In both
and Julius Caesar, we're presented with elite power
struggles in which the masses are largely bystanders. In 's story, a radical revolution takes
place which is supposed to result in the empowerment of the poor benighted farm animals. Yet as
soon asand his gang have achieved power they proceed to repress, starve, and kill the very
creatures in whose name the Animalist revolution was carried out. One elite has simply been
replaced by another. Ultimately, neither man or beast has the interests of the ordinary farm
animals at heart.
In Julius Caesar, each side in the
elite power struggle tries to get the Roman plebs on their side. Brutus makes an impassioned
speech at Caesar's funeral in which he tries to justify his assassination, knowing as he does
how much the common people loved him and how restless they are in the wake of his murder. In his
own speech, Mark Antony then uses the love of the plebs for their fallen leader to turn them
against Brutus and the...
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