Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of George Orwell’s language in his novel ‘Animal Farm’ on high school pupils’ perceptions. The research design adopted was the descriptive survey. The population of the survey were pupils in high schools in Chingola District. Five high schools were sampled within the District. From each school, ten (10) pupils were sampled giving the study a sample of fifty (50) pupils as participants. This study used simple random sampling. A questionnaire was used as the research instrument for the study which was distributed to the five schools which became the research sites. The instrument for data collection, having been piloted at the aforementioned research sites, was content validated. The instrument was found valid and reliable with Cronbach Alpha reliability co-efficient of 0.784.The study established that the language in George Orwell’s novel ‘Animal Farm’ was simple and easy to understand. This was mainly due to the author’s commitment to the simplicity of expression of ideas, thoughts and experiences in order to reach and satisfy the needs of his targeted audience. The respondents, also found the novel exhilarating because of the style of language and expression adopted by the author-that of using figurative language. This appealed especially to the learners’ senses and, therefore, helped them establish mental images as they read and experienced the story. The respondents found the author’s use of animals as characters entertaining.
