Animal Farm Language Analysis

George Orwell, a prolific writer and the author of many award winning allegories, once said, “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” Animal Farm is an satirical fable by George Orwell that mocks the vices of authority figures in Stalinist Russia. Each animal in the novel symbolizes a person or group in Russia from 1930 to 1953. The animals of Manor Farm in England decide to revolt against Mr. Jones, a farmer who oppresses and controls them on a daily basis. The pigs lead the farm animals in hope of a utopian society, but the disproportionate control of knowledge causes the farm to fall back into a hierarchical regime in which Napoleon, a pig dictator, abridges the farm’s fundamental commandments and rules

These relate to the theme because they further emphasize how an imbalance in power in government can negatively impact the minds of feeble citizens if propaganda is put into play. This connects to Russia from 1930 to 1937 when posters falsely proclaiming Russia’s success and gains were put up. This is similar to Animal Farm because Napoleon's picture was put up next to the Seven Commandments, and a poem glorifying him was made. As you can see, in this situation, Animal Farm is compared to Russia in the way that they both use propaganda to convince the minds of their citizens that they are under good control and circumstances. “A terrible sight had met their eyes. The windmill was in ruins… Unable at first to speak, they stood gazing mournfully at the litter of allen stone. Napoleon paced to and fro in silence, occasionally snuffing at the ground. ‘Comrades,’ he said quietly, ‘do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!’ he suddenly roared in a voice of thunder… There was a cry of indignation, and everyone began thinking out ways of catching Snowball if he should ever come back” (Orwell 69-70). Napoleon

When Napoleon is starting to gain power, he attempts to appeal to the animals’ needs and desires. However, later on he morphs into a brutal murderer when he pressures the animals into confessing their crimes, whether they were true or not. Later, “when they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess… When it was all over, the remaining animals, except for the pigs and dogs, crept away in a body. They were shaken and miserable” (Orwell 84). This indirectly characterizes Napoleon as a vice-ridden dictator who utterly shatters the animals’ last bits of hope for a safe and equal society. This serves as a turning point for the animals because they were left “shaken and miserable,” which contrasts to their jubilance after being freed from Mr. Jones. Napoleon is well aware that he is above the other animals because the commands them “in a terrible voice,” which pressures the animals to admit “anything to confess.” In real life, there are still dictators in countries like North Korea who abuse their immense leadership to abuse their citizens if they do not comply and submit to their every request. As you can see, Orwell instructs us that if a leader has excess power, they will