An Analysis of the Political Propaganda in Animal Farm

劉佩佩

【Abstract】In Animal Farm，Napoleon and his assistants use the technique of political propaganda to cheat other animals so that other animals will be docile and support his dominion.In current society，political propaganda is still an important part of politics in a country.This paper has analyzed Animal Farm from the aspect of the technique of political propaganda and pointed out the modern significance of the technique.

【Key words】Political propaganda； Animal Farm； Modern significance

Introduction

In the 20th century，the book Animal Farm caused a sensation as a political novel，in which political propaganda is worth noticing.This novel tells the story of animals rebelling against human beings.By using various techniques of propaganda，the pigs let other animals follow their thoughts faithfully.Though the pigs make propaganda a way to cheat，it is an interesting part of peoples political life in current society.It serves as a bridge between the government and the public.In order to make the public informed of and support the policy，the government should take actions to make it function well.

An analysis of the techniques of political propaganda in Animal Farm In Animal Farm，pigs use political propaganda to call on animals to rebel and work for them devotedly.Though these pigs actually dont construct a system of politics，they govern all the animals on the farm just as the authorities manage a country.Thus，in some degree，we can consider their actions as methods of political propaganda.

Old Major is good at using the technique of using the publics language as a guise.He describes the miserable situation of animals and concludes that man is the enemy of all the animals.Old Majors propaganda is rousing because what he says seems to stand for the interest of all the animals and their offspring.So other animals naturally support him and become willing to accept his thought.

Besides，he says： “I do not know when that Rebellion will come…but I know，as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet，that sooner or later justice will be done” in a powerful voice.As a consequence，other animals are much inspired and have the will to participate in it.

The technique of causing fear is used by the pig Squealer.After Snowball is expulsed，other animals feel pity on him.Napoleon sends Squealer to propagandize that Snowball is a traitor.At first，other animals dont believe his saying.In that situation，Squealer tries to use the so called “danger” to threaten other animals.Squealer says to the animals，“One false step and our enemies would be upon us.Surely，comrades，you do not want Jones back？”.Certainly，the animals do not want Jones back.Jones coming back would make them lose all what they have achieved.So due to the fear for having miserable life again，the animals have to accept what Squealer has said.Gradually，the saying that Snowball is a traitor is rooted in animals mind.

The pig Napoleon is good at using the technique of transfer which involves repeating the point about the less important or irrelevant issue to distract the publics attention.In order to make the farm more productive，animals work together to build a windmill，which is destroyed by a gale later.Napoleon constantly says that Snowball is a traitor.The Nazi Paul Joseph Goebbels had a famous saying： “A lie is a truth if it has been told for a thousand times.” Thus，little by little，other animals believe that Snowball is a traitor and neglect the fact that the windmill is ruined by the gale.

The last technique of political propaganda used by pigs is to create a shining image.Napoleon and his assistants create a shining image of him during the process of governing other animals.He was referred to as “our leader，Comrade Napoleon” and a poem is composed to praise Napoleon.It makes Napoleons shining image rooted in the animals mind.In other animals eyes，Napoleons thoughts should be followed devotedly whenever what he says.

Certainly，there are still many examples in this novel which reflect how the pigs use different kinds of technique to make their propaganda effective.By analyzing those techniques，we can have something to learn from.

Modern significances of these techniques of political propaganda In China，political propaganda is the way in which the government make the policy known to people.It acts as a bridge between the government and the public.So，the good points of these techniques in this novel should be made use of and the bad points of them should be taken into account.

To start with，I think the authorities should speak for the public instead of using the publics language as a guise.In every country，governors should make policies on the needs of the people，otherwise the public wont support them.Thus，when they propagandize，they also need to get close to the public.Political propaganda should be related with peoples daily life.If the thought seems to be far away from peoples life，political propaganda is a waste of time and money.For example，by using various kinds of medium to propagandize the future plan with vivid pictures and accurate statistics，people tend to be more confident with the plan.At the same time，to get the support of the public，the truthful material is essential.Jiang Yungen says，“The effect of propaganda which is based on lies is transitory.The conflict between false propaganda and truth eventually occurs，which makes the propagandist lose prestige，the public distrust the propaganda and even distrust the truthful propaganda”.

Then，at present，creating a shining image of a person should be used properly.The shining image of a person can bring harm as well as benefit to the society.When this technique is used excessively，people just lose their own judgment.For instance，in the former Soviet Union，almost all the people idolized Stalin.Some people were sentenced to death just because they had doubt about the policies of Stalin.Certainly，Stalin made his political propaganda successful on the basis that the public were deeply convinced with what he said.However，this technique put the fate of the country in a risk.

Nevertheless，there are also some good examples which show that a shining image can make the political propaganda effective.For example，the name “Lei Feng”was a symbol which stands for the true，the good and the beautiful.The propaganda about the story of Lei Feng was seen everywhere.That leaded to a good environment in which everyone was willing to help others.Thus，the spirit of Lei Feng which means to help others selflessly spread very fast and was engraved in the mind of the public through the political propaganda.At the same time，it should be noticed that though some famous persons do have their outstanding characteristics，people should respect them in a limited degree and not accept their thoughts or words without thinking for twice.

The technique of causing fear among the public should also be used in a proper way.The government can inform the public of the harm or punishment one will get if he or she does something which is considered to be illegal or immoral.Then the public will naturally fear that they may experience the intolerable harm or punishment.So they will control their behaviors and not do the wrong thing.

It is convinced that people should have a clear understanding of these techniques in order not to be cheated by propagandists.However，propagandists think they should make best use of these techniques just as pigs in Animal Farm do to make the public support them.As far as I am concerned，that kind of support is temporary and easy to lose.To get the support of the public，the actions are essential.Propaganda is a kind of catalysis which should be used properly and too much of it just lead to a latent failure.What the authorities need to do is to make the political propaganda effective on the needs of people.

Conclusion

In current society，the authorities use political propaganda in many fields.In order to make the political propaganda work well，the government can apply some techniques which pigs use in the novel properly but dont make it a way to cheat the public.

References：

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