The Environment

It feels like Orwell hasn't put in any effort to descrivbe the environment. He descirbes everything briefly, but you are still able to get the picture. As following example: "Huge boulders, far too big to be used as they were, were lyingall over the bed of the quarry." (Animal Farm, 1945. George Orwell, p. 40). The details aren't in the environment, but the actions of the animals. This might be a reason why the book is short. Since he explains quite briefly, I connected the environment to my own experience, a children TV-show. The show is about the animals, especially the sheeps, not the humans. From there I got the picture of Animal Farm. When Moses the raven returns to the farm, after he had been away for some time, he describes the Sugarcandy Mountain.

'Up there, comrades,' he would say solemnly, pointing to the sky

with his large beak-'up there, just on the other side of that dark

cloud that you can see-there it lies, Sugarcandy Mountain, that

happy countrywhere we poor animals shall rest for ever from

our labours!'

(George Orwell, p. 78)

As the previous example, somehow you can get the picture of a place where you never have been. Even though you haven't experience any type of farms, I hope you can imagination a picture what the enviroment looks like. With the seasons and weather continuously changes after every chapter, it might be hard to describe the environment. But since the author doesn't explain more than briefly, the actions and the thoughts of the characters are more importent than the environment. Since you can imagine how a person freeze, or bleeding. And most people sure have a picture already of a farm, when they read the title. There is an old stone house, barn, fields with crops and grass fields. In many book the author usally begins to describe the environment. But Orwell started like this:

MR Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for

the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes.

With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side

he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the back door,

drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery,

and made his way up to bed, where Mrs Jones was already snoring.

(George Orwell, p. 1)

As I wrote before, the environment is described briefly. And not more detailed than this. In some book, like this one, the story is straight to the point, with no futher explainations. Then the environment is not needed as like other books. Even if descriptions are few, it doesn't mean that the novel is a bad book. In my opinion, this novel is worth to read.