 12 Total 125 46 Calculations:- = 41. 7% = 58. 2% = 35. 03% = 64. 96% MAZE LEARNI NG Graph I Showing results of comparison between Maze A and Maze B 13 Comparison between both the mazes 42% Maze A Maze B 58% Graph II Showing results of comparison between Group 1 and Group 2 (c and d) Comparison between both the groups 35% Group 1 65% Group 2 MAZE LEARNING Discussion It was proved that practice of one maze facilitates the transfer of training on the second maze 14 hich meant that most of the participants performed well on maze B as compared to maze A. An interesting research by Edward Tolman on rats and mazes showed that once the rats knew where there goal in the maze was, they could find their way through the maze. Thus, Tolman’s and this research show that people form a cognitive map of the spatial layout of the situation rather than just leaning to make a series of responses. However, one single most undermining factor that could cause this is the carry over effects the participants might have carried over from maze A.Furthermore, there might been quite a many extraneous variables present in the environment that the experimenter failed to control; hence, they became confounding variables. These include noise distractions, the close seating arrangement of the participants and experimenter bias. It was further noted that even though both mazes were multicursal participants found maze B relatively easier and more straight forward than maze A, pointing more towards the fact that practicing on one maze improved their performance.Likewise, the participants who had prior knowledge of mazes performed better than the participants who did not. This meant that hypothesis 2 was also proved. David Ausubel a pioneer in educational psychology who emphasized on prior learning said â€Å"If I had to reduce all of educational psychology to just one principle, I would say this: The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly. The results of this research highlight the importance of prior learning. Nevertheless, the participants of group 2 were also the ones who constructed the maze, which meant that they possibly brought forward transfer effects. Moreover, the participants in group two were in a more comfortable setting than the participants in group one who were not in their comfort zone. Besides, there were four students who were not from the psychology department and might have been anxious because of the new and unfamiliar place and setting.In addition to this some participants used a pencil, pen or a sharp object to complete the maze instead of their fingers, which meant less tactile experience and learning and might be a contributing factor as to why group 1 performed poorly. MAZE LEARNING References: American Psychological Association. (2013). Dictionary. com Unabridged. Retrieved from http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/cognitive map Ausubel, D. (1968). Educational implications of concept mapping. Joseph D. Novak & D. Bob Gowin (2002 ). Learning how to learn (pp. 40). UK, Cambridge University Press. Berg, C. 2011). The History of Mazes and Labyrinths. Amazing Art. N/A. Retrieved from http://amazeingart. com/maze-faqs/ancient-mazes. html Cherry, K. (N/A). An Overview of Memory. Memory. N/A. Retrieved from http://psychology. about. com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/memory. htm Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. Classics in the History of Psychology. N/A. Retrieved from http://psy. ed. asu. edu/~classics/Ebbinghaus/index. htm 15 Eddie, W. L. & Danny, C. K. (2001). A review of transfer of training studies in the past decade. Personnel Review, Vol. 0 No. 1, 102-118. Retrieved from http://www. owlnet. rice. edu/~ajv2/courses/12a_psyc630001/Cheng%20&%20Ho%20(2001)%20 PR. pdf Feldman, R. S. (2009). Psychological Approaches to Learning, 177. Retrieved from http://www. studymode. com/essays/Psychological-Approaches-To-Learning-730466. html Jones, B. (2011). Gender Difference-Mazes, 09. Re trieved from http://www. studymode. com/essays/Gender-Difference-Mazes-774551. html Morris, A. (1994). A Descriptive Study of Maze Learning, 67-69. Retrieved from http://digital. library. okstate. edu/oas/oas_pdf/v25/p67_69. df Terrace, H. (2010). The Comparative Psychology of Serially Organized Behavior. Comparitive Cognition and Behaviour Reviews, Vol. 5, 23-58. Retrieved from http://psyc. queensu. ca/ccbr/Vol5/Terrace. pdf MAZE LEARNING Tolman, E. C. (1953). Edward Tolman and cognitive maps. Douglas Mook (2004), Classic experiments in psychology (pp. 139-142). Westport, Greenwood Press. Vestor, F. (1998). Die Deutsche Schule, 93(2), 186-198. Retrieved from http://www. oecd. org/edu/ceri/34926352. pdf 16 MAZE LEARNING 17 Appendix A: Maze A & B MAZE LEARNING Appendix A 18 MAZE LEARNING 19

