Animal Farm Rhetorical Analysis

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The short story "Animal Farm" is an allegory about a group of farm animals who overthrow their human owner, only to be degraded by power and ultimately enslaved by their new pig led farm. They do this by using slogans, propaganda, and altered commandments. Pigs use certain language to hold their ground, their power, and the power of the other animals. To start off, the pigs use slogans and propaganda to manipulate the thoughts and actions of the other animals. For example, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." The animals embrace the beliefs of fairness, but the pigs change their meaning to justify their own actions. By stating such slogans, the pigs continue to control the animals' beliefs and behaviors, additionally gaining more power. In the text, the pigs repeatedly use manipulative slogans like "Four legs good, two legs bad" and "All animals are equal." …show more content…

First, the commandments were originally principles of equality, but as the pigs grow more power-hungry, they revise the commandments to justify their actions. For instance, the seventh commandment, "All animals are equal," turned into "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others," showing the pigs being hypocrites and doing it for only their own gain as everyone other than pigs is "dumber." The author shows the pig's manipulation of language through the changes to the commandments, like changing a few words to serve the interests of those in

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