Ambedkar and Buddhism free essay sample

He was therefore vehemently critical of the hypocracies of Brahmanism. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar declared his firm resolve to change his religion in 1935 at Nasik district in Maharashtra â€Å"I was born a Hindu and I had no choice about that. But I will not die a Hindu†. THE NAGPUR DHAMMA DIKSHA : Ambedkar had been attracted towards Buddhism since his student days. On further study, he was convinced that the ‘untouchables’ could attain social equality and psychological liberation only through the teachings of Buddha. He undertook a detailed study of the religion and met numerous Buddhist scholars. He was greatly influenced by the writings of P. L. Narasu and other Tamil Buddhists, and also of Mahatma Jotiba Phule, a nineteenth century radical social reformer of Maharashtra. Ambedkar claimed that he had three gurus the Buddha, Kabir and Jotiba Phule. He travelled to Ceylon and Burma to see Buddhism being practised in these countries. We will write a custom essay sample on Ambedkar and Buddhism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the World Buddhist Brotherhood held at Rangoon (Burma) in 1954, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar delivered a historic speech and gave a clarion call: it would be a grave error to suppose that Buddhism disappeared from India without leaving its influence on Indian people and their culture. Dr. Ambedkar had made a meticulous study of all the contemporary world religions for nearly twenty years, after which he came to the conclusion that if the world must have a religion, then it can only be the religion of the Buddha. The year 1956 marks the beginning of a new era for the revival of Buddhism in the land of its origin. It was the year of the 2500th Buddha Jayanti and was celebrated all over the Buddhist world. Pandit Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, described this event as the â€Å"homecoming of Buddhism†. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with more than five lakh followers on the auspicious day of Ashoka Vijaya Dashmi (Dasera) on 14th October 1956. The oldest bhikkhu then in India, Mahasthavira Chandramani of Burma, came to Nagpur for the conversion ceremony, and initiated Ambedkar into Buddhism. The world witnessed this great event as an unprecedented phenomenon of mass conversion. This historical event acknowledges Dr. Ambedkar as the greatest revivalist of Buddhism in modern times and enhances the importance of his thoughts and interpretation of Buddhism. Another huge ceremony was held in Bombay ten days after Ambedkar’s death in which Andhra Kausalyayana, a Pali scholar and Hindi speaking Punjabi Brahmana monk, initiated thousands to Buddhism. But these massive conversions mainly affected only low castes, particularly the Mahars of Maharashtra, the community of Ambedkar, who had been involved for decades in a battle for political, social and religious rights. Their conversion, however, made the authority of ‘Babasaheb’ Ambedkar unquestioned for them. A few even refer to him as a ‘Second Buddha’ and describe the Nagapur Diksha as a new Dharma Chakra Pravartana. THE ‘BIBLE’ OF AMBEDKAR MOVEMENT : The chief vehicle for transmitting and interpreting the new faith of Ambedkar is his book The Buddha and his Dhamma. (Ambedkar, B. R. The Buddha and his Dhamma, Bombay 1974). It was written in English at the end of his life, published posthumously, and subsequently translated into Hindi and Marathi. It is a rationalized biography of the Buddha and contains a selection from Buddhist Pali works. In it the events of Buddha’s life are narrated in free style. Ambedkar’s aim was to produce a ‘Bible’, and so it has been, and continues to be, for his followers. For many of those who can read, it is the only Buddhist text which they have read, and for most of those who are illiterate, it is the only one which they have heard, having been read aloud to them. In ‘The Buddha and his Dhamma’, Dr. Ambedkar gave a unique interpretation of Buddhism. He had undertaken an in depth study and found the real teachings of Buddha. He substantiated his radical interpretation by presenting sermons and discourses of the Buddha delivered in various places. By his deep study of Buddhism, Dr. Ambedkar could bring out the original social message of Buddha. He was totally convinced by and extolled the teachings of the Buddha as the only panacea for the downtrodden and suffering masses, Ambedkar was fully convinced that the basic and ideal formation