George Orwell employs a variety of allegorical devices in his novel 'Animal Farm' including personification, naive narrative and irony to produce an allegory that voices his concerns over the outcome of the Russian revolution, and more broadly the dangers of unchecked power. Personification is used in Animal Farm to express the characteristics of the people and organizations that played an important in the Russian Revolution. The naive narrative technique gives the animals' perspective, showing us that they notice things but don't really get it or necessarily observe it. Orwell uses irony in the form of 'dramatic irony' to lead readers to draw conclusions and express concerns about the result of the Russian Revolution and the threats of unconstrained power. These factors make us all look back at what the true meaning of this book actually was.
Orwell uses personification as an efficient way to express the nature of the targets of his critique in the time Animal Farm was written. This literary device in the novel was an intellectual way for Orwell to escape the social restrictions brought about by the public's support for Russia, yet at the same time express his concerns on the outcome of the Russian revolution to the public without having to pass through a filter. Orwell has chosen as characters animals that exhibit similar traits to the people or organisations they are meant to represent. An example of this approach is Boxer, a strong, loyal horse intended to depict the Russian public. Orwell demonstrates his belief that the proletariat or working class of Russia were industrious and noble, yet uneducated. "He had been a hard worker even in Jones's time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one". Boxer is immediately understood by the reader as strong and diligent simply by the traits of the animal itself. Orwell's use of personification in this case provides a critique of the proletariat, at the same time as avoiding open criticism of the Russian revolution depicted in the novel.
