Revolution was to be a means of getting rid of the animals’ supposedly biggest threat to an ideal society - man - but how would the animals get rid of the menacing faults in their own kind, which pose a bigger threat? Animal Farm consists of three characters whose unalterable flaws cause society post revolution to fail. Napoleon embodies greed; Benjamin embodies cynicism; the sheep embody unthinking nature.
To begin with, Napoleon embodies the human flaw of greed, which inevitably is accompanied and derived by corruption. Due to his ultimately corrupt nature, Napoleon resorts to unethical methods to forcibly obtain authority over the rest of the animals (i.e., instilling fear through the dogs and expelling Snowball). However it’s not Napoleon’s
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Primarily, in order for the pigs to maintain power it was crucial for them to have control over their lower class (the animals) as ultimately power lies in the majority. The pigs did this by oppressing the animals through the implementation of corrupt tactics such as the use of propaganda, fear, etc. However situations of oppression didn’t arise from merely the brutal tactics of the ruling class, but also the naive/unthinking nature of the working class. The sheep embody flaws like stupidity and unthinking nature which allows the pigs to manipulate them into blindly following (and enhancing) Napoleon’s fundamentally corrupt authority. Due to the pigs’ manipulation, the sheep build a mob mentality of “Four legs good, two legs bad”, which although is the basic principle of Animalism, acts as one of Napoleon’s key manipulation tactics upon the animals. For instance, whenever the animals try to talk against Napoleon the sheep silence them with “Four legs good, two legs bad”. This puts the animals in a situation where they cannot talk back as it would be the equivalent of talking against Animalism. This represents how both the unthinking nature of the sheep, and the use of pointless emotional arguments diverts the animals from the reality of the pigs. Eventually, Squealer teaches the sheep “Four legs good, two legs better”, yet the sheep are still unable to see the violation of Animalism’s …show more content…
Essentially, in every society, it's important for there to be revolutionaries that can think for themselves and stand against a corrupt ruling class. Otherwise, as portrayed by the sheep, any power hungry dictator will exploit their lower class, causing society to become a mass of slaves blindly following their oppressors. But how about the intelligent that don’t choose to speak? Throughout the novel, Benjamin is aware of the pigs tactics (i.e., violating the commandments, Spontaneous Demonstrations, etc.) but still stays quiet regarding the issue. This is due to Benjamin’s cynical attitude conveyed through his personal ideology that "hunger, hardship, and disappointment are the unalterable law of life”. He is the only character who remains unchanged, and all the while believes that efforts for change are futile and that life is fundamentally hard. For this reason, the pigs are able to maintain and abuse their power as they’re aware no one will question their corrupt authority. With this in mind, it's clear that a cynistic nature, accompanied with an unwillingness to improve society, leads to its downfall. However it must be remembered how Old Major’s cynical views lead to the revolution to begin with. Old Major, like Benjamin, believed that the ruling class were absolutely corrupt and the prime reason for their laborious lives. Thus, he implemented the idea of a revolution and Animalism as a whole, in hope for a
When the pigs come into power, they soon discover how effective the barbaric way of ruling is. Animals who confesses to defying and betraying the authorities are publicly executed through the gory means. Napoleon trains the dogs on the farm, from youth, to become callous and vicious, killing machines. Napoleon deprives the dogs from their youth to create instruments of fear. The pigs demonstrate the consequences for those who dare resist the government and impose fear on those who dare try to oppose the pigs.
Napoleon's driving force that kept the pigs in power was his way of forcing the animals to depend on the pigs for everything, and that they were simply more capable and therefore more deserving. “It
animal revolution took place. Old major was the pioneer, which led a huge group of animals to overthrow farm owner Mr.Jones. The animal revolution aimed to establish a domestic society but result in a dictatorship society. Unfortunately, the revolution was a completely failure because they remained the idea of being a dictatorship country and the treaty could be easily edited. The only difference was that, in the past, the leader was a human, but now, the leader was a animal. The new leader not only love the problem of the animal farm, but also deepen the problem due to uneducated problem, Napoleon’s greedy, exaggerate propaganda.
Napoleon’s use of language to constantly deceive the other animals is shown throughout the entirety of the book. Napoleon and the other pigs are much more fluent and knowledgeable with their vocabulary, allowing them to use emotive and descriptive language to influence the animal’s thoughts. Napoleons right hand man Squealer is adept at fooling the lower class of the farm and Napoleon uses him to do gain more favour with the animals. Squealer through the use of sophisticated language makes the other animals actually believe that Napoleon was the hero of the Battle of the Cowshed, when in reality Napoleon ran away at the very start of the battle. Napoleon uses Squealer expertise in language to rewrite history to fulfil his desire for power. “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples...Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig...the whole management and organization of this farm depend on us”. Quotes such as this are used when the pigs are questioned by the other animals on the farm. Napoleon and Squealer through the use of language is able to persuade the animals into believing that everything he does is for the good of the farm. How Napoleon is able to persuade his ‘people’ with no regret or remorse is proof that his desire for power is the only thing he truly wants. This language is presented several times throughout the text and is a
Countless times, the book shows that the pigs lied and manipulated the others. They were able do this simply because the rest of the animals turned a blind eye towards the things they saw and were told. In the beginning, all the animals were so happy that they had won the rebellion and gotten rid of Mr. Jones, they did not realize that the newly communist society was slowly changing and not for the better. On page 32, it states “The reading and writing classes, however, were a great success. By the autumn almost every animal on the farm was literate in some degree. As for the pigs, they could already read and write perfectly.” As you can see, all the animals were educated – at least to some extent – but the pigs were by far the smartest. This shows that the other animals were able to at least recognize letters and words. While the animals were somewhat literate, they did not take the time to better educate themselves. This caused them to remain blind to the fact that Napoleon was slowly creating a group of sentinels and surreptitiously planning to get rid of Snowball. Napoleon took advantage of the fact that it had been decided that the pigs knew better when it came to certain things. For example, he took puppies away from their mother. He promised to educate them well. Napoleon seemed to be acting benevolent but
Napoleon says “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy” (Orwell 43) so many times, that it is ingrained into the minds of the sheep. Napoleon says this in order to brainwash the animals into following him and the other pigs. The animals feel that they have no alternative other than to follow Napoleon. This is identical to when the Russian Citizens felt that they had to follow Stalin. During this time period, the poor Russian people were terrified.
