How does Orwell present the ideas of power and equality through the failure of
the rebellion?
Throughout the novel, Orwell highlights the corrupting influence of power, which leads to the
pigs getting greedier and therefore exploiting the animals in order to suit their needs. This
led to inequality on the farm as Napoleon abuses his power so that the animals work harder
for less, while the pigs live more extravagantly, and increasingly detached from the
community
Orwell portrays the power of language and how it can be manipulated to benefit the ruling
class. He does this because he was concerned about social injustices. This can be seen
when the pigs use propaganda to establish themselves in power and take control of the
farm. For example, Squealer manipulates the animals so that the milk and apples are
preserved for the pigs alone. This is the first glimpse of Napoleon’s taste for power as
instead of sharing out the milk, Napoleon keeps it for the pigs’ mash. This shows that
Napoleon intends to take power as soon as possible as this was the first day after Mr. Jones’
expulsion. Napoleon uses Squealer as his mouthpiece to convince the animals that the milk
and apples are needed for the wellbeing of the pigs which had been ‘proved by science.’
This suggests that Squealer is using the lack of education of the animals as a tool to control
them. The word ‘science’ suggests that he uses false evidence to back up his statement in
order to make it believable as he knows that the animals are not educated enough to realise
that it is untrue and therefore would not question it. Through this Orwell exposes the
exploitation of the working class by the ruling class. Therefore, he encourages the readers to
voice your rights and stand up for something that may be amoral. Squealer’s use of the
power of language can also be seen when rewrites history. An example of this can be seen
when he tells the animal that it was Napoleon that fought bravely at the battle of the
Cowshed. He manipulates the animals into thinking that they remember that Napoleon
fought bravely and led them. “Surely, you remember that comrades?” The use of the
rhetorical question makes the animals doubt themselves. Squealer’s guilelessness can also
be seen when he uses the word ‘comrades.’ This creates a sense of unity and equality
between them which is persuasive as the animals believe that they are a team and would
therefore trust squealer as they would believe that he cares for the wellbeing of the farm.
However, this is ironic as Squealer is betraying the animals’ trust by spreading lies and
blackmailing them. He is rewriting history to fit the current narrative as it is ironic that
Napoleon and Squealer were nowhere to be seen during the battle of the Cowshed. Orwell
uses the character of Squealer to represent a Russian newspaper called ‘Pravda’ however it
is ironic that Pravda means ‘truth’ in Russian. Therefore, the fact that Squealer lies and
manipulates the animals is a direct criticism of the Pravda newspaper. Orwell uses a pig to
represent the Pravda so that he can criticise it and ridicule it by presenting it as a pig.
Furthermore, using a pig to represent a corrupt newspaper gives it a universal quality. This
helps the readers understand that corruption can happen anywhere and therefore to not
trust everything that you are told so readily.
In addition, Orwell also highlighter the corrupting influence of power. This can be seen
through the allusion of the great purge as like Stalin, Napoleon also abuses his power as he
manipulates the animals into false confessions in order to prevent any rebellion against him.
Napoleon uses his guard dogs, which represents the KGB to ‘slain’ the animals until there
, was a ‘Pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of
blood.’ This emphasises the brutal nature of Napoleon as the noun ‘pile’ implies that dogs
‘slaughtered’ a lot of animals which shows the barbaric nature of the dogs who blindly follow
Napoleon’s orders. The imagery of the ‘air’ being ‘heavy with the blood of smell’ invokes a
sense of sympathy in the readers are the animals are ruthlessly murdered and are unfairly
punished for the crimes they did not commit. The image of bloody corpses standing at
Napoleon’s feet is powerful, not just because it is vivid, but because it shows that Napelon
will stop at nothing to maintain his power. This is a turning point in the novel because it
shows that Napoleon has become a tyrant just as Stalin did in the Soviet Union. In contrast,
Boxer is arguably the strongest animal on the farm in terms of physical power but he doesn’t
use it to break free from the control of the pigs as he lacks the knowledge to realise that the
pigs are exploiting the animals. Boxer’s strength can be seen when he protects the pigs that
had protested against Napoleon from the dogs. Therefore as a consequence of Boxer’s
great strength, the dogs ‘shrieked for mercy.’ The verb ‘shrieked’ implies that the dogs were
terrified as they screamed and begged Boxer to let them go. This perhaps may surprise the
readers as the dogs were portrayed as ‘fierce looking as wolves’ but their strength is nothing
compared to Boxer. This is also ironic as the dogs mercilessly ‘slaughtered’ a lot of animals
but begged for mercy to Boxer. Despite the incalculable strength Boxer fails to recognise the
exploitation of the pigs and passively accepts their rule. This can be seen through his motto
“Napoleon is always right.” This short simple sentence depicts his intelligence. The language
is simple which reflects his lack of intelligence. On the other hand, this also emphasises his
naivety. Therefore, this shows why he would never take power from the pigs as he blindly
trusts Napoleon and thinks that Napoleon cares for the wellbeing of the farm. Through this
Orwell highlights the importance of education as without it you can easily get brainwashed
and exploited. Therefore Orwell encourages the readers to educate themselves as this helps
them become independent and differentiate between right and wrong.
