HEGEMONY AND RESISTANCE IN GEORGE ORWELL’S ANIMAL FARM

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate how hegemony and resistance are displayed in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The literary piece is approached outside of its actual historical context and is treated as a timeless piece, to see the text being a model of how a hegemonic process occurs and how it is challenged by resistance. Gramsci’s theory of hegemony is used as a perspective in the reading. The main source of the data is Orwell’s Animal Farm, and other studies investigating the book are also considered to add some perspectives about the novel. Orwell’s Animal Farm shows how hegemony works through the spread of the world views of the ruling class with the consent of the working class. The book shows how hegemony works on an ideological level, resulting in the subtle oppression of the working class. The oppression is fought through a series of resistance, showing almost a never-ending and long-time ongoing battle against the ruling power.