Official Essay

Manipulation

A memorable theme in the novel “Animal Farm” by George Orwell is manipulation. This theme is memorable because Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution. Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin, Snowball represents Leon Trotsky and Mr Jones represents Czar Nicholas 2nd. Manipulation was a key factor for both Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution. Because it was shown in many different ways throughout the book, manipulation proved to be a theme worth remembering. It became memorable when Napoleon used the banishment of Snowball to benefit himself, when he made the animals think he was better than Mr Jones and by changing the seven commandments to suit his convenience.

Manipulation became a memorable idea after Napoleon exiled Snowball from the farm and used that event as an advantage. Once Snowball was gone, every problem that arose was blamed on him. For instance the destroying of the windmill, even though it was caused by a storm, was blamed solely on Snowball. Because Napoleon portrayed the truth in a different way to make sure the animals did not turn against him,this is a use of manipulation. The event is significant because it relates to a similar occurrence that happened in the russian revolution; the banishing of Leon Trotsky. Stalin, like Napoleon, had Trotsky exiled and then killed by his agents. Manipulation was memorable because these dictators had to deceive the truth to prevent an outbreak. That moment is also memorable because so many people were clueless of being manipulated.

Using manipulation, Napoleon tricked the animals into believing it was better off if he controlled them. This is a memorable moment because it proves how easy it can be to use manipulation in the real world. Napoleon was able to manipulate his followers because,through Squealer, he used propaganda. Squealer would spread exaggerated statements about Mr Jones to make him seem more ruthless and cruel than he actually was.  Anytime Napoleon did something the animals may have been suspicious of, Squealer would say to them “you don’t want Mr Jones back do you?”. As a result of saying that statement, he was making the animals think that things were worse than they are now. It proves how easy propaganda can be used to manipulate so many people. That is one of the reasons why manipulation is a memorable theme of the novel. 

Another memorable event was how Napoleon executed many animals without causing an uprising. Because it is an allegory for the great purge from the russian revolution, it is memorable. Like Stalin, Napoleon executed many people who were unlikely to be guilty yet they both got away with it. This is a memorable act of manipulation because they used fear to make sure everyone obeyed them. Using a different technique of manipulation, Napoleon was able to get rid of anyone who doubted him. It proves to be memorable because both ruthless leaders were able to do such cruel things to innocent people. 

Overall manipulation was an important memorable theme in the novel “Animal Farm”by George Orwell. It proved to be an idea worth remembering because it was the reason both Napoleon and Stalin were able to control so many people. The three main times where manipulation was made most memorable was when Napoleon used the banishment of Snowball to benefit himself, when he made the animals think he was better than Mr Jones and by changing the seven commandments to suit his convenience.  Manipulation was a memorable theme because those three events showed how it can be used in a variety of ways to control a massive group of people.