Exemplar essay for hidden figures and animal farm comparative compare contrast essay

1. Animal Farm Vs Hidden Figures Essay
Intro
1. Respondto the questionpromptfor text 1
2. Respond tothequestion prompt for text2
3. Draw a rough comparisonfor later analysis
4. Authorial Intent Text 1 andreference tocontext
5. Authorial Intent Text 2 andreference tocontext
6. Body Paragraph1 signposting
7. Body Paragraph2 signposting
8. Body Paragraph3 signposting
9. Overall–Summary / Conclusion statement
Essay Question: Compare how power is conveyed in Animal Farm and Hidden Figures.
In George Orwell’s allegorical novel ‘Animal Farm’powerisconveyedinawayto show that power
will corruptthose whocontrol it. In Theodore Melfi’s docudramaHiddenFigures powerisshownas
beingheldbyall charactersin the film. These twotextsare fromverydifferent erasandbothshow
differenttypesof poweranddifferentwaysthatpowercanaffectpeople. Inregardstopower
Theodore Melfi aimstoshowthatpoweris a somethingthatcanbe foughtforand achievedthrough
thoughtful andcareful action,abelief thatfitswellwiththe eraitwasproduced,2017. By contrast
George Orwell showsthatpowerissomethingthatinevitablybecomes corruptedandsomething
that isusedto oppressothers whichfitswell withhiscontextof 1945 andhis attack onStalinand his
corruption.Firstly,the conceptof personal powerwill be considered andthe waythat personal
powercan achieve greatthings. Secondly, powerwill be consideredinthe formof leadership.
Thirdly,powerwill be consideredinregardsto prejudice andthoughsystemsthatsupportdiffering
levelsof power. Overall, bothtextsofferverydifferentconceptionsof poweranditseffecton
humanity.
• Topicsentence explainsthe keyideaof the paragraph
• E x2 – Outline the focusof yourevidence
• E x2 - Explanation
• reference topresentworldx2
• Linkingsentence
Firstly,powercanbe retainedwithinanindividual inthe formof personal power,thoughhow
effectivethe powerful personswill be ultimately dependingonthe societyof the time. InAnimal
Farm Orwell depictsaworldwhere personal powercanbe twistedto othersaimsbasedon the
societythatit existsin. Forexample,twocharactersthatown significantpersonal power are Old
Major and Boxer,Boxer’spersonal power ishisstrengthandfortitude,whilstOldMajor’spersonal
powerishisideas. InAnimal Farmthe outcome of Boxer’spersonal poweristhathe isworkeduntil

2. he ultimatelydiesfromoverworkandhisblindcommitmenttoNapoleonmeanshe killsayoung
stable boy. Boxerisfamedforhissaying,“Napoleonisalwaysright”,whichshowsthathispersonal
poweris definitelynotintelligence,butratherhisstrengthandpersistence. Hisresponsetoevery
problemis,“Iwill workharder”,whichshowsthatif your personal powerisnotintelligence thenyou
will ultimatelybe exploitedandendupdead. WhilstOldMajor’spersonal powerwere hisworld
changingideas,whichhe retained untiljustbeforehe died. Orwell notestowardsthe endof the
novel that“the skull (of OldMajor) had alreadybeenburied.”,whichsummarisesthe ultimate effect
of OldMajor’sideas,he endsupnot onlydead,as wasexpected,buthisideasare forgottenand
distortedtosuchan extreme degree thatitmayhave beenbetterif he hadtakenhisideaswithhim
to the grave. Therefore,inanimal farmpersonal powerissomethingthatdoesnothelpindividuals
to shape theirworld.Bycontrast,Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures showsaworldwhere powercan
effectchange atleaston an individual,if notsocietal,level. The keycharacterswhowieldpersonal
powerare Mary Jackson,DorothyVaughnand Katherine Goebel /Johnson, eachof these characters
possessstrongskillsetsbutalsostrongpersonal powerandawillingnesstoovercome obstacles. All
three protagonistsare constantly pushingagainstthe prejudicial mindsetsof the societymore
broadly,butalso specificallywithinthe workplace of NASA. ForKatherine,herpersonalstrengthis
herintelligence whichallowshertomake herself irreplaceableandimportanttothe East computing
sectionof NASA.WhilstMaryhas the mindof an engineerbutshe notes,“Mr. Zielinski,I'ma negro
woman.I'm notgonna entertainthe impossible.”,whichshowsthatshe hasthe skillsof anengineer
but alsothat she understandsthe constraintsof hersociety. Dorothy’sstrengthisherabilityto
organise andsupervise herpeersandtobringpeople togetherandcreatingasense of sisterhood
and community. InHiddenFigures,all three of these charactersare positionedwithinthe setand
throughthe positioningof the camera,mostlyinthe formof low angle shots,as lesspowerfulthan
the otherpeople inthe film. Thismakesitclearthattheirrole inthe societyandthe filmisless
powerful thanothers,thoughinotherscenesMelfi depictsthemaspowerful andfearlessthrough
the strong actingof eachcharacter. Overall inHiddenFigurespersonal powerovercomessmall
obstacles butitis veryreliantonthese verycharacteristics forthispowertohave anyeffect. Whilst
personal powerimpactsuponHiddenfiguresstrongly,andlesspowerfullyin Animal Farm, another
keyformof powercomesinthe form of leadership.
Secondly,
Powerisimportantinbothtexts,thoughin Animal Farmpowerissomethingnegative anddamning.
In HiddenFigures,powerisbothsomethingthat canempoweranddisempowerothers,but
ultimatelypersistenceovercomes authoritativeanddiscriminatorypower. Orwell suggeststhe more
negative aspectsof powertoillustrate throughallegoryhis viewsonJosephStalinandthe failure of
Communism.Melfi suggeststhe modernconceptionof personal exceptionality,thatIndividuals can
overcome significantissueswithinsociety.Firstly,personal powerwasdiscussedinregardstoOld
Major and Boxerand the three keyprotagonistsof HiddernFigures.Secondly,powerinthe formof
leadership wasconsideredinthe formof Al Harrisonand VivianMitchell andalsoNapoleonand
Squealer.Thirdly, powerinregardsto leadershipstructureswasconsideredinregardstoManor
Farm and NASA andthisformof powerseffectonpeople. Overall,powerisshowninvastlydifferent
waysin these twotexts.