Topic > Rhetorical Tools in George Orwell's Animal Farm

Rhetoric is the art of persuasive conversation techniques. Examples of rhetoric are: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic). In George Orwell's Animal Farm, the pigs gained power through their use of rhetoric. They used ethos, pathos, and logos to control other animals. There are parallels to what we see in the modern day. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The use of rhetoric is central to the novel Animal Farm, because the pigs, especially Squealer, use rhetoric to persuade the animals that they are living a much better life under Napoleon's command than under that of the farmer Jone. They persuaded the other animals to believe that the rebellion was a great idea and a great success. However, the animals were later led into a much worse situation, with the pigs in charge rather than Farmer Jones. Orwell uses rhetoric to demonstrate what he is capable of and how powerful he can truly be. Rhetoric is used during Napoleon's rise to power. It is used to prevent animals (excluding pigs) from realizing what is happening and what they want to happen. That's why they are quite obedient to Napoleon. Napoleon uses Squealer to spread his propaganda. Squealer easily manages to convince the farm animals to believe and follow Napoleon's unusual rules. They don't realize how unfortunate their life becomes because of this. The pigs used ethics to control the ideas of other animals. We see the effect Napoleon's forced leadership has on the animals when Squealer and Boxer argue about Snowball's role in the Battle of the Barn. In chapter 7, Boxer believes that Snowball had good intentions until Squealer says that Napoleon disagrees. “Ah, this is different!” said Boxer. 'If comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right'”. Squealer's rhetoric prevents other animals from disagreeing using Napoleon's power ethic. A modern parallel to ethics is found in dictatorial countries like North Korea. Their citizens' lives revolve around Kim Jong-un because the government has taught them that whatever he says is right. For example, "The network broadcasts news, documentaries and other programs praising Kim Jong-il and his father Kim Il-sung." The country is very effective at this form of rhetoric and at brainwashing its citizens into believing that they will make the right decision even though their life may be difficult. The pigs also used pathos to make the animals work harder. Napoleon scares the other animals by slaughtering those who disagreed with him. Accordingly, Boxer says, “It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder. From now on I will get up a good hour earlier in the morning." The pigs used rhetoric by scaring other animals into wanting to do the “right” thing and work harder. A modern example of pathos is when presidents use humor to relate to their audiences. Using this approach is a way to reach the audience's level and earn their support. For example, President Obama talked about border security by stating, “They said we needed to triple the Border Patrol, well now they're going to say we need to quadruple the Border Patrol.” Or they will want a higher fence. Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the ditch!'. This form of rhetoric is very effective because it not only lightens the situation,.