of our present society should be on the basis of Buddhism. Ambedkar recalled that the Buddha had commanded the first batch of sixty disciples in the following words, â€Å"go ye forth, monks and wander, for the gain of many, for the welfare of the many, out of compassion, for the worlds, for the good, for the gain and for the welfare of gods and man. † Dr. Ambedkar wanted to emphasize that Ahimsa and Peace were not the only messages given by Buddha to the humanity. He had also laid emphasis on equal opportunity to all, equal status for all (men and women), freedom of thought and universal brotherhood. Dr. Ambedkar determines the authenticity of the Buddha’s teachings by the following criterion, â€Å"There is one test which is available. If there is anything which could be said with confidence, it is: He (the Buddha) was nothing if not rational, if not logical. Anything, therefore, which is rational and logical, other things being equal, may be taken to be the word of the Buddha. The second thing is that the Buddha never cared to enter into a discussion which was not profitable for man’s welfare. Therefore, anything attributed to the Buddha which did not relate to man’s welfare cannot be accepted to be the word of the Buddha†. (Ambdkar, B. R. , The Buddha and His Dhamma, Bombay, 1974, IV. V. 12. 4). Thus Dr. Ambedkar greatly emphasised on the above two characteristics of the Buddha’s teachings, their rationality on one hand, and their social message on the other. Ambedkar describes Buddha as â€Å"a reformer, full of the most earnest moral purpose and trained in all the intellectual culture of his time, who had the originality and the courage to put forth deliberately and with a knowledge of opposing views, the doctrine of a salvation to be found here, in this life, in inward change of heart to be brought about by the practice of self-culture and self-control†. Ambedkar, B. R. , The Buddha and His Dhamma, Bombay, 1974, II. II. 7. 7). Dr. B. R. Ambedkar stated that Buddha was totally opposed to the Brahmanical belief of the infallibility of the Vedas. For to accept the infallibility of the Vedas meant complete denial of freedom of thought, to know the truth, one has to enjoy the freedom of thought. He also rejected the rituals and sacrifices. According to Dr. Ambedkar, Brahmanism propagated graded inequality, in the form of the ‘Chaturvarna’ or the four fold caste system, dividing the society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The Shudras and women were fully denied human rights, like the right to education, the ultimate means for achieving freedom. These were the reasons why the Buddha rejected Brahmanism, where as his Dhamma teaches the right relationship between man and man in all spheres of life. AMBEDKAR’s POINTS OF DEPARTURE FROM TRADITIONAL BUDDHISM : Ambedkar introduced a number of innovations in traditional Buddhism. These deviations or innovations may not be regarded as isolated phenomena. Fresh views on the Buddhist social ethics have been expressed in other countries of South and South-East Asia also, though evidently in Ambedkar’s Buddhism, the degree of divergence from traditional doctrine is much greater. Thus Ambedkar and his views can be seen as a part of a larger phenomenon of ‘modernisation’ of Buddhism in Asia. 1. The ‘rationalism’ of the Buddha serves chiefly, in Ambedkar’s Buddhism, to deny the existence of God and ‘atman’ whereas Buddha maintained silence on these questions, Ambedkar was very vocal and explicit on this question. According to Ambedkar there is no God who created from his body the four varnas (as opposed to Purusha Sukta of Rig Veda), and there is no atman to transmigrate and visit the sins of one life upon the next. Ambedkar wrote about Buddha’s first sermon, â€Å"He began by saying that his Dhamma had nothing to do with God and soul. His Dhamma had nothing to do with life after death†. (Ambedkar, B. R. , The Buddha and His Dhamma, Bombay 1974, II. II. 2. 14). Thus, according to Ambedkar, along with rationality and egalitarianism, ‘atheism’ is an important element of Buddhism. . Ambedkar’s rejection of the existence of atman led him to the rejection of ‘belief in Samsara, i. e. , transmigration of the soul’, ‘belief in moksha or salvation of the soul’, and ‘belief in Karma (as) the determination of man’s position in present life’. (Ambedkar, B. R. , The Buddha and His Dhamma, Bombay 1974, I. VII. 1. 1). 