In the novel, Orwell also exposes the reality of life after the Russian Revolution as, by the
end of the novel, the futility of the rebellion is evident. This can be seen when Napoleon
carries a ‘whip in his trotter.’ This shows the inequality in the farm as the ‘whip’ symbolises
power and control as it is an instrument of dominance and torture. This, therefore, shows the
divide between the powerful pigs and the rest of the hard working animals. The pigs clearly
have more power over the animals are therefore they are superior to them. The fact that
Napoleon carries a whip shows the readers the pigs’ cruel nature and the failure of the
rebellion that had aimed to achieve equality and freedom. This echoes Old Major’s words “In
fighting against men we must not come to resemble him” This is ironic as the pig uses
‘whips’ which reminds the readers of Mr. Jones as he also used whips to control and punish
the animals. Therefore, it is a symbol of man's oppression. This creates a cyclical structure
as it shows the never ending cyclical nature of tyranny as the farm has now become a
totalitarian regime in which the animals initially rebelled against. The use of the cyclical
structure shows the readers that no matter who rules, the animals face the same conditions
but a different oppressor. The difference between Mr. Jones and the pigs is that the pigs
pretended to care about the animals but betrayed them as they are greedy for power.
However, Mr. Jones did not appear to be duplicitous and made his intentions clear. Through
this Orwell warns the readers that communism would never exist as it is just a dream, a
fantasy which would never come true. This is because power corrupts people, so there can
never be an equal distribution of wealth and power. Therefore, this is a cautionary tale of the
dangers of power.
the rebellion?
Throughout the novel, Orwell highlights the corrupting influence of power, which leads to the
pigs getting greedier and therefore exploiting the animals in order to suit their needs. This
led to inequality on the farm as Napoleon abuses his power so that the animals work harder
for less, while the pigs live more extravagantly, and increasingly detached from the
community
Orwell portrays the power of language and how it can be manipulated to benefit the ruling
class. He does this because he was concerned about social injustices. This can be seen
when the pigs use propaganda to establish themselves in power and take control of the
farm. For example, Squealer manipulates the animals so that the milk and apples are
preserved for the pigs alone. This is the first glimpse of Napoleon’s taste for power as
instead of sharing out the milk, Napoleon keeps it for the pigs’ mash. This shows that
Napoleon intends to take power as soon as possible as this was the first day after Mr. Jones’
expulsion. Napoleon uses Squealer as his mouthpiece to convince the animals that the milk
and apples are needed for the wellbeing of the pigs which had been ‘proved by science.’
This suggests that Squealer is using the lack of education of the animals as a tool to control
them. The word ‘science’ suggests that he uses false evidence to back up his statement in
order to make it believable as he knows that the animals are not educated enough to realise
that it is untrue and therefore would not question it. Through this Orwell exposes the
exploitation of the working class by the ruling class. Therefore, he encourages the readers to
voice your rights and stand up for something that may be amoral. Squealer’s use of the
power of language can also be seen when rewrites history. An example of this can be seen
when he tells the animal that it was Napoleon that fought bravely at the battle of the
Cowshed. He manipulates the animals into thinking that they remember that Napoleon
fought bravely and led them. “Surely, you remember that comrades?” The use of the
rhetorical question makes the animals doubt themselves. Squealer’s guilelessness can also
be seen when he uses the word ‘comrades.’ This creates a sense of unity and equality
between them which is persuasive as the animals believe that they are a team and would
therefore trust squealer as they would believe that he cares for the wellbeing of the farm.
