Young Writers Society

Hello! So, I have yet another English essay due Friday, and this here is a work in progress: Please comment, rite your thoughts, dislikes, etc! Note: It is far from finished, but I will continue to post as I get farther.

The concept of reality has posed as a cultural enigma for centuries, bringing to question the very essence of one’s existence, and possibly impinging on preconceived boundaries of life itself. The ability to discern between the truth and fiction is weakened by manipulation, setting many up as a vulnerable target for corruption. In both “Animal Farm” and “Gilgamesh” the characters are positioned by others at the threshold between illusion ad reality, and are given the arduous task of determining in which world they are to live This decision provides them with an apparition of free will despite their lack of control over the future. The deceitful nature of the choice exemplifies the manipulation shown throughout both works, and how it constructs the lives of the characters.
Through the act of manipulation, one has the opportunity to embark on a new reality, but doing so also entails the surrender of the right’s to one’s destiny. In “Animal Farm,” the Animal Revolution allows the inhabitants of the farm to unite for the common cause of animal supremacy, but quickly loses individual power as the idea of mass force is encouraged. According to “The Seven Commandments of Animalism,” “all animals are equal,” a right that both discourages favoritism and at the same time grossly combines each entity into one conglomerate being. The animals are reduced to the measure of their strength, used for the sole purpose of accomplishing work. In such a system, there is no place for the “individual,” as leaders would be unable to execute the same control over the group. Although the animals on the farm far outnumber the pigs, they lack the force to overthrow them due to the pigs brutal tactics, a representation of the vast distance their power encompasses. As the pigs become increasingly corrupt, they extinguish the individuality of the animals and any thoughts of rebellion through the act of starving their opposition, the hens (“Napoleon acted swiftly and 
ruthlessly. He ordered the hens' rations to be stopped, and decreed that 
any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished 
by death”). In this scenario, the hens are the few souls brave enough to challenge authority and ultimately are martyrs for their cause. Their fate of the animals had been sealed as early as when they encouraged the Animalist movement, reducing their lives to marionettes void of a self-determined future.
In the epic “Gilgamesh,” Gilgamesh seduces Enkidu with the revelries of civilization, or a life away from the forest, a temptation that offers adventure in exchange for his identity. Enkidu’s status as half-man, half- animal catches him between two contrasting worlds, allowing him to be easily coerced to join one or the other. In order to convince him to join the human world, Gilgamesh sends a prostitute to Enkidu who tells him about civilization. “Why do you still want to run with the animals? You are a human being now, not like them. You are like a god, like Gilgamesh. I will lead you to Uruk where you belong (page 20).” The prostitute forces Enkidu to become self-aware and disregard his ways of the forest for a stronger calling to Gilgamesh. By doing so, Enkidu relinquishes the animal portion of his identity and the power to decide his fate.
One’s reality is dependent upon the manipulations that created it, and the power of outside forces acting upon it. In such a world, constancy becomes an unachievable feat, as it is impossible to provide it in an environment that thrives on instability. This perpetual change provides for the success of the manipulator, as it allows them to be in control of the options given to others, and creates a “game” where only they know the rules. In “Animal Farm,” the commandments of Animalism change in correspondence with the capricious atmosphere, altering the lives of the animals they include. The pigs take advantage of the animal’s faith in their leader and exploit the very laws they originally created, exemplifying the inconsistency of manipulation.