Abuse of power is the primary reason for corruption within society. Corruption is seen when the pigs and Jones start exploiting farm animals. In George Orwell’s allegorical novella “An Animal Farm.” published in 1945, he intended to display the dangers of the theme of power abuse through various literary techniques such as metaphors and juxtaposition. In the novella, George Orwell intends to convey the message of how leaders like Stalin abused power during the Russian Revolution and the dangers which come with it. He metaphors the pigs as dictators of the revolution and the other farm animals as stand-ins for humans. Abuse of power is seen when Napoleon exploits the farm animals during the windmill's construction, symbolising the 5-Year plans of the Soviet Union. He makes the animals work extra on Sundays mandatory, which was supposed to be optional. During the process of the windmill, the pigs and Napoleon “directed and supervised”, which has connotations of …show more content…
This makes the reader feel empathy towards the farm animals knowing that they are getting abused and exploited by their regime leaders. Additionally, it becomes vividly apparent when the lower animals on Animal Farm “did more work and received less food than any animals in the country.” the adjective “more” points out the fact that the lower animals worked harder but received “less” food. The juxtaposition portrays the abuse Napoleon does to the animals since it reveals that even if they work the hardest in the country, they won’t be able to reach the primary source of life, food. This makes the reader feel confused and angry simultaneously due to the ruling of Napoleon and the other pigs, which had terrible consequences for the
Although Napoleon the swine, as the leader and the smartest among the animals, claims to be building a society where all animals are equal, the other animals are exploited as laborers to fulfill its own desires. This theme is highlighted ironically at the end of the film, as Napoleon sells the most loyal worker, boxer, to buy himself alcohol. When contrasting the two texts, it can be seen that the animals other than the pigs play a similar role as the Handmaids. Both have been indoctrinated by the government’s propagandas to believe that they should serve the society, and both have been exploited by the authority. Therefore by illustrating the inequality in the society, not only do both texts illustrate a representation of dystopia effectively, a reflection of our own world is presented as well, as the problems of discrimination and inequality still exist
Throughout the years there have been many tyrannical rulers. Although these leaders have very abusive regimes many of them stay in power because of use of manipulative methods. In George Orwells Animal Farm these methods are demonstrated in an allegory of the Russian Revolution. In this novella a farm of animals work together to revolt against their owner Mr Jones in order to escape his tyrannical rule. However, in doing so a pig by the name of Napoleon gains power and treats the animals just as Mr Jones did before the revolution.
6. They take full control of the farm to now rule them 7. Pigs begin to want to control other animals, when before they were in favor of an egalitarian farm 8. Napoleon seeks to instill a biased education to benefit pigs, for example, educating dogs to attack any other animal that is against the establishment. 9.
The pigs took away rights and lives of their own citizens as did the Soviet’s, which helps teach what the book was trying to show that when these political figures gain such power, that they should not use it to only their advantage but to everyone’s. This can be represented at the end of the book when Napoleon has a meeting with humans and starts to resemble the humans exactly. This is because Napoleon used his power for his own well-being like the humans and eventually resembled one. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” pg.124 The image of the pigs appearance is tarnished by the way the pig treated his citizen as did Stalin.
For example, Napoleon decides that “It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there... It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the dignity of the Leader (for of late he had taken to speaking of Napoleon under the title of "Leader") to live in a house than in a mere sty” (21) meaning that he is starting to take control of the farm. This shows that Napoleon is slowly starting to become the leader of the farmhouse and concludes that he deserves more than the others because of his high position. Furthermore, this also illustrates that the animals do not understand that Napoleon is becoming the thing that he feared most; human.
In her critically acclaimed novel One Corpse Too Many, author Ellis Peters wrote, “All of the things of the wild have their proper uses. Only misuse makes them evil.” The possession and usage of power is an especially slippery slope. In George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, a main recurring theme revolves around power and how those who hold it will ultimately fall into corruption. The desire for power stems from greed, but power also fuels greed.
The second tactic that Napoleon uses is loyalty to the farm. The quote shows that the animals are loyal to the farm by upkeeping the farm in which they do it for themselves, “All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that they did was for the benefit of themselves…” (Orwell 73). The quote proves that the pigs worked the other animals like slaves.
The quote by Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is a good example of what is happening in the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. The pigs immediately gain control and leadership of the farm and eventually start to abuse the power. The pigs abuse their power by changing the commandments, living in luxury, and by treating the animals poorly. First and foremost, the pigs start changing the commandments to fit their acts and desires. In the beginning of the story, the animals decide on fair rules that everyone on the farm should abide by.
The animals start recognizing Napoleon for any good achievement done that day. For example, one of the hens recognizes Napoleon for just one stroke of good fortune. “Under the leadership of our Leader Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days…”(78). These poor animals are tricked into thinking that everything good that happens is due to “Comrade Napoleon's Leadership”. Every quote we see is a deeper level of corruption in Napoleon, and now, his influence on the farm is tearing what the revolution was all about.
In Animals Farm, there is a pig who’s name Napoleon. This character did not contributed to the society with his actions. In effect, he did not respect the concept of “Animalism” which is the equality of all the animals. He did many actions that broke this conception during the entire story. At the beginning, Napoleon, take the farm with Snowball when the farmer, Mr. Jones, left.
The pigs and Mr. Jones in Animal Farm shows that power corrupts absolutely. Power often comes from greed; pleasure and that it corrupt the society. The corruption of power in Animal Farm contributes to the Russian revolution and it occurs because of human nature, thirst of power and
Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In history what was viewed as a villain, is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing.
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell, is a story to show how absolute power corrupts, just as Stalin’s power did during the Russian Revolution in 1917. In the allegory “Animal Farm” each character represents a political figure from the days around the Russian Revolution. For example, Joseph Stalin is represented by a pig named Napoleon, Squealer, another pig, represents Stalin’s propaganda department, and the dogs represent the Secret Police (KBG). Using the nine dogs that Napoleon raises (intimidation), Squealer (propaganda), and manipulation, Orwell illustrates how Napoleon was able to gain and maintain control of the farm. The nine dogs that stay by Napoleon at all times are useful for Napoleon to gain and maintain control of the farm because they scare the other animals, intimidating them so that they do not disobey Napoleon.
Here the conditions the animals suffered are described, “Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half”(24). This quote shows how Napoleon manipulated the animals so that they were forced to either work unrealistic hours or starve. The pigs represent the Soviet ruling class because they are greedy, lazy, and manipulative. When Napoleon attacks Snowball and drives him to exile he is imitating the way Joseph Stalin drove his former friend Leon Trotsky to death.
He was a victim of social stratification among the British elites in his society; these challenges would inform his satires of social stratification in his literary work ‘Animal Farm’. Animal Farm is a story’s themes deal with the nature of autocratic and communist states. If we look for a moral, we can say that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Animal farm is a reflection of the author’s life and experiences, like in his life he was a victim of how powerful oppress the powerless of the lower social status. The novel shows a way in which the government brainwashes its people through the use of propaganda; it was also based on the problems resulting from the Russian revolution and the how power, corruption and oppression can be used as a weapon.