How does Orwell use the characters of Squealer and Boxer to entertain?

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Sofia Petryk 9J

How does Orwell use the characters ‘Squealer’ and ‘Boxer’  to entertain the reader and teach them about the historical context of the Russian Revolution?

Orwell created the characters of ‘Squealer’ and ‘Boxer’ for entertainment purposes, towards the reader, and also to inform and teach the reader about the Russian Revolution, in the form of a ‘fiction’ story, but in many ways and references, it seems almost like a non-fiction book.

The connotation of the name ‘Squealer’ signifies that he is ‘High pitched’ and when his words are spoken they are concise and memorable. Squealer has “very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements, and a shrill voice.” He is also “a brilliant talker” who is talented in the art of argument. The other pigs say Squealer “could turn black into white”, When Squealer masks the evil intentions of the pigs, the intentions can be carried out with little resistance and without political disarray. Squealer could be closely correlated with the ‘Pravda’, the Russian newspaper of the 1930s. Propaganda was a key to many publications, and since there was no television or radio, the newspaper was the primary source of media information. So the domination of the ‘Pravda’ was seized by Stalin and his new Bolshevik regime. In ‘Animal Farm’, ‘Squealer’ like the newspaper, is the link between Napoleon and other animals. The name ‘Boxer’ is cunningly used by Orwell as a metaphor for the ‘Boxer Rebellion’ in China in the early twentieth century. It was this rebellion which signaled the beginning of communism in China. This form of communism, much like ‘Stalin’s’ distorted view of communism, is still present today in the government in China. In simple terms, it can also mean that he is strong, fearless and dedicated and throughout the story he lives up to his name; in ‘Animal Farm’, ‘Orwell’ created two mottos for Boxer, which he uses throughout, "Napoleon is always right" and "I must work harder", these two mottos just prove how dedicated, yet unaware ‘Boxer’ was of the situation around him. Since Boxer and the other low animals are not accustomed to the "good life," they can't really compare Napoleon's government with the life they had before under Jones (the Czars). Also, since usually the lowest class has the lowest intelligence, it is not difficult to persuade them into thinking they are getting a good deal.

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Orwell introduces us to ‘Squealer’, in the start of the book, to be precise, the beginning of chapter two. Orwell describes ‘Squealer’ as ‘a small fat pig… with very round cheeks...’ , the reader gets  the image of a typical pig, but this is typical opinion will later be changed, as Orwell adds more detail, beginning in the next line up to chapter ten. ‘When he was arguing some difficult point he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive.’ Orwell immediately tells us that ‘Squealer’ is argumentative and the ...

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