JRHS Writing BLOG

Friday, November 23, 2007

Animal Propaganda

In the book – or beast epic – Animal Farm by George Orwell, the pig named Squealer represents the voice of propaganda. He is said to be persuasive, and a master with words – able to trick simple minds with ease. His role in the book is supportive of the leader Napoleon, and it’s quite obvious that he cares very little for the truth.

When Squealer is first introduced, his character is immediately defined. “…He was a brilliant talker, and 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. The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.” (13) He represents the voice of propaganda – which is anything created and marketed to change the minds of the public towards its cause, usually a war or a leader. The CPI – Committee of Public Information – was one such groups involved in the creation of propaganda.

Squealer spends most of his time in Animal Farm deceiving others. He is a shifty character who cannot be trusted, but somehow captures the attention and belief of animals everywhere. Whenever Napoleon clearly breaks a rule or compromise the original vision of the Rebellion, Squealer is always hot on his tracks, covering his every move with his lies. “Once again some of the animals heard this with a certain bewilderment, but Squealer was soon able to convince them that their memories had been at fault.” (70.)

Muriel is another character who deceives the public. Her and the pigs are among the few characters that can read, and they use this to their advantage, misreading the Seven Commandments to the other animals. She states that animals can sleep in beds, but cannot use sheets. They can kill each other, but not without reason. They can drink alcohol, but not in excess. Squealer’s role is to confuse and bewilder his audience into a state of agreement, whereas Muriel takes advantage of the animals’ poor reading abilities and slipshod memories. “Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets, but as it was on the wall, it must have been so. And Squealer, who happened to be passing at this moment, attended by two or three dogs, was able to put the whole matter into perspective.” (49.)