3. Ambedk ar interpreted the traditional Buddhist concept of ‘dukkha’ or ‘sorrow and suffering in the world’ as a social phenomenon. According to Ambedkar, ‘Man’s misery is the result of man’s inequity to man’. (Ambedkar, B. R. , The Buddha and His Dhamma, Bombay 1974, III. V. 2. 16). 4. Ambedkar gives a new account of the Mahabhinishkramana (Great Renunciation) of Gautama Siddhartha. According to him the cause for Gautama’s renunciation of his princely life were not the traditional Four sights. Instead, he suggests that the renunciation was the result of Gautama’s refusal to support a Sakya military action against the Koliya tribe in a feud over water rights. Siddhartha went into voluntary exile as a parivrajaka as he was determined not to participate in war. Ambedkar probably derived the idea for this interpretation of Mahabhinishkramana from the writing of Dharmanand Kosambi, who in his ‘Bhagavan Buddha’ published originally in 1940, had criticised the credibility of the story of the Four Sights and had turned to the Rohini water dispute that is described in the Kunala Jataka, in which the Buddha intercedes and recites the Attadanda Sutta decrying conflict and the use of force. 5. Ambedkar played down the role of Sangha in the history of Buddhism. According to him the difference between upasakas (lay-worshippears) and bhikkhus (monks) as to initiation of diksha turned out to be a grievous one â€Å"Sangha-Diksha included both, initiation into the sangha as well as into the Dhamma. But there was no separate Dhamma-Diksha for those who wanted to be initiated into the Dhamma, but did not wish to become members of the sangha. This was a grave omission. It was one of the causes which ultimately led to the downfall of Buddhism in India†. Ambedkar, B. R. , The Buddha and His Dhamma, Bombay 1974, V. IV. 1. 10-12). To amend this ‘grave omission’ Ambedkar invented the Dhamma-Diksha ceremony for the laity. He publicly expressed the opinion that the majority of modern bhikkhus had ‘neither learning nor service in them’, and urged monks to follow the example of Christian missionaries to reach the masses. 6. According to Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, India’s aboriginal stock had common ethnic roots which he id entified as Naga. Dr. Ambedkar pointed out in his conversion speech that Nagas were the chief propagators, who â€Å"spread the teachings of Bhagavan Buddha all over India†. The Koliyas, to whom Siddartha was related on his mother’s side, belonged to this ethnic stock. So the Nagas were connected to the Dhamma’s origins through blood, and were instrumental in its spread. Many of his followers see a symbolic significance in the choice of Nagpur, city of the Nagas, for the mass conversion of 1956. 7. The inclusion of ‘Babasaheb’ ambedkar as object of reverence is the most visible innovation adopted by his followers. Though Ambedkar is not worshipped as a God, but on every special occasion, his figure is garlanded after Gautam Buddha’s, incense is burnt, and Bhagwan Gautama Buddha and Paramapujya Babasaheb Ambedkar are addressed before any speech is delivered. Ambedkar is regarded as a Bodhisattva by some of his followers in recognition of his role as the saviour of modern Indian converts to Buddhism. Another way of honouring Ambedkar, is to include his name in the list of refuges i. e. , ‘Bhimam Sarvam gachchhami’, ‘I go for refuge to Bhimrao’ (Zelliot, Eleanor, op. ity P. 144) – thus the ‘Three Jewels’ becoming four. 8. The Buildings dedicated to the Buddhist religion of Ambedkar’s movement are not called temples or ‘mandira’, but ‘viharas’. The Buddhist ‘viharas’ were originally living quarters for the monks. But these ‘viharas’ are places where Buddha’s images are kept, and t he community can gather for lectures on Buddhism or for ‘vandana’ or songs. For the Ambedkarian Buddhists, the vihara serves mainly as a community centre (Zelliot, Eleanor, op. Cit. ,P. 146). 9. In 1956, when Ambedkar and his followers converted to Buddhism, there were very few Buddhist bhikkus in India, and none of them had Marathi as mother tongue. So in the beginning, Ambedkarian Buddhism was propagated by his Republican Party. However, soon, deeply influenced by Ambedkar, young Marathi leaders arose at the local level. The only Maharashtrian center for the training of bikkhus is that at Nagpur, where Bhadanta Ananda Kausalyayana built in 1970, a home and training center for Buddhist bhikkhus, on the same grounds where the 1956 mass conversion had taken place. 