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How Old Major Uses Language Purposively to Persuade the Listeners in his Speech
Introduction
In the introductory chapter of the allegorical fable, ‘Animal Farm,’ written by George Orwell in 1945, the first paragraph presents an attractive welcome into the satirical masterpiece. In spirit to augment the trending prospects of the schools of thought and the political ideologies, the author settles on animal characters to help present his views in the catchy story. Old Major is the twelve-year-old boar, the most respected animal, and the major character in the chapter. He enjoys the loyalty of the other animals, especially their regular assembly for his custom speeches. Indeed, the allegiance is not with respect to age alone, but mainly the ability to hold the audience and grab their attention amid profound linguistic skills. It is equally significant to comprehend that the primary reason for the speech was to persuade his “comrades” to understand the need to rebel against humans. It was, therefore, his obligation to possess the full attention of the audience throughout the session. Hence, this paper uncovers fundamental language concepts that he employed in his speech to keep the listeners’ attention glued to him. Indeed, Old Major’s listeners would follow every sentence of his address due to the outstanding oratory and persuasive techniques he employs in almost each of them. The techniques involves the use of emotional language, repetitions, hyperboles, rhetorics and mutually imperative phrases.
To start with, he repeatedly uses the language of emotions in his sentences. For instance, “…and to the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end, we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty” (Orwell, George. 2). This technique makes the listeners become more affectionate and feel more concerned about the sense of the speech. On