The satirical novella “Animal Farm” written by George Orwell talks about farm animals revolt against their human owner, Mr. Jones, on Manor farm in England. Old Major, a respected pig, shares his vision of a world where animals rule themselves, free from human oppression. Thus, Old Major called on the animals to rebel and take over Manor Farm in order to escape the fate of being enslaved. After the death of Old Major, animals started their rebellion, led by pigs Snowball and Napoleon. They successfully drove out Mr. Jones and his men, renaming the farm Animal Farm, and establishing seven principles on the wall of the barn and asked all animals to follow. Initially, the animals work hard to prove their superiority over humans, but the pigs start to exhibit privilege and avoid physical labor. Over time, the power struggle between Snowball and Napoleon gradually intensified. Eventually, Napoleon drove Snowball away through the dogs and took control of the farm. Under Napoleon's rule, life gradually deteriorates, especially during the construction of the windmill, when the animals struggle to get enough food. The pigs move into the farmhouse and change the rules to allow the animals to sleep in beds with sheets. The loyal horse Boxer continues to work hard, but after an injury, the pigs claim he died in a hospital when in reality, he is sent to the slaughterhouse. Over time, more animals perish as life on the farm declines. The animals are surprised to find the pigs behaving like humans, even wearing clothes. The pigs share a meal with human farmers and declare that the farm’s name is again Manor farm. As time goes by, the animals cannot distinguish between the pigs and humans anymore. To fully understand this story, one should discuss the topics of Corruption of Revolution, Inequality of Animals, Control Education, and Language as Power.
Having too much power can lead to corruption because power can distort an individual’s sense of right and wrong, leading to justification for behaviors. Corruption often involves the suppression of individual rights and freedoms, prompting people to demand change and justice. The pigs became corrupt by claiming to be the intellectual leaders of the farm, which elevated their social status above others. They frequently reneged on their promises, often violating the original seven commandments. Additionally, the pigs altered the commandments to suit their needs, with Squealer delivering persuasive speeches that twisted the truth to align with their interests. Like all popular revolutions, the rebellion in Animal Farm is born out of a desire for a better future, one in which farm animals can enjoy their own efforts and are no longer subject to the tyranny of humans. In the early days of the revolution, the animals on the farm, even the pigs, were committed to the ideal of universal equality. But these noble ideals that initially drove the revolution are gradually replaced by individual and class interests. The pig Napoleon mirrors Stalin, the controversial Soviet leader, who did not like debate and ruling the country through the accumulation of power and totalitarian means. Many historical events under Stalin’s rule, such as the Five Year Plans (the construction of windmills) is reflected in the novel. They also twist the truth and logic to match their intentions. One such example of corruption is the quote, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The pigs reason that there are varying degrees of equalness, which directly mocks the meaning of the word equal. With great power often comes wealth and privilege, which can incentivize individuals to prioritize personal gain over the common good.
People with more knowledge and information have the capability to control as well as limit the amount of understanding they have over the situation, creating inequality among people. Such inequality makes the more knowledgeable group exploit their own position to manipulate and control others for personal gain over the ignorant others while those ignorant have no ability to rebel. Upon encountering books and letters, the pigs quickly learn to read and write, distinguishing them from the less intelligent animals. Their literacy allows them to effectively manage the farm but also to exploit it for their own advantage. Uneducated animals are frequently relegated to physical labor, dedicating their lives to the farm, due to either being persuaded by or fearful of the pugs’ power. Inequality among the animals is present in the story, and this is partly because of the pig’s literacy and public speaking skills. The pigs soon proclaimed themselves "brain workers" to distinguish themselves from other animals who mainly did physical labor. This differentiation led to class hierarchy, which inevitably led to class struggle. After the revolution broke out, the pigs quickly rose to mind workers with their literacy, and they put themselves at the pinnacle of power and controlled the management of the farm, while other animals continued to do heavy physical labor, just like Stalin manipulated the lower classes to work for him. The ignorant people who are placed in the bottom of the social hierarchy actually have the ability to do things but they have no idea of their capabilities; therefore they, like the horse Boxer and the donkey Benjamin, were doing willful inaction and ignorance of all sorts of works together to keep the lower classes oppressed. Look closely, the seeds of totalitarianism had actually sprouted quietly during the early stage of the revolution, like only pigs and dogs were fully literate. Napoleon constantly feeds misinformation to the animals, such as in this example: “Napoleon was well aware of the bad results that might follow if the real facts of the food situation were known, and he decided to make use of Mr. Whymper to spread a contrary impression.” He effectively lies about the success of the farm and how it has made significant harvests. The achievements of the revolution were eventually stolen by the aristocracy, who became the new ruling class and turned into totalitarians.
