Discuss the use of visions and dreams in ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Watership Down’ at the beginning of the novels. CAND 5

Discuss the use of visions and dreams in ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Watership Down’ at the beginning of the novels.

 

Both Animal Farm and Watership Down show the use of visions and dreams.

 

In the very beginning of Animal Farm Old Major makes a speech to the rest of the animals, the speech is about his dream that he has. Old Major explains his dream and tells the animals that they should rebel against humans and describes his dream as a world without humans. Old Major is passing on his knowledge of how good he thinks the world would be without man. From this point forward their vision is to rule the farm themselves. At the start of his speech he says ‘you have heard already about the dream I had but I will come to that later’, so from the very beginning his is holding all the animals in anticipation and manipulating them. This tells us that their vision is being controlled and adjusted to Old Majors dream and thoughts.

 

Old Major’s speech is finished with a song that he said he had forgotten the words to until his dream the night before. He claimed that the song was from old but the words fit with the present day. This shows that the speech has been structured and planned carefully in order to manipulate the other animals from the very beginning. He also uses his old age as a form of control to make the other animals think that he is correct because he has more knowledge. We can also see how Old Major uses control in speech when he asks a question but then answers it himself; this shows that he gives the animals no other option but to agree with him.

 

At the beginning of Watership Down Fiver is instantly cautious and uneasy about everything. Fiver has visions of evil and danger coming upon the warren, so from the beginning there is a vision of terror for the rabbits. After Fiver has a bad dream in the start of chapter 2 he tells Hazel they must go away. Fiver tells everyone that they should get to the hills and find a home where they can all live in peace and quiet and defend themselves from natural evils. Fivers vision is driven by fear of the unknown whereas the vision in Animal farm is driven by Old Major’s dream.

 

In Animal Farm, Old Major forces the idea of rebelling against humans whereas Fiver tries to warn the other rabbits about the risk they are in. Fiver is trying to help the warren and has good intentions whereas Old Major almost demands the other animals to do as he says and gets them to agree to his idea through his use of power and control.

 

Dreams and visions that are driven by good intentions can be said to be successful and achievable because in Watership Down the rabbits do achieve their dream but at a price because Hazel dies. This suggests that freedom and happiness isn’t free and is to be earned; this goes against what Old Major suggested to the animals in Animal Farm because he makes it sound like their dream for freedom will be easy to achieve. Whereas dreams and visions that begin with evil can be successful but not fulfilling because in Animal Farm even though they achieve the dream they always wanted, the pigs ironically resemble humans, which are seen to be their enemies, and have all the power and control. So their dream resulted in downfall because they are no better off than they were in the start.