Ignorance In George Orwell's Animal Farm

In the novel, The animal’s ignorance makes them prey to Squealer’s manipulation. For example, when the milk and apples are lost and the animals find out the pigs have taken them, Squealer justifies why the pigs took the milk and apples by saying that they “preserve their health” and “contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig” (36). The animals on the farm are gullible to Squealer’s lies. The animals believe Squealer because they know the health of pigs is important, for the pigs are the leaders of Animal Farm. In the novel, the animals cannot read the Seven Commandments created by Napoleon, so Squealer tweaks them by adding specific phrases, such as “to excess” after the original commandment. Later, there is a noise in the yard and the animals rush to see a ladder “broken in two pieces” where they see Squealer “temporarily stunned, sprawling beside it, and near at hand lay a lantern, a paintbrush, and an overturned pot of white paint”(108). The animals, except Old Benjamin, are not smart enough to realize that the Seven Commandments

Squealer uses language and propaganda to scare the animals. After the animals find out about the pigs had taken the milk and apples, Squealer uses fear to explain why the pigs took them. Squealer states, “Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!... Surely there is no one among use who wants to see Jones comes back?”(36) The animals do not want Jones to come back at all, and throughout the novel, Squealer mentions farmer Jones’s return to frighten the animals and stop any rebellion against Napoleon. According to critic Davi Silva Gonçalves, “ Squealer embodies communication channels (propaganda) responsible for reinforcing [readers] fear.” The way Squealer communicates triggers the animals fear and persuades them to follow Napoleon. Squealer uses fear to continue Napoleon’s control.