Squealer in Animal Farm: Napoleon's Voice of Propaganda
Squealer is the small, fat, smooth-talking pig in Animal Farm who acts as Napoleon's spokesman. Whenever the pigs take more for themselves or something goes wrong, Squealer explains it away with numbers, threats and invented history, until the animals no longer trust their own memories.
He represents the propaganda machine of the Soviet state, especially its official newspaper and the officials who spoke for Stalin.
| Fact | Squealer |
|---|---|
| Species | Small, fat pig with twinkling eyes |
| Role | Napoleon's spokesman |
| Talent | Could turn black into white, the others say |
| Main tools | Statistics, fear of Mr. Jones, rewriting history |
| Represents | Soviet propaganda, such as the newspaper Pravda |
Who is Squealer?
Squealer has round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements and a shrill voice. He is a brilliant talker; the other animals say he could turn black into white. When he argues a difficult point, he skips from side to side and whisks his tail, which somehow makes him more convincing. From the start he is one of the three pigs who shape Animalism, and he soon becomes Napoleon's voice.
↑ Back to the topHow does Squealer explain the pigs' privileges?
Early on, the milk and the windfall apples are reserved for the pigs. Squealer explains that pigs are brainworkers whose health depends on these foods, and that if the pigs failed in their duty, Jones would come back. That threat, would you like Jones back, becomes his favorite argument, and it silences every objection.
↑ Back to the topHow does Squealer change the past?
After Snowball is driven out, Squealer tells the animals that the windmill was really Napoleon's idea, that Snowball was a traitor in league with Jones, and that his wound in the Battle of the Cowshed was part of a plot. When animals remember otherwise, he insists their memories are mistaken. He reads out long lists of figures proving that food production has risen, even as the animals grow hungrier, and he calls a cut in rations a readjustment.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens when Squealer is found with a ladder?
One night the animals hear a crash and find Squealer sprawled beside a broken ladder near the barn wall, with a pot of white paint and a brush. Soon after, they notice that the Fifth Commandment now forbids drinking alcohol to excess. Only Benjamin seems to understand what happened, and he says nothing.
↑ Back to the topHow does Squealer explain Boxer's death?
When Boxer is carted away in a slaughterer's van, Squealer gives a moving speech describing how he was at Boxer's bedside in the hospital, how Boxer praised Napoleon with his last breath, and how the van had only just been bought by a vet. The animals are relieved and believe him.
↑ Back to the topWhat does Squealer represent?
Squealer represents state propaganda, particularly the newspaper Pravda and spokesmen like Vyacheslav Molotov, who justified Stalin's policies. Through him Orwell shows how language, statistics and fear can be used to control people more effectively than violence alone. It is a theme Orwell developed further in 1984, with its Ministry of Truth and Newspeak.
↑ Back to the topMore about Animal Farm
This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.