tyranny and power language

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

• How it shows power: This paradoxical revision of the original commandment uses language to justify inequality while maintaining the illusion of fairness.

• Device: Irony / Paradox

2. “Four legs good, two legs bad.”

• How it shows power: A simplistic slogan that reduces complex ideology into a chant, discouraging critical thinking and promoting blind obedience.

• Device: Slogan / Propaganda

. “Napoleon is always right.”

“Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!”

• How it shows power: Squealer uses fear-based rhetoric to manipulate the animals into submission, framing obedience as survival.

• Device: Appeal to Fear

“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal.”

• How it shows power: Squealer’s persuasive tone cloaks lies in flattery and false sincerity, manipulating trust through rhetoric.

• Device: Dramatic Irony / Persuasive Language

“It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brainworkers, should have a quiet place to work in.”

• How it shows power: The justification of privilege through intellectual superiority shows how language rationalizes inequality.

• Device: Justificatory Language / Satir

“The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs...”

• How it shows power: The word “naturally” masks the pigs’ power grab as benevolent leadership, normalizing hierarchy.

• Device: Euphemism / Foreshadowing

“All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work...”

• How it shows power: Orwell’s ironic narration reveals how propaganda reframes exploitation as noble sacrifice.

• Device: Irony / Juxtaposition

“If you have your lower animals to contend with,” he said, “we have our lower classes!”

Mr. Pilkington’s remark draws a chilling parallel between the animals’ oppression and human class exploitation, reinforcing the universality of tyranny.
Explanation 2: It underscores how those in power dehumanize or delegitimize the oppressed to rationalize their dominance.
Literary Device: Satire – Orwell critiques both Soviet and Western capitalist systems by highlighting their shared mechanisms of control.

“Napoleon is always right.”

Explanation 1: This mantra, repeated by Boxer, illustrates how propaganda and blind loyalty are used to suppress dissent and critical thought.
Explanation 2: It reflects the internalization of authoritarian ideology, where submission becomes a virtue and questioning is taboo.
Literary Device: Repetition – Orwell uses this device to emphasize indoctrination and the erosion of individual agency.

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig... but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

• This chilling image captures the complete betrayal of revolutionary ideals.

• It underscores the cyclical nature of power and how oppressors often resemble those they replace.
  Device: Allegory / Imagery