Orwell generally assumes a mocking or ironic tone in his descriptions of how the animals feel about themselves during Napoleon's rule. Some of the descriptions are somewhat humorous in that they target the general naivety and inability of the animals to completely comprehend exactly what is happening to them. What makes this, at times, particularly laughable is the fact that the character, Benjamin the donkey, knows exactly what is going on but because of his apathy and stubborn refusal to get involved, the charade continues and the animals remain none the wiser.
After Napoleon has expelled Snowball, he assumes leadership of the farm and throughout this period, the animals present a variety of perceptions about themselves, depending on a particular situation or circumstance. From the outset, Napoleon assumes a dictatorial position. He begins by banishing all meetings and decide that the pigs will henceforth make all the decisions and the animals will have to abide by these instructions.
In chapter six we learn that the animals are working very hard and they have a general feeling of well-being.
But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings.
The irony here is pertinently clear. The animals, in believing that they are doing it all for themselves, are unaware that they, just as much as they did in Jones' time, are not really working for themselves but for the pigs, who do no physical labour but benefit the most and live lives of privilege. This mistaken belief is further emphasized later in the chapter:
If they had no more food than they had had in Jones's day, at least they did not have less. The advantage of only having to feed themselves, and not having to support five extravagant human beings as well, was so great that it would have taken a lot of failures to outweigh it.
It is pitiful that they do not realize that the pigs consume the most and literally enjoy the cream of the crop whilst they have to starve.
In general, Napoleon's manipulation and propaganda make the animals doubt themselves. They are never quite sure of what they do and do not know, which makes them feel insecure and uncertain. Their poor intelligence adds to the problem. As such, they tend to believe whatever they are told by both Napoleon and especially by Squealer.
He assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had never been passed, or even suggested. It was pure imagination, probably traceable in the beginning to lies circulated by Snowball. A few animals still felt faintly doubtful, but Squealer asked them shrewdly, "Are you certain that this is not something that you have dreamed, comrades? Have you any record of such a resolution? Is it written down anywhere?" And since it was certainly true that nothing of the kind existed in writing, the animals were satisfied that they had been mistaken.
The animals also felt quite proud of themselves at times, especially when they completed the windmill and when they saw Napoleon giving instructions to a human. We read in chapter six:
Nevertheless, the sight of Napoleon, on all fours, delivering orders to Whymper, who stood on two legs, roused their pride...
By the autumn the animals were tired but happy. They had had a hard year, and after the sale of part of the hay and corn, the stores of food for the winter were none too plentiful, but the windmill compensated for everything.
Probably the most dutiful and dedicated animals on the farm, of those who did not receive privileges, were Clover and Boxer. Boxer believed that every problem could be solved if he should work harder and he adopted the maxim, 'I will work harder!' The other animals felt cold and hungry. Only Boxer and Clover never lost heart, we are told in chapter seven. Even after the execution of many animals during Napoleon's purge, Boxer remained positive:
"I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder. From now onwards I shall get up a full hour earlier in the mornings."
It is unfortunate that such a powerful animal as he would remain so loyally obedient. Orwell essentially mocks him for his dumb allegiance to the greedy pigs. What makes Boxer's slavish belief even more difficult to swallow is the fact that he adopts another maxim that, 'Napoleon is always right.' Surely, one would ask, in spite of the fact that he is not bright, Boxer should have realized at some point that they were being abused? But he never does, not even after Napoleon's dogs attack him for having said something inappropriate.
After Napoleon's bloody and wholesale execution of the animals who confessed to a variety of acts of betrayal, the animals were miserable and frightened. They felt vulnerable and exposed, as we read in chapter 7:
When it was all over, the remaining animals, except for the pigs and dogs, crept away in a body. They were shaken and miserable.
Overall, the animals felt satisfied, even during Napoleon's tyranny, because they emphatically believed that they were masters of their own destinies. Instead of working for, and being abused by humans, they were now free and were working for themselves. Their naivety, gullibility, and stupidity are fully exploited by the avaricious pigs who enjoy lives of luxury and privilege as much as the humans did.
In the end, the animals cannot distinguish the pigs from the humans. The irony is that they, the general animal public on the farm, not only allowed this to happen but actually assisted the pigs in making it happen.
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