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Manipulation In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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Manipulation In George Orwell's Animal Farm
Animal Farm Essay
Manipulation is a powerful tool that can be used to create a cruel dictator who has total control over a community. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Old Major, an old boar convinces the animals under Mr. Jones's rule to rebel against the humans. After Old Major dies, the animals rebel and kick Mr. Jones out of Manor Farm. They rename the farm Animal Farm and they start Animalism where the animals are suppose to be all be equal and work for themselves. Shortly after, the pigs have taken the role of the brains on the farm, Snowball and Napoleon were the main leaders. After Napoleon and his group of dogs chase Snowball out of the farm things go wrong for the animals. Napoleon becomes a cruel dictator and makes the animals work
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In the beginning of the book, Old Major calls all the Animals to the barn and convinces them that they need to rebel against the greedy humans,“And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens?(29)” Old Major asks them this rhetorical question to make them realize how the humans take everything they make and that their life would be better if they rebelled against the humans. The word “hatched” emphasizes that if they rebelled, the chickens could actually be able to have their children born and raise their young, instead of them just being food for the humans. During Old Major’s speech in the barn, he also talks to the animals about how awful they are treated on the farm, “In return for your confinements and all your labor in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall(29).” Old Major uses rhetorical questions to make the animals understand and realize how badly they are being treated in their current lives. The words “bare rations” emphasizes how little food the animals are getting fed and badly they are being treated under the human’s rule. He is trying to convince the animals to rebel against the humans and start a new system where the animals worked for …show more content…
When Napoleon needs to reduce the animal’s food rations he uses a euphemism to make the reality seem better than it is. He says they just have to, “Make a readjustment of rations(115).” Napoleon does this is make the animals think everything is going good and to make the animals unaware that they are now going to get less food. The word “readjustment” suggests a change, but the food rations are really being cut back. Napoleon and Squealer also use diction to make things seem more friendly better than they are. Like how Napoleon wants to be called, “Leader, Comrade Napoleon,(125).” The word “comrade” means friend. It is used in front of Napoleon's name to make him seem friendlier and kinder, but he really isn’t the animal’s friend at all. He is their cruel leader and not amiable to them at all. Later, when Napoleon and Squealer break and change all of the commandments, until only one is left, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others(133).” The word “equal” is suppose to mean that everyone is the same and gets the same thing. The animals are tricked to think that everyone is equal, but the fact that there are some animals that are “more equal” shows that things aren’t actually equal. Someone that is “more equal” means they are better and that is not what equal is. Napoleon,

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