The Unheard Orchestra: Sonic Manipulation as an Instrument of Totalitarian Control in George Orwell's Animal Farm

Abstract

This research paper critically examines the under-explored dimension of sound and noise within George Orwell’s Animal Farm, arguing that the manipulation of the acoustic landscape constitutes a primary mechanism for establishing and maintaining totalitarian power. Moving beyond traditional analyses focused on rhetoric and visual propaganda, the acoustic framework is utilized to uncover deeper layers of ideological control and psychological manipulation. Through the application of Foucauldian biopolitics, Gramscian hegemony, and critical sound studies theory, the silencing of dissent, the orchestration of loyalty through manufactured noise, and the strategic deployment of sonic violence are analyzed as essential tools wielded by the porcine elite. It is demonstrated how sound functions not merely as background, but as an active agent in the erasure of revolutionary memory, the normalization of oppression, and the ultimate betrayal of Animalist ideals. Key examples include the suppression of "Beasts of England," the cacophony of the "Spontaneous Demonstrations," and the terrifying soundscape of the purges. The conclusion asserts that Orwell masterfully employs sound as a metaphor for the insidious, pervasive, and ultimately dehumanizing nature of totalitarian control, where the very ability to hear truth becomes a casualty of tyranny.