Animal Farm the Use of Fear in Essay

Total Length: 649 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1

Page 1 of 2

Animal Farm

The Use of Fear in Animal Farm

The use of fear plays a significant part in the campaign of Napoleon to gain control of Animal Farm in George Orwell's "fairy story" of the same name. The satirical representation of Stalin uses, of course, other tactics to consolidate his power -- such as the propaganda spewing by Squealer, historical revisionism, and the exploitation of the sheep's ignorance. However, fear underlies each of these elements, and this paper will provide two examples to show how Napoleon uses fear to turn Animal Farm into a communist environment.

The most obvious example of the use of the fear tactic comes when Napoleon trains the pups of the farm (Jessie and Bluebell's litter, to be exact) to be his own personal guard dogs -- ferocious, vicious animals that repulse any threat to Napoleon's position of authority. The dogs that Napoleon raises come to represent a kind of brutal police force -- call them the NKVD -- of Animal Farm. The worker animals' first glimpse of them is after Snowball has just delivered his lecture concerning the erection of the windmill.
Suddenly, Napoleon's attack dogs chase Snowball from the podium, across the farm, and through the hedge. Stunned by this unexpected course of events, the animals can muster no query. Some of the lesser politicized pigs mount a murmur, but "the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again" (Chapter 5, par. 16).

The other example of fear tactic is the constant threat of the return of Jones. The image of Jones as an object of oppression is conjured up by the mastermind propagandist Squealer. Squealer effects the specter of Jones to assuage the murmuring of the animals after it is discovered that the milk and apples are all going to the pigs' bellies. Squealer, speaking on behalf of the pigs, objects that the only reason the pigs….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Animal Farm The Use Of Fear In" (2011, September 05) Retrieved May 19, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/animal-farm-use-fear-52009

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Animal Farm The Use Of Fear In" 05 September 2011. Web.19 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/animal-farm-use-fear-52009>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Animal Farm The Use Of Fear In", 05 September 2011, Accessed.19 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/animal-farm-use-fear-52009