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.