Who Run the Farm? Pigs

1438 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: An essay on propaganda

Propaganda is used to make people think or believe something that might actually not be true. It is when information of a biased or misleading nature is used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view (dictionary). In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell, the animals revolt against the human farm owner and take over with the leaders of the higher class animals, the pigs. Orwell wrote Animal Farm to represent and symbolize Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist Party rule. The pigs are extremely similar to Joseph Stalin and his success with manipulating taking on the roll of a leader to his people. Just as Stalin did in Russia, through their use of propaganda, the pigs gain power by manipulating the lower level animals through their use of simplicity and repetition, lying, and gaining trust. In Animal Farm, the pigs relate and connect to Joseph Stalin and the Russian Revolution because they both had power and gained leadership through agitprop technics (Stults). “How easily totalitarian propaganda can control the opinion of enlightened people.” -George Orwell. This famous piece of literature, Animal Farm, was written by George Orwell himself around 1917 to 1945 after WWII because peasant farmers wanted to have a better life in general. In the book, Napoleon shortly becomes the leader after the rebellion. Just as Stalin had done, Napoleon used military force onto the animals and intimidates them. Snowball represents Trotsky because he is a forward-thinking politician that wants to improve and help out with the windmill, but is chased out by vicious dogs Napoleon sends before he can do so. Like Stalin, the pigs build up and gain their power by manipulating the animals with propaganda techniques. The... ... middle of paper ... ...ls around to do more work while they lie on their backs and drink because the animals are too stupid to realize that they are being treated unfairly. Because the pigs have advantages when it comes to being smart, they take advantage of the fact that the animals have no idea whats actually going on. Though the pigs rarely do anything, they get more portions of food. Towards the end of the book, the animals see that while they are working very hard for the farm, the pigs are inside drinking and talking with humans. Though they may not realise it, they are not treated equally. The pigs have much power over the animals because they know that the animals can not realise that they are doing all the work. The animals trust that the pigs are telling the truth. Because of this, the pigs take full advantage of it and choose to slack off and take the animals trust for granted.

Show More
Related

  • The Necessary Intellect of Ordinary People

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    The uneducated are often unaware of how people take advantage of them when under the power of a leader using propaganda. Propaganda is an opinionated advertisement used to control and appeal to people's judgement and emotions, and gets them to do what they want (Stults). Not all persuasion is propaganda, and not all propaganda is bad (Stults). George Orwell writes Animal Farm as an allegorical fable associated with Lenin’s lead over the revolution that established the Communist control of Russia. After the animals of Animal Farm are successful with the Rebellion against Jones, they to lose sight of how the pigs are slowly influencing them. Like the use of propaganda in Russia, the pigs on Animal Farm are able to manipulate the other animals using simplicity and repetition, distortion and bad logic, and fear.

    Read More

  • George Orwell's Animal Farm

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    The actions of the pigs express this theme by starting with good intentions, but slowly becoming more and more like what they were trying to avoid. In the beginning of the story Old Major gives a speech to the animals on the farm, and in this speech he mentions how cruel the humans are. During his speech Old Major uses Boxer the horse as an example when he says “You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds.” (Orwell 11). He then proceeds to tell the animals that once they revolt the cruelty will end, and at first it does, but soon the pigs begin to act more like humans. The pi...

    Read More

  • Symbolism of Pigs in Animal Farm by George Orwell

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Orwell's Animal Farm, the animals revolt against the cruel human leaders and set up a better method of farm management where all animals are equal. As time passes, the new leaders become greedy and corrupt, and the other animals realize conditions are just as miserable as before. There is a major connection between Animal Farm and Russian communism. The pigs are one of the most significant of these connections, representing the communist rulers of Russia, like Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Their traits, personalities, and actions are similar to the actual men in power. In the novel Animal Farm, the pigs represent the communist leaders of Russia in the early 1900s.

