Animal Farm

Communication is the process of transferring information and meaning between senders and receivers, using one or more written, oral, visual, or electronic media. The essence of communication is sharing providing data, information, insights and inspiration in an exchange that benefits both you and the people with whom you are communicating. The book ‘Animal Farm’, by George Orwell, illustrates different types of communication between the animals and humans and shows the parallels that exist in business communication.

In Chapter 1 of Animal Farm, Old Major, the white Boar, gathered all the animals in the barn to talk to them about his dream and his thoughts. He was highly regarded on the farm and communicated effectively to all the different animals and greatly grasped their attention. All the animals had respect for Old Major as he was seen as the leader of the animal farm. As the animals listen raptly, Old Major delivers up the fruits of his years of quiet contemplation in his stall. Old Major relates a dream that he had the previous night, of a world in which animals live without the tyranny of men: they are free, happy, well fed, and treated with dignity. He urges the animals to do everything they can to make this dream a reality and exhorts them to overthrow the humans who purport to own them. A brief conversation arises in which the animals debate the status of rats as comrades. Major then provides a precept that will allow the animals to determine who their comrades are: creatures that walk on two legs are enemies; those with four legs or with wings are allies. He reminds his audience that the ways of man are completely corrupt: once the humans have been defeated, the animals must never adopt any of their habits; they must not live in a house, sleep in a bed, wear clothes, drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, touch money, engage in trade, or tyrannize another animal. Old Major’s dream presents the animals with a vision of utopia, an ideal world.

Here we see the...