Untitled Essay, Research Paper

By: Evan

Animal Farm Essay: The Significance of Squealer

The novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is an allegory portraying the 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 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 we!

ll. 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 come back! Yes, Jones would come back!’” (42) Here,

Squealer frightens the animals into submission with the threat of the return

of Mr. Jones, the abusive farmer that was driven out of the farm by the animals.

Squealer is desperate to obtain the apples and milk and will stop at nothing

to manipulate the other animals into believing that the pigs should be the

sole recipients of this luxury. By masking their true intentions by misleading

the animals, the pigs are soon able to acquire whatever they want with little

resistance. Orwell uses Squealer to represent the Pravda, the Russian newspaper

controlled by the government during Joseph Stalin’s regime. Orwell points

out the corruption of the!

Soviet authority in his criticism of the propaganda used to subdue op

position from the masses. Orwell also criticizes the monopoly of all Russian

media by the government.

Squealer was the messenger of the government. It was his responsibility to

inform the animals of the arrangements of labor distribution and any other

relevant legislation or news. Orwell establishes that a government-run

publication as the only source of public information will inevitably be biased.

Napoleon, Orwell’s representation of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, stops

his association with the animals in chapter eight. “All orders were

now issued through Squealer or one of the other pigs” (89).

Squealer is the only source of data the farm animals have. The animals have

no way to dispute or question any of the statistics he delivered. “There

were times when it seemed to the animals that they worked longer hours and

fed no better than they had in Jones’s day. On Sunday mornings Squealer,

holding a long strip of paper with his trotter, would read out to them lists

of figures proving that the production of every class of foodstuff had increased

by two hundred per cent, three hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent

as the case might be” (89). Squealer is the liaison between the government

and the public. Though the animals believe they are being fed the same amount

as when Mr. Jones was in power, their government information source showed

figures to the contrary that the populace couldn’t dispute. Orwell was

able to show that by keeping the public in ignorance, communism can be carried

out without interference. In addition to being a corrupt media source, Orwe!

ll shows how the Pravda was used completely as a tool to glorify Joseph Stalin

and Communism as well as slander capitalism and anyone that might oppose

him.

Squealer is a pawn of the Animal Farm government. He is the device by which

Napoleon communicates with the people. Squealer gives an account of government

tidings that put Napoleon in a good light, regardless of the accuracy. An

example of Napoleon’s use of propaganda for personal gain is in the

explanation of the expulsion of Snowball. Snowball is Orwell’s

representation of Leon Trotsky, Stalin’s political nemesis in Russia.

Snowball and Napoleon disagree over nearly all political issues as did Stalin

and Trotsky. Trotsky was eventually exiled to Mexico just as Snowball is

exiled from Animal Farm. Squealer is employed by Napoleon to slander his

political enemy Snowball several times. In chapter five, Squealer explains

the new arrangements now that snowball has been expelled and smoothes over

the shock of his unexpected banishment. “ ‘Suppose you had decided

to follow Snowball with his moonshine of windwills- Snowball, who as we now

know, was no better than a crimi!

nal?’” (60) In Snowballs defense, one of the animals reminds Squealer

of his bravery at the Battle of Cowshed, an ambush attack on the farm by

Mr. Jones. Squealer responds sharply, “ ‘And as to the Battle of

Cowshed, I believe the time will come when we shall find that Snowball’s

part in it was much exaggerated’” (60). Napoleon exercises

Squealer’s speaking talents to vanquish all doubt of the Snowball’s

treachery and to elevate himself to a higher tier of importance by exposing

Snowball as a traitor. Orwell clearly finds fault with using a mass publication

to deceive the public. He points out Stalin’s unscrupulous use of propaganda

for his own personal gain, thus criticizing the inadequacy of communism as

an ideal society.

Animal Farm effectively displays the immorality of propaganda and the injustice

of communism. By the shady use of false publications, Stalin was able coerce

an entire nation into believing what he wanted. He exploited his position

as dictator and used the Pravda for personal gain. Napoleon was able to enjoy

the benefits of communism and the luxuries of leadership, which is contradictory

to the idea of a true socialist society. In addition to his criticism of

Stalin and Soviet leadership, Orwell condemns the entire Russian government

as well, for the Pravda was controlled as much by the Russian parliament

and communist party loyalists as Joseph Stalin. It is clear that Orwell abhors

the use of propaganda and doesn’t believe it is possible to create a

utopian civilization.