10. The followers of Ambedkar celebrate four great occasions – Dhamma Diksha Day, Buddha Jayanti, Ambedkar’s Death Memorial Day, and Ambedkar Jayanti. ASSESSMENT OF THE MOVEMENT : The innovations in Ambedkar’s Buddhist movement represent those elements in the past of the Buddhists that are important for their present progress: the exemplary work of Ambedkar himself, their social unity in the face of continued prejudice and their rejection of Hinduism as a religion of inequality. There is some retention of Hindu or traditional Indian customs – the ‘guru’ idea, the public processions, and the days honouring the birth and death of great men. Along with this amalgam of traditional Buddhism, the Mahar past, and the socio-religious practices of Hindu society in general, the Buddhist followers of Ambedkar have made some innovations on their own. The multi-purpose viharas and the initiative and responsibility of the lay leaders The innovations in Ambedkar’s Buddhist movement represent those elements in the past of the Buddhists that are important for their present progress: the exemplary work of Ambedkar himself, their social unity in the face of continued prejudice and their rejection of Hinduism as a religion of inequality. There is some retention of Hindu or traditional Indian customs – the ‘guru’ idea, the public processions, and the days honouring the birth and death of great men. Along with this amalgam of traditional Buddhism, the Mahar spast, and the socio-religious practices of Hindu society in general, the Buddhist followers of Ambedkar are the most striking of these. (Zelliot, Eleanor, p. 150-51). Thus Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s conversion to Budhdism on 14th October, 1956 with his lakhs of followers was indeed an epoch-making istorical event. Not only did it become a culminating point in his personal life, but it created for him a permanent place in the modern history of social and cultural transformation in India, and in the world at large. For nearly three decades Dr. Ambedkar had studied the comparative philosophical doctrines of different religions. He ultimately reached the conclusion that it was the philosophy of the Buddha that commanded permanent relevance to h uman society. He interpreted Buddhism in his own unique way so as to make it more relevant in the context of ever changing human society. REFERENCE BOOKS: 1 Ambedkar, B. R. , The Buddha and His Dhamma, 1974 2 Goyal, S R, Buddhism in Indian History and Culture, 2004 3 Basham, A L, The wonder that was India, 1998 4 Mungekar, Bhalchandra, Buddhism and the Contemporary World- An Ambedkarian Perspective,2007 5 Jaini, S Padmanabh, Collected Papers on Buddhist Studies, 2001 6 Bapat, P V, 2500 Years of Buddhism,1964

The Final Debate essays

The Final Debate essays The third and last debate was held on Wednesday, October 13, 2004. The debate, between President George Bush and Senator John Kerry, was a debate on domestic issues. Overall, I believe George Bush won the debate because he enforced equality among Americans, assured seniors about the Social Security system, and stated the facts on education in the country. Bush stated that improved education is the surest route to equality for all Americans. But let me talk about what's really important for the worker you're referring to, and that's to make sure the education system works, it's to make sure we raise standards. Listen, the No Child Left Behind Act is really a jobs act, when you think about it. The No Child Left Behind Act says we'll raise standards, we'll increase federal spending. But in return for extra spending, we now want people to measure, states and local jurisdictions to measure, to show us whether or not a child can read or write or add and subtract, said President Bush. President Bush assures that each child will obtain the necessary education to receive a college diploma. Bush shows that by measuring early, when they find a problem, they spend extra money to correct it. When Bush was asked about the estimated $1 trillion deficit the Social Security system faces, he sought to assure seniors that they are still going to get their checks as he tries to get Congress to consider reforms that would partially privatize the system for younger workers. I remember the 2000 campaign people said if George W. gets elected, your check will be taken away. Well, people got their checks. And they'll continue to get their checks, stated the President. Bush proved that the seniors continued to get their checks. Last, after Kerry accused Bush of cutting Pell Grants, a need-based college scholarship, Bush altered the accusation when he pointed out accurately that about 1 million more st ...

