How Does Orwell Use The Fable Form To Explore Ideas About Power In Animal Farm?

A fable is a story which uses animals to convey serious moral viewpoints. The use of fable form helps convey the message of Animal Farm because it is easier to exaggerate negative characteristics of animals than of humans, and the characteristics do not have to be as realistic. The use of animals makes Animal Farm more interesting rather than a dry political pamphlet, encouraging wide readership. Finally, fables usually end ambiguously, with no clear ending, encouraging the reader to form their own opinion. There are three main types of power discussed in the novel. Firstly, the progression of power. 'The work of.organizing the other fells naturally to the pigs.' The reader can foreshadow that there will be a gradual shift in power as early on in the 'equal ' society, hierarchies are being formed and the pigs 'naturally' assume the positions of power because they are the most educated. This illustrates that the abuse of language and education are instrumental to the abuse of power, as the pigs are able to gain an upper hand and exploit the illiterate. By taking charge, the pigs are identified as the usurpers of power and are able to manipulate the other animals for their gain. For example, when the milk was stolen by the pigs 'it was noticed that the milk had disappeared' the pigs are easily able to control the naïve animals and Orwell clearly portrays the danger of an uneducated working class, as if the animal had put their foot down at this point, they would not have been exploited later in the book. Small 'privileges' for the pigs soon bloom into corruption, and the pigs gradually become their oppressors. Soon their "resolution falters" and they "adopt his vices"- they move into Mr. Jones` house, drink alcohol and trade with the other farms, things which Old Major had urged them not to do. This parallels with the Russian Revolution as Stalin gradually rose to power, with ideals of equality and a better life for all, whereas in reality life for the common man grew worse and a select few reaped the benefits of a whole nation's labor. He grows further and further away from the initial ideas of Marxism. Thus, Orwell`s message is that any society which has leaders in positions of absolute power is ultimately doomed to failure due to the inevitability of leaders manipulating power for their own personal benefit. Secondly, the abuse of power is also explored in this novel through the character of Boxer. Boxer is a charismatic, easy to relate to character that the reader can both empathize and sympathize with. He is abused by the pigs for his great physical power and is exploited until he takes his very last breath. Ha adopted two maxims 'I will work harder' and 'Comrade Napoleon is always right' and was fully committed to working for Animal Farm. We pity Boxer because he works harder and harder everyday because he feels he is working for he benefit of the new 'nation' but in reality he is working for the benefit of a few. Boxer represents the proletariats of the USSR, who worked and worked for the good of the nation but did not realize they were once again being exploited . The intelligent animals on the farm exploit the illiterate in the same way the rich and powerful exploit the proletariats in the Stalinist regime. Another way in which power is abused is by the expulsion of Snowball from the farm. There is a constant struggle for power between Napoleon and Snowball and by raising his own private army. Napoleon expels Snowball from the farm, as he believes him to be a threat to gaining absolute power. Napoleon then justifies his unprincipled actions by pinpointing Snowball as an enemy, seemingly uniting the animals of the farm once again against Snowball. Thus, he is able to manipulate the farm animals with one simple stroke to achieve multiple objectives; inducing fear in them and giving them the impression that he is their 'protector'. Furthermore, he also scapegoats Snowball for all the problems of the farm, making him and his solutions seems superior, alleviating him in the eyes of the animals. This allegorizes how Trotsky was driven into exile, leaving the way free for Stalin to become more selfish, brutal and dictatorial and also critiques the Stalinist regime for deceiving and abusing the very beings it ruled. Another way power is abused is through the distribution of food in the farm. The pigs get the most food despite doing only 'brainwork', whereas the rest of the animals are always hungry even though they work all day in the toughest conditions. The fact that the animals do not question this although they can see the pigs getting fatter show the autonomy and the sense of pride the pigs were able to induce in the animals. Here Orwell is satirizing how life did not change for the working classes after the revolution and people in possession of too much power will always lose their morals through greed. Finally, the third and arguably most important theme explored is control over the intellectually inferior. Orwell demonstrates the danger of a naïve working class and emphasizes how they 'wasted' their collective power as they could have overthrown Napoleon if they wanted, but their fear consumed them. it becomes clear that intelligence and good intentions do not always go hand in hand. This is portrayed by Squealers repeated modifications of the Ten Commandments ' no animal may drink alcohol' is changed to 'no animal may drink alcohol to excess'. The animals then find Squealer under the commandments with a ladder and tin of paint, but are still unable to see that the pigs are deceiving them and flouting the laws openly on front of the animals. This is an exaggeration, but it clearly demonstrates through gradual manipulation the pigs were able to oppress the other animals, and dictators are able to oppress us. The pigs are reliant on the ignorance of the other animals, and their inability to see how the principles of Animalism are becoming corrupted. To the extent that the animals don't question the pigs, they become complicit in the corruption of their ideals and through their non-protest, responsible for keeping Napoleon in power They also have a blind trust on the pigs, and despite them seeing Squealer on the ladder and the definite proof that the commandments have been broken, they believe the pigs justifications and doubt their own memory rather than doubting the integrity of the pigs. This satirizes the idiocy of the working class and is hyperbole. Although this is exaggerated, it shows the rise of Stalin, and all dictators, could have been prevented if the working class harnessed the collective power it had. This is shown clearly when the story is told from Clovers perspective and we can see the will to rebel in all the animals, but not the intelligence or courage to execute their plans. Furthermore, the fear instigated in them by Napoleon prevents them from rebelling. This highlights the importance of education in the modern society, as without it, the illiterate are more vulnerable and easy victims of manipulation. This was evident in Stalin's regime as he used propaganda, deliberately positive progress reports and created his 'cult of personality' to manipulate his workers, as life grew worse and worse. The use of animals and the fable form is an effective but thinly veiled disguise for an allegory of the Russian Revolution. By using animals as opposed 'Stalin' and 'Trotsky', Orwell encourages the reader to from a personal viewpoint, rather than forcing his readers to believe what he did like the oppressors he so despised, generalizes the book to all dictatorships and makes its message timeless. It helps the reader to understand how easy it is to be manipulated by the propaganda surrounding us and encourages the reader to question authority and allocate power very carefully. The fable form makes Animal Farm a story simple enough to be understood by everyone, influential enough to expose the lies and violence of the dictatorships yet subtle enough to avoid controversy and conflict.