Animal Farm Literary Analysis

Often times in a communist society, a leader’s use of language can lead to abuse of power. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the farm leaders, the pigs, use unknown language, invoke scare tactics, and create specific laws, thereby enabling them to control other animals, to suit their greedy desires, and to perform actions outside their realm of power. Because of the pigs’ use of broad language, implementation of scare tactics, and creation and manipulation of laws, they are able to get away with avoiding laws and convincing other animals into believing untrue stories and lies that are beneficial to the pigs. Napoleon, Snowball, and Boxer, George Orwell’s main characters in his novel Animal Farm, illustrate how the misuse of power can lead to

Snowball emerges as a fervent ideologue who throws himself heart and soul into the attempt to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s infrastructure. His idealism, however, leads to his downfall. Relying only on the force of his own logic and rhetorical skill to gain his influence, he proves no match for Napoleon’s show of brute force. Although Orwell depicts Snowball in a relatively appealing light, he refrains from idealizing his character, making sure to endow him with certain moral flaws. For example, Snowball basically accepts the superiority of the pigs over the rest of the animals. Moreover, his passionate, single-minded enthusiasm for grand projects such as the windmill might have erupted into full-blown megalomaniac despotism had he not been chased from Animal Farm. On page 14, Snowball was able to use his power to convince the birds that they were equal to everyone after making a statement of “Four legs good, two legs bad”. Although the birds did not understand what Snowball was saying, they still accepted his explanation. Snowball is a caring leader who used his power to better the lives of

Boxer epitomizes all of the best qualities of the exploited working classes: dedication, loyalty, and a huge capacity for labor. He also, however, suffers from what Orwell saw as the working class’s major weaknesses: a naïve trust in the good intentions of the intelligent and an inability to recognize even the most flagrant forms of political corruption. Exploited by the pigs as much or more than he had been by Mr. Jones, Boxer represents all of the invisible labor that undergirds the political drama being carried out by the elites. Boxer’s death dramatically illustrates the extent of the pigs’ betrayal. He serves as the force that holds Animal Farm together. He represents the Proletariat or Russian workers and laborers. His power is mostly manipulated by that of Napoleon. After Snowball is sent into exile, Boxer tries to think things over for himself, but all he can come up with is, "If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right," and he takes up a new personal motto: "Napoleon is always