Current Issues in Computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Current Issues in Computing - Essay Example On the other hand there is differing perception in the manufacturers and the users in the heat density reduction parameters, which need rationalization. Thermal management also needs to be included while designing devices and the issue is likely to become more complex over the years. Reduction of power is also related to power aware computing, which is designing software and hardware to ensure optimum management of power. The growth of information technology has spawned a vast industry based around computers and information science. The impetus to economies and employment provided by computing ignores the silent yet alarming environmental hazard posed by systems compressed in small spaces requiring enormous amounts of power and generating large quantities of heat. Heat generated by computers is easily calculable, but one seldom takes into account the heat of hundreds of humans working in small spaces. There is increased awareness of environmental hazards of power and heat in computing, which are being addressed by the industry and academicians. The main issues to be considered are the nature and magnitude of the threat and measures that can be taken to minimize or overcome these. This is being carried out by a study of two prominent trends in computing environment, heat density and power aware computing. In this section we will examine the trends in power consumption and resulting heat dissipation in computers and data processing as well as storage systems and central office type telecommunications equipment. A White Paper, â€Å"Heat Density Trends in data Processing, Computer Systems and Telecommunications Equipment† is the main source of the study. (Uptime Institute: 2000). A number of other papers and presentations have also been considered to validate the trends in the Uptime Institute paper. There is a general feeling of smugness in the computing world generated by the

Write a response to the article Alone on a Hilltop Essay

Write a response to the article Alone on a Hilltop - Essay Example What exactly hit me about this reading was the relationship between the boy and different symbols of his religion. I have learned a couple of things from this article. First, a person is nothing without a religion because it is the religion, which protects us and guides us to the right direction. Second, every religion has a different set of perspectives, rituals, and beliefs that inspire its followers. This article reminds me of the day of my first school exam when I was feeling really scared. It was totally a new feeling for me and I was feeling very confused. I did not know how the exam would go and what it would be like. At that time, I recalled what my mother had said to me to do if I feel scared during exams. She had told me to close my eyes right before the exams for some seconds, think that God is with you, and feel that you are in the arms of your mother. She said that by doing this all my fear would go away. I did exactly this on the day of exams and surprisingly all my fea r went away and I became ready to do my best in the paper. Summing it up, my personal experience and that of the boy in this article show that the relationship between a person and his/her beliefs and religion is strong enough to get the person out of every difficult

Relationships between Indians and English at Jamestown Essay Example for Free

Relationships between Indians and English at Jamestown Essay Before the English founded Jamestown in 1607, the Pamunkey Americans who lived in the Chesapeake Bay area were aware of the other culture overseas (Kupperman, 1). The Americans had watched the establishment and eventual abandonment of the Roanoke settlement some twenty years before Jamestown and gained knowledge of English society (1). European ships frequented the bay for trade. A Pamunkey man, who the Spaniards took back to Spain and baptized as Don Luà ­s de Velasco, returned to his homeland in 1571 and further informed the Pamunkeys (1). Though the English would become dominant, the Native Americans might have been the more erudite of the two cultures to clash. Europeans sent reports home from America and told of complex native civilizations and formidable tribes (Kupperman, 1). In time, the English came to assume that Americans were accomplished people living in highly developed societies and to rely their crops and supplies when needed (1). If one successful population could thrive on that land, then another could surely overtake it ultimately (2). The Pamunkeys had their own sights for a newly established Jamestown (Kupperman, 1). They understood the typical European behaviors and manipulated them to exert control (1). With over thirty tribes under Pamunkey leader Powhatans command, the natives kept the mostly inept English apprehensive and directed the trading of goods (1). The colonists traded for and exported furs and gold to Europe (1). For the Americans, metal tools, copper ornaments, glass beads and other Europeans products benefited them greatly in exchange (1). The Pamunkeys