Hierarchy in 'Animal Farm'

Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire and an allegory, but it helps the reader to learn and enrich their understanding of reality. In this blogpost, I will analyze two of the major themes of the book: the corruption caused by absolute power and propaganda. To have a better understanding of the social classes in the book, I created a pyramid chart with Microsoft Word in which I illustrate the hierarchy in Animal Farm, and compare it with the Feudalism Pyramid. 

         Napoleon became the ruler and leader of animal farm after he led and won the battle to overthrow their human ruler. Therefore, he gained absolute powers and ruled over the whole Animal Farm. However, Napoleon, along with the other pigs, soon became corrupted and made abuse of their powers. This theme is clearly introduced in chapter 3, "The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership." As time passed, his abuse of power grew, which can be observed in chapter 6, "Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half."The characterization of Napoleon represents the upper class, specifically the powerful and rich individuals. Obviously, in the Feudalism pyramid, Napoleon would be the king. 

               The pigs are the assistants of Napoleon and in the feudalism pyramid, they would hold the position of lords (vassals to the king). They possess fewer powers than Napoleon, but more powers compared to all the other animals. Squealer is the most known pig due to his intelligence, through the use of propaganda and clever lies. His intelligence can be seen in chapter 3, "The Pigs The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too obvious. So it was agreed without further argument that the milk and the windfall apples (and also the main crop of apples when they ripened) should be reserved for the pigs alone." Squealer is able to use language in order to manipulate the minds of the animals at his own will, which in this case, was used to cover up the pig's selfishness. In addition, to maintain their reputation, they modified the "Seven Commandments", evident in page 134, "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS". The "Seven Commandments" were created primarily to make sure animals were treated all equally and acted as a reminder for all animals. However, through the use of propaganda and language, the pigs modified them at their own advantage. George Orwell choose pigs to stand at the top of the hierarchy as they are considered very smart animals. According to the Huffington Post, "Pigs are equivalent to chimpanzees in intelligence. It is just show that there are some very compelling reasons to regard pigs as intelligent, aware, emotionally and sophisticated beings" Orwell placed the most intelligent specie on to pot of the hierarchy in order to illustrate the theme that intelligence dominates over ignorance and stupidity. To learn more about Pig's level of intelligence, watch the video below:

             The Dogs are the knights and army Animal Farm. Their role is to maintain law and order within Animal Farm, but also protect its citizens. However, most of their time is spent to protect Napoleon as his private security force. They receive some privileges, but stand below the pigs. Their role is narrated in page 74, "In these days Napoleon rarely appeared in public, but spent all his time in the farmhouse, which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs. When he did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an escort of six dogs who closely surrounded him and growled if anyone came too near. "

                The other animals represent the peasants in the Feudalism Pyramid and are treated as slaves by the pigs. They have to obey the orders of their superiors and follow Napoleon. Although they are obviously more in terms of quantity and strength, their lack of intelligence leads them to obey. The lack intelligence can be analyzed through the characterization of Mollie in chapter 3, "Mollie refused to learn any but the six letters which spelt her own name. She would form these very neatly out of pieces of twig, and would then decorate them with a flower or two and walk round them admiring them. "

To learn more about Feudalism and the hierarchy, click here.
To learn more about the author, click here.
To discover the top most intelligent animals in the world, click here.