Instruments of Symbolic Violence in George Orwell’s Animal Farm

This research focused on the discussion of symbolic violence in George Orwell’s Animal Farm with respect to Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic violence. Animal Farm is a satirical novel written by George Orwell and first published in England in 1945. The underlying theme is a criticism of communism, or at least of the way communism was implemented in the Soviet Union. This study discusses symbolic violence in Bourdieu’s theory, and aims to uncover the instruments of symbolic violence in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. By using Ricoeur’s hermeneutic method, the researchers analyze the instruments of symbolic violence as practiced in this novel. The results show that two instruments of symbolic violence are used in this novel, namely oral discourse and written discourse. This article also aims to present the reader with a novel perspective that they can adopt when analyzing literary work.