and their allies had power over the trade westward inland, therefore expanding their influence (2). True to form, the English settlers were incompetent with coping in the New World and became dependant to the natives for support (Kupperman, 2). As the two sides learnt more of each other as they mingled, mutual relationships formed (2). The English wasnt completely destitute, however, and recuperated under Captain John Smiths leadership (2). The Americans and the English became relatively amicable, but after Smith left the colony, the  relations deteriorated and conflicts rebounded (2). Meanwhile, retrogression in Europe drove more desperate people to seek life elsewhere, even in a foreign land. Despite that the battle-mottled situation in Jamestown, the English colony grew stronger, invested successfully in tobacco exportation, and ceased to count on Native Americans for help (Kupperman, 2). Instead of being exploited, the balance of power shifted and became more advantageous for the English. This has been: Examination of Relationships found in Indians and English Meet on the James by Karen Kupperman, www.iath.virginia.edu/vcdh/jamestown/essays/kupperman_essay.html

Who Is To Blame For Our Actions :: essays research papers

Assumption of Risk: Who is to Blame For Our Actions The doctrine of "assumption of risk" clearly defines the responsibility of all voluntary actions taken on by individuals, independent of the inherent risk or danger involved with such actions. Are we only to assume responsibility for the positive outcomes of our actions, without also accepting the negative outcomes as well? Most individuals only claim responsibility in cases in which they are fully responsible for their actions. Living within a country which houses a large amount of private enterprise, we often find ourselves relying on outside help. In many occasions we, the individual seeking assistance, hold the power to choose which avenue of help will be taken. In these cases in which we have the choice, should we not also be held responsible for the outcomes of our decisions, especially in cases in which we have been pre-warned about any inherent risks or dangers? For example, When we take it upon ourselves to drive on a private road, smoke cigarettes, work for a mining company, or fly on a discount airline at our own volition, do we tacitly consent to take responsibility for any outcome these actions may hold? The "assumption of risk" doctrine seems to ignore the fundamental obligation of entities to ensure their natural goals. The distinguishing factor in deciding responsibility in faultless cases which call on the "assumption of risk" doctrine is the control held by individuals after the situation has begun. In accordance, companies such as discount airlines and cigarette companies must take on the responsibility of completing their duties, while individuals who chose to work in a mine or drive on a private road must accept the responsibility of their actions to do so. All airlines hold the responsibility of transporting their customers from a point of origin to a previously designated destination. The person who agrees to buy a discount airline ticket, which warns to "fly at your own risk," is entitled to receive the minimum service of transportation provided by the airline. The individual traveler should assume no other benefits other than transportation. The airline company claims this act of transportation to be its goal of services rendered. Independent of difficulties which may arise in completing this goal, the airline may not alter the basic duty which it is contractually obligated to perform. The airline tacitly consented to perform this basic duty the moment they began transporting individuals for an accepted payment. Once an individual has boarded the airplane they render all control over their safety to the accepting airline which holds the minimum responsibility of returning the individual back to a state of safety once their

Discuss the Role of Benjamin and the Sheep in Animal Farm

Discuss the role of Benjamin and the Sheep. In the novel ‘Animal Farm’ written by George Orwell both Benjamin the donkey and the sheep are introduced on page two, â€Å"Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered† and â€Å"the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs. † This is the first introduction of the animals on the farm and it immediately gives the reader an indication about how important they will be in the novel as the sheep have not even been described all the reader knows is where they lay and gives the reader an idea on their status compared to the other animals.Benjamin’s next appearance is on page eighteen when he expresses his attitude towards the rebellion, â€Å"about the rebellion and its results he would express no opinion†. This tells the audience that Benjamin is a bad â€Å"tempered† character but not this it hints to the reader that he has a pessimistic attitude towards life. Benjamin is ver y important in terms of his opinions towards the rebellion as he helps to foreshadow the rebellion reverting backwards as â€Å"donkeys live a long time. † This tells the reader that