Persuasion and propaganda in Animal Farm and 1984

Orwell

Social control is the cornerstone of both 1984 and Animal Farm. However, the methods of persuasion and propaganda used in these two Orwell novels differ from one another. Animal Farm exemplifies overt forms of persuasion, intimidation, and violence. A revolutionary government is created; to maintain its power, the government becomes tyrannical and overbearing. It must therefore use methods of persuasion and treachery in order to retain its control over the animals. In 1984, methods of persuasion and social control are more covert in nature. Thought crime and the thought police comprise subversive methods of undermining individuality and creating a dystopic reality. Therefore, the primary difference between the methods of persuasion and social control in Animal Farm and 1984 is that the former utilizes straightforward, almost traditional methods of oppression; whereas 1984 takes propaganda and persuasion to a whole new, sinister level.

Animal Farm represents a typical coup d'etat: the animals revolt against their farmhand oppressors. Like many coups, the animals' proves ineffective and incomplete. Without a well-considered plan of good governance or cohesive political philosophy, the animals fail. Their government is unstable, and leaders quickly become corrupt because they are weighted down by their own power. The revolution starts benevolently; allowing the reader to sympathize fully with the animals' quest for freedom: "No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness and leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth," (Orwell, 1945, p. 5). Yet the animals' new government rapidly decays. Napoleon in particular becomes a tyrant, changing the original Seven Commandments in order to suit his selfish needs. He comes to therefore seduces the animal public into supporting the revolution, but then seizes power. The methods of oppression Napoleon uses end up being far worse than the original ones used by the humans. All methods of propaganda and social control in Animal Farm are overt: violence, treachery, and totalitarian abuse of power.

In 1984, there is no revolution. The reader has no sympathy for the shadow government that impacts the lives of all characters in the novel. Rather than explore overt methods of persuasion and social control as in his earlier novel, Orwell here examines covert and sinister methods of creating a shadow government. The shadow government is by definition invisible, and therefore impossible to locate, pinpoint, or change. Unlike in Animal Farm, there are not even any legal codes: "nothing was illegal, since there were no longer any laws," (Orwell, 1949, p. 6). The government operates subversively, by undermining the thoughts of citizens. Citizens are less free than they are on the animal farm, because on the animal farm there exists the possibility of a new revolution in which Napoleon is overthrown. In 1984, though, there is no possibility of challenging a government that for all practical purposes does not even exist. Granted, the Thought Police and other law enforcement agencies are tangible. The methods of social control and persuasion are direct: they influence the very psyches of citizens and not just their behaviors.