The Truth Behind the Alien Reptile Hoax

In 1990, a former British soccer player named David Icke began sharing his psychic visions with the world. According to Icke, our planet is secretly being controlled by a race of humanoid reptiles from the Alpha Draconis star system, 300 light years away. Not only do these reptoids or reptilians live underground beneath the earths major cities, Icke contends, but they drink human blood and have the ability to shape-shift. Sadly, most of the worlds leaders have already been co-opted by these evil reptiles; Icke and his followers believe that former president George W. Bush and Queen Elizabeth II are both reptoids in disguise. Of course, Icke isnt the first person in history to ascribe supernatural powers to reptiles. Snake- and crocodile-like gods are common in ancient mythology, and there were some notable pop-culture reptilian references that preceded Icke (and may, in fact, have directly influenced his philosophy). In 1983, the hugely successful TV miniseries V featured an invasion by conniving alien reptiles disguised as humanoids. After Icke appeared on the scene, the most famous fictional reptilian is arguably the snake-like Voldemort from the Harry Potter books; however, theres no evidence that J.K. Rowling even knows who David Icke is. Are Reptoids Really Intelligent Dinosaurs? Its unclear whether or not Icke believes that his alien reptoids descended from, or were somehow responsible for, the dinosaurs that roamed the earth until 65 million years ago. However, bizarre conspiracy theories have a way of rapidly mutating, and the Icke cult has spawned a subset of enthusiasts who believe that dinosaurs didnt, in fact, go extinct, but evolved into super-intelligent reptoids—so super-intelligent, in fact, that theyve managed to evade detection to this day, except (perhaps) by ex-footballers prone to psychic visions. These conspiracy theorists have received an unintentional boost from North Carolina State paleontologist Dale Russell, who in 1982 published a paper speculating about what might have become of the dinosaur Troodon had the K/T Extinction not happened. Since Troodon was an uncommonly intelligent dinosaur, Russell surmised, its uninterrupted evolutionary arc might have resulted, tens of millions of years later, in a race of super-intelligent, humanoid reptilians. One common attribute of conspiracy theorists (not to mention religious fundamentalists and disbelievers in the theory of evolution) is to take the speculations of reputable scientists as established, carved-in-stone fact. Today, most adherents of the reptoid cult cite Russells paper as proving the existence of humanoid reptiles, and many uninformed readers have helped spread the word. Russell himself, of course, meant no such thing, and is doubtless embarrassed by the cult he unintentionally fueled with his research. Are Humanoid Reptiles a Scientific Possibility? Despite what Icke and other conspiracy theorists claim, theres absolutely no proof that a race of super-intelligent reptoids (or Martians, or swamp monsters) lurk beneath the sewers of Paris, New York, and Beijing. There is also no evidence that the earth has ever been visited by flying saucers or that reptilian aliens have tinkered with human DNA, or that Queen Elizabeth II is a lizard in disguise (though some Icke cultists claim to have seen a second eyelid flickering across her pupils, if you look really closely at slowed-down news footage). But is it possible that an isolated population of meat-eating dinosaurs (Troodon, or some other genus) managed to survive the K/T Extinction, and persist to this day on some remote island or in the middle of a dense rain forest? The odds are vanishingly small, but not zero. However, the chances are even more remote for a scenario in which these dinosaurs have evolved into super-intelligent beings, which would require (among other things) a huge increase in their population, making detection by (and competition with) contemporary human beings a certainty. The fact is that reptoids, reptilians, or whatever you want to call them simply dont exist, despite what David Icke and his followers claim.

