The Significance of Squealer The novel

Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is an allegory portraying

the dangers of a totalitarian government. It seeks to show

how a society where all live completely equal has not been,

and cannot be achieved. Orwell, through the use of the

character Squealer, shows how propaganda can affect

members of a communist society in a negative way. By

drawing parallels to events in communist Russia, Orwell’s

Animal Farm illustrates how propaganda was used to

control the Soviet people by deceiving them, threatening

them and keeping them ignorant in an attempt to maintain

order. The story uses simple language to explain and expose

the corruption of communist Russia. Throughout the story,

Orwell uses Squealer to illustrate how propaganda

persuaded and victimized Russian citizens. Squealer is a sly,

crafty pig who is not only intelligent, but a manipulative

speaker as well. His cunning is key to the deception of the

other animals. In chapter three, Squealer deceives the

animals of the farm for the first time. The animals find out

that the milk and apples are given solely to the pigs, and

Squealer is sent to explain the uneven distribution of farm

resources. “‘Comrades’ he cried. ‘You do not imagine, I

hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and

privilege?’” (Orwell 42) He goes on to explain, “ ‘Milk and

apples (this has been proved by science, comrades) contain

substances absolutely necessary to the well-being Williams 2

of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers (42). Here, Squealer

tries to convince the animals that it’s for health reasons that

they take the apples and milk, but he tries to persuade them

in other ways as well. Squealer continues, “ ‘The whole

management and organization of this farm depend on us….

It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those

apples’”(42). Finally, he convinces them with fear. “ ‘Do

you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty?

Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back!’”

(42) Here, Squealer frightens the animals into submission

with the threat of the return of Mr. Jones, the abusive farmer

that was driven out of the farm by the animals. Squealer is

desperate to obtain the apples and milk and will stop at

nothing to manipulate the other animals into believing that the

pigs should be the sole recipients of this luxury. By masking

their true intentions by misleading the animals, the pigs are

soon able to acquire whatever they want with little

resistance. Orwell uses Squealer to represent the Pravda,

the Russian newspaper controlled by the government during

Joseph Stalin's regime. Orwell points out the corruption of

the Soviet authority in his criticism of the propaganda used

to subdue opposition from the masses. Orwell also criticizes

the monopoly of all Russian media by the government.

Squealer was the messenger of the government. It was his

responsibility to inform the animals of the arrangements of

labor distribution and any other relevant legislation or news.

Orwell establishes that a government-run publication as the

only source of public information will inevitably be biased.

Napoleon, Orwell's representation of the Soviet dictator

Joseph Stalin, stops his association with the animals in

chapter eight. “All orders were now issued through Squealer

or one of the other pigs” (89). Williams 3 Squealer is the

only source of data the farm animals have. The animals have

no way to dispute or question any of the statistics he

delivered. “There were times when it seemed to the animals

that they worked longer hours and fed no better than they

had in Jones’s day. On Sunday mornings Squealer, holding a

long strip of paper with his trotter, would read out to them

lists of figures proving that the production of every class of

foodstuff had increased by two hundred per cent, three

hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent as the case might

be” (89). Squealer is the liaison between the government

and the public. Though the animals believe they are being fed

the same amount as when Mr. Jones was in power, their

government information source showed figures to the

contrary that the populace couldn’t dispute. Orwell was able

to show that by keeping the public in ignorance, communism

can be carried out without interference. In addition to being

a corrupt media source, Orwell shows how the Pravda was

used completely as a tool to glorify Joseph Stalin and

Communism as well as slander capitalism and anyone that

might oppose him. Squealer is a pawn of the Animal Farm

government. He is the device by which Napoleon

communicates with the people. Squealer gives an account of

government tidings that put Napoleon in a good light,

regardless of the accuracy. An example of Napoleon’s use

of propaganda for personal gain is in the explanation of the

expulsion of Snowball. Snowball is Orwell’s representation

of Leon Trotsky, Stalin’s political nemesis in Russia.

Snowball and Napoleon disagree over nearly all political

issues as did Stalin and Trotsky. Trotsky was eventually

exiled to Mexico just as Snowball is exiled from Animal

Farm. Squealer is employed by Napoleon to slander his

political enemy Williams 4 Snowball several times. In

chapter five, Squealer explains the new arrangements now

that snowball has been expelled and smoothes over the

shock of his unexpected banishment. “ ‘Suppose you had

decided to follow Snowball with his moonshine of windwills-

Snowball, who as we now know, was no better than a

criminal?’” (60) In Snowballs defense, one of the animals

reminds Squealer of his bravery at the Battle of Cowshed,

an ambush attack on the farm by Mr. Jones. Squealer

responds sharply, “ ‘And as to the Battle of Cowshed, I

believe the time will come when we shall find that

Snowball’s part in it was much exaggerated’” (60).

Napoleon exercises Squealer’s speaking talents to vanquish

all doubt of the Snowball's treachery and to elevate himself

to a higher tier of importance by exposing Snowball as a

traitor. Orwell clearly finds fault with using a mass

publication to deceive the public. He points out Stalin’s

unscrupulous use of propaganda for his own personal gain,

thus criticizing the inadequacy of communism as an ideal

society. Animal Farm effectively displays the immorality of

propaganda and the injustice of communism. By the shady

use of false publications, Stalin was able coerce an entire

nation into believing what he wanted. He exploited his

position as dictator and used the Pravda for personal gain.

Napoleon was able to enjoy the benefits of communism and

the luxuries of leadership, which is contradictory to the idea

of a true socialist society. In addition to his criticism of Stalin

and Soviet leadership, Orwell condemns the entire Russian

government as well, for the Pravda was controlled as much

by the Russian parliament and communist party loyalists as

Joseph Stalin. It is clear that Orwell abhors the use of

propaganda and doesn’t believe it is possible to create a

utopian civilization.