Animal Farm George Orwell

Character/theme Analysis Research Paper Graphic Organizer

Complete each sentence prompt to build the elements of a complete character analysis.
You must include the following in your essay:
1. Five to seven vocabulary words from your various lists
2. Several of all types of syntax sentence structure: simple, compound, complex and compound-complex.
3. Lead-ins and parenthetical documentation for every quote from the primary and secondary text.
Thesis Statement

You cant begin a quality essay without establishing a guiding statement from which all ideas extend.
Within the statement name the character, his beginning personality and/or behaviors, changes and ending traits in broad terms. Those
three things will be the foundation of your body paragraphs.

You MUST use phrases and key words from the prompt or assignment.
Thesis
Claim
Statement /

Orwell uses Napoleon to illustrate how power can change a leader in little time as Napoleon grows
corrupt and uses his position to his advantage.

Your response in each row should contain ONE SENTENCE. You will combine the sentences later to create a
cohesive analytical paragraph.

Introduction
1. Make a general
comment about the
subject matter of your
thesis stmt / claim

Use key words from the

prompt or topic.
2. Relate your general
subject matter to what
the author addresses in
the literature.
You must include the
authors name and the title
of the literary work here.
3. Brief description of the
character you are
analyzing and who they
are, what happens to
them in life in general
terms. Explain some
part or his or her life that
relates to the first three
sentences of this
introduction. .

4. Explain why it is
essential that this
character be analyzed
along with this theme.
Psychological, emotional,
physical results, etc. Be
broad but specific to your
chosen character

Power creates glory and prosperity, but it may also cause a leader to use corruption and
manipulation.

George Orwell, the English novelist, shows in Animal Farm how power and corruption
changes someone.

Napoleon starts off as a follower and turns into an overly confident leader of the farm, but
Napoleon uses his control to suit his own needs and desires.

The animals trust Napoleon to be their leader, but Napoleon abuses his power and
manipulates and lies to the animals.

5. What happens to this

character in the literature
that relates to the theme
you have chosen?

The farm animals believe Napoleon would act as the next great leader and their farm
would prosper; however, he eventually cares only about himself and destroys the farm and
the animals lives.

What point are you trying to

make?
Connect all of the previous
information to what it is you
want the reader to see in
your character.

Orwell uses Napoleon to illustrate how power can change a leader in little time as
Napoleon grows corrupt and uses his position to his advantage.
6. Thesis Statement / Claim

Body Paragraph 1 Character/Theme Analysis

1.

Topic Sentence
Make a statement
about what this
paragraph will
contain.

2.

Expand on the topic

sentence with a
description of the
character in general
terms but more
specific than in the
introduction

3.

Include a primary
source quote to
support your analysis

4.

Describe what your

primary source quote
does to support your
analysis. Why is it
important for the
reader to understand
your analysis?
5. Include a quote from
your secondary
source the
research.
This quote should
support your analysis
and back up your
primary source quote.

The Seven Commandments had expectations to act as new way of life and a guideline for
the animals, but they turned into a new set of rules to suit Napoleon.

Napoleon uses the Commandments to his advantage and to meet his desires, while the
animals get manipulated and lied to.

Rumors went around about the pigs acting like humans and some of the animals were
disturbed when they heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used
the drawing-room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds (Orwell n.pag.).

One of The Seven Commandments is no animal shall sleep in a bed, but Napoleon and
the pigs clearly break this rule as they get caught sleeping on human beds.

Eventually Napoleon changes the seven commandments and starts to mix up the words:
And revisions of the Seven Commandments are continually made to suit Napoleon's
personal wishes (Robb n.pag.).

6. Why is this
statement important
to include in your
analysis? What
further insight does it
provide? How does it
relate to your topic?

7. Describe /

summarize the
characters
personality,
behaviors, etc. as
you have analyzed it
from the first several
chapters of the
novel.

Napoleon changes the most important commandment, which is all animals are equal, to
all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

Napoleon acts as the next great leader and tries to make the farm thrive, but his corrupt
destroys the farm.

Body Paragraph 2 Character/Theme Analysis

8.

Topic Sentence
Make a statement
about what this
paragraph will
contain.

9.

Loyalty plays a major role in a relationship between a leader and his followers, but
Napoleon never appreciated the loyalty that the animals showed him.

Expand on the topic

sentence with a
description of the
character in general
terms but more
specific than in the
introduction
10. Include a primary
source quote to
support your analysis

Napoleons desire for full control of the farm makes him ridiculously selfish as he even
turns his back on the most loyal animal of the farm, Boxer.

11. Describe what your

primary source quote
does to support your
analysis. Why is it
important for the
reader to understand
your analysis?
12. Include a quote from
your secondary
source the
research.

