Williams

Austin Williams

Ms. Brandenburg

Humanities 8: The Perpetual Journey

November 3rd, 2017

The Influence of Scapegoats

"No sentimentality, comrade!" cried Snowball from whose wounds the blood was still dripping.

"War is war. The only good human being is a dead one" (43). This quotation may sound eerily similar to

what Philip Sheridan said about the Native Americans, or what Hitler said about the Jews, and this is

because Animal Farm is an allegorical text by George Orwell that exemplifies human nature. Animals are

used in place of humans to demonstrate how easily power and mortality corrupts a society. Specifically,

scapegoats and symbolic icons are pertinent to the rise and fall of Animal Farm, as they inspired courage,

fear, and loyalty in the hearts of the animals.

These icons have a couple of different types and targets, but one of the main categories is

courage. Some examples could be the song of the animals: Beast of England, the consistent chanting of

the sheep, and the Spontaneous Demonstrations that were held. All of this propaganda is specifically

used to spark heroism and bravery in the animals hearts. First of all, Beasts of England is one of the most

influential icons throughout the novel. The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest

excitement. Almost before Major had reached the end, they had begun singing it for themselves. They

were so delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession (13). This song

seems to empower the animals with a feeling of camaraderie very similar to how many Americans feel

when singing The Star-Spangled Banner as a country, united as one before an important event like the

Super Bowl. This is what Orwell is going for with Beasts of England, as national anthems are often the

most symbolic icon that joins a nation of people (or animals, in this case). Later in the book, Napoleon

wants Maximus to change the anthem to Animal Farm! and then to Comrade Napoleon. This is

because Napoleon wants to remind the animals more of their great leader whenever they sing, enforcing
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his leadership. Second, Orwell uses the large group of sheep as a form of peer pressure on the other

animals. It was noticed that they [the sheep] were especially liable to break into 'Four legs good, two

legs bad' at crucial moments in Snowball's speeches" (48). Because of the sheer numbers and the implied

volume of the chants, it causes the animals to have this hogwash stuck in their heads, slowly modifying

their brain to think in the way that is desired. The sheep are essentially a huge propaganda loudspeaker,

never giving up. Finally, there were the Spontaneous Demonstrations. Napoleon had commanded that

once a week there should be held something called a Spontaneous Demonstration, the object of which

was to celebrate the struggles and triumphs of Animal Farm (115). These are essentially Animalist pep

rallies, performed to excite the animals about how well their farm was doing. These again were another

way the animals were being crammed full of propaganda.

The second major category of symbols is fear. Almost dire opposite to courage, icons that strike

fear into animals and decrease their chance of rebellion are almost required in a totalitarian system of

government. Some of the prominent ones in Animal Farm are Mr. Jones, the vicious purge of sinners,

and Snowball. First, there is Mr. Jones. From the beginning, he is the main figure that is hated by all.

Man is the only creature that consumes without producing (7). Its easy to direct anger and dislike

towards one specific thing, and in this scenario, Mr. Jones is just that. He is also useful later in the text as

a fearful symbol aiding the pigs greed: It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples.

Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! (36) He is so

effective because of the continued propaganda about how much better the farm is without him. The

brainwashed animals are consistently reminded how terrible it was in Jones day, so they stay scared of

him. Second, the vicious purge of sinners is a super-efficient way to tie the animals down by fear.

Vulgar descriptions like: the dogs promptly tore their throats out, (84) show how intimidating these

sessions were meant to be, and they were very successful: "When it was all over, the remaining animals,

except for the pigs and dogs, crept away in a body. They were shaken and miserable. They did not know

which was more shockingthe treachery of the animals who had leagued themselves with Snowball, or
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the cruel retribution they had just witnessed (84). The leaders had to reestablish themselves as powerful

after finding that many animals had affiliated themselves with Snowball, and the violent means were

brutal but successful. History shows that sometimes fear-creating public executions like these are

commonplace in dictatorial and totalitarian systems. Finally, Snowball is one of the most recycled

scapegoats towards the second half of the book. They use him as a traitor figure and often slandered and

besmirched him for leaving the farm. Also, they used him multiple times as a pawn for bad things that

happened to the farm, blaming him for almost everything. Once it was revealed that he was a successful

icon, they cranked up his hate factor: It now appeared that Snowball had not, as the animals had

previously imagined, merely attempted to lose the Battle of the Cowshed by means of a stratagem, but

had been openly fighting on Jones's side. In fact, it was he who had actually been the leader of the human

forces and had charged into battle with the words Long live Humanity! on his lips (117). Again, this is

a made-up story that was used as propaganda to make the animals grateful for the great leader Napoleon.

These are all scapegoats for fear.

The final category of influential symbols is loyalty. Allegories that encourage loyalty are equal in

importance with courage and fear because proletariat citizens need to have valid incentive to stay under

control. Some might say fear is the most effective method, but there are other more positive icons that can

be used to provoke loyalty in middle and working-class citizens. In Animal Farm specifically, a hard-

working middle-class peer that wholeheartedly believes in the political environment is acutely effective

Boxer for example. His answer to every problem, every setback, was I will work harder!which he had

adopted as his personal motto (29). Boxer is also propaganda for the leader of their group: from then on

he adopted the maxim, Napoleon is always right, in addition to his private motto of I will work

harder. (56). When someone that is trusted by the community has beliefs that lean towards the leaders

of the community, its hard not to open up to their perspective, almost like peer pressure from one very

influential person. Another great loyalty influence in Animal Farm is the consistent speeches given by a

mix of leading animals, reminding the animals of their good virtue, and comparing their current situation
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to their past situation. For example: It had been found necessary to make a readjustment of rations, but in

comparison with the days of Jones, the improvement was enormous (112). Making light of the great

improvement since the days past diminishes the rebellion and discontent that some animals may have felt,

causing an increase in loyalty to the farm. This is super important because without animals loyal to their

home, the farm will go downhill.

In conclusion, much textual evidence has exhibited the importance of scapegoats and symbolic in

the rise and fall of Animal Farm, inspiring courage, fear, and loyalty in the animals of the proletariat.

Animals serve a prominent role in this book as the executors of a large but sly euphemism, exemplifying

the stupidity, vanity, and narcissism of the human race (using animals in place of humans). Specifically,

men and women of the blue-collar class must use this book as a subtle hint about the influence of

propaganda. As one roams their life in the 21st-century world, they may slowly realize how much more

propaganda there is than is noticed at first.