However Animal farm is unlike a fairy story in the way that it has a hidden meaning which is harder to understand. It tells us about important things about how people act and about tyrants. It has a political meaning also about the Russian revolution on how the government was overthrown and what life went on like after the rebellion.
Animal farm works as an allegory of the Russian revolution in the way that the people who want change overthrow a ‘ruler’. Mr Jones represents the Russian Emperor at the time, the Czar. Snowball represents Trotsky who was a brilliant speaker. Napoleon represents Stalin who later takes control and changes Russia into a dictatorship. Squealer represents the propaganda specialists who were able to change people’s views through the power of speaking. For example in Animal farm Squealer was able to change the other animal’s views on Napoleon and make Snowball sound like the bad one. He said, “I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that comrade Napoleon ahas made in taking this extra labour upon himself.” Then he goes onto say “Snowball, who, as we now know, was no better than a criminal.”
Squealer uses many techniques in his propaganda. He uses repetition, for example he keeps saying that Napoleon is good and Snowball is bad. Also he uses selection, he only selects propaganda that is suitable for his purpose. Squealer also lies; for example he tells the animals that Napoleon is the hero of the battle of the cowshed and that the marks on Snowballs back were inflicted by Napoleons teeth. He also pinpoints the enemy, whenever things go wrong on the farm he always blames it on his enemy Snowball. He also uses assertion; for example he tells the other animals that the pigs need food more than they do. Finally he uses Rhetorical questions; for example he says, “do you want Jones back?”
Events that happen in animal farm represent events that happened in Russia. For example, anyone who Stalin thought was a threat to him was murdered. In animal farm any animal that was a threat to Napoleon was murdered, for example, the three hens were executed for seeing Snowball in a dream that told them to disobey Napoleons orders.
Karl Marx was very important in the success of Stalin. This is also true about Squealer and Napoleon. Language is very important in the book and is used as a weapon on some people to force them to accept something. They were often lies to make the animals work harder to make the pigs lives better, they were only thinking of themselves.
George Orwell is trying to make a point on how the Russian revolution only helped the leaders. He uses the pigs as clever leaders of the revolution; this helps to distinguish the characters easier. They control the other animals to do the work, but do as little work as they want.
Orwell is also trying to say that Russia ended up worse off in the long term after the revolution because the leaders didn’t know how to run a country properly and fairly. This is a point that Orwell makes, he says that the real government is better because they know how to run a country properly.
Orwell has shown that the government knows how to run a country and not to go against them. He has made a book that is easy to understand but with a hidden meaning, which is harder to understand for adults.