In George Orwell's novel Animal Farm, what purpose is served by the announcements Squealer reads to the animals?

In s
satirical, allegorical novel titled , s announcements to the animals serve
the very useful purposes of spreading propaganda and rewriting history €“ practices that help
cement the power of . Napoleon resembles Joseph Stalin, the dictatorial leader of the Soviet
Union. s book depicts the very real practice in the Soviet Union of revising history €“ a
practice Orwell also describes in his novel .

Squealer,
in essence, is the propagandist of Animal Farm. He uses his skills as a
speaker to promote the interests of the new ruling class of pigs; his propaganda alters and
shifts in response to the particular requirements of the moment. Often his latest propaganda
contradicts not only the original, fundamental teachings of Animalism but also even his earlier
propaganda.

At one point the narrator reports that

Squealer made excellent speeches on the joy of service and the
dignity of labour, but the other animals found more inspiration in 's strength andhis
never-failing cry of 'I will work harder!'

In other
words, at this point in the novel the other animals are more inspired by actual deeds than by
mere words. Boxer, who represents the idealistic working class, sets a splendid example of what
can be accomplished by sincere and dedicated workers. In contrast to Boxer, Squealer is merely a
cynical wordsmith who is rewarded for his lies.

Squealer also functions as a
spokesman and representative for Napoleon, who becomes more and more distant €“ both physically
and otherwise €“ from the other animals he claims to serve.  Thus, at one point the narrator
notes that

Frequently he [that is, Napoleon] did not even
appear on Sunday mornings, but issued his orders through one of the other pigs, usually
Squealer.

One particularly revealing example of Squealers
functions appears in the following passage:

'Comrades!'
cried Squealer, making little nervous skips, 'a most terrible thing has been discovered.has sold
himself to Frederick of Pinchfield Farm, who is even now plotting to attack us and take our farm
away from us! Snowball is to act as his guide when the attack begins. But there is worse than
that. We had thought that Snowball's rebellion was caused simply by his vanity and ambition. But
we were wrong, comrades. Do you know what the real reason was? Snowball was in league with Jones
from the very start! He was Jones's secret agent all the time. It has all been proved by
documents which he left behind him and which we have only just discovered.

This passage reveals Squealer in his dual roles as propagandist and
revisionist historian. Not only does he announce the latest party line, but he also rewrites
history. He makes Snowball (a leader and hero of the original revolution, who represents the
historical figure Leon Trotsky) sound like a traitor. Trotsky was Stalins great rival and . Not
only was he the target of much Soviet propaganda and not only were many of his heroic deeds
erased from Soviet history books, but eventually he was actually assassinated by Stalins agents.
Squealer, then, is a very accurate representation of the kind of propagandists and revisionist
historians who helped Stalin control the minds and memories of the Soviet people.