Animal Farm Archetypes

Words: 1000
Pages: 4

Character archetypes are defined at stereotypical characters that usually serve a common purpose in a story. They are typically used to further a storyline or add to the theme of a story. George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Charles Johnson’s “Menagerie, a Child’s Fable” both use archetypes to portray the animals as certain stereotypes commonly found in stories. Both authors portray the characters in a way that helps move the storyline and makes the characters more relatable to better understand the ideas in the story. Both stories use followers, cynics, and tyrants to further the animals’ rebellions. All leaders have people who will endlessly follow them, either out of fear or love. They usually support every decision the ruler makes, whether …show more content…
Their way of oppressing rule causes tyrants to be looked at as cruel or merciless. Napoleon appears as a tyrannical leader after he runs Snowball off the farm. A mass public execution took place under his rule; where he and squealer tricked many animals into believing they had been in cahoots with Snowball by the use of propaganda. The “tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet” (Orwell 85). His brutality towards the other animals portrays that he uses fear to maintain power, much like many other tyrannical leaders. Likewise, in the pet shoppe, Monkey uses deceit to gain control over the other animals. Once in control, he is wicked towards the fish and would quickly starve and murder them if Berkeley had not defended them. Upon conversation about rationing their food, Monkey states that “there will always be food” and “[swings] his eyes to the fish tanks” (Johnson 123), implying that the animals should eat the fish to survive. This target and carelessness toward the fish illustrates his tyrannical way of ruling by highlighting his malicious and selfish side. With both leaders, fear and punishment are used to govern the group. Napoleon and Monkey further their revolutions by forcefully taking power to lead their independent societies. By doing this, they are separating themselves from the normal world without thinking of what is best for the