Tools of Characterization

Type of Being

By setting Animal Farm on, well, a farm, Orwell is afforded an opportunity that other authors aren’t. Typically, everyone has to be a person. But Orwell gets to use different creatures. Nice. So the pigs are greedy, the sheep are, well, sheep, the horses are work horses, and the donkey is kind of cynical and wise.

Speech and Dialogue

Squealer: fast and with lots of distracting jumping around

Squealer is the talker that turns black to white. His language is fast, confusing, and as enticing as a slice of Godiva Triple Dark Indulgence Cake. You want to listen to Squealer because he makes you think that everything is OK. You’re not really starving, your life isn’t really made up of day after day of hard and unending labor. Etc.

Napoleon: Pomp and Circumstance

Napoleon speaks as though his waste material smelled like the lovely aroma of roses. He knows he’s the leader, and he won’t let anyone forget it.

The Sheep: One Absurd Line Over and Over

That about sums it up. The way the sheep talk illustrates their absurd stupidity and the way in which they are able to be manipulated.