Totalitarian rulers often use education as a tool for controlling people because it helps shape the beliefs, values, and behaviors of future generations to align with their needs. Education system could be designed to emphasize the superiority of one group over another, justifying the dominant group's privileged position. Originally, the seven commandments are full of idealism, like “no animals should sleep in bed”. But the pigs with education tampered with the seven commandments for their own good, like “no animals should sleep in bed with sheets”. Other animals without literacy are uneducated and cannot read. They cannot tell or remember the change of the seven commandments. They just follow whatever the leader is saying. Animal Farm demonstrates the mechanisms of power and manipulation through the use of language, emphasizing the importance of education and language mastery in maintaining a totalitarian ruler. Napoleon consolidates his power by providing education to a small number of young animals, while neglecting the education of adults and other animals. By choosing what is taught and who is taught, the totalitarian rulers can ensure that only specific groups receive comprehensive knowledge for their own benefits while others receive no or distorted education that limits their critical thinking and socio-economic mobility.Ironically, most animals in the farm remained illiterate, which they cannot educate their next generation. They either turned a blind eye out of fear or were afraid of being killed for expressing disagreement, they just followed what the leader requested. They just keep working in the farm all the time, leaving them no time to think or get education. In particular, Napoleon focuses educational resources on the younger generation and trains nine puppies, which eventually become ferocious attack dogs and help Napoleon suppress any dissenting voices. This symbolizes Stalin secretly trained the Soviet secret police force to reject any kind of rebellion using his secret police. Napoleon continues to undermine the tenets of Animalism and making it become totalitarian is the quote, “At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws.” He is willing to take on any sacrifice for his own well-being. The ignorant, illiterate people, combined with blind trust in leaders, is one of the key factors in allowing corruption to flourish.
The mechanisms of power and manipulation through the use of language emphasizes the importance of education and language mastery in maintaining a totalitarian government. By controlling language, a totalitarian government can decide what information is available to the public, addressing speech that reinforce the government’s ideology and suppress dissenting views. At the novel’s beginning, the animals are on equal footing in terms of education, more or less—though Old Major has had time in his retirement to think about the state of the world and develop his theory that man is the root of all the animals’ problems, none of the animals, at this point, are literate or can do much more than expound on their ideas. From the beginning of the popular revolution on Manor Farm, language, both spoken and written, was instrumental to the animals’ collective success, and later to the pigs’ consolidation of power. Through Squealer, the propaganda tool, the pigs spread lies and distort facts to make the animals believe that their situation is better than it actually is. At the same time, the changes in the seven commandments gradually show the corruption of the pigs, and finally become "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." This is mocking the word equal, which means that this has been turned into totalitarianism. Stalin similarly undermines the values of the revolution. Eventually, Napoleon becomes similar to the humans, as shown: “‘Gentlemen,’ concluded Napoleon, ‘I will give you the same toast as before, but in a different form. Fill your glasses to the brim. Gentlemen, here is my toast: To the prosperity of The Manor Farm!’” He has become similar to other humans, which is something that they have sworn not to do. People often use propaganda to control the mass media, where many people have their opinions based.
George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm, is a British writer who left behind a large number of works. His influence is immeasurable, including Animal Farm and 1984. He talks about how the Russian revolution was corrupted and how totalitarianism is bad for the society and economy. There are many failures in Animal Farm, and all of it is due to propaganda and corruption of the pigs. Having too much power can lead to corruption, as people want to quickly establish themselves to be the strongest of their group. Inequality among the animals is present in the story, and this is partly because of the pig’s literacy and public speaking skills. The general trend of totalitarianism warns that any government or organization may go down this path and become corrupt.
Comments