The Mentality of False Confessions:
Executions on Animal Farm
Animal Farm is a work capable of provoking a variety of ideas. In particular, the scene of mass executions in chapter seven is certainly among the most thought provoking. At this point, the pig Napoleon has assumed a leadership position and is more than willing to demonstrate his power. He gathers the animals together to discuss the fabricated treachery among them, utilizing Snowball as his justification. At first, he gets his dogs to murder a group of pigs who have been known to oppose him, having forced them to confess to false treason under the command of Snowball. Interestingly, this begins a sort of snowball effect with an increasing number of the farm animals confessing to false crimes before being immediately killed. Initially, the reader may develop feelings of confusion as to why many of the farm’s residents are coming forth with confessions of crimes they clearly did not commit. When taken at face value, this may appear as either the animals’ blatant lack of intelligence, or as a means of quick death. However, it seems more than likely that the psychological reasoning for this suicide contains more depth.
It should be noted that false confessions happen beyond the fiction of Animal Farm, as various conditions, especially those related to stress, may cause a desperate confession during criminal interrogations. In the Russian Revolution, similar executions took place, where some of the citizens were either forced to confess, or willingly confessed to working with Leon Trotsky and against the Soviet people before facing death. In the farm, the reasons must have been similar. Clearly, the animals were not merely lacking intelligence, as they certainly understood that any confession meant suicide as an increasing number of animals kept dying. When humans falsely confess, even to serious crimes like homicide, it is typically due to fear, fatigue, or deception.
It appears that the reasons for this military-assisted suicide may have also been that the animals wanted some way out of this totalitarian government, having realized that they no longer want to contribute to such a society. Additionally, the animals may have been tired of Napoleon’s nonsense and after hearing his declaration that Snowball was causing all the issues on the farm, decided that they simply had enough. Religion might have also played a role, as Moses’ preaching about hope in the afterlife might have seemed more promising than the current situation. A bold idea might be that the animals found a form of fellowship in death, emboldened by their companions’ bravery and unending will for freedom and justice, which might explain the continued confessions as well as a lack of fleeing animals apart from the cat. Regardless of reason, George Orwell has made the depressing, yet ironic message of personal bravery through self-sacrifice one of much consideration.
Reflection:
a) These are a couple paragraphs I wrote as part of a journal entry to Animal Farm, which I’m doing as part of a current novel study that began last week. I was asked to write about anything that stood out or otherwise peaked my interest, so I decided to state my opinion on the scene of executions, as it was a major part of the plot.
b) This writing makes me proud because of the reception I received from others, and I appreciated the recognition. I believe that this work enhanced my confidence with conveying my ideas, as well as my writing ability in general.
c) I faced a few challenges while writing this piece, as I struggled with the journal form. I was more accustomed to writing major essays with full structure, and the awkward length between an essay and a typical “long answer” made me tend to stick with what I knew (that being the more essay-like format). However, don’t feel that the results suffered as much as the process did.
d) If I had to write another entry in the future, I would probably worry less about proper essay formatting, and stick with this form as it worked better with me. Having something to work off of as a guide will make the process of creating future work much smoother.
– Marcus Ho