Animal Farm
...dangers of a totalitarian government. It seeks to show
how a society where all live completely equal has not been,
and cannot be achieved. Orwell, through the use of the
character Squealer, shows how propaganda can affect
members of a communist society in a negative way. By
drawing parallels to events in communist Russia, Orwell's
Animal Farm illustrates how propaganda was used to
control the Soviet people by deceiving them, threatening
them and keeping them ignorant in an attempt to maintain
order. The story uses simple language to explain and expose
the corruption of communist Russia. Throughout the story,
Orwell uses Squealer to illustrate how propaganda
persuaded and victimized Russian citizens. Squealer is a sly,
crafty pig who is not only intelligent, but a manipulative
speaker as well. His cunning is key to the deception of the
other animals. In chapter three, Squealer deceives the
animals of the farm for the first time. The animals find out
that the milk and apples are given solely to the pigs, and
Squealer is sent to explain the uneven distribution of farm
resources. "Comrades' he cried. You do not imagine, I
hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and
privilege?'" (Orwell 42) He goes on to explain, " Milk and
apples (this has been proved by science, comrades) contain
substances absolutely necessary to the well-being Williams 2
of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers (42). Here, Squealer
tries to convince the animals that it's for health reasons that
they take the apples and milk, but he tries to persuade them
in other ways as well. Squealer continues, " The whole
management and organization of this farm depend on us
.
It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those
apples'"(42). Finally, he convinces them with fear. " Do
you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty?
Jones would...
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