Animal Farm Socratic

Question 1: Napoleon and Snowball each used propaganda tactics to persuade their audience in the book, Animal Farm. Snowball used tactics that gained him the support of his followers using a propaganda method known as “Plain Folks”. Specifically, “Snowball read it [the seven commandments] aloud for the benefit of the others. All the animals nodded in complete agreement” (43). By convincing the listeners that he was applying these rules for their greater good, he gained their trust and their support as well. Napoleon used a different approach however. His use of the tactic known as “Transfer” by making the subjects believe a certain way by linking someone with something negative, causing the audience to associate both together in their mind. For example, because of Napoleon, “whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball” (88). Even though both Napoleon and Snowball seemed to disagree on everything, both agreed on the fundamentals on which Animal Farm was created. Each convinced the animal masses that their rebellion was justified because they were not treated right by Mr. Jones.
Question 3:
Squealer is the most culpable for the evolution and eventual state of the farm. His use of persuasive appeals and imagery throughout his speeches caused the animal masses to believe his twisted and biased stories. For example, when Squealer is attempting to convince the animals that Snowball was involved with Jones in the Battle of the Cowshed, he “described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the animals that they did remember it” (91). He is successful at swaying the other animals’ ideals so well that he even causes them to believe that they’re own memories are inaccurate.
Question 5: Animal Farm centers around the use of propaganda to persuade opinions. A specific example of propaganda used in the book is when Napoleon convinces the animals that Snowball is to blame for the collapse of the windmill. In particular, he says,