An Abuse of Ignorance: Importance of Efforts to Know the Truth -Through Animal Farm and Imperial General Headquarters-

An Abuse of Ignorance: Importance of Efforts to Know the Truth

Through Animal Farm and Imperial General Headquarters

Nami Moriguchi

In the story of Animal Farm, Orwell depicts how Animal Farm, which the animals originally hope to be a utopia for all of them, becomes a dystopia and one of the reasons is the animals’ ignorance. However, similar situations happen not only in fantasy world but also in real life. In this paper I would like to mention what happens on Animal Farm because of ignorance and compare it to the attitude of Imperial General Headquarters during Pacific War as a concrete instance which happened in Japan in the past.

First, let us look at three examples of ignorance in Animal Farm. The most conspicuous example is Boxer. Boxer’s blind trust in Napoleon kills him. Boxer is a hard worker; he “was an enormous beast, … as strong as any two ordinary horses put together … he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work” (Orwell 3) and is “always at the spot where the work was hardest” (22). Even after Snowball’s expulsion, Boxer believes Napoleon’s words, adding his new maxim ‘“Napoleon is always right”’ (46) to his private original motto of “‘I will work harder’” (ibid). Clover and Benjamin “urged Boxer to work less hard” (90) but he never listens. However, he gets weak and is taken to the knacker, not the hospital, but Squealer announces that “he had died in the hospital at Willingdon” (101). Throughout the whole of the story, Boxer believes the leader’s words without a trace of suspicion and work much harder than any other animal. Boxer’s death is an emotional climax of the story and it tells the readers that overwork is destructive to health and leads to death, and too much trust in those in authority is problematic; they may betray you tomorrow.

Second, the commandments are changed little by little by the pigs in “a special committee … presided over by himself (Napoleon)” (44) without any permission or discussion with the other animals and the pigs never announce the changes because not all the animals can be literate. The animals might be able to criticize soon if all of them could read but what only they can do ultimately is to accept them with reluctance and uneasiness as Squealer “was able to put the whole matter in its proper perspective” (55) and persuades with the usual phrase “‘Surely none of you wishes to see Jones back?”’ (56) or questions closely like ‘“Are you certain that this is not something that you have dreamed, comrades? Is it written down anywhere?’” (53). Besides, the dogs always be with Squealer and “growled so threateningly” (48) so the other animals have no choice but to follow his explanation and orders and never understand the truth. The pigs often rig the original rules in favor of them and justify it by artifice.

Third, Napoleon shuffles off responsibility onto Snowball when the windmill is broken. When it is broken, “November came with raging south-west winds … Finally there came a night when the gale was so violent that the farm buildings rocked on their foundations and several tiles were blown off the roof of the barn” (57) so the reason why the windmill is destroyed must be strong wind and it is not sturdy enough to resist the bad weather. However, Napoleon uses the name Snowball so that the other animals turn their mind and interest to something else, not to himself. In addition, “Whenever anything went wrong it became usual attribute it to Snowball” (64) and the animals never doubt. Napoleon’s tail “had grown rigid and twitched sharply from side to side, a sign in him of intense mental activity” (57) and it represents his fear that the animals may think that he should take the blame for the accident.

Fourth, there are food shortages for all the animals twice “except those of the pigs and dogs” (91). Even though rations for the other animals are reduced, Squealer calls it ‘“readjustment’” (91), not ‘“reduction’” (ibid). They believe Squealer’s assertion willingly that “in comparison with the days of Jones, the improvement was enormous” (ibid) and “in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference” (91-92) because “Jones and he stood for had almost faded out of their memories” (91). Indeed, Napoleon conceals the facts “from the outside world” (61) and he made “use of Mr. Whymper to spread a contrary impression” (ibid). The pigs never let the animals and the outside of Animal Farm know the facts and these shortages show the inequality of the animals against one of the Seven Commandments, “All animals are equal” (19).

Next, let me write about Imperial General Headquarters, “the supreme command of Japanese Army and Navy subordinate to the Emperor from 1894 to the end of Pacific War in 1945” (n.d., kotobank). According to Maruyama, the trigger of the twist of the announcement from Imperial General Headquarters was the Battle of Midway Island in 1942; it was the battle that Japanese Army sustained crushing defeat for the first time since Pacific War began so it was an unexpected result. However, the news department issued reports of Japan’s victory, padding America’s loss. After this, the announcement from Imperial General Headquarter continued to include lies and journalists had to write the articles in accordance with the intensions of Japanese army, even after the US forces started to launch air raids on Japan mainland. In addition, reporting the progress of the war was strictly restricted other than the official announcements and “newspapers began to have an aspect of patriotism, increasing the sprit for the war” (Shimozaki et al.). To sum up, the Headquarters covered up anything unfavorable and did not disclose the correct war results to the public. The newspaper writers could not defy the army and had to write falsehood without any verification on their own. Squealer and Napoleon are similar to Imperial General Headquarters in that they only think about using the standing to derive benefits and hide the truth from the animals.  

As you see above, ignorance has only cruel effects; it can ruin yourselves and even take your life. You can ignore the truth but cannot have nothing to do with it. If you are not knowledgeable, you are exploited like Boxer. The important things are to question about information you have already been given and to make efforts to know the truth, as the story of Animal Farm tells its readers; it is fatal to swallow everything.

(1082 words)

Works Cited

“大本営(だいほんえい) (Imperial General Headquarters).” コトバンク(Kotobank), n.d., www.kotobank.jp/word/大本営-92025.

Maruyama, Junichi. “大本営発表はなぜ「ウソの宣伝」に成り果てたか (Why Imperial General Headquarters Became a Liar).” YOMIURI ONLINE, THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN, 14 Aug. 2018, https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/fukayomi/ichiran/20180808-OYT8T50018.html?page_no=1.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Penguin, 2016.

Shimozaki, Chika, et al. “戦後70年−報国のペン　戦争と西日本新聞− (70 Years Have Passed Since the End of World War 2: Propaganda, the War and Nishinippon Newspaper)” Nishinippon Shimbun, 26 Aug. 2015, https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/special/postwar/2015/vol11/.

昨年度のWriting Strategies 2(AESA)でクラス内最高点を取ったので、その記念に。