In the passage of Animal Farm, Squealer, constantly using various persuasive techniques such as repetition, plain folks, rhetorical questions, appeal to reason, appeal to emotion and appeal to authority, convincing the other animals that their ex “comrade” Snowball was a traitor and had deceived them since the beginning of the revolution. When using these Logical Fallacy’s, he successfully convinces the rest of the animals to believe and continue following the leadership of their fellow “comrade” Napoleon.
Throughout the entire passage the word “comrade” is constantly repeated. When Squealer states “But we were wrong, comrades” and “That was our mistake, comrades” he uses the repetition of “comrades” to remind the animals and make them believes that they are friends and equals as well as on the same side of the revolution, while also appealing to Plain Folk to make them appear as they too make mistakes and can be wrong just like the rest of them to prove they really are equals and to build and gain the trust of the others to be sure of their allegiance.
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He asks “Did we not see for ourselves how he attempted-fortunately without success- to get us defeated and destroyed at the battle of the Cowshed?” Squealer states this to all of the animals to emphasize the obviousness of snowballs deceit and betrayal despite everything the animals know or “think” they know about the situation. When Boxer began to question Squealers credibility, Squealer used appeal to reason and tried to prove that there was solid evidence when stating “It has all been proven by documents which he left behind him and which we have only just discovered” and “I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to read it.” While also using the logical fallacy of Red Herring to try to distract Boxer and deviate from his argument by changing the subject before he remembers what he was arguing about
When questions aroused about how in the Battle of Cowshed Comrade Napoleon wasn't as brave as they all thought, the only solution was to push the blame to Snowball. The pigs thought that if they explained to the lower animals how Snowball was against them, no one would look to Napoleon for the blame anymore. " That was our mistake, comrade. For we know now----it is all written down in the secret documents that we have found----that in reality he was trying to lure us to our doom" (80). If the animals were smarter and had better memories, they could have remembered this battle more vividly then they wouldn't have seen what the pigs were trying to accomplish. They would have seen how Squealer was manipulating their minds into thinking that Comrade Napoleon was the hero, Snowball was the enemy and he himself had been in on the human's plan with Jones. Not only did the pigs say Snowball betrayed Animal Farm, but they also suggested that he created mischief on the farm while the animals slept at night.
The undeniable greed Napoleon possesses can only be fulfilled by giving the other animals the illusion of bettering themselves by not questioning his logic: “Boxer, who had now had time to think things over, voiced the general feeling by saying, ‘If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.’ And from then on he adopted the maxim, ‘Napoleon is always right,’ in addition to his private motto of ‘I will work harder’” (Orwell 60). Because Animal Farm’s audience predominantly consists of working class citizens, they begin to feel sympathy for Boxer since he cannot recognize Napoleon is exploiting him exclusively for his personal goal of becoming a puissant leader; therefore, animosity towards Napoleon develops in the audience. Considering the animals promptly welcome Napoleon’s promise of a better life, they work towards exhaustion, unknowingly fueling Napoleon’s greed: "All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings" (63). Although the animals working for Napoleon are unaware he is gradually becoming more human and willfully betraying his fellow animals for his own benefit, it is evident to the audience that Napoleon is corrupt. As Napoleon cunningly achieves power, his greed continues to grow, the same as a totalitarian leader’s:
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.
Soon after building the windmill, it falls and Napoleon blames Snowball for its destruction. Some of the animals sympathize with Snowball, saying that there was no way he could have pushed it over. Napoleon becomes angry, purging the farm, killing anyone who he accuses of allying with Snowball. After he did so, animals questioned his tactics only for Napoleon to ask the animals, “Surely comrades, you would not want Jones back? (Orwell, pg. 67 Chap. 6)” By saying this rhetorical question, the animals would not question what it was that Jones had done that was worse than Napoleon, and they would just get back to doing their work. Napoleon used Squealer the pig to help him get out of situations that he brought upon himself. When Napoleon would say something that he was not supposed to, Squealer would justify for
The first time we see Squealer is when some of the other animals question the consumption of milk and apples by the pigs. This point in the book is significant because it is the first time the pigs are seen to be giving themselves better quality food than the rest of the animals. Squealer is described in the book as a brilliant talker and persuasive. He is excitable and confuses the others with his skipping motions and whisking tail. These actions take the focus away from what he is actually saying. Squealer begins his explanation by using the word "comrades." The use of this word leads the animals to believe he is talking to them as an equal; this would make the animals more likely to believe what he is saying because the animals
Squealer is a clever pig who is known to be persuasive , and defend Napoleon’s intentions. “The Battle of the Cowshed” happened so quickly. Some animals don't remember exactly what happened. Which is where Squealer comes in and successfully convinces them that Snowball has been a traitor all along. Then starts speaking in his behalf , declaring all Napoleon’s
In the novella Animal Farm, the timeline of early 1900s Russia unfolds in an allegory, with revolutionists Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx sparking a rebellion against Czar Nicholas II. Subsequently, a social democratic party known as the Bolsheviks overthrew the czar, aided by two significant leaders: Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Even so, the newfound ideology of communism that Stalin introduced and quickly corrupted through propaganda proved to be just as oppressive as the reign of Nicholas II. Most importantly, this corruption and oppression was elucidated by British author George Orwell through the use of rhetorical devices in the allegorical satire Animal Farm, where the audience receives a glimpse into the cunning caricature of
In this propaganda poster, Squealer is convincing the animals that Snowball deserved his expulsion from the farm. The poster uses fear propaganda to influence the animals’ beliefs. Squealer uses lies such as saying Snowball is a “confirmed criminal” as well as frightening images to explain why Snowball was evil and chased out. Snowball is shown as a large reddish pig surrounded by darkness with the words ‘confirmed CRIMINAL’ behind him. He is much larger and menacing than any other animal and is holding a pitchfork, which is a sign of human oppression. ‘Snowball is STEALING our society’ is in front of him, between him and the other animals. Alliteration is used to grab the animals’ attention in addition to making it easier to read. The words ‘stealing’ and ‘criminal’ are emphasized in order to bring the animals’ attention to Snowball’s malevolent intentions.
