Many of every revolution and government. one

Many parallels can be drawn between the story of Animal Farm and that of every revolution and government. One of the most important aspects of each would be the flow, outlet, and the occasional corruption of information. In the case of Animal Farm, this outlet, controller, and eventual corrupter is Squealer.

Squealer takes on a wide range of information outlets, which gives him absolute control over the information circulating the farm. He even goes so far as to take up the role of a sort of census (page 65, paragraph 2, ‘ Squealer, holding down a long strip of paper with his trotter, would read ou to them lists of figures proving that the productions of every class of foodstuff had increased.’). We also see him becoming a propaganda outlet (page 41, paragraph 3, ‘ Comrades,” he said, “ I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made”‘). We see Squealer building Napoleon’s public image at every chance he gets. This monopoly over information is what makes him the most influential animal on the farm. This influence that Squealer has is terrifyingly effective at gaining control over the farm, reaching the point where he can do something close to brainwashing to the appropriately named sheep, teaching them to repeat the mantra “ Four legs good, two legs better!” (page 95, paragraph 6).

He is also more than capable of keeping the rest of the animals in check by preying on their fear of Jones (page 41, paragraph 5, “ Surely, comrades, you do not want Jones back?”). Squealer was always a good speaker. Many of the animals say that he ‘ could turn black into white’ (page 13, paragraph 1). We see him using this skill in a far more sinister manner, conjuring up statistics where there was nothing (page 93, paragraph 2, ‘ they had nothing to go upon except Squealer’s lists of figures, which invariably demonstrated that everything was getting better and better.”) for the sake of stifling any doubt within the farm. We see him creating lies about Snowball simply so he can put trust back into the other animals.

Page 57, paragraph 3, “ Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start!”. This willingness to turn on his heel for no reason other than making a simple point is what makes him so hard to corner in an argument. Animal Farm is above all else, and allegory. Many tales of revolution have their own Napoleons, and I’m sure many rulers use fear  as a way to suppress dissent.

But revolution cannot run on fear alone.  A fearful populace doesn’t keep a ruler in power, an ignorant one does, and Squealer knows that.