Examples Of Oppression In Animal Farm

Control. Oppression. Manipulation. Lies. In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell the Pigs, who run the farm after its owner Mr Jones is driven out, are able to control the other animals on the farm, even though they could rebel against the pigs and improve their living conditions. The answer is this: through the very effective use of propaganda, the pigs are able to control the other animals, as is shown when they change the seven commandments of animalism repeatedly, and lie about the farms production figures, and about “trying to save” Boxer. After the revolution which threw Mr Jones, the farm’s owner, out, the pigs came up with the seven commandments of animalism. These commandments help to govern the day-to-day life on the farm. However,

This is mostly due to the pigs greed and Napoleon’s insistence on rebuilding the windmill. However, Napoleons spokespig, squealer, convinces the animals that the farm is consistently producing more and more food, even as they starve “On Sunday mornings Squealer, holding down a long strip of paper with his trotter, would read out to them a list of figure proving that the production of every class of foodstuff had increased by two hundred per cent, three hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent, as the case may be” (Orwell 92). Thanks to this propaganda, the other animals believe they are better off under Napoleon than

Boxer saw them coming and put out his great hoof, caught a dog in mid air, and pinned him to the ground.” (Orwell 83). They even convince all of the other animals that they tried to save him. Boxer, while working on the windmill (One of the Pig’s projects) falls and injures himself. The Pigs tell the other animals they are going to send him to the hospital in the nearby town. But, as the “ambulance” is taking him away, one of the animals read the writing on the side“‘ ‘ Alfred Simmons, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler. Willingdon, Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied.’ Do you not understand what this means? They are taking Boxer to the Knacker’s!’” (Orwell 122). Later, the Pigs maintain the illusion that they sent him to the hospital. “Three days later it was announced that he had died in the hospital in Willingdon, despite having received every treatment a horse could have” (Orwell 124). Despite the fact that Boxer was one of the most loyal and devoted followers of Napoleon, he was sold to feed into the Pig’s greed. And despite the fact that this was obviously what happened, by using propaganda, most of the other animals are convinced he died in the hospital. This is just another example of Pigs using propaganda to manipulate