Animal Farm as Booker’s Seven Basic Plots Analysis: Tragedy Plot
Plot Type :
Anticipation Stage
Old Major identifies the animals’ general dissatisfaction with their world and roles; he declares that a rebellion is needed.
This is about as clear-cut as anticipation gets. Even the reader is looking forward to the Rebellion.
The Dream Stage
The animals successfully rebel. For a few minutes at least, it seems as though all their dreams will come true.
Literally, the animals proceed to have dreams. These dreams don’t sound terribly different than old Major’s dreams, either. And with all these dreams flying around, we’re thinking it’s the "dream stage."
Frustration Stage
Things start to go downhill, what with the public massacres and all. Problems are both internal (the executions, oppression, starvation) and external (invasions and attack).
We’re all extremely frustrated right now. What’s interesting is that, the animals aren’t quite smart enough to follow this tragedy trajectory themselves. So who does? The reader. That’s right. We go through the frustration stage (and the stages to follow), feeling for the animals what they aren’t quite capable of feeling themselves. So we’re using our own emotional reaction to gauge the plot’s movement. Which is so self-involved, we know.
Nightmare Stage
The pigs have gotten worse and worse, as has the quality of life of the animals. Boxer’s death is the culmination of this nightmare stage.
Things have gone from bad to way, way worse in a way that resembles a boogie-man type nightmare. We identify as the nightmare stage the culmination of all things bad in Animal Farm.
Destruction
The ideals of Animalism and the hopeful dreams of old Major are completely destroyed when it becomes apparent that the pigs are even more oppressive and corrupt than Jones.
What’s destroyed? Dreams. Visions. Any semblance of justice or equality. Why are all these things getting destroyed? Because, my friend, you are now in…the destruction stage. Such a fitting note on which to end a tragedy, isn’t it?
