How Does Orwell Use Satire In Animal Farm

George Orwell’s 1945 novella, ‘Animal Farm’ satirically magnifies the flaws of communism and totalitarianism through a fable composition allegorically surrounding the Russian Revolution. The novella is an exposé of the perversion of political ideals and the corruption of power allegorically uncovering the myth of Soviet Socialism. Political satire in Animal Farm, through the humorous allegory, confronts the political ideology and the misuse of power in the 1917 communistic society of Russia, and to the modern audience, a beacon exemplifying the corruption of power. Orwell's satirical purpose, manifested through the passage wherein Napoleon deceives the animals, sheds light on the falsity of utopian societies, reimbursing the historical importance through a metaphor attacking the totalitarian rule of Communist Russia. Animal Farm is an animal allegory which involves the careful critique constructed to comment on the

degeneration of Communist Russia’s government into an authoritarian dictatorship.

Although disguised as a fairy-tale, Animal Farm satirises the reality of Communism and the abuse of power through a parallel animal allegory. The contemporary novella criticises the Communist regime contextually concerning the events following the 1917 Russian Revolution. Orwell makes a satirical point to the audience, highlighting the susceptibility of the animals when “at every few steps Napoleon stopped and snuffed the ground for traces of Snowball’s footsteps, which, he said, he could detect by the smell.” The dramatic irony subtly depicts the absurdity of Napoleon’s claims, allowing the reader to comprehend the exploitation of the credulous animals by manipulative authoritative figures. Through irony, Orwell makes a contextual, clandestine criticism on the gullibility of the Soviet public and decadence of its leaders, timelessly expressing the nature of tyrants. Satire is also fabricated throughout the passage though Orwell’s aggressively neutral third-person omniscient narration, passive voice and objectivity, allowing the critiqued behaviour to deconstruct itself to the reader. Dramatic irony, emphasised through the subtilty of Orwell’s tone, strengthens the satirical purpose of the text and expresses the animals' concern, “it seemed to them as though Snowball were some kind of invisible influence.” In this passage, satire unveils the discrepancies between altruistic motives on the surface and the reality of corrupt leadership. Therefore, the passage is powerfully satirical, revealing the perversion of political ideals and the corruption of power, exposing the myth of Soviet Socialism.

In addition, satire is used effectively in the passage to represent a crucial turning point in the novella.

Orwell uses powerfully satirical devices to communicate to the reader, the importance of the passage to the book. Snowball was contributory to the farm’s success, but once deemed an adversary by Napoleon, Squealer embarks on the tasks of rewriting the narrative constructing Snowball as an agent of Jones, manipulating the animals into believing that “Snowball was in a league with Jones from the very start… in reality he was trying to lure us to our doom.” Here, Orwell satirically demonstrates the turning point in the book, focusing on the propaganda used to influence the unsuspecting animals and demonstrating the corruption of power. On a further level, the irony is exploited by Orwell to make a satirical point on the animal’s vulnerability to manipulation and the authoritative figures, who by means of corruption, gain power. Therefore, Orwell uses satirical devices to highlight the transformation that takes place in the book as the pigs gain

power.

Furthermore, through satire, the allegory to Russian Communism serves as a metaphor for temptation and evil and allows Orwell to criticise the destructiveness of Soviet regimes, agelessly depicting humanity’s innate desire for power. The timelessness of the novella, due to its universally applicable underlying message, enables the relevance of the novella to persist, regardless of contextual changes. On the surface, Orwell mocks the Marxist theological perspective, alluding to the fact that, “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the passage, as Napoleon gains more power, his sense of morality declines, depicted through the rewriting of history that legitimises his authority. Following the allegorical parallel, Joseph Stalin (represented by Napoleon), manipulates history to pit the public against his adversary, Leon Trotsky (depicted by Snowball). Although the specific animals and events that he uses clearly resemble particular parallels in the real world, their status as symbols allows them to signify beyond specific times and places. In the passage, Orwell mocks the manipulation and other undemocratic methods by which Napoleon has maintained power, highlighting the inherent human desire to maintain power, flawing the corruption that comes with the inherent human trait. The lust for power effects the animals and is demonstrated when, “the creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” The irony of the situation is that the animals had become what they had overthrown, manifesting into themselves the oppressive nature that had instigated the Rebellion in the first place. Orwell exposes the extent of their corruption and demonstrates how revolutions do not produce their desired results. The passage in Animal Farm remains powerful satire even as the specific historical events it mocked recede into the past because the book’s major concern is not with these incidents but with the essential horror of the human condition. Therefore, Orwell satirically writes Animal Farm in response to the totalitarian regime of Russian Communism, and more broadly, upon the abuse of power from those with political supremacy.

The lasting value of the text lies in how it combines form and meaning to depict a pressing political concern, communicating to audiences of the corruption of power. Orwell’s Animal Farm stands as a scornful conscious critique of Communism in its exploration of the corruption of the political ideology, notions of uncertainty with the delineation of the construction of a universal truth, and ultimately, the alienation of the individual at the hands of exploitative governments. Orwell deftly reflects this within his experimentation with indirect discourse, a third-person narrator, demonstrating the myth of Soviet Socialism.