English 9SM
Mr. Laverty
16th October 2017
Animal Farm

	George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm, portrays a novella of minds being controlled. Orwell uses songs and poems to illustrate the power of rhythm and rhyme. He accentuates the restraining potential of propaganda composition.
Using propaganda composition, Napoleon is able to easily dominate the animals.
Simple chanting has a strong long-lasting effect. Most prominently, the sheep’s “...usual bleating of ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’...put an end to the discussion,” that interrupted many discussions, and stopped animals, from protesting (88). Chanting is easy to follow, naturally, large groups will chant, to overpower and suppress discussion. Napoleon used simple chants to control the feeble minded animals. Squealer worked with Napoleon, to teach the sheep a new chant, to fit the pig’s agenda. “Four legs good, two legs better!...by the time the sheep had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed” (134). The sheep overpower the other animals, with their mob-mentality. Seeding chanting into minds, of even the least self-thinking, allows for them to become a powerful asset, in control.
	Music accentuates the feeling of unity. Beasts of England united the animals, convincing them, to take action and rebel. “Singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement...even the stupidest of them” (13). Beasts of England immediately united every animal, on the farm. The song encouraged the animals to unite, rebel, and overthrow. When Napoleon rose to power, he did not want the animals to unite, and rebel against him. “Beasts of England was the song of rebellion...clearly this song has no longer any purpose” (88). Since Napoleon sought out to seek absolute power, he banned Beasts of England, the main source of rebellious unity. Beasts of England originally caused a rebellion, against a cruel leader. Censoring was an excellent strategy, to prevent retaliation, to suppress, and to control.
	A composition is not limited to song or poem. Tales, propaganda, and promises control the public. Early on, Moses was despised by most animals and had little credibility. “Some of them believed in Sugarcandy Mountain…[pigs] persuade them [animals] that there was no such place” (18). The pigs actively convinced the other animals of his false tales. The pigs were on the same side as the rest of the animals, at this time. The well educated can easily gain power, through propaganda, and especially through the feeble-minded. Propaganda calms the public, and gives them hope to hold on to; this is what those in control want. “Many animals believed him [Moses]...their lives...hungry and laborious...a better world should exist...allowance [for Moses] of a gill of beer a day” (118). After the animals’ lives turn laborious, the animals cling to simple stories, like Sugarcandy Mountain, the so-called “animal heaven”. The pigs don’t just tolerate Moses, they reward him, for the help in regulating the working animals.
	Propaganda within composition, a powerful strategy when controlling the masses. Simple material for the simple-minded, stomping unity, propaganda, a recipe for domination. “He carried a whip in his trotter…[animals] terrified, huddling together” (133); “it did not seem strange…[pigs] carried whips” (135). How could it be strange, for the rising power, to take the final step, into domination? After all, the animals did go along with their overruling anthem. Citizens must remain aware and educated. Well strategized propaganda overwhelms the feebleminded, leading to governmental domination.