Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphic Characters

You can divide anthropomorphic characters into several categories of anthropomorphism.

Anthropomorphizing Animals and Objects

Writers commonly anthropomorphize animals and objects in literature.

This happens in children’s literature, of course. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), everything from rabbits to playing cards walks and talks. In A. A. Miline’s Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), stuffed animals are anthropomorphic and go on great adventures.

However, the anthropomorphism of animals and objects is not limited to children’s stories. George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) is not a children’s story. Although it is filled with anthropomorphized farm animals, the novel is a critique of Stalinism. It is a clever, contemporary satire.

Anthropomorphizing Concepts and Real Phenomena

Well over 2000 years ago, Aesop told many fables that live on to this day. In "The North Wind and the Sun," Aesop anthropomorphizes the sun and the north wind, which are space and weather phenomena. In the fable, the sun and the wind bicker about who is stronger and hold a contest to figure it out.

The fable is as follows.

Remarkably human! Even in this short fable, you can see anthropomorphism at work, as two phenomena have a humanoid dispute. The Sun ultimately wins out, using "persuasion" rather than "force."

Anthropomorphizing the Supernatural

Norse, Greek, Egyptian, and other gods are anthropomorphic representations of things ancient people saw around them. For instance, Ra (the Egyptian god of the sun) could be considered an anthropomorphic representation of the sun.

Fig. 1 - Gods are often anthropomorphic representations of natural phenomena.

Supernatural characters such as mythological gods are also anthropomorphic in that they assume human form. Anthropomorphism thus occurs in two main ways.

1. Anthropomorphism occurs when real things and concepts (such as a frog or "music") appear human-like in fiction.

2. Anthropomorphism also occurs when a non-human of a mythological world takes on a human form.

The difference is subtle but important because you don't want to conflate the two definitions. You don't want to find yourself thinking that the aliens in Star Wars are anthropomorphic because "they are aliens with a humanlike form." Human-like aliens in Star Wars are not anthropomorphic because they do not fit either of the above definitions. "Aliens" in this sense are people, at least in terms of anthropomorphism. They are not concepts, phenomena, animals, or objects. As presented in these stories, they are sentient beings in their own right, just like any person.

Difference Between Anthropomorphism and Personification

There is often confusion surrounding the terms “anthropomorphism” and “personification.”

Some people do use the terms interchangeably. However, you can make a helpful distinction.

As you know, anthropomorphism is when non-human things behave like humans. Here is how you might define personification.

Take this short example.

In this example, the grandfather clock is not a real elderly man. The writer has simply described the grandfather clock in this fashion. Here’s how that might look if the clock were anthropomorphized.

Personification is a descriptive literary device, while anthropomorphism is a method of characterization. Personification is metaphorical while anthropomorphism is literal. In the above examples, the anthropomorphized clock thinks and acts like a person, whereas the personified clock is a normal clock being described with poetic language.

Fig. 2 - Give something a human face and you anthropomorphize it.

Function of Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is not one of those rhetorical skills you apply at the right place or time. A writer will use anthropomorphism if they feel like it, not because they need it. Still, people have used anthropomorphism throughout time for various reasons.

Anthropomorphism for Characters

As already explored to some extent, writers use anthropomorphism to create characters. This is particularly common for creating animal characters. Take another children’s book, The Wind in the Willows (1908), which follows a host of animal characters, including a timid mole, an eccentric toad, and a grave badger.

Here's a passage from the story (Chapter 2).

In this passage, Rat, Mole, and even the ducks are anthropomorphic. Although the ducks behave similarly to normal ducks, they also possess the ability to "implore" Rat to go away. In stories such as Wind in the Willows, the animals are more or less humans in animal form!

Anthropomorphism for Allegory

Anthropomorphism often helps an allegory in two ways.

One, anthropomorphism can soften the allegory, making it less blunt. Take Animal Farm, a blunt satirical allegory for the rise of Stalinism. The fact that it occurs on a farm makes that allegory less on-the-nose.

Second, anthropomorphism can help explain the allegory. By setting Animal Farm on a farm with barnyard animals, Orwell gives himself a host of relatable characters. Readers understand how a barn functions, so they can use this background knowledge to help them interpret Stalinism in those basic terms.

Fig. 3 - In a world of anthropomorphic animals, a simple barn can be the site for a rebellion.

Anthropomorphism for Interpreting the Unknown

Particularly, ancient people used anthropomorphism to interpret the world around them. An ancient farmer who didn’t understand the rain might try to understand its nature by applying human fickleness to it, for example.

Many ancient stories, poems, and epics anthropomorphized space and weather phenomena. This has resulted in many fantastic mythological stories worldwide, from Japan to the Americas.

Anthropomorphism Example

The following is an example of anthropomorphism and a short analysis of its usage.

This passage is from Animal Farm. It is part of the opening speech that Major, a boar, gives to the farm's other animals. He is inciting a rebellion against their owner.

In this passage, Major echoes the sentiments of Soviet revolutionaries in Russia when they rebelled against the monarchy in 1917. The way that Russian Soviets critiqued the ruling class’s lack of production, Major critiques his owner’s lack of production. This use of anthropomorphism helps the reader sympathize with Major and by extension the people who suffered under the Russian monarchy.

Regarding the “bigger picture,” Orwell, a critic of Stalinism but not democratic socialism, uses anthropomorphism to tell the story of Stalinism with a fresh slate. Indeed, if Orwell had told the story of Animal Farm using people instead of animals, readers would have read it with more biased eyes.