After all the hard work Boxer put into building the windmill and satisfying Napoleon,
Napoleon shows no respect and gets rid of him like he is trash.

This quote should

support your analysis
and back up your
primary source quote.
13. Why is this
statement important
to include in your
analysis? What
further insight does it
provide? How does it
relate to your topic?

Napoleon did the unthinkable and got rid of Boxer and Sure enough, there in the yard was
a large closed van, drawn by two horses, with lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in
a low-crowned bowler hat sitting on the driver's seat. And Boxer's stall was empty
(Orwell n.pag.).

Snodgrass says, After wearing himself out with physical labor and misguided devotion to
Napoleon, 12-year-old Boxer longs to retire, but the pigs deceive him and dispatch him to
the local knacker (n.pag.).

The animals must wonder if they will receive the same fate as Boxer and get sent off to a
glue factory when Napoleon feels that they have no use on the farm.

14. Describe /

summarize the
characters
personality,
behaviors, etc. as
you have analyzed it
from the first several
chapters of the
novel.

Napoleon betrays Boxer and he will betray every animal on the farm once he decides they
cannot work to the expectations he has showing his extreme lack of appreciation.

Conclusion
The numerous abilities and powers that Napoleon obtains when ruling the farm makes him
an arrogant, selfish, and manipulative pig.

1.

Restate the thesis

statement/claim
See the first
sentence of the
sample essay.

2.

Include a secondary
source quote to
support your overall
ideas of character
development and
change within the
novel.

Napoleon tries to change everything on the farm to go his way and eventually makes a
pact with the farmer to again enslave the animals (Pearson n.pag.).

3.

Write one sentence

that summarizes the
analysis in your body
paragraph.

Napoleons desire and need for more power makes him exactly what the animals did not
want, which was a dictator who controlled them and did not believe in equality.

4. Describe /

summarize the
characters
personality,
behaviors, etc. as
you have analyzed it
in this essay.
Describe what the
result is from the
characters transition
or changes. What
happens to him in
the end?

Not only does Napoleons journey turn him from a follower to a leader, but he proves that
power and corruption can change someones ideas and views and make you turn your back
on even those that show you loyalty.

Ideas to Consider
www.globalpost.com How to Write a College Character Analysis Essay

Defining the Role

Whether youre putting together an analysis of a main character or a minor character, it is important that your essay address the
role she plays in the story. Some roles, such as the protagonist and antagonist, may be obvious. Main characters can also serve
more complex roles than the simple protagonist definition. A lead character can be an underdog, an anti-hero, a tragic hero or
even an unwilling hero.
Discovering the purpose of a minor character often takes closer examination. Minor characters may be flat, two-dimensional
people who remain unchanged throughout the course of a story, or three-dimensional, rounded characters who experience their
own metamorphosis. These characters might serve as foils for the main characters, as older and wiser advisers, as sidekicks or
even as obstacles the main characters must overcome.

Finding Motivation
Everyone wants something, especially a character in a literary work. Whether a hero desperate to complete a quest, a villain
determined to stop him or a minor character along for the ride, each character in a story will have identifiable wants and needs.
Quite often, though, what a character wants is in direct opposition to what he really needs. For example, a man longing for the
attention of a woman out of his league might need to realize that hell only find true love when he sees his female sidekick in a
romantic light. At the college level, character analysis essays should go beyond simply identifying the wants and needs
motivating the characters; they should also address how the characters affect one another.

Addressing the Arc

While some minor characters are unchanging, most characters will be markedly different at the end of a story than they were at
the beginning. While main characters, such as the protagonist, often make the most dramatic, obvious changes, minor
characters also have a story arc. They might make only subtle changes, such as a sidekick quietly letting go to allow the hero to
find love or finish her mission alone. The arcs of unchanging characters should also be addressed, as they will most likely have
encountered situations in which theyve made the choice not to change.
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Character-Analysis

Describe the physical appearance of the character and explain what the appearance reveals about the person.
Discuss the language that the character uses throughout the work. Does the character use the same language throughout or
does his or her choice of language change from the introduction to the conclusion?
If provided, include details about the background of the character (some of these details may have to be inferred).
Where/when was the character born and raised? What kind of education does the character have? How does the character's
past experience influence what he or she does or says?
Write about the personality of the character. Does the character act on emotions or reason? What values does the character
exhibit through words or actions? Does the character have goals or ambitions?
Describe and analyze the relationships that the character has with others in the story. Does the character lead or follow
others in the story? Does the character have close friends and family?
Explain the struggle or conflict that the character faces beyond the obvious what are the internal struggles as well as the
external conflicts.
Describe the important actions of the character. What do these actions tell the reader about the character and how the
character faces the conflict?