Animal Farm Quote Analysis

Leadership is presented through hierarchy in Animal Farm. In the beginning of the novel, we see that Old Major’s form of hierarchy was more idealistic and positive, compared to Napoleon’s which was more harmful and negative. For instance, ‘On a sort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw.’ Here, it is evident that Major is presented as the face of leadership, due to the fact that he is on a ‘raised platform’. Also, this suggests that the audience have to look up to Major, therefore inferring that he is a respected and admired leader. The adjective ‘raised’ illustrates Major’s position relative to the crowd - he is on a higher level, thus proving hierarchy. The dynamic verb ‘ensconced’, infers that Old Major is comfortably

Arrogant is a destructive adjective that describes Napoleon’s form of leadership. For example, ‘Majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling around him.’ This quote shows that Napoleon is metaphorically described as ‘majestically upright’ in hierarchy. Furthermore, the phrase ‘with his dongs gambolling around him’ infers that Napoleon has enslaved the animals of the farm and using them to look more superior, plus the fact that it is directed towards him through the pronoun ‘his’ could infer hierarchy. Also, this could oppose to the sayings ‘All animals are equal’ because Napoleon is presenting the other animals as his ‘slaves’ and minor individual's. Moreover, the adjective ‘upright’, infers Napoleon’s body position towards the audience - he is displayed as a more powerful being compared to the other animals in the farm. This can be related to Old Major, as he is also ‘raised’, which could infer that both characters are hierarchical leaders, however Napoleon has a more arrogant and egoistic personality as he was ‘casting haughty glances’ at the animals. Overall, Napoleon is presented as a conceited menace, compared to Old Major who is described as a more peaceful and calm

Squealer uses propaganda to manipulate the uneducated animals, this is echoed in the sayings ‘We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organization of this farm depends on us.’ This quote infers that Squealer is boasting about his breed in order to receive the approval of the other farm animals, to cement an undisputed leadership, which is visible through the phrase ‘We pigs are brainworkers’. Furthermore, the quote tells us that Animal Farm is unsystematic without a principal due to the fact that ‘the whole management and organization’ depends on residents of the farm. However, the quote is additionally revealing that Squealer is trying to grant him and the pigs control over the farm. In this context, the ‘pigs’ are presented with the positive adjective ‘brainworkers’, this insinuates that the pigs are the only animals who utilize their brain, making the other animals unintelligent. However the term ‘brainworkers’ isn't valid in the English language, therefore this shows that Squealer has used neologism to present himself and the pigs as constructive and intelligent individuals, which could exhibit their desperation for power. Moreover, the stative verb ‘depends’, proposes that Animal Farm relies and functions on the orders of the pigs as it is placed with ‘on us’. Nevertheless, this could suggest that Squealer is deceiving his audience through the fact that they should ‘depend’ on the pigs’ control