Now, when it comes to serious issues, especially ones involving politics, it can be difficult to write a story without being too one-sided or preachy. However, it can be done. It’s only a mater of how the issues are written and how the characters react to them, which I believe is most important to a political story. The best example that comes to mind is Animal Farm.

First off, there is the world of animal farm. A writer would most certainly ask for controversy if they real countries and people. What the George Orwell did was use something that could represent a country, which would be a farm and the neighboring farms are the fill in for foreign countries. Throughout the story, the animals were working on a windmill, which would represent the need to modernize or change a country. When writing allegory, writer’s should ask themselves: What can I use to represent this country? If the story involves modernization, writer’s should ask what they can use to symbolize that.

Now the main them of animal farm was corruption. The animals represent the people, a group rebelling against their farmer, who is a fill-in for a dictator. Their revolution started off with the principals of freedom and equality, however, once they have started establishing their nation, the pigs , who are the revolutionary leader, started adapting the tatics of their dictators. Orwell point in this was to show that revolution leaders can become just as corrupt as the government they overthrew. Something writer’s should ask themselves when writing political stories is, What principals should my story revolve around? Who stands by them? Who drifts from them. Who can become corrupt without seeming forced?

While the pigs represent corrupt leaders, the rest of the animals represent to the citizens under a dictator’s rule. Despite the established rules, the pigs started changing them in ways that oppressed the other animals. Yet the animals were dedication to the imaginary benefits of the pigs. This is the allegory of citizens being controlled by fear and ignorance. Whenever any of the animals questioned them, the pigs would get rid of them. It was only when the animals caught on to the hypocrisy of the pigs did they revolt in the end. Whether the cycle continued is left to the imagination. When writing stories like this, writer’s should ask themselves: What are the laws in my stories? How do I make this government system reflect real life without seeming forced? What are the strong holds of the corruptions? What are the breaking points?

Animal Farm was propoganda during the time it was written. However, it was a story that spoke of being manipulated by propaganda techniques and what happens when one doesn’t stop and think through what they are being told. This is can be applied to anyone in any government system. This is one of my many examples of how to write political stories: writing about the character within a political issue and how they can tolerate the problems and how the strength to stand up for themselves.  Let me know what you think. How would you write about a serious topic in an engaging way? Was there more you think I should have gone other? Let me know in the comments below.