Preview

Comparing Propaganda Used in Animal Farm to the Russian Revolution’s Propaganda

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
966 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Propaganda Used in Animal Farm to the Russian Revolution’s Propaganda
Kieya Brewer
Mrs. Shusta
Accelerated English 9
22 December 2011 Comparing Propaganda Used in Animal Farm to the Russian Revolution’s Propaganda
“Propaganda is a narrowly selfish attempt to get people to accept ideas and beliefs, always in the interest of a particular person or group and with little or no advantage to the public (“What is Propaganda… 2). Propaganda is the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person. In the Russian Revolution Joseph Stalin used propaganda to his benefit and used it to usurp the people of Russia. Also how Napoleon used propaganda to his benefit and to usurp the animals of Animal Farm. Napoleon got Boxer to follow him and Boxer helped spread the propaganda, but Squealer was the propaganda itself (Orwell, George 56). Much like how, Joseph Stalin got common people to follow him and he got them to spread it. Fear, transfer, and pinpointing the enemy are three propaganda techniques that are shared by the novel Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution.
The first propaganda technique is fear and it is used to scare the animals of Animal Farm. Napoleon uses fear by holding purges in which he accuses the animals of treason and kills anyone who confesses to working with Snowball. In the same way, Joseph Stalin uses fear by holding executions in which he accuses his enemies for crimes and forces them to admit to false confessions and then executes them (Background information…” 4). The executions are called the Great Terror of 1936 to 1939 and millions of people were killed (Joseph Stalin… 1). Another similarity is how the dogs used fear to force the animals to work and in the Russian Revolution, the secret police forced support for Joseph Stalin. The dogs would also intimidate or threaten any animal who stood in Napoleon’s way. The KGB or secret police would use force and would kill anyone for disobedience (Lamont, George J. 1).
The second propaganda technique that



Cited: “George Orwell-Animal Farm-Interpretation of characters and symbols.” The Complete Newspeak Dictionary. 7 December 2011 <http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/goanimalfarm_farm.html>. Lamont, George J. “Animal Farm-Comparison of characters to the Russian Revolution.” Gonzaga Student Web Server. 11 December 2011 http://barney.gonzaga.edu/~sbennet3/mead/lesonplans/animalfarm.htm>. “Background information for George Orwell’s Animal Farm-George Orwell Links.” Charles’ George Orwell Links-Biographies, Essays, Novels, Reviews, Images. 11December 2011<http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/animal-farm-background-info.htm> Orwell, George. Animal Farm: a fairy story. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 1996. Print. "What is Propaganda?: Defining Propaganda." American Historical Association. 15 December 2011 <http://www.historians.org/projects/giroundtable/Propaganda/Propaganda8.htm>. "Joseph Stalin - Discover the Networks." Discover the Networks. 15 December 2011 <http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2042>. Borade, Gaynor. “Stalinism: The use of Propaganda by Joseph Stalin.” Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. 15 December 2011 <http://www.buzzle.com/articles.stalinism-the-use-of-propaganda-by-joseph-stalin.html>.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Napoleon, the self elected leader of Animal Farm, often uses propaganda to persuade his comrades into carrying out his commands, comparable to Julius Caesar, a notable roman author and dictator. Napoleon is able to utilize propaganda through ignorance and faulty…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Animal Farm Dbq

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Propaganda is the manipulation of facts and feelings. Throughout the book, Napoleon used propaganda to trick the other farm animals. “Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start!”(Doc D, excerpt 3) By spreading false facts about Snowball, a pig that did not agree with Napoleon’s ways, the animals are convinced that snowball was against them even though he just wanted to help everyone. Napoleon also used propaganda to paint himself as a hero. “ ‘And do you not remember, too, that it was just at that moment, when panic was spreading and all seemed lost, that Comrade Napoleon sprang forward with a cry of ‘Death to Humanity!’ and sank his teeth in Jones’s leg? Surely you remember that, comrades?’ exclaimed Squealer, frisking from side to side.” (Doc E, excerpt 1) Squealer painted Napoleon as a hero and acted as if all those events actually happened. He over exaggerated everything to make it seem like everything really happened that way. Napoleon demanded that everyone call him “our leader”and adopted other names such as, “Father of All Animals, Terror of Mankind, Protector of the Sheep-Fold…” By using these names, taking credit for everyday things, and being displayed as a hero, the animals were tricked into believing Napoleon knew what was best for the them and allowed him to stay in…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Propaganda is a weapon used to deceive the minds of living things. Throughout the novella Animal Farm, George Orwell depicts how propaganda is used to assert dominance through the lives of animals. Napoleon is able to maintain control over the other animals only because of Squealers convincing propaganda. Squealer controls the others by creating fear, manipulating messages and justifying their actions.…

