Fear In George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'

Animal Farm Analytical Essay
Topic: It is fear along with manipulation, propaganda, the ignorance of the lower animals and the level of intelligence that the pigs have over the other animals that controls the lower animals in George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Fear, while extremely prominent, is not the only device used to control the lower animals in the allegorical masterpiece, Animal Farm by George Orwell. Along with fear, the pigs use manipulation, propaganda, the ignorance of the lower animals and the level of intelligence that they have over them. Underneath this story of a group of animals attempting to create a new world, lies a tale of corruption and power that ultimately denounces the notion of capitalism.
Fear is used extensively throughout Animal Farm by the pigs; they use it as a compelling mechanism to control the lower animals.
It is an obvious abuse of power by the pigs and forces the animals to do things they usually wouldn’t. One of the fears shared by all of the animals is that of Mr Jones returning to take over the farm, the pigs know this very well and use it to their advantage. They continually remind them of the threat at their meetings: “Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?” This gives the pigs incredible power over the other animals because they look to someone who can protect them from the risk of Mr Jones. The other main fear that the pigs use to control the animals is the ferocious dogs brought up by Napoleon himself. Just like the NKVD carried out purges, executing anyone who Stalin perceived as a threat, the dogs were the violent force that allowed Napoleon to stay in power. The risk of being attacked by the dogs stopped the animals from betraying the farm in the same way they think Snowball betrayed them. Fear is an immensely influential device used by the pigs, although it is certainly not the only one.
Additionally, propaganda is used to make the animals feel good about being a part of Animal Farm and give them false hope about the future. One of the examples of propaganda is the sheep’s slogan “Four legs good, two legs bad”. This phrase is used to reinstate their belief of it, and nothing else. The pigs are not allowing the animals to think anything else and therefore they don’t think about rebellion or the times before the revolution, ensuring their “comrades” don’t turn against them. The other main use of propaganda is Squealer, the propaganda machine. He uses his quick mind and nimble tongue to ensure Napoleon’s regime is held up. He continually justifies the pigs’ actions and decisions by reminding the animals that “We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us.” The pigs say of Squealer “he could turn black into white”, this certainly rings true when the animals discover that the pigs have been allowing themselves large rations of milk and apples, Squealer immediately changes their opinions, convincing them that they require this brain food to make the important decisions about the farm. In Animal Farm, propaganda is used to twist reality to suit the interests of the pigs.
An equally significant aspect of the novel is the manipulative characters of the pigs. The lower animals are victimised by the pigs because of their lack of intelligence, similarly to the way Stalin and his men took advantage of the lower class because of their ignorance. The pigs heavily manipulate the lower animals at Animal Farm to make them do exactly what they want; they use this as a tool to force the animals to work on the farm. They act as servants to the pigs and because of their low intelligence, they can’t think for themselves or stand up to the pigs. The most obvious manipulative technique by the pigs is their additions and changes to the commandments. The most significant of the alterations being to “All animals are equal”, which after the pigs really start to show characteristics of humans they change to “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. It emphasises the idea that an egalitarian society is near impossible. The lower animals undoubtedly represent the lower class, who are considered to be ‘simple’, and the pigs know exactly how to use it to their advantage.
Furthermore, the pigs are clearly more intelligent than the lower animals, “None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A”.
As soon as Old Major dies, the pigs take the role of organising and managing all of the animals. At first they remain loyal to their fellow animals, but the moment they are faced with something they want, they use their superior intellect to deceive the other animals. Because the animals don’t know any better, they trust what the pigs tell them. The pigs also limit the education offered to the lower animals by destroying the children’s book they use to learn to read and write immediately after they’re done with it. The pigs use their intelligence to oppress the animals and force them into submission. On the other end of the scale, the animals are extremely ignorant to what goes on around them. Simply, the pigs were leaders and the animals were followers. The lower animals where never the ones to put forward resolutions to a problems it was always the pigs, they knew how to vote but nothing past that. They were continually ignorant to any decisions, including ones that harmed
them.
Throughout Animal Farm, the pigs control the animals with fear, propaganda, manipulation, intelligence and ignorance. They become so much like their supposed enemy that by the end “it was impossible to say which was which”. They control every aspect of the farm, yet they don’t do any work and still the animals are too stupid to understand what is happening or do anything about. This can be demonstrated in one quote, “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others”.