Animal Farm Corruption Essay

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.

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.

So, as a solution he used his power to manipulate the others into thinking that it had always said without cause. Soon enough the others caught on to the savagery of Napoleons ways and “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” (Orwell 118). The thing the animals hated most was humans, because humans are inherently evil the animals were abused and mistreated their entire lives. Since Napoleon took over, they hoped their lives would improve but he got lost in the power and succumbed to the evil, becoming like what they hated most.

For example, the pigs thought they were more important or inferior to the other animals. At the beginning of the book, the pigs were decided to be the leaders because of their intelligence and their ability to read and write. The pigs wrote seven commandments on the top of the barn and one of them was “All Animals are Equal” page 24. This is important because the seven commandments end up being broken by the leader of the pigs Napoleon. At first,

Furthermore, Napoleon gives the other animals the impression he was the sole leader of the rebellion on Animal farm and makes Snowball -a leader who wanted what was best for the animals- seem like an enemy who was in cahoots with Farmer Jones since long before the animals took over the farm. Napoleon and Squealer (another “fat cat” pig.) always put the blame on Snowball whenever something went wrong in the farm to avoid having the blame fall on them. Napoleon is an exemplary example of just how selfish and hypocritical people can be in furthering their own aims because he continued to subtly but purposely change the seven rules put in place as the pillars of animalism. For example, Napoleon and the other pigs move into Farmer Jones’s house and sleep in his bed after commanding “No animal shall sleep in a bed”, so he changes the commandment to read “no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”.

The greed of power will always blind the leader’s judgment. Napoleon was not excluded in this matter as he often takes advantages knowing that the animals cannot read or write. Although there are many examples to support this fact, but one stands out the most, Boxer’s ending. As can be seen throughout the story, Boxer is the one who worked hard for that farm’s welfare from the beginning to the end. His never-failing cry of ‘I will work harder’ often inspired the rest of animals to work hard despite facing failures such as destruction of the windmill for the second time.

And it’s getting worse when he selled boxer to a slaughterer to have money for buying more alcohol, even if all of the barley is already reserve to the pigs. He begin to act like a human, meet them, smoke, drink alcohol and wear clothes. To show that all of the goal of the first rebellion never continue that way, they change the song Beast of England and the name of the farm for “Manor farm”. Napoleon didn’t do what the revolution had wanted. The animals follow him, respect him even if they didn’t have to.

“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.

Napoleon implies that some of the pigs are more equal than others. Napoleon is the one who decided the rules and who is more equal,

“The commandments were written on the tarred wall in great white letters that could be read thirty yards away.” Napoleon knows that all of the other animals are not as smart as him,

Jaewon Shim Ms. Manning English 9B 06 February 2015 Animal Farm Analytical Essay "Orwellian" is an adjective that describes the condition of the society that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. The adjective suggests an attitude that is controlled by propaganda, the denial of truth, and manipulation of the past. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell develops his ideas about the Russian Revolution through a highly satirical story written in the form of a fable. The characters represent actual people in history during the Russian Revolution, which took place in the years between 1917 to 1944, as it talks about a story of a farm rebelling against a human owner and establishes their own way of running the farm, which was effected by Old Major’s speech who talked about a society where all workers led the society, with no actual leader. However, imbalance of power occur as the pigs, who are the smartest of the animals gain influence by supervising other animals to work.

Napoleon reason that because he is a pig, he would be the best leader for the animals after Old Major himself as a pig died. The words that Old Major shared with the animals inspired Napoleon to take the opportunity to set himself as the leader for the want of the luxuries that come with power. This is shown when Napoleon stayed behind in the barn with the buckets of milk alone, they were soon found empty when the animals came back for their own share of the milk. When the animals questioned what happened to the milk, the pigs and Napoleon made it seem like he drank the milk for the animals gain, but it was truly because he just wanted the milk(8,9). Later on when the commandments were set down in writing on the tarred wall(8), the animals started to leave their doubts behind on starting animalism because the seven commandments were set as a gain for the animals.

Napoleon had also shown the key theme of lying. He chooses to betray the animals by making business with the humans as he betrayed Old Major ’s ideals called Animalism where it includes not to mix with the humans as they are tyrants. Because the pigs were smarter, they used their intelligence to avoid working “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership.”

He tricks the other animals that that was always the original rule. In the end, the animals catch Napoleon with other farmers, talking to them, they hear him say that Animal Farm is no longer called Animal Farm, but it is now the original name, Manor Farm. Which shows that Napoleon is really doing the work of a human being. Him and the other pigs prove to be deceiving the other animals for their own