    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The series of events in the Russian Revolution strongly resembled those during the Animal Farm Revolution. In both cases, a new form of…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The novella by George Orwell, Animal Farm, is an allegory, or a piece of literature with a hidden meaning, of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Animal Farm follows the events of the farm animals and their uprising against the farmer. Despite the obvious differences between, Animal Farm, and the Russian Revolution, they are very much similar. Characters from the novella can be compared to historical figures from the revolution. While the novella is not limited to these characters, these are the most significant. These characters are: Jones and Czar Nicholas II, Old Major and Karl Marx, Snowball and Leon Trotsky, as well as Napoleon and Joseph Stalin. In addition, certain events of the Russian Revolution can be compared to those of Animal Farm.…

    • 2028 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Propaganda is an influential idea being spread to indulge the liking of and audience. The propaganda can be spread in many ways through school, radio, and even television shows. In the end, propaganda is just an attempt to sway the audience to believe what the message senders believe. Propaganda has a broad history and dates back to even 5 B.C. when Pericles created propaganda to show Athens was better than the tyrannical Sparta. The actual term “propaganda” only came to the surface in the 1600’s when an organization set up within the Roman Catholic church created it.…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vladimir Lenin once said “Sometimes - history needs a push”. What Lenin is referring to in this quote is revolution, which is just what the animals on Mr. Jones’s farm plan to do in belief that animals are superior to humans and should be treated better than slaves to man in George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm. Mr. Jones treats the animals on his farm with little to no respect for their well-being, seeming to only care about the income they supply for him. When the idea of taking what they feel is rightfully theirs is brought on by a wise pig, Old Major, the animals start a rebellion. Sometimes together and sometimes not, the animals learn to manage the farm on their own and survive together without the help of humans. George Orwell uses specific parallels in the novel to connect the characters and events on Animal Farm to their equivalents in the Russian Revolution. Both figuratively and literally, the main figures in Animal Farm are directly linked to real life people who took part in the Russian Revolution through how they acted, what they did, and what they believed in to show a different representation of running a civilization and war.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his stories Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm, George Orwell referenced the use of propaganda, as well as its consequences. If one were to read those stories, the overall message that could be concluded is that propaganda can be dangerous. While the term propaganda carried a negative connotation in the past, propaganda in today’s society is not always manifested in physical media and may not always be obvious. Today, propaganda can present itself in people’s thoughts, social media, and sermons. People use it to brainwash other people and to create paranoia and prejudice. They use people’s fear or confusion to manipulate their thoughts and actions. This use of propaganda can often be seen during war, for religious beliefs, and in politics.…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, Animal Farm shows how using vague language,propaganda and misinformation control the thoughts and beliefs of animals.Orwell wants to express that the least smart ones are born to be directed and ruled.In Animal Farm…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Propaganda In Animal Farm

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages

    That is what makes it so horrific; it takes morals and replaces them with human ideals that are not always just. This strong propaganda was also used destructively in Russia while under Stalin’s Communist rule. Newspapers like the Pravda, Russian for truth, told the unassuming people of all the “wonderful” things their leader was doing and kept questioners quiet. It was this propaganda and blindness of the people that made the Russian Revolution so harsh. The novel Animal Farm was written by George Orwell in protest of such totalitarianism. The novel is an allegory of the Russian Revolution and the story of the Russian Revulsion could not be told without propaganda. In the novel, Squealer, the pig, stands for propaganda in a profound way. Squealer propagandizes the animals, progressing from twisting words to telling half-truths to…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The propaganda of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union used many methods for conveying their messages to the wider population such as songs, books, movies and posters but because of the illiteracy and poverty of the majority rather than the other three posters was a much commonly used method. The U.S.S.R. used propaganda to convey their messages to the larger population throughout the years effectively to psychologically dictate their citizens into doing their part for their country’s future. As defined by the Institute For Propaganda Analysis, propaganda is defined as “the expression of ideologies or actions carried out deliberately by group or individuals with an intention of influencing the actions or opinions of other persons or groups for predetermined ends through emotional manipulations”. That is to say, propaganda uses psychological means to control the thoughts and actions of its…

    • 1707 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Old Major, a prize-winning boar, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal, committing his great strength to the prosperity of the farm and adopting as a personal maxim the affirmation “I will work harder.”…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This article is about the novel by George Orwell. For other uses, see Animal Farm (disambiguation).…

    • 7369 Words
    • 30 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Propaganda plays a major role in animal farm and it influenced many events including the tragedies that happened there. Name calling,plain folk, and the lesser of two evils were all significant and by using these techniques the animals were brainwashed and unable to think on their own and was not able to stop the…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Davison, Peter (2000). "George Orwell: Animal Farm: A Fairy Story – 'A Note on the Text '". England: Penguin Books. Archived from the original on 12 December 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061212041856/http://www.orwell.ru/library/novels/Animal_Farm/english/eint_pd.…

    • 1895 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays