LANGUAGE, IDEOLOGY, AND POWER IN GEORGE ORWELL’S ANIMAL FARM
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between language, ideology, and power in George Orwell’s Animal Farm using the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis. The research investigates how linguistic strategies are employed by dominant characters to establish and maintain political authority. Through qualitative textual analysis of slogans, speeches, narrative discourse, and manipulated commandments, the findings reveal that language functions as an ideological instrument that legitimizes inequality and suppresses resistance. The study demonstrates that Orwell deliberately exposes how political power is constructed and sustained through discourse rather than force. The article contributes to literary linguistics by highlighting the central role of language in ideological domination.
Keywords
language, ideology, power, Critical Discourse Analysis, George Orwell, Animal Farm
References
- Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London: Longman.
- Van Dijk, T. A. (1998). Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Approach. London: Sage.
- Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm. London: Secker and Warburg.
- Khursheed, S., Asif, M., & Abbas, N. (2024). Linguistic manipulation as a tool for ideological control in Animal Farm. International Journal of Contemporary Issues in Social Sciences, 6(2), 45–60.
- Anggela, M., Ardiansyah, E., & Wardoyo, C. (2025). Language manipulation and power relations in George Orwell’s Animal Farm: A Critical Discourse Analysis. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, 13(1), 112–125.