INTRODUCTION
When Animal Farm was published in 1945, it was read as a sharp critique of revolutions that betray their original promises. Orwell used a simple story about animals to explain something deeply political and deeply human: how power is created, how it survives, and how easily it slips beyond control. What makes the novel enduring is not its historical setting, but the clarity with which it exposes patterns that repeat themselves across time and political systems.
Animal Farm shows how democratic ideals can exist loudly in theory while being quietly weakened in practice. It explains how authority does not always rely on violence. Often, it depends on persuasion, fear, and public silence. These themes are not limited to Orwell’s fictional farm. They continue to shape modern democracies, where institutions may still stand, but accountability slowly fades.
This blog uses Animal Farm as a lens to understand contemporary political life, particularly in democratic societies like India. It first examines how revolutions lose their moral direction once power concentrates. It then looks at propaganda and political communication through the character of Squealer. Next, it explores how silence, loyalty, and comfort, represented by Boxer and Mollie, help power remain unchallenged. Finally, it reflects on how democratic structures can remain formally intact while losing their democratic spirit. Together, these themes explain why Orwell’s warning remains urgent today.
FROM REVOLUTION TO CONTROL: HOW IDEALS ARE BETRAYED
Every revolution begins with hope. In Animal Farm, Old Major’s dream promises freedom, equality, and dignity. The animals believe that once human control ends, justice will naturally follow. Orwell deliberately sets up this optimism, only to dismantle it slowly.[1]
As Napoleon rises to power, the revolution begins to change shape. Opposition disappears. Decision-making becomes centralised. Violence replaces debate. The Seven Commandments remain painted on the wall, but their meaning shifts quietly over time. The rules are not torn down. They are rewritten, word by word, until they no longer protect anyone except those in power.
Orwell’s point is subtle but powerful. Betrayal does not arrive all at once. It comes through small changes that seem harmless in isolation. A rule adjusted here. A criticism silenced there. Over time, these changes create a system that looks familiar but behaves very differently.[2]
Democracies face the same danger. Constitutions, elections, and institutions may continue to exist, but their purpose weakens when power goes unchecked. When citizens stop questioning authority, democratic ideals lose their force. Orwell reminds us that revolutions fail not only because leaders become corrupt, but because people allow corruption to become normal.
SQUEALER AND THE POWER OF PERSUASION
If Napoleon represents brute power, Squealer represents something more effective and more dangerous: control through language. He does not rule by force alone. He rules by shaping how the animals think and remember.[3]
Squealer constantly rewrites reality. He spreads fear by reminding the animals of the past and warning them of its return. He changes history so often that the animals no longer trust their own memory. Harsh realities are softened with careful words. Food shortages become “readjustments.” Failures become sacrifices made for the greater good.
This technique feels familiar in modern politics. Today, propaganda does not require a single speaker. It spreads through repeated messaging, selective information, and emotional narratives. Media cycles move quickly. Contradictions are forgotten. What matters is not accuracy, but repetition.[4]
When the same message is heard again and again, questioning begins to feel pointless. People grow tired. Confusion replaces clarity. Orwell shows that persuasion often succeeds not because people believe everything they are told, but because they stop resisting.
BOXER, MOLLIE, AND THE COST OF SILENCE
Boxer is the emotional heart of Animal Farm. He works harder than anyone else. He believes deeply in the cause. His loyalty is absolute. His response to every problem is simple: work harder and trust leadership.[5]
Boxer represents those who sustain systems without benefiting from them. Economic growth is celebrated. Progress is announced. Yet for many workers, life remains insecure. Jobs are unstable. Wages are low. Protection is limited. Loyalty is praised, but dignity is neglected.
When Boxer is injured and no longer useful, he is quietly removed. His fate exposes the cruelty of a system that values productivity over people. Orwell shows that blind loyalty does not protect the loyal.
Mollie represents a different response. She chooses comfort over responsibility. She leaves the farm because collective struggle feels inconvenient. Her silence is not violent, but it is enabling. By withdrawing, she allows injustice to continue unchecked.
Together, Boxer and Mollie explain how power survives. Some people obey without questioning. Others disengage without resisting. Both responses weaken collective accountability. Power grows strongest not only through oppression, but through silence.
DEMOCRACY ON PAPER, POWER IN PRACTICE
One of Orwell’s sharpest insights is that domination does not always require destroying institutions. Sometimes, it works better to preserve them in form while hollowing them out in substance.
On the farm, the commandments are never erased. They are edited. Similarly, modern democracies often retain their legal and constitutional structures while weakening accountability. Laws exist. Courts function. Elections are held. Yet power increasingly concentrates in fewer hands.
This creates a dangerous illusion. Everything appears lawful. Everything seems orderly. The language of democracy remains intact. But the balance that limits authority slowly disappears.
Orwell does not argue against leadership or governance. He warns against leadership that is never questioned. When institutions stop acting as checks and begin acting as shields, democracy becomes performative rather than real.
CONCLUSION: ORWELL’S WARNING IS ALSO OURS
Animal Farm is not a story about inevitable failure. It is a reminder that democracy requires constant attention. The animals do not lose their freedom in a single moment of defeat. They lose it through many small acts of silence, fear, and convenience.
Orwell shows that power grows when people stop questioning, stop remembering, and stop caring. Democracies rarely collapse overnight. They erode slowly, while citizens reassure themselves that nothing has really changed.
By the time the animals realise they can no longer tell pigs from humans, the damage is complete. Orwell’s warning remains simple and urgent. Freedom survives only when people remain alert enough to protect it.
Author(s) Name: Siddhi Gupta (National Law Institute University Bhopal)
References:
[1] Revolution and Corruption Theme Analysis – Animal Farm, Revolution and Corruption Theme in Animal Farm | LitCharts
[2] Why India’s Democracy Is Dying, https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/why-indias-democracy-is-dying/
[3] Harnessing Words, Shaping Minds: A Comparative Analysis of Newspeak in 1984 and Language Manipulation in Animal Farm, (PDF) Harnessing Words, Shaping Minds: A Comparative Analysis of Newspeak in 1984 and Language Manipulation in Animal Farm
[4] Politics and the English Language,Politics and the English Language | The Orwell Foundation
[5] Boxer Character Analysis in Animal Farm, Boxer Character Analysis in Animal Farm | SparkNotes