George Orwell in his didactic political satire “Animal Farm” effectively alludes to the significant role propaganda plays within the novel to distort truth and exploit the proletariat. Throughout his satirical fable, Orwell critically explores the challenges encountered by the pig intelligentsia as revolutionary propaganda idealises Animalism which is subverted by naive and uneducated animals such as Molly. Her domesticated shallow mindset and vanity for decorative ribbons ultimately forms a foundation for her reliance and preference in maintaining Mr. Jone’s repressive status. This is clearly exemplified throughout “those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons?”.
Squealer uses propaganda in several ways. He persuades other animals to accept that the pigs will keep all the apples and milk. Squealer then tells them that he hopes they don't think the pigs are doing this to be selfish, saying that if that is what they think then they are wrong. Then he gives the animals another reason to accept the milk and apples by telling them the pigs don't even like milk and apples, and neither does squealer himself. His reasoning for eating them was to stay healthy for the purpose of others.
Throughout the entire passage the word “comrade” is constantly repeated. When Squealer states “But we were wrong, comrades” and “That was our mistake, comrades” he uses the repetition of “comrades” to remind the animals and make them believes
The first reason the role of squealer is the most harmful is that propaganda is a lie. During the course of the book several lies are told by napoleon and then defended by squealer. The first lie is the milk and apple lie. Napoleon lies that he will share the mild and apples with the other apples but instead keeps for himself and the other pigs.
Napoleon and Snowball were both in charge of the farm with equal leadership until Napoleon started to dislike Snowball’s ideas. Snowball was more of an idealist than Napoleon, wanting to spread the Rebellion to neighbouring farms where as Napoleon wanted to consolodate on his power. Snowball was more likeable and charasmatic than Napoleon and Napoleon saw that as a threat so Napoleon exiled Snowball out of the farm with his army of dogs. The naive animals were confused by this because they all personally liked Snowball. In the Battle of the Cowshed he had got injured to help them and was rewarded by Napoleon himself, a badge. Napoleon quickly got Squealer to settle the confusion and tell them that it was all an act. Squealer says, “Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball, with his moonshine and windmills - Snowball, who, as we now know, is no better than a criminal!” He follows that up with his rhetorical question of, “Surely comrades, you do not want Jones back do you? The animals have no answer back to this as they did not want him back, they just believe him and forget about
As they start to forget about the rebellion, and start to forget about what they were fighting for in the first place, it makes it all to easy for someone to come in and make things worse without them realizing it. They lose that comparison of how things used to be, making everything that happens seem like the best thing there is. It is stated multiple times throughout the story, as Squealer spews his twisted stories and propaganda, that the animals thought it was different, but couldn’t quite remember, so what Squealer was saying must be true. When Boxer speaks up, saying “I do not believe that, Snowball fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed. I saw him myself” he is met with resistance from the pigs, who are seen as superior in intelligence, as Squealer tells him “That was our mistake, comrade.
In this example he tells the other animals that Snowball was teamed up with Jones to try to recapture the farm from the animals to take the rebelling out of there minds. In this particular example one of the animals says in Snowball's defense that he fought with courage in the battle of the Cowshed, and that everyone saw him with blood seeping out of him. Squealer replies to the animals by saying, "That was part of the arrangement! Jones' shot only grazed him. I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to read it. The plot was for Snowball, at the critical moment, to give the signal for flight and leave the field for the enemy. And he very nearly succeeded-if it had not been for out heroic leader comrade Napoleon" (Orwell 80). Squealer recalls the battle of the Cowshed the way the pigs wanted it to be remembered, with as much detail of Napoleon saving the farm as possible. Although the animals don't actually recall it that way they believed it because Squealer has remembered it in much more detail than the animals did. This is also an excellent example of Squealer manipulating the other animals on the farm. He also takes the animals' lack of intelligence to his advantage whenever he can. When Snowball was in change Squealer was living in his shadow. But when Napoleon came to power Squealer also shared the spotlight. Squealer wasn't being used to his full potential under Snowball,