One of the many awful things he did was he proclaimed that whoever killed, snowball would be rewarded. He would also kill any animals he believed were working with Snowball, breaking the commandment that said no animal shall kill another animal. He also formed one single commandment after breaking all of the other ones, which was “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS” ( 194). This shows that the pigs finally established dominance over the animals, and no longer believed that all animals were equal. Another action that showed that Napoleon was taking dominance over the other animals was when he took away some of the dreams that at the beginning was once promised to them, such as “The luxuries of which Snowball had once taught the animals to dream, the stalls with electric light and Hot and cold water, and the three-day week, were no longer talked about. He said, lay in working hard and living frugally” ( 185). This shows that the animals were promised great things, but this all changed when Napoleon's desire for power clouded all of his previous beliefs. Lastly, the pigs and Napoleon appeared one day walking in their hind legs and showing qualities of humans until one day in the eyes of the animals they become so human like, it was impossible to tell between humans and pigs. The animals
Instead of speaking up against Napoleon and the pigs, they convince themselves that Napoleon’s ideas are still better than the way things were when Mr. Jones was in charge. Since they greatly fear the thought of Mr. Jones coming back, the pigs decide to use this to their advantage. “Certainly the animals did not want Jones back; if the holding of debates on Sunday mornings was liable to bring him back, then the debates must stop” (Orwell 56). Their ignorance at the beginning of Napoleon’s rule leads him to becoming even more powerful. Even when they have a feeling something is wrong, they excuse the pigs’ actions instead of speaking up about it, just like Napoleon and the other pigs
The novel ‘Animal Farm’ created by George Orwell heavily expresses the ideals of a prolonged cruel or unjust treatment and the exercise of authority. The exponential ignorance of the farm animals towards the actions and ideas of the pigs (Napoleon, Squealer and Snowball) prove the incentive that it is easier to conform to the ideals/ways of the ‘New England’, than to rebel, as well as through the exposure to propaganda and the distortion of reality. This therefore leaving them docile, numb, and oppressed.
The animals do not see the power that Napoleon has over them. Additionally, they do not see the power he is gaining from their
Until the dogs attacked, everyone had forgotten that they existed. Napoleon used this to his advantage because he had the element of surprise mixed with fear. Because he manipulated the dogs, he was able to use the fear that they produced to become more powerful. While he is manipulative, Napoleon is also incredibly preeminent. He uses his power to live his best life while the rest of the animals suffer.
They lost their initial power and ideologies of liberation and equality. The animals should be treated equally. Napoleon manipulates the animals and corrupt power. The animals of the Animals Farm must rise up against the pigs because they should take action against the cruel, they should rebel to achieve their dream which all animal are equal. Just as the animals said, “Let’s face it: our lives are miserable,
The sheep are a clear demonstration of how a lack of education can be used for political and social oppression. Often the sheep are not being mistreated, but are instead used as a tool to oppress others. The basis of the sheeps’ problem begins when Orwell writes “It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart.” (50) The commandments are then shortened to “Four legs good, two legs bad” so the sheep can memorize the fundamentals of Animalism more easily. The intention behind this change may not have originally been malicious, but it eventually becomes more a tool for the pigs than the sheep. Attempts are made to educate the sheep, but ultimately fail. Napoleon begins to abuse the sheeps’ ignorance to drown out Snowball during his speeches. The sheep are being used as a weapon against Snowball to indirectly limit his freedom of speech. The sheep are unable to understand that they are being used by Napoleon for motives outside of their own. Once Snowball is expelled, Napoleon starts using the sheep to silence the other animals of the farm and their ideas. The sheep are being used to politically oppress the
The pigs appointed themselves the positions of upmost authority -living in the farm house, sleeping in the beds the humans had once slept in, drinking alcohol as Jones had, and slaughtering the animals as they vowed they wouldn't, after some of them had recognized how the actions of Napoleon contradicted all of Old Majors expectations for the future. Squealer and Napoleon were even responsible for the changing of the seven commandments to their advantage. They rewrite most of them so that they are beneficial to the pigs, deceiving the more gullible animals into believing they weren't breaking any of the rules that had seemed the be set in stone.
In Animal Farm the animals strive for equality but fail to realize that the communist state they perceived to be living in is actually a dictatorship. Napoleon and fellow pigs live and act superior in comparison to the other animals which is revealed as the satirical device irony. To start off, the prokers of Animal Farm made critical and important decisions for the farm. Even though all the animals should contribute to major of the farm, Napoleon determines and decides solutions along with his fellow pigs. An example of this is when upcoming weeks work is being decided, “ It was always the pigs who put forth the resolutions.