he has seen it all happen before and that nothing every stays right for long.Despite Benjamin being a miserable character, he still fought in the batter of the cowshed, â€Å"Snowball now launched his second line of attack. Muriel, Benjamin and all the sheep†. This shows how Benjamin just does what he is told, and that he isn't an argumentative character this could be because of his cynic attitude as he knows everything is going to go wrong anyway because â€Å"donkeys live a long time†. This helps the audience to question whether or not the rebellion will be successful or not as Benjamin is always used to help lower the optimism of the animals throughout the book.Benjamin and the sheep show a good contrast as they are both very similar in the ways that they are controlled and order ed. However the sheep do not have the knowledge which Benjamin knows as they have not seen things come and go. The sheep are in the same line of attack as Benjamin and I think this shows that the animals in this line of attack are very similar. This infers to the reader that if the rebellion was to revert backwards they would all be equally powerless and hopeless.Benjamin’s cynic attitude is maintained throughout the novel and is again shown to be a miserable character, â€Å"only old Benjamin refused to grow enthusiastic about the windmill, though as usual, he would utter nothing beyond a cryptic remark that donkeys live a long time†. This was said on page forty three and it reminds the reader about the possibility of the windmill going wrong and this is playing a big role in the prefiguring of the windmill failing to be built successfully as he has seen many things go wrong in his lifetime.Even thought Benjamin is the â€Å"worst tempered† animal on the farm h e still shows a lot of affection towards Boxer, â€Å"without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer. † This was said in his character description on page two and it helps to show Benjamin as a human and it makes the audience think about him in society and the impact that he has. By looking at him like this we are able to start to understand the lack of power these animals have compared to the other human beings in society.This plays a huge role in our understanding of status and higherarky around the farm as we are able to interpret the farm animals as human beings. Benjamin is character that does not like to get involve because he knows something is always going to go wrong, â€Å"Clover asked Benjamin to read her the sixth commandment, and when Benjamin, as usual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters. † This was said on page fifty-six and it shows Benjamin’s pessimistic attitude as he does not want to take any interest into what is going on ar ound him as he knows what is eventually going to happen through his life experiences.Benjamin can sometimes come across as a smug character due to his knowledge and this helps to reinforce to the reader that things are not going to work out on the farm, â€Å"slowly, and with an air almost of amusement, Benjamin nodded his long muzzle†. The word â€Å"amusement† portrays Benjamin to be smug at this moment in the book because he knew that the windmill was going to go wrong. This makes the audience think that every cynical statement that Benjamin says it likely to be true making his function very important as it helps the reader to understand what is going to happen in the following chapters.Benjamin is also seen again on page sixty-eight and we know again that something is going to go wrong again, â€Å"except old Benjamin, who nodded his muzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing. † The reader is now starting to see a trend in Ben jamin’s senses, â€Å"with an air almost of amusement† and â€Å"with a knowing air† (page 68) these very similar sentences tell the reader that Benjamin could see all of this happening and that he knew everything was going to go wrong. The role of Benjamin is to help prefigure what is going o happen, so when he urges boxer to slow down on page sixty-nine, â€Å"Benjamin urged Boxer to work less hard† the reader knows straight away that Boxer is going to get seriously hurt. This is very shocking for the reader because his death is prefigured on page five, â€Å"Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker. † This shows how close Benjamin and Boxer are but also prefigures the death of Boxer which is done using the knowledge which boxer has retained from his long life.Benjamin has a family like relationship with Boxer, â€Å"Benjamin, who lay down at Boxer’s side, and, without spea king, kept the flies off him with his long tail. † On page seventy-five audience see Benjamin showing his compassion towards Boxer and it helps use see Benjamin as a real person and this plays a big role in how we feel when we read on as when Boxer does get taken away to the knackers we see Benjamin and Boxer as people and it makes it more distressing and more heart breaking for the reader. After Boxer’s death Benjamin becomes more miserable and quiet and his attitude gets worse, â€Å"more morose and taciturn than ever. (page 80) Suddenly Benjamin has become even more