Since the establishment of governments, through one way or another, officials have done whatever they can for the benefit of themselves over the benefits of others. Through both Animal Farm, written by George Orwell as well as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, power is maintained by abusing it and ensuring inequality. Animal Farm is about a farm where the animals overthrow their human owner and take control to achieve “equality,” but the pigs in power begin to establish a new type of oppression on the farm instead. The Hunger Games is a book series about the dystopian society Panem where the rich and powerful live in the Capital, and the poor live in the districts, working to provide for the Capital. In the Hunger Games, the children are made to fight to the end and their deaths are televised. Though both texts talk about 2 different types of dystopian societies, they hold similar themes of the powerful exploiting the powerless while disguising it as maintaining order. With the use of characterization of the leadership and citizens, dialogue describing propaganda, and description of the inequality, both texts examine the theme of government’s abuse of power in our society.
The characterization of leadership in both novels shows how when certain individuals gain the power to rule over others, they become instruments of oppression. In Animal Farm, Napoleon initially starts out as a fellow animal listening to the words of the then admired Old Major and is able to consolidate control after the rebellion due to having the status of being a pig. He is assisted by fellow pigs, Snowball and Squealer. According to the article, “The symbolic asymmetry of power in Orwell’s Animal Farm: a critical discourse analysis” by Taher Ben Khalifa,
Napoleon’s rise marginalizes Snowball, who embodies a more democratic leadership: ‘Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive’ (Orwell, 1945, p. 15). Pro-regime animals such as Squealer, the dogs, and the sheep enforce hierarchy, while anti-regime figures, including Snowball, Old Major, and Benjamin, resist or question authority. For example, Snowball’s plans for the windmill are initially celebrated, but Napoleon violently exiles him…This opposition allegorically critiques the suppression of dissent and the fragility of democratic ideals under authoritarian regimes (8).
Napoleon is able to exploit the blind loyalty of the animals, such as Boxer’s insistence on working, showing how leaders rely on people who are ignorant to maintain their power and have a positive public opinion. He is able to make the farm turn on Snowball, and uses the dogs as intimidation when the animals show any doubt. In exiling the one figure who had disagreeing opinions and held the power to sway the public, Napoleon gives the animals no other frame of reference for how the farm should be run. It shows that the hierarchy of the pigs is a coercive force, using whichever means possible to persuade and have the compliance of the general public.
President Snow has a similar portrayal in the Hunger Games, as he leads through fear and dominance over the people in the districts. When rebellions and civil unrest begins to occur, the Capital sends out guards to do public executions to use them as examples. According to the Prezi presentation, “Squealer assists Napoleon by telling all the other animals that Napoleon is by far the smartest animal on the farm and that the farm couldn’t function without him in power. This is similar to President Snow as he insists that the Capitol is the ‘beating heart’ of Panem. He believes that it is best to leave the Capitol in charge as it provides the districts with security and discipline and that Panem couldn’t function without the Capitol” (Sherman and Simpson). The comparison of both regimes shows that the way they portray their own leadership makes the population of each individual society believe that they are valuable to keeping it running and any opposition, such as Snowball and the rebels at District 13, are trying to destroy them and take away what they are being provided.
Propaganda, expressed through rhetoric to the public, is the primary mechanism both regimes use to maintain control and a dominant ideology. In Animal Farm, Squealer in particular uses propaganda to sway public opinion towards Napoleon. There are several instances in the book where the commandments once established at the beginning of the Animal Farm are changed and twisted to fit the pigs’ benefits. For instance, the original commandment “No animal shall sleep in a bed” became “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets,” and “No animal shall kill any other animal” is now changed to include “without cause”, just to extend more privilege to the pigs while making it seem justified in the minds of the other animals who won’t spot the changes. The revisionism of what the Animal Farm was built upon in these examples depends on the misremembering and censorship of the truth in their favor. In The Hunger Games, the Capitol uses propaganda through their televised broadcasts to glorify the Games and reinforce the Capitol’s dominance. Before every reaping, (the selection of which kids were to go off and fight on behalf of their district), the Capitol would play a video describing the need for the games to avoid what was once the dark days of rebellion. As Katniss views it, she says
Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.” (Collins 16)
Katniss’s interpretation of the Capitals rhetoric shows that the citizens of Panem internally feel as if their government has total power over them with no choice in the matter. There are many examples of people’s children being used in political ploys, as for instance when young men are sent off into a war they may not even support because they are drafted. In Russia, they brainwash children as young as preschoolers by dressing them up in army uniforms, and send young men off for the promise of money for their families in the current war they are failing to win against Ukraine.