    Read More

  • Abuse of Power in George Orwell’s Animal Farm

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first way the pigs use language to abuse their power is by using extensive detail and by using terms and vocabulary foreign to most animals. An example of the pigs using unknown terms can be found when Squealer explains to the other animals about how hard the pigs need to work to keep the farm running. “There was, as Squealer was never tired of explaining, endless work in the supervision and organization of the farm. Much of this work was of a kind that the other animals were too ignorant to understand. For example, Squealer told them that the pigs had to expend enormous labours every day upon mysterious things called ‘files,’ ‘reports,’ ‘minutes,’ and ‘memoranda’…” (129). In this scene, the animals, exhausted, hungry, and overworked, are told about how the pigs work just as hard as they do. Although this is completely untrue, seeing that the pigs only occupy themselves in self-centered and self-beneficial engagements, the other animals believe it to be true because they do not know what files, reports, minutes, or memoranda are. Their ignorance leaves them unable to question Squealers story and they mistake the pigs’ true...

    Read More

  • Animal Farm: A Communist Manifesto

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel describes much of the procedure of running a communist state. It includes the organization of committees, and the indoctrination of the public in the form of the sheep. Snowball, one of the two pigs who leads the animals after the revolution, teaches the sheep to repeat the maxim "Four legs good, two legs bad," which, he feels, sums up the laws of their new system - completely against humans. Methods of propaganda are also explored. Carrier pigeons are sent to neighboring farms to deliver heroic tales of the revolution and convert other farms to 'Animalism' - the domino effect in action. Internal propaganda is the responsibility of a pig named Squealer, whose primary function is to convince the animals that the actions taken by the pigs are for their own good. This is a clear description of how to keep a communist regime in power: as long as the pubic is convinced that all actions are for their own good, they will go along with anything.

    Read More

  • Cruelty in animal Farm

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    After the Animal Revolution the pigs take the initiative and place themselves in charge because of their claim of having higher intelligence. Over time this power begins to distort the basis of their revolt by recreating the same social situation they were previously in. “When the pigs takeover they claim that their goal is to preside a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another, yet power quickly proves too much for a pig.” Though the animals originally took over the farm to increase the animal’s independence as a whole, because of the pig’s superiority they soon take the place of the humans further limiting their independence.

    Read More

  • Symbolism of Orwell's Animal Farm

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    The characters and events that George Orwell put in his novel Animal Farm, can be linked to the similar events and people associated with the Russian Revolution. People like Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky can be compared and represented by the 2 pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, in Orwell’s Animal Farm. By writing this novel, Orwell attempted to expose the truth behind the totalitarian-type government in Russia at that time. However, he did this in a discreet way by using animals to symbolize the different people that played a role in the Revolution.

    Read More

  • The Role of Propaganda in Animal Farm

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel, Animal Farm, is a well-known allegory written by George Orwell. As a satire of the Russian Revolution, Orwell portrays the rise of a cruel dictatorship and the mistreatment of the general population under it. Like the Communist government in Russia, the government in Animal Farm employs the use of many manipulative tools, especially propaganda. Propaganda was used by the pigs throughout the book, deceiving many of the animals. As this story shows, propaganda can enable governments to bend people to any purpose. By spreading positive messages about Napoleon, persuading the animals that Snowball is an enemy, and convincing the animals that they can’t survive without the pigs, propaganda helped give rise to a vindictive and selfish totalitarian government.

    Read More

  • The Use Of Propaganda In Animal Farm, By George Orwell

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    “ All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.” This quote from George Orwell's book, Animal Farm, is one of the mottos that the pigs from the story would use to convince the other farm animals to do what they say. This type of manipulation is known as a propaganda. A propaganda is information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. Although some believe that propagandas are ineffective, this commonly isn't the case because there are a variety of ways that propagandas have been shown to be potent in both history and current events.

