He continues by saying “We pigs are brain workers, the organization of the farm totally depends on us” (Orwell 42). Here Squealer puts the sake of the whole farm (and Animalism) on the pigs consuming the apples & milk. He uses the fear of Jones coming back to end the conversation. Squealer also uses guilt as a way to persuade the animals. When the other animals discover that the pigs have changed their residence to the farmhouse.
The discourse of power and control is evident in George Orwell’s novel ‘Animal Farm’, through the character representations of the pigs, in particular, the totalitarian dictator, Napoleon. The basic principle of the revolution, ‘all animals are equal’ is slowly transformed into ‘some animals are more equal than others’ through the strategies of Napoleon and the pigs in order to gain and maintain their power and control over the other animals. These strategies include establishing a power base, using terror and propaganda and living a life of luxury at the expense of others. However, strategies such as these would not be able to be implemented if it were not for the naivety and gullibility of the other animals. Orwell positions the reader to see the effects of a dictatorship especially how it can control a whole society.
The ingenuity of the pigs, the immense strength of a horse named Boxer, and the absence of parasitical humans makes Animal Farm prosperous. The animals post the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the side of the barn. The commandments state that all animals are equal and no animal may act like a human by sleeping in a bed, walking on two legs, killing other animals, drinking alcohol, and so on. A fight for power soon develops between the two pigs Snowball and Napoleon. The rivalry comes to a head over Snowball's idea to build a windmill.
However the wolves wanted to repress the nations and form a communistic nation influenced by Marxist ideas. Conflict arose everywhere in the forest. Once there were three little pigs who lived together in mutual respect and in harmony with their environment. Using materials that were common to the area, they each built beautiful houses.
The principles of animalism were reduced to seven simple rules. The pigs’ corruption by power progresses incrementally, and as this occurs the rules must be adjusted. The adjustments are made surreptitiously and the new rule’s similarity to the old one leaves the animals confused. “No animal must sleep in a bed with sheets.” Squealer is also able to confuse them with his ability to revise history and also to inspire fear by suggesting that the pigs need the beds so they will be fit enough to protect the animals against Jones. Squealer is able to use the sheep to support his propaganda by training them to bleat his mantras repeatedly often teaching them the new rule first.
In this story, irony is used to show lack of equality, no matter what the original intent was, can result in oppression. Orwell used three types of irony in his story, dramatic irony, verbal irony, and situational irony. Dramatic irony is inherent in speeches or a situation of drama which is understood by the reader but not gasped by the characters in the story. A scene in the story that shows the irony is when Boxer “the horse” is sent off to be slaughtered by Napoleon. The animals are told by squealer that he is being sent off to the hospital, but the readers know that he is not being sent to the hospital.
The barn is a symbol because this was the place the pigs painted the seven commandments and then added their revisions, which represents the collective memory of a modern nation. The pigs did this to create Animalism and to ensure that the pigs would continue to rule over all of the animals. The working-class animals would puzzle over the changes but accept them. If the working-class believes history of lies from their oppressors, the will be less likely to question oppressive practices. The windmill is a symbol of the pigs’ manipulation of the other animals for their own gain.
“They dashed straight for snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws” This shows that even before the windmill had come into play napoleon had reared these puppies to be aggressive dogs and to get rid of snowball. Next the pigs begin to abuse there power and break the commandments. This starts to happen as soon as napoleon takes place as leader of Animal Farm. “Whatever goes upon two legs an enemy” This is
Animal farm parodies the events of the Russian Revolution mocks humanity’s morally weak government foundations. Under the rule of animalism, the seven commandments are representing their views of equality, allegorical of communism; this is further enforced through the characterisation of animals which draw links to past figures. These ideals are epitomised by Old Major, “a majestic looking pig” who poses as an allegory to Karl Marx the founder of communism. Old Major’s dream of an ideal world was brilliant but unrealistic. Through his speech, Major shapes one of the Revolution’s key notions, stating “Even when you have conquered him do not adopt his vices,”
The description of Mr Jones’s activities in the first paragraph foreshadows the activities that the pigs indulge in later in the book. The hobbies of the pigs turn out to be a replica of the hobbies of Mr Jones. The pigs start drinking once they take control of the farm, they too start sleep in beds instead of their sheds, and they too start to use utensils to eat just like humans. At the end of the book, it can be seen that there is absolutely no difference between the pigs and the humans. It is only the ownership of the farm that has changed hands, the situation remains the same for the other animals, if not worse.