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Scapegoat In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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Scapegoat In George Orwell's Animal Farm
In the book, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, the animals on Manor Farm overthrow the humans to escape the tyranny; ironically, after they take control, corruption plagues some of the animals and the farm is run by a dictatorship once again. The pigs, who take control of the farm, use scapegoats to deflect the blame while they gradually take control of all the animals and the farm. At first Mr. Jones, the farmer, is the common enemy, then the scapegoat shifts to one of the pigs, Snowball. This story was based on the Soviet Union when Stalin used scapegoats to take control of Russia. Scapegoating is a tactic used by both the pigs in Animal Farm and by Stalin to take control of and manipulate a society.

Mr. Jones, the alcoholic, downtrodden owner of Manor Farm, …show more content…
He is a fairly easy character to take advantage of because he no longer lives on the farm and therefore everything can be blamed on him. Napoleon has everyone convinced that Snowball is a criminal and Snowball can’t defend himself. Every time something goes wrong on the farm, like the windmill being destroyed or windows being broken, Snowball is always indicted. Anyone who disagrees with or questions Napoleon’s authority is accused to be affiliated with Snowball. Napoleon exploits the animals’ ignorance and bad memories to strengthen his arguments.

Animal Farm is predominantly based on the Soviet Union when Joseph Stalin took control of Russia and used Leon Trotsky as a scapegoat. Stalin, the communist dictator of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953, was much like Napoleon. Stalin killed anyone who opposed him and abused his power to enforce unjust laws. Likewise, after Napoleon led the revolution, he gradually gained control until he ruled over every aspect of the farm and murdered anyone who stood in his way. Stalin used
Stalin ordered the KGB to frame and kill innocent people in order to spread terror and Napoleon told the dogs to kill innocent
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