Squealer (Animal Farm)
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Squealer is a fictional pig from George Orwell's Animal Farm. He is described in the book to be such a brilliant talker that he can turn black into white.
[edit] Allegory
In Orwell's allegory Animal Farm, the pigs could be identified with Soviet leaders of the time. Napoleon symbolizes Stalin and Snowball may symbolize Trotsky. Squealer's human counterpart may be obscure. Squealer may represent propaganda overall, as he was the key spokesman for the pigs. His persuasive language and demeanor and re-interpretations of facts illustrates the power of propaganda to control under- and un-educated people. Squealer may specifically represent the state-run newspaper Pravda. This interpretation fails to associate Squealer with a specific figure in Stalin's inner circle.
He could represent Molotov, fitting with Orwell's description of and central role given to Squealer.[citation needed] Squealer is a close companion and protégé of Napoleon; Molotov was a close companion and protégé of Stalin. Squealer serves mainly as Napoleon's "propaganda minister"; Molotov was Stalin's Prime Minister (1930-1939) and Foreign Minister (1939-1949) and frequent spokesman. When the animals suspect the pigs are breaking the Seven Commandments, Squealer justifies their actions. For instance, when the other animals question the pigs' taking the milk and apples, Squealer reassures them that milk and apples are vital to pigs' health, that the pigs are not acting out of selfishness, and that Mr. Jones may return if the pigs didn't hog the milk and apples. In a similar vein, Molotov was an apologist for Stalin, rationalizing Stalin's tyranny as being in the best interests of the people.[citation needed]
[edit] Squealer's arguments
Throughout the book, Squealer justifies his arguments using his great powers of persuasion, his eloquent words, and his charismatic intellect. His foundation for many of his arguments is that the animals do not want Mr. Jones back in power in the farm, and therefore must support Napoleon. He devises various other reasons to convince the other animals of the farm to believe him, backing them up with claims of scientific evidence (for example, apples and milk), recently discovered "documentary evidence" (proving the complicity of Snowball in working with the enemy) and using difficult reasoning, which confused the other animals.
Squealer takes the central role in making announcements to the animals, as Napoleon appears less and less often as the book progresses.
[edit] Breaking of the Seven Commandments
Throughout the book, Napoleon and Squealer break the Seven Commandments, the tenets on which governance of the farm is based. To prevent the animals from suspecting them, Squealer preys on the animals' stupidity and alters the Commandments from time to time as the need arises. This is proven on page 73 of the British version when Squealer falls off the ladder while trying to change the commandments in the night. Orwell uses Squealer to mainly show how some governments and politicians use propaganda to get their ideas accepted and implemented by the people. In the end, Squealer reduces the Seven Commandments into one commandment, that "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".
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