Animal Farm Critique

In George Orwell’s novel, Animal farm, farm animals successfully overthrow the humans (the monarchy/dictatorship) to create their own democracy. The early “nation” is a fair, equal democracy. Near the end of the book, the pigs (who have replaced the humans) are corrupt, greedy, and everything opposite of equal. What happened? The animals lost their voice in the government. Thomas Jefferson’s plea that a democratic form of government needs well educated citizens is well supported by this scenario. Educated citizens are needed to have a successful democracy because they will be able to make wise decisions and participate effectively. Because a democracy’s power ultimately comes from the citizens, they need to know how to use their power and make wise, informed decisions. If they are not educated, they likely won’t be reading news or listening to the radio for politics. The animals on the farm cannot understand Snowball’s big words, much less read or write. The only animal as literate as the pigs was Benjamin, but he “never exercised his faculty.” (Orwell 50). His knowledge went unused. Uneducated citizens will not know when new bills are made or when laws are passed so they cannot change it if it is not fair. They are either too ignorant or not intelligent enough. Squealer painted amendments to the original Seven Commandments numerous times and the animals did notice the subtle changes, but when he came around to tell the animals that their memories were at fault, the animals never doubted him. Even when the animals caught Squealer painting on words at midnight, they failed to make the connection between the changing commandments and the event they just witnessed. Uneducated citizens do not have a voice in the making of policies or...

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...ts are put to ease because they believe all the lies that Squealer feeds to them. Each time Squealer reads out detailed analyses of the farm, hungry, sick, and a cold as they are, “the animals believed every word of it.”(Orwell 115). The animals’ gullibility is taken advantage of by the pigs. Also, they behave similarly when Napoleon sends Boxer to the knackers. As the van is taking him away, the animals, blind to the words on the side of the van, “…chorused, ‘Good bye!’”(Orwell 123). If the animals were smarter and could read, the pigs wouldn’t have been able to get by so easily. Even after Benjamin reads out to them what the van says, Squealer convinces the animals that “the van had previously been the property of the knacker, and had been bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted the old name out.”(Orwell125).

Works Cited

Animal Farm, George Orwell