Animal Farm Essay - 836 Words

George Orwell’s political satire â€Å"Animal Farm† makes some interesting contrasts between the patriotic character of Old Major, an older majestic looking pig, and Napoleon, a pig who seems to bide his time waiting for the right moment to seize control for his own evil purpose. Old Major makes a patriotic speech to the assembled group, expounding the virtues of animalism (socialism) In effect he is calling for a utopian socialism in which the community must sacrifice for the collective well being of its members. He begins with the rhetorical question: â€Å"what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and†¦show more content†¦Notice the similarity in the seventh commandment â€Å"All animals are equal†, (Ch II) to the â€Å"complete equality of all citizens† from the Marx Manifesto. Thus Old major becomes the symbol for freedom and equality, which is the embodiment of social democracy. Notice also a very interesting detail from chapter three, when the flag of animal farm was founded: â€Å"The flag was green Snowball explained, to represent the green fields of England, while the hoof and the horn signified the future Republic of the Animals which would arise when the human race had been finally overthrown †. So as one may observe, this flag was almost identical to the flag of the Soviet Union, which consisted of a plain red flag, with a hammer and sickle crossed; a red star in the upper hoist. The hammer symbolized the nations industrial workers, while the sickle symbolized the nations agricultural workers. The red star represented the rule of the Communist Party. http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union Napoleon is an aggressive, shrewd pig that, along with Snowball, becomes the early leader of Animal Farm. 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Unfortunately, his hard work didnt pay off, and Jones was faced with more disappointment. The animals grow tiredRead MoreThe Novel Animal Farm 1362 Words   |  6 PagesExplain the type of conflict explored in your novel (character vs. man/self/nature/society). Use details from the novel to support your response. From a broad perspective, numerous conflicts emerge throughout the course of the novel Animal Farm, whether it be Man vs. Man or Man vs. Society. In further elaboration upon this reality, Snowball and Napoleon, two noteworthy pigs, conspicuously disagree on numerous topics-of-interest. Evidence from the text that further bolsters this claim is shown whenRead MoreCruelty in animal Farm1259 Words   |  6 PagesThis story Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel about an animal revolution over an oppressive farmer. The irony in the story comes when the pigs turn into the very thing revolted against. They exhibit the same cruelty by treating the other animals the same or even worse than previous owners. This cycle of cruelty is shown in the Russian revolution by Joseph Stalin who is represented by Napoleon in the story. Cruelty in animal farm is shown by the human’s treatment of the animals, and the animal’sRead MoreAnimal Farm Essay1203 Words   |  5 PagesIn George O rwell’s novel Animal Farm, a major turning point in the novel was when Napoleon used his secret police force, his dogs, to exile Snowball. Snowball had previously been trying to improve the animal’s lives for the future by building a windmill. After Snowball was exiled, Napoleon became leader and everything immediately went amiss. Orwell stated that: Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer- except, of course, for the pigsRead MoreSymbolism in Animal Farm1766 Words   |  8 PagesSymbolism in Animal Farm Animal Farm is almost a direct parallel to Russia during the time of World War I through World War II. The characters all have real life counterparts that are easily seen. The events are also all real and conveyed in the novel in an easily understood way. The novel creates a new way to look at the events that transpired during this time period and allows people to really understand what happened. In Animal Farm, George Orwell employs many symbols to convey the parallelismRead MoreAnimal Farm : Human Nature in Animals823 Words   |  4 PagesHuman nature in animals. Was this really shown in George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’? In fact, there were several messages about human nature reflected in ’Animal Farm’. The messages that were expressed through many different characters and their behaviours, gave an insight into human nature, and showed many characteristics of it. The idea of equality â€Å"all animals are equal† and socialism would make an ideal society. It would be effective on Animal Farm if it were not for the pigs’ hunger for power