Mfonobong Inyang: Powerful Lessons From George Orwell’s Animal Farm

One of the books from which I learnt how to use metaphors to communicate real-world events was the magnum opus by George Orwell, Animal Farm. He masterfully used it to pass a veiled message about the geopolitics of his day. If you thought the book was about animals, then what he really said must have flown over your head. It’s a satire which he used to aim at political leaders, the weaponisation of propaganda and the undiscerning populace whose lack of critical thinking made them unable to see through the smoke and mirrors deployed by those who governed them.

His choice of fable was genius because, in a primal sense, human beings are referred to as political animals, and the archetypes used in the storytelling couldn’t be more apposite. The story is actually an allegory for a specific chain of events and personae dramatis, but I’m using literary licence here to extrapolate its subtle meanings to contemporary times. Recently, I was thinking about a country of particular concern which shall remain nameless, and I couldn’t help but identify certain characters and patterns from Orwell’s classic.

The Manor Farm

This story starts at Manor Farm, a property owned by Mr Jones; it’s also where a group of animals call home. One day, a prize-boar, Old Major, calls for a meeting with other animals and gives a great speech about how they should revolt against Mr Jones, who they reckon to be a drunk and neglectful farmer. Old Major’s vision is for the animals to liberate themselves from human control, accusing them of selfishly appropriating yields produced by the animals, so they can live in a world where all animals are equal. A speech about equality coming from a privileged and well-fed boar resonates deeply with the other animals who are overworked and underserved. Unfortunately for Old Major, whilst he effectively laid the foundation for a revolution, he doesn’t live long enough to see it materialise. The idea of change sounded just about right except that the animals were about to experience the worst lived experience of their lifetime. Sounds familiar?

The “Revolution”

After the passing of Old Major, three frontline pigs–Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer became the brains behind executing the revolution. Fortuitously, the revolution happened ahead of schedule because the animals who were united by their hunger and frustration ejected Mr Jones from the farm in what Orwell referred to as the Battle of the Cowshed. They then set out to build the egalitarian society of their dreams but not without first effecting a name change–the property formerly known as “The Manor” would be renamed “Animal Farm.” This introduction of identity politics is much welcomed because it fostered a sense of belonging and community, but as unwitting pawns, the animals would find out down the line that leadership has little to do with sentimental attachments in terms of improving their welfare. Sounds familiar?

The Power Players

Initially, there is a sense of progress. The animals are motivated to maximise the gains of their newly-acquired independence. Food is in high supply, and the farm seems to be running efficiently. The problem starts when Snowball leads a group of animals to introduce new ideas that would make life better for the animals. This doesn’t sit well with Napoleon because while Snowball seeks to modernise the farm, Napoleon’s goal is really to consolidate his power. Napoleon, seeing Snowball’s development plans as a direct threat to his ambitions, sends dogs to chase him off the farm. Hence, he becomes the undisputed leader of the farm. We see a character who positioned himself as a key member of the revolution that claimed to upend the tyranny of Mr Jones, becoming the very thing he once fought against. Sounds familiar?

The Propagandist

Squealer is the third of the three pigs who were at the heart of the revolution; his expertise is the manipulation of language and history. Having successfully ejected Snowball, Squealer uses his oratory skills in support of Napoleon. It didn’t take long for the ruling pigs to begin deviating from the original Seven Commandments, which served as fuel for the revolution, with the most notable being: “All animals are equal”. Gradually, the pigs began to elevate themselves into positions of leadership, set aside ostensible portions for their food and changed the governance structure of the farm by replacing general meetings with a selected committee of governing pigs.

First, Squealer claimed that the idea of modernising the farm was Napoleon’s idea, not Snowball’s. When Napoleon didn’t know how to implement the promised modernisation of the farm, Squealer then claimed Napoleon’s political rival was behind the sabotage. When the animals reminded Napoleon that he wasn’t even involved in the Battle of the Cowshed that got them independence from Mr Jones, yet he parades himself as the hero of the farm, a song praising Napoleon is composed and made to be sung repeatedly by the animals. As living conditions under Napoleon’s rule worsen, the animals got less food, worked harder, but faced harsher punishments. Yet, Squealer would find a way of convincing the animals that Napoleon did everything with their best interest at heart. Under Napoleon’s rule, truth becomes more fluid, something that can be modified to fit a preferred narrative.

Squealer’s overarching argument to the animals with false evidence was that they are better off under Napoleon’s rule than under Mr Jones–a constant inference that the animals should reject the evidence of their eyes and ears. Anytime the animals made Napoleon uncomfortable by trying to spring a counter-revolution, Squealer would surreptitiously rewrite parts of the original commandments to strengthen his principal’s grip on power. Using vague language, he would make changes such as changing the fourth commandment, “No animal shall sleep in a bed”, to “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” The maxim, “4 legs good, 2 legs bad”, gets rewritten as, “4 legs good, 2 legs better.” Such an uncanny way of using language to control thought. Those who know the truth and stay silent are left alone, but outspoken dissidents were purged from the farm. Sounds familiar?

The Gullible

The saddest character in Animal Farm was Boxer, a cart-horse. He was an honest and hardworking animal but very politically naïve. He was a tragic hero because he outsourced his thinking to the pigs; his blind loyalty to Napoleon became his ultimate undoing. Boxer was among the working class who did a lot of labour on the farm. He had been convinced by Squealer’s propaganda that Napoleon was always right. The one time he tried to question Napoleon’s policies, he was attacked by his dogs, but somehow he survived. He believed any problem could be solved if only he worked harder, but he ends up exhausted and injured because he simply could not outwork a dysfunctional governance style. When he’s no longer useful to the pigs, Squealer spins a false narrative to the other animals that Boxer has been sent to a veterinarian to get the best care, but in reality, he had been sent to the knacker’s yard to be slaughtered in whisky exchange, which the pigs used for their entertainment. He ends up as a useful gullible who was sold a lie that he was at the table, but in reality, he was on the menu. Sounds familiar?

The Unravelling

The protagonists of the revolution had originally formulated The Seven Commandments of Animalism:

• Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
• Whatever goes upon four legs or has wings is a friend.
• No animal shall wear clothes.
• No animal shall sleep in a bed.
• No animal shall drink alcohol.
• No animal shall kill any other animal.
• All animals are equal.

At the end of the story, the pigs had evolved into the oppressors they once overthrew. They began walking on two legs, living indoors, sleeping on beds, drinking alcohol, wearing clothes and eating with human beings. In fact, they enter into pacts with other farmers to exploit the animals. In one final act of impunity, the ruling pigs revert to the old name, “Manor Farm.”

Every revolution needs to identify an enemy so everyone can be motivated to close ranks, whether real or imagined; the pigs convinced other animals that the enemy was Mr Jones. The bewildered animals found out the hard way that their colleagues who sold the idea of a revolution to them didn’t really hate oppression; they just hated being oppressed – their dream was really to take over from their so-called oppressor. Looking at their leaders, they couldn’t tell the difference between the pigs and the humans they claimed to hate.

The Seven Commandments were eventually scrapped and replaced with one ominous commandment, which was placed on the barn wall: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Sounds familiar?