Animal Farm Critical Analysis

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George Orwell's Animal Farm, a direct allegory to the Russian Revolution, was essentially the story of the failure of the Russian Revolution in the point of view of animals on a farm rather than people of a country. The main leader of the story, Napoleon, is a pig who originally shared power with another pig named Snowball, until Napoleon seized the power for himself. Napoleon's reign was characterized by extreme injustices, famine, and corruption. Throughout the story, the animals on the farm never rebelled against Napoleon's totalitarian power, which is the basis of the story. Orwell used Animal Farm to express his frustration at the failure of people to protest against the world they live in. Orwell's frustration is based on the fact that people do not protest against corrupt leaders. Animal Farm shows that propaganda, the lack of a strong revolutionary leader, and complete ignorance are reasons why people do not protest. Propaganda, which is the expression of opinion by a group or individual deliberately designed to influence the ideas of another person, was commonplace during Napoleon's reign over the farm. Most of this propaganda in Animal Farm was spread by Napoleon's main speaker, the aptly named Squealer. Napoleon and Squealer used a vast array of propaganda to garner support, brainwash, and strike fear into the animals living on the farm. One of the strongest instances of propaganda in Animal Farm was Boxer's motto of "Napoleon is always right." As Boxer was one of the most idolized of animals on the farm due to his admirable strength and superior work ethic, the animals looked up to Boxer and lived by what he said. This type of propaganda can be considered a testimonial, since it shows a celebrity-like figure endorsing a certain idea. The reason this motto prevents the animals from rebelling is because it is shining good light on Napoleon from a
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