Use of Propaganda in Animal Farm, by George Orwell

Have you ever been convinced by someone to do a chore, but you end up doing more than you expected? What about being told that doing homework helps you become smarter? These forms of propaganda persuade you to do/join something that you are interested in, but the result is not what you expected. The British author, George Orwell, who wrote 1984 and Animal Farm, was interested in showing the human tendency to get what they want. In Animal Farm, he shows us the results of not considering possible consequences of obtaining our wants, through Squealer-the persuasive “propaganda” pig who will do many things to cover up traces of the true actions being done. Squealer uses propaganda to persuade the other animals into doing something, but at the cost of misleading the other animals.

As soon as Mr. Jones leaves Manor Farm, Old Major (an old wise pig) speaks to the rest of the animals. His speech compares the old life with Jones to the possibilities of a new life without Jones. Old Major points out that with Jones, they had minimal food. Without Jones, all of the animals could have more than plenty of their favorite foods. With Napoleon in charge the expected food is not showing up. Orwell writes, “In January food fell short. The corn rations were drastically reduced. the potato crop had become soft and discoloured, only a few were edible.” (Orwell pg 74) The animals were convinced that food would be more plentiful, but it turns out to be quite the opposite. As the novella continues, Squealer’s propaganda techniques keep working, and the animals keep getting the short end of the stick.

One of the main commandments from the beginning of the book was “all animals are equal.” (24) The equality of the pigs and the other animals conti...

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...ngton and Mr. Frederick were anxious to buy it.” (Orwell 77)

The pigs are using a human to trade with humans, which is completely opposite of the original commandment against humans. The pigs told the others that humans were bad, yet they are working with them to get what they want. The propaganda about the humans started out true, but became misleading.

From being told that there would be more food, to the reality of harsher conditions coupled with less food. Going from an equal citizenship, to some have more rights than others. As well as going from “humans are bad” to secret interactions with humans. The pigs in Animal Farm, lead by Napoleon, show that propaganda can convince people to do something, but at the cost of being mislead.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 1996. Print.