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English EE - Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies


Vinicius

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Hey, 

I started my extended essay in english, comparing Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies. My topic is "To what extent do Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies provide a clear depiction of authoritarianism?", in which I compare the the farm rule under Napoleon, and the the island rule under Jack.  I reached around 1,200 words, comparing both regimes to each other, and to the aspects that make an authoritarian regime, and i started to think that this topic doesn't extensively explore literature, and diverts from the purpose of the extended essay in literature. Is the topic fine, or should it be more connected to the literature aspect? 

Thanks

 

 

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Both books were written in the years after WWII so it may be interesting to see if they reflect any real world events. Look for common motifs or styles employed by these two authors, in their other works (eg 1984), and in other books of their time. 

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2 hours ago, kw0573 said:

Both books were written in the years after WWII so it may be interesting to see if they reflect any real world events. Look for common motifs or styles employed by these two authors, in their other works (eg 1984), and in other books of their time. 

I have to respectfully but firmly disagree with this.

I was inculcated with the idea that IB only care about the effect of the studied work. IB are clear about that.

Thus, I also would warn against considering any other of Orwell's writings if Animal Farm is the only work in the research question. I would also outright tell you to not waste time writing on history or inspirations of the author. Animal Farm's allegory is not subtle; you should acknowledge it the paper as you have, but don't try to link plotting to the Ukrainian famine, for example. There's a few reasons for this:

  • IB want you to explain what the author did in his writing to convey a message/effect. Talking about real-life historical events does not do this. (short acknowledgements of allusions/allegories can be useful)
  • Short acknowledgements of allusions/allegories should always lead to and set up for a longer analysis of yours on the their utility as literary devices/what is their literary significance.
  • Avoid focusing on commonly-known, non-profound topics (Even people who haven't read Animal Farm usually know that that it's a critical allegory of the Bolshevik Revolution and rule. It's common knowledge and not difficult to discover. You'll do better offering you unique opinions about the effect of the work/how did the author develop the effect/what is the work's theme.)

@Vinicius's concerns are justified. Don't try to define what a totalitarian regime is/isn't. That's way outside of the scope of the essay, and, to be fair, Lord of the Flies is not at all a political novel in my opinion. Even if it were, stick to literature and literary devices. Your Extended Essay might not win awards for being an intellectual masterpiece, but trust me, IB prefers students to stay in their domain.

P.s. I had a similar experience but it was reversed; I focused too much on literature in a History IA and was severely moderated down for it. It's good that you realized it early and can make adjustments now to set yourself up for success. You've probably already done a lot of good work, so if you stay motivated then this shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Good luck.

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I mostly agree with what @Nomenclature said. It's a however a good idea to consider the social context under which the work is written. I say this because in the Literature Written Task, examiners have frequently given the feedback that students have not adequately explored a work's social context. That is not to mean that one should go on pages about any historical events but 

1 hour ago, Nomenclature said:
  • Short acknowledgements of allusions/allegories should always lead to and set up for a longer analysis of yours on the their utility as literary devices/what is their literary significance.

Adding to what the previous post said about staying in literature analysis, it would be essential to compare between the two works, but perhaps you should shy away from comparing to any real life authoritarian regime as that break away from literary analysis. It's probably also a good idea to not bring up any model of authoritarianism and try to fit the books into the model because that's probably not how the books were written and may steer off-track to another discipline.

As for 1984, I just meant that cursory discussions of additional work will likely support any argument made about author's stylistic choices.  

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@kw0573@Nomenclature @shellziess Thanks for the support! I reread it and realised that I have completely drifted away from the literary aspect of the essay, which is the most important one. After sleeping on it, would you think that a research question, such as, "How is the failure of utopia explored in Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies?" a question that would lead to more literary analysis? 

In the introduction I would be able to the context in which the books were brought up, post WWII, and explain how the this influenced the authors in their novels. 

Thanks again!!

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