Napoleon In Animal Farm

Words: 710
Pages: 3

The Immoral Actions of Napoleon and Fishel Shilsky “Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him...” said Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 19th century Russian philosopher, regarding wrongdoing in this world. Iniquity is apparent throughout the world and is often difficult to understand. This commonly causes humans to react more sympathetically to the people that the wrongdoers interact with. The actions of Napoleon in Animal Farm by George Orwell and Fishel Shilsky in The Color of Water by James McBride shows how the immoral actions of characters makes readers react more sympathetically than they otherwise might. Undoubtedly the actions of Napoleon in Animal Farm demonstrates immorality and injustice. …show more content…
Fishel Shilsky, the father of Ruth McBride, is “an Orthodox rabbi” who is described as “hard as a rock” (McBride 19). Throughout the memoir, Shilsky’s immoral actions are described as being directed towards family members. Shilsky had “absolutely no love” for Hudis, his wife, even though she “kept the religious of a Jewish housewife and was loyal to [him] (McBride 45). Hudis was “in overall poor health… nearly blind in her left eye and walked with a severe limp”, (McBride 19) yet, Shilsky would threaten to send her and the children back to Europe even though she was terrified of there (McBride 27). Presenting Shilsky’s unjust behavior toward Hudis causes the reader to feel sorrow over how much she is being abused by her own husband and allows readers to sympathize with Hudis. Furthermore, Shilsky exhibited immoral behavior toward his own children by making them work from morning to night and punishing them for trivial things; especially Sam, who just “left home and never came back” (McBride 60). Shilsky moreover molested Ruth while she was young and helpless to stop his utterly immoral behavior (McBride 45). The presentation of Shilsky’s actions towards his children causes the readers to have a better understanding of why the children did certain things in their lives, which is attributed to their lack of love and affection from a father. Hence, Shilsky’s behavior causes the readers to react …show more content…
Napoleon in Animal Farm and Fishel Shilsky in The Color of Water shows how the complete rendition of a character makes readers react with more empathy toward those who the immoral characters interact with. Dostoyevsky’s dictum that understanding the actions of an evildoer is impossible certainly holds truth and it is capable of causing immense changes in