Animal Farm: Importance of the Seven Commandments Essay

One night, all the animals of Mr. Jones’ farm, gather together in the barn to listen to Old Major, the pig, tell them about a dream he had, in which no animal had to live under the reign of human owners which would happen after a large rebellion against the people that treated them as slaves. After his death, which occurred only three nights after that meeting, the rest of the animals spent months working on plans to make the rebellion that Old Major had spoken of, into a reality. In the beginning the pigs, particularly Snowball and Napoleon, which had naturally become the leaders, faced difficulties convincing the other animals that this was the right thing to do.

The plot of Animal Farm is made of many events. There is the initial rebellion of the animals against Farmer Jones. This rebellion begins the rest of the story and struggles that come along. The animals are left having to figure out how to run the farm themselves while also keeping law and order. The pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, step up as leaders and create the Seven Commandments which start out as: “1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. 2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. 3. No animal shall wear clothes. 4. No animal shall sleep in a bed. 5. No animal shall drink alcohol. 6. No animal shall kill any other animal. 7. All animals are equal” (Orwell 24). Snowball’s approach to freedom was an idea of complete equality; all the animals worked for their share of the food. Napoleon

For the pigs to maintain their popularity with the other animals, Squealer secretly paints additions to some commandments to benefit the pigs while keeping them free of accusations of breaking the laws (such as "No animal shall drink alcohol" having "to excess" added to it and "No animal shall sleep in a bed" with "with sheets" added to it). Eventually the laws are replaced with "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others", and "Four legs good, two legs

The animals organized a rebellion and they take over the farm and organize defense mechanisms in case of the people coming to take the farm back. One day the people rally against the animals and snowball the lead pig gets injured 1or 2 get killed and they take their previous owners gun. After their battle, they make rules called the 7 commandments first was Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, second whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend, the third no animal

In Animal Farm, the pigs used their superior knowledge to persuade the other animals into thinking whatever they say is true. The first example of this in the novel is when the pigs are caught sleeping in beds. Clover remembered a rule against animals sleeping in beds, but when she went to check, she found “...herself unable to read more than individual letters...”(47) When she finally finds someone that can read the rules, it seems as though it has changed. This lack of education shown in Clover allows the pigs to change one of the Seven Commandments. Yet another example of the pigs changing history is just a few chapters later. Originally, the sixth commandment stated that no animal shall kill another animal, however when the animals checked after the massacre put on by Napoleon, “It ran: "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause." (63) This once again goes to show that without education, these animals are susceptible to deception. The pigs realize the power they have and use it against the unintelligent animals in order to cover up their

"There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS." George Orwell, Page 134.

The pigs then introduce “The Seven Commandments of Animalism” and write them on the barn wall; soon the main idea is captured in the minds of all the animals, “FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD”.

Eventually leading to the downfall of the “animalism” doctrines. This is accurately shown through the passage “Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so … You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep in. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed properly regarded” (Orwell 45-46). At this time Clover is at the side of the barn only a few months after snowball has been banished. She wonders how she could have forgotten remembering “without sheets” on the fourth commandment. At this time Squealer comes along and settles any confusion or suspicion. The pigs sleeping in beds, breaks the fourth commandment. If the animals discover that the pigs have really broken this crucial rule, then the pigs will lose the privileges of being the leaders of animal farm. Such as, the larger portions of food and the ability to live in the farmhouse. Through the greed of wanting to live in the farm house, the pigs are motivated to “adjust” the fourth commandment to fit their needs. This adjustment demonstrates the cause of the animals self-deception. The passage also shows how Squealer uses his infamous propaganda theories when explaining that there is nothing wrong with sleeping in a bed. He uses logos (logical reasoning) which clears the animals doubt. Squealer is also motivated through greed of sleeping in the beds. The result of constantly changing the commandments is shown through the quotation at