George Orwell is comparing the farm animals to the Soviet Union. He is trying to convey the idea of power and the demoralization that comes along with it. He communicates irony with the readers through the animals being 'punished' for being power hungry. The animals end up mistreating each other, due to their infatuation for authority. Satire is used to show the selfishness of the animals. The power makes them hypocrites for using the same punishments that they hated when they were used against themselves. Irony is shown through the denseness of the society they live in. The readers know a lot more about what is happening in the story, than the characters do.
