Social Roles In Animal Farm

The nine dogs that stay by Napoleon at all times are useful for Napoleon to gain and maintain control of the farm because they scare the other animals, intimidating them so that they do not disobey Napoleon. Napoleon also uses manipulation to gain and maintain a firm control by changing the Commandments for the farm in ways that work to his benefit. Squealer, Napoleon’s propaganda department, Keeps the farm animals believing in Napoleon by describing what they hear and see to make it seem harmless. Using effective tactics of fear, convincing propaganda, and manipulation, Napoleon gains and maintains control of Animal Farm. “Animal Farm” has corruption and equality in a way the animals try to succeed and achieve a goal to make the farm better.

Animal Farm shows one direct leadership throughout the book but Lord of the Flies shows a constant power change between the characters in the book, which leads to different styles of leadership which were both beneficial and harmful for their survival. Although these books both are distinct from each other, they contain the same theme of leadership and how leader use their power. Animal Farm has only one type of leadership style throughout the novel, which is an authoritarian leadership style. The character Napoleon is the authoritarian leader and leads the farm after the rebellion due to being one of the smartest but also one of the main advocators for the Rebellion. Many authoritarian leaders set a goal and have everyone work towards accomplishing the goal their way, no matter the cost.

He tricks all of the stupid animals on the farm into working for the pigs’ benefit. Furthermore, he uses propaganda to gain power for himself. This shows his selfishness and greed toward the animals of his farm. Trump has done the same thing throughout the election. In addition, Squealer makes himself and Napoleon seem attractive because of their ideas of animal freedom.

Squealer, the propaganda agent uses propaganda in the story as a way to manipulate the animals who are not pigs. He makes them believe everything he and the pigs are doing is for the greater good of the whole farm despite the fact that it is not. Squealer controls them in many ways but the strongest or most apparent are telling the other animals Mr. Jones their neglective abusive owner will come back, lying about Boxer the horse’s death, and finally changing the unalterable commandments into one that reads “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. One of the very first and most used techniques Squealer uses is instilling fear in the animals. He does this by threatening Jones’s return.

Napoleon has also released many chants to help rally the animals on the farm. The satire present here is that the altering of the ten commandments effectively portray how the absurd the concept is. There is no way that animals could become, “more equal” than others. In the beginning of the novel, Old Major expressed that the animals shall overcome their oppressors, but the pigs become the oppressors. Through their chants and the ten commandments, the citizens are brainwashed to believe that everything is just and fair because when the commandments and chants were first written or said, everyone was in agreement, and believed it was fair.

By the use of language, we can influence, direct, oppress, and manipulate others. Animal Farm discusses on how power is obtained through language and its correlation with education, class structure, and human nature. Some of the animals in the farm are more educated and literate than others, and this creates a class division among them. The smarter ones, such as the pigs, are considered as the higher-class animals and the less educated ones, such as the horses, are considered as the lower-class animals. As a result, the higher-class animals ruled the lower-class animals by managing the farm’s affairs.

Napoleon ruled animal farm harshly and overworked the animals. Orwell described, “This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half” (Orwell 59). The animal’s are given a choice in the sense that if they wanted to, they could have Sundays off. However, the brutal consequences the animals would face if they did not work forced the animals to listen to the pigs. The pigs, who are more intelligent, tricked the animals into thinking they have a choice when in reality they do not.

However, imbalance of power occur as the pigs, who are the smartest of the animals gain influence by supervising other animals to work. In this process, Squealer plays a significant role in comforting the animals and keeping the farm in peace. Squealer does this by persuading the animals through his persuasive speeches. In this novel, George Orwell illustrates the huge influence a speech can have on the society’s mind and on individuals. Old Major’s speech about how all animals are equal and they should rebel against their oppressors influence the animals heavily.

Because they were created for that specific manner, many people believe that they are only good for hunting or fighting other animals. Hence why people use them as fight dogs. Many dogs such a Labrador retriever or German shepherd are used for hunting and still deemed as good dogs. Another myth about Pit Bulls are that they do not feel pain giving them “The desire to continue on and/or complete a task despite pain and discomfort,” as said in the article The Real Pitbull. This is untrue, Pit Bulls have the same amount of pain tolerance and nervous system as any other dog

We often find that it is simpler to stay hidden in the dark, rather than step out into the light. As citizens it is our responsibility to call out our leaders if they are not taking notice of what we, the people, want or need. The animals, in Animal Farm, overthrew their farmer and attempted to form a fair government, but soon became dictated to, by the pigs. The book records the evolution of tyranny to totalitarianism which became as terrible as their first situation. In Animal Farm, George Orwell illustrates that it is the responsibility of the citizens to stand up against injustice and inequality.