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Joey Gallo
Mrs. Housepian
English 2H; Period 2
5/16/ 2016
Q 4 English/History Argumentative Essay
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a mans character,
give him power (Abraham Lincoln). The relations between the novel, Animal Farm,
and the Soviet Union suggest a warning about communism. Power is used effectively in
a time of need through propaganda,appeal to ignorance, and excessive military force in
order to manipulate citizens to support their leader.
Cruel leaders utilize propaganda as a tool to gain followers and to manipulate
citizens beliefs. In a German childrens book titled,Poisonous Mushroom, the text
states,Jews they are and Jews they remain. For our volk they are poison Like the
poisonous mushroom! German children were raised to believe that Jews were evil
people. This is an example of propaganda because it takes advantage of the childrens
lack of knowledge and teaches them that Jews are poisonous and raises them to be
prejudice. Additionally, in the misleading farm poster, the caption states,the poster
visualizes an ideal of disciplined workers in ordered fertile fields. The robust figures give
no hint of actual crop failures and famine in 1931-32 that resulted from forced
collectivization(Voron). This poster lies to the public and shows a healthy environment
with a well fed woman as the main focus point when really the fields had major crop
failures and the workers had tremendously poor working conditions and were not fed
well. This is an example of manipulative propaganda that tries to get society to believe

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something that is false and misleads citizens into thinking that communism is a good
thing for the Soviet Union. Propaganda was and still is a major tool that leaders and
politicians utilize in order to gain power and to manipulate people into supporting them.
By appealing to the ignorance of citizens,and the manipulation of beliefs, cruel leaders
gain followers and supporters. The caption of a picture taken of Hitler at a gathering of
his supporters states,Hitler standing in his car touching hands with SA members, 1933.
Jews on selection ramp at Auschwitz. May, 1944.The picture on the right side of it
taken 11 years after represents the cruelty that Hitler was able to enforce on innocent
Jews caused by the ignorance of the German citizens. Due to the ignorance of the
German citizens, Hitler was able to manipulate them into thinking that what Hitler was
doing was right. In addition, In the novel,Animal Farm, in one of squealers known
speeches about Napolean, he states,No one believes more firmly than comrade
Napolean that all animals are equal(Orwell, 69). Squealer appealed to the ignorance of
the rest of the animals in order to manipulate them into supporting Napolean. Leaders
such as Hitler appeal to the ignorance of citizens in order to manipulate them to support
and follow them.
Many followers of cruel and unreasonable leaders are only followers due to the
excessive use of military force. For example, in the novel, Night, while on the deadly run
between camps, the text states,If one of us stopped for a second, a quick shot
eliminated the filthy dog(Wiesel 85). The cruelty and the ruthlessness displayed by the
SS was one tactic to manipulate citizens minds into listening and following their leader.
Leaders such as Hitler used excessive military force in order for the manipulation of
citizens to be successful. Also, another example of excessive military force is in the

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secret speech delivered by first party secretary when it states,Stalin, on the other hand,
used extreme methods and mass repressions at a time when the revolution was already
victorious, when the Soviet state was strengthened, when the exploiting classes were
already liquidated, and Socialist relations were rooted solidly in all phases of national
economy, when our party was politically consolidated and had strengthened itself both
numerically and ideologically(Document C ). This quote explains how when power is in
the wrong hands, it can be used effectively to manipulate people. This manipulation
caused Stalin to be able to gain followers by force. Through excessive military force,
leaders such as Hitler and Stalin gain followers and supporters.
Throughout many times in history and in Novels, evidence suggests that power is
used ineffectively. Also, the similarites between those novels and history are warnings
suggesting that communism will not be successful in society. Power is used ineffectively
to manipulate citizens to gain followers and supporters through propaganda, appeal to
ignorance, and excessive military force.

Works Cited
Voron, Maria. Shock-brigade Reaping for a Bolshevik Harvest (1934).
Persuasive Images: Posters of War and Revolution from the Hoover
Institution Archives. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. 1992. Print.

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Zedong, Mao. Problems of War and Strategy. Peking: Foreign Languages,

1966. 224. Print
Left: Nuremberg, Germany. 1933. Hitler Standing in his car touching hands
with SA members. 11 May 2016.
http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/en-us/67457.html
Right: Jews on the selection ramp at Auschwitz. May 1944. 11 May 2016.
https://www.ushmm.org/information/ exhibitions/online-features/specialfocus/the-holocaust-in-hungary

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Literature & Language Arts: Fourth Course,
Interactive Reader. Holt, 2003. 193. Print.

Hiemer, Ernst. Der Giftpilz. Nuremberg, Strmerverlag, 1938.

Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a Division of
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1988. Print.