cynical possibly because life has got worse than he expected. Benjamin’s role in the novel is to now express the lack of hope there is on the farm especially as Boxer was symbolic of hope and now all hope has gone Benjamin is there to symbolise that to the audience so they are able to understand how bad things are getting on the farm. Benjamin plays a big role on page eighty-four when he reads out the last broken commandment for Clover, â€Å"for once Benjamin consented to break his rule and he read out to her what was written on the wall. This is very striking because Benjamin knew that â€Å"some animals are more equal than others† all along and it is very upsetting for the reader as all hope is lost for the animals and all the animals know that now through the breaking and changing of the commandments. The sheep are used to heckle other farm animals so that it is impossible for any opinions to be raised. The sheep are often heard when Squealer is talking to the other farm animals about changes which have taken place on the farm, â€Å"of late the sheep had taken to bleating ‘four legs good, two legs bad’ both in and out of season†.The sheep are very easily manipulated because of their lack of intelligence and Napoleon was keep to take advantage of this to use it in his favour so Snowball would get interrupted during his speeches, â€Å"especia lly liable to break into ‘four legs good, two legs bad’ at the crucial moments in Snowball’s speeches. † This was due to Napoleon training them like he did with the dogs. The role of the sheep is to interrupt Snowball so that Napoleon is able to get his own way. The sheep have little knowledge and power on the farm which is why they are the animals to be manipulated to work in Napoleons favour.On Pages twenty-nine, thirty-two, thirty-four and forty the sheep either interrupt Snowball whilst he is talking, â€Å"occasionally interrupted by bleating from the sheep† or they are heard to prevent any discussion developing so that Napoleon is able to get his way, â€Å"tremendous bleating of ’four legs good, two legs bad’ which went on for nearly a quarter of an hour which out an end to any chance of discussion†. The sheep are used to stop the farm animals from asking any questions which could possibly cause the rebellion to progress t his allows Napoleon to take charge and to take what the animals work for without questions.The sheep are also potentially used to scare the other farm animals, because the sheep are very easily manipulated it is quite possible that Napoleon had forced them to confess to a crime which that had committed, â€Å"then a sheep confessed to having urinated in the drinking pool – urged to do this, so she said† (page 53). More sheep continued to confess to various crimes and their role is to sacrifice themselves so that the other farm animals would be too scared to stir up a rebellion against Napoleon.The sheep are seen again on page fifty-six carrying out the same role of heckling so that the other animals do not get a chance to protest, â€Å"some of the animals might possibly have protested, but at this moment the sheep set up with their usual bleating of ‘four legs good, two legs bad’†. This ensured that Napoleons decision of the abolishment of ‘B eats of England’ did not get argued against as the moment which they could have possibly said anything had already passed.This role which the sheep undertake is very important in terms of the rebellion reverting backwards as if they didn’t interrupt the positive ideas the Snowball came up with they could be living better lives. Not only this but if they didn’t bleat out ‘four legs good, two legs bad’ after Napoleon makes a change the animals may have been able to rebel to Napoleon’s ideas resulting in a better life for the farm animals. The sheep are very easily manipulated and when they get taken away by squealer on page eighty-three we know something bad is going to happen, â€Å"squealer ordered the sheep to follow him†.We know something bad is going to happen as Napoleon did the same thing with the young puppies from Jessie and Bluebell. The sheep had been taken to convince the other farm animals that walking on two legs was good, â€Å"four legs good, two legs better†. This shows how the pigs are better than the farm animals as they are now walking on their â€Å"hind legs†. The sheep repeat this so much that the animals do not get a chance to protest, â€Å"it went on for five minutes without stopping. And by the time the sheep had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed. This is the sheep’s’ main role so that the pigs are able to do what they want without the other animals protesting allowing the rebellion to revert further and further backwards. Overall, the main role of Benjamin is to prefigure the failure of the rebellion through his pessimistic attitude and through his life experiences as donkeys live a long time. And the sheep are used to help manipulated the animals into thinking that what the pigs are doing is a good thing but also to prevent them from protesting so that the pigs are able to maintain their power and carry on doing what they want like a d ictator would.