Satire In Animal Farm

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”(Page 97) In this case, George Orwell is using the phrase “more equal” to show how leaders twist words in order to manipulate the population. Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is a classic satire on the Russian Revolution. Satire is a way to use humor, irony, or over exaggeration to expose or criticize people’s ideas, especially in politics. Animal Farm illustrates how leaders become corrupt when they abuse their power, treat the population differently based on their status, and the leaders manipulate and oppress the working class.
Over the course of the book, Napoleon and the pigs abused their power. After an announcement about trading with the humans for supplies, Squealer

Right after Squealer defended the pigs sleeping in the farmhouse, the pigs were given another special benefit. “...it was announced that from now on the pigs would get up an hour later in the mornings than the other animals…”(Page 62). Why can’t the other animals wake up later? This announcement proves that the pigs were given more benefits than all the other animals. Another example of this discrimination is how all the pigs and dogs have comfortable beds and enough food to feed their large community. A couple of years after Boxer’s death, Orwell talks about the state of the farm . “...neither the pigs nor dogs produced any food by their own labor; and there were many of them, and their appetites were always good. ...They(the other animals) were generally hungry, they slept on straw, they drank from the pool, they labored in the fields...,”(Page 114). The pigs and the dogs ate food they didn’t even produce, yet the other animals are hungry, even though they work so hard to feed the community. This shows that the pigs and the dogs were favored over compared to the rest of the animals, as the other animals are hungry, sleep in beds, and have to work long hours. This paragraph proves that another way that leaders become corrupt is when they treat the people unequally, for example, one party is more superior than another, so therefore, they get more

In chapter 6, Napoleon recently took charge of Animal Farm, expelling Snowball. The animals during that year worked like slaves to build the windmill, and Napoleon announced that there was work on Sunday afternoons as well. “...Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half,”(Page 54). Even though work on Sunday afternoon was strictly “voluntary”, why are they being punished by decreasing their food supply by half? This is a way of oppressing the animals into doing more work because Napoleon is punishing the animals if they don’t follow the rules. Also, Squealer often manipulated the animals to thinking that whatever Napoleon is doing with humans was ok, since the rest of the animals do not have good memories. In chapter 6, Napoleon recently announced that they would start trading with the humans in order to gain supplies for the windmill. “Never to have any dealings with human beings, never to engage in trade, never to make use of money, had not these been among the earliest resolutions at the first triumphant Meeting after Jones was expelled?...Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals’ mind to rest. He assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had