    Read More

  • The Warnings in George Orwell's Animal Farm

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    George Orwell's goal in writing the novel Animal Farm was to portray the events surrounding the Russian revolution that took place in 1917. Orwell's tale of Animal Farm is seemingly a story of how a group of farmyard animals plot to overthrow their owner and seize control of the land. The novel seems to be a simple story, however Orwell wrote this book as an allegory, a story that has a clear secondary meaning beneath is literal sense. Everything in Animal Farm is used to represent people and events that took place during the Russian revolution from 1917-1939. Orwell chose to represent Russia's three famous leaders during this time with three pigs. Each three are drastically different and have dissimilar beliefs. Snowball representing Leon Trotsky, Napoleon by Josef Stalin and Old Major by Karl Marx. Orwell wrote this and many other books as warnings. The warning is that people must change their ways, or we are most surely doomed.

    Read More

  • How Did George Orwell Create A Resurface In Animal Farm

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    The animals are treated almost exactly like how Farmer Jones treated them. This led to harsh conditions and “starvation seemed to stare them in the face” many times under the rule of Napoleon(Orwell 85). Napoleon made sure the pigs never went hungry by giving special food privileges to them. The pigs never had “readjusted” rations like the other animals on Animal Farm. One special privilege the pigs gave themselves was that the “milk and the windfall apples should be reserved for the pigs alone”(Orwell 53). The pigs thought of themselves as superior to the other animals and therefore began to ignore their needs.

    Read More

  • Language In Animal Farm

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language plays a very important role in the pig’s power. Due to the pigs being the smartest, language can be used to keep their power over the other animals. The pigs use their intelligence and language to manipulate the other animals on the farm. They would say “All animals are equal.”(11) but they know that they are superior due to their ability to manipulate the others through language. Squealer for example would use words that many animals would not understand to make the animals think being ruled by the pigs is a good thing. Through language the pigs are able to secure their position as leaders on the farm as well as get the animals working for less.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Russian Revolution And Animal Farm

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Snowball is the other leader pig on the farm. Snowball is the pig who tries to lead with Napoleon , but they have two completely different philosophies. Napoleon ousts Snowball and spreads lies about his contributions. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky he was a communist theorist and political leader , he was exiled to Mexico. "Comrade," said Snowball, "those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery. Can you

    Read More

  • Animal Farm Changes

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, the animals on “Manor Farm” rebel and overthrow the owner of their farm, Mr. Jones, and install a new government based on Karl Marx’s communist ideas. The pig who creates and leads this revolution, Old Major, represents Vladimir Lenin, who very similarly led the Russian Revolution and was instrumental in creating the communist Soviet Union. This reveals why Old Major decides his farm should rebel, because he, like Lenin, foresees a better life brought about by communism. Moreover, after the revolution was over and the new government had set in, the pig Napoleon becomes hungry for power and performs actions to gain totalitarian control of “Animal Farm” in a way that resembles how Joseph Stalin obtained power. For example, Leon Trotsky, who had some very intellectual ideas from Soviet Russia, threatened Joseph Stalin’s power and Stalin forced him out of the country so he could seize total control of the nation. Napoleon does this in Animal Farm when he kicks Snowball out of the farm. Furthermore, comparing Napoleon from the novel by Joseph Stalin shows that he performed many questionable actions because he ultimately wanted more

    Read More

  • Animal Farm Research Paper

    294 Words  | 1 Pages

    A. George Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegory of the evils of the Russian Revolution. The farm that the animals live on, Manor Farm, represents Russia. The farmer of the animals, Mr. Jones, is the last Russian Czar, King Nicholas ll. Old major could either be Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin. Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, writer, and socialist revolutionary. He wrote the infamous book The Communist Manifesto. Vladimir Lenin was the leader of the Russian Revolution. Napoleon the pig parallels Communist leader Joseph Stalin, and the dogs are his secret police. The horse named Boxer represents the proletariat people, otherwise known as the working class, and finally the pig known as Snowball represents the known Marxist revolutionary

    Read More

More about Who Run the Farm? Pigs

Open Document