As for the inequality which proceeds due to power imbalances, in Animal Farm, the pigs slowly separate themselves from the other animals by taking extra food, sleeping in beds, and getting closer to the humans they once pronounced hate for and becoming like them in the end. The other animals are expected to continue to work hard to maintain the farm, and the once most important commandment “All animals are equal” became “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Boxer, who was one of the most loyal to the pigs, when he has no physical use for them anymore, they ship him off to be killed. In the Hunger Games, the Capital and the 12 Districts are very obviously split in the quality of life their citizens live. When Katniss and Peeta are chosen for the games, they get to see the pampered lives the people of the Capital live when being prepped as participants. At one point in Catching Fire, while the people of the districts are suffering from starvation, the Capitol holds a party which Katniss and Peeta attend. Their prep teams asks
“Why aren’t you eating?” asks Octavia. “I have been, but I can’t hold another bite,” I say. They all laugh as if that’s the silliest thing they’ve ever heard. “No one lets that stop them!” says Flavius. They lead us over to a table that holds tiny stemmed wineglasses filled with clear liquid. “Drink this!” Peeta picks one up to take a sip and they lose it. “Not here!” shrieks Octavia. “You have to do it in there,” says Venia, pointing to doors that lead to the toilets. “Or you’ll get it all over the floor!” Peeta looks at the glass again and puts it together. “You mean this will make me puke?” My prep team laughs hysterically. “Of course, so you can keep eating,” says Octavia. “I’ve been in there twice already. Everyone does it, or else how would you have any fun at a feast?” I’m speechless, staring at the pretty little glasses and all they imply” (Chapter 6 Collins).
The existence of annual hunger games is in itself inequality, as only district kids, who are the most vulnerable in this layout of this society, are made to fight and be looked at as celebrity entertainment, where Capital kids can grow up wanting to watch and recreate their trauma without having to go through any of it. Similar events can be seen to disparage the wealthy and poor in the present day can be seen with Met Gala’s, parties held at Mar a Lago, and parties held amongst celebrities displaying their wealth on physical display.
In conclusion, Animal Farm and The Hunger Games have similar themes of abuse of power by leaders in society. Through the characterization of the pigs and President Snow, the statements of propaganda, and the description of the inequality, Orwell and Collins both show how authority can betray the ones they govern, that occurs persistently as hierarchy amongst people. It is a reminder of what happens when the people in power are left unchecked and unquestioned by the population they regulate.
Reflection:
For me, the writing process was basically choosing the two texts and focusing on how they portray the hierarchies each society has in their portrayal. In relation to Animal Farm, I thought of The Hunger Games first because of how the leaders are portrayed in both stories, and because I read the 3rd book recently. It was hard to find sources that definitely talk about the examples I wanted to use from each book, but they did fit the general themes of propaganda, inequality, and characterization of leadership. The scholarly source I used was found through the CCNY library website, but the slideshow was found through simple Google search. Most of the scholarly sources I found through Onesearch were unrelated to what I was trying to do, and the real life examples they compared the texts to were of dictatorships in other countries, which were out of my scope in knowledge. I learned through this process that I need to analyze the quotes I use to make more connections to the points I’m trying to get across, as well as explaining the comparisons I was making between the two books in terms of the events that unfold and the characters. Also through this process, I learned how to cite sources with MLA format and how to appropriately fit them into a paragraph. In general, I came to better understanding dystopian fiction, and how their own interpretations of power and society can be applied to and based on real life circumstances, and that analysis is what it takes to understand the parallels and the meaning behind it.
Works Cited
Ben Khalifa, Taher. “The Symbolic Asymmetry of Power in Orwell’s Animal Farm: A Critical Discourse Analysis.” Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol. 13, no. 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2026.2637945.
Sherman, Haley. “Hunger Games vs. Animal Farm.” Prezi.com, 15 June 2015, https://prezi.com/h8bqu5yga2zk/hunger-games-vs-animal-farm/
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Press, 2008.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. 1945. Signet Classic, 1996.
