Cognitive Dissonance, Ideological Control, and Power Structures in Animal Farm

Abstract

Literature serves as a channel to highlight political manipulation and class segregation, universally, triggering cognitive dissonance and endorsing the need to mitigate the adverse effects of ideological manipulation. The research provides an in-depth study of George Orwell’s dystopian allegory, Animal Farm, where the intersecting borders of literature and psychology centralize the notion of psychological mind games played by pigs to cease power. Narrative favoring Napoleon’s totalitarian regime is built to solidify his rule. Extending that, this narrative construction plays a pivotal role for him in seizing power. The farm animals especially pigs confront a contradiction in their principles and practices as they forge ahead to form a totalitarian regime. The research examines the regimes’ convincing persuasion and animals being rendered speechless. The investigation puts forward the struggles of farm workers like Boxer and his colleagues. The theoretical underpinning of this research is based on Leon Festinger’s idea of cognitive dissonance which reflects the natural tendencies to minimize the discomfort created by two contradictory opinions. The paper enfolds the alarming effects of cognitive dissonance on changing the political landscape, keeping Animal Farm as a quintessential example. The research outlines the use of cognitive dissonance in political psychology in the textual and contextual parameters of the novel. The scope of this research lies in examining the psychological tactics for controlling the flow of information and manipulating masses using cognitive dissonance. The research foregrounds the role of human beings as resistant bodies and the extent of immediacy to edify the cognitions.