However, this is ironic as Squealer is betraying the animals’ trust by spreading lies and
blackmailing them. He is rewriting history to fit the current narrative as it is ironic that
Napoleon and Squealer were nowhere to be seen during the battle of the Cowshed. Orwell
uses the character of Squealer to represent a Russian newspaper called ‘Pravda’ however it
is ironic that Pravda means ‘truth’ in Russian. Therefore, the fact that Squealer lies and
manipulates the animals is a direct criticism of the Pravda newspaper. Orwell uses a pig to
represent the Pravda so that he can criticise it and ridicule it by presenting it as a pig.
Furthermore, using a pig to represent a corrupt newspaper gives it a universal quality. This
helps the readers understand that corruption can happen anywhere and therefore to not
trust everything that you are told so readily.
In addition, Orwell also highlighter the corrupting influence of power. This can be seen
through the allusion of the great purge as like Stalin, Napoleon also abuses his power as he
manipulates the animals into false confessions in order to prevent any rebellion against him.
Napoleon uses his guard dogs, which represents the KGB to ‘slain’ the animals until there
, was a ‘Pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of
blood.’ This emphasises the brutal nature of Napoleon as the noun ‘pile’ implies that dogs
‘slaughtered’ a lot of animals which shows the barbaric nature of the dogs who blindly follow
Napoleon’s orders. The imagery of the ‘air’ being ‘heavy with the blood of smell’ invokes a
sense of sympathy in the readers are the animals are ruthlessly murdered and are unfairly
punished for the crimes they did not commit. The image of bloody corpses standing at
Napoleon’s feet is powerful, not just because it is vivid, but because it shows that Napelon
will stop at nothing to maintain his power. This is a turning point in the novel because it
shows that Napoleon has become a tyrant just as Stalin did in the Soviet Union. In contrast,
Boxer is arguably the strongest animal on the farm in terms of physical power but he doesn’t
use it to break free from the control of the pigs as he lacks the knowledge to realise that the
pigs are exploiting the animals. Boxer’s strength can be seen when he protects the pigs that
had protested against Napoleon from the dogs. Therefore as a consequence of Boxer’s
great strength, the dogs ‘shrieked for mercy.’ The verb ‘shrieked’ implies that the dogs were
terrified as they screamed and begged Boxer to let them go. This perhaps may surprise the
readers as the dogs were portrayed as ‘fierce looking as wolves’ but their strength is nothing
compared to Boxer. This is also ironic as the dogs mercilessly ‘slaughtered’ a lot of animals
but begged for mercy to Boxer. Despite the incalculable strength Boxer fails to recognise the
exploitation of the pigs and passively accepts their rule. This can be seen through his motto
“Napoleon is always right.” This short simple sentence depicts his intelligence. The language
is simple which reflects his lack of intelligence. On the other hand, this also emphasises his
naivety. Therefore, this shows why he would never take power from the pigs as he blindly
trusts Napoleon and thinks that Napoleon cares for the wellbeing of the farm. Through this
Orwell highlights the importance of education as without it you can easily get brainwashed
and exploited. Therefore Orwell encourages the readers to educate themselves as this helps
them become independent and differentiate between right and wrong.
In the novel, Orwell also exposes the reality of life after the Russian Revolution as, by the
end of the novel, the futility of the rebellion is evident. This can be seen when Napoleon
carries a ‘whip in his trotter.’ This shows the inequality in the farm as the ‘whip’ symbolises
power and control as it is an instrument of dominance and torture. This, therefore, shows the
divide between the powerful pigs and the rest of the hard working animals. The pigs clearly
have more power over the animals are therefore they are superior to them. The fact that
Napoleon carries a whip shows the readers the pigs’ cruel nature and the failure of the
rebellion that had aimed to achieve equality and freedom. This echoes Old Major’s words “In
fighting against men we must not come to resemble him” This is ironic as the pig uses
‘whips’ which reminds the readers of Mr. Jones as he also used whips to control and punish
the animals. Therefore, it is a symbol of man's oppression. This creates a cyclical structure
as it shows the never ending cyclical nature of tyranny as the farm has now become a
totalitarian regime in which the animals initially rebelled against. The use of the cyclical
structure shows the readers that no matter who rules, the animals face the same conditions
but a different oppressor. The difference between Mr. Jones and the pigs is that the pigs
pretended to care about the animals but betrayed them as they are greedy for power.
However, Mr. Jones did not appear to be duplicitous and made his intentions clear. Through
this Orwell warns the readers that communism would never exist as it is just a dream, a
fantasy which would never come true. This is because power corrupts people, so there can
never be an equal distribution of wealth and power. Therefore, this is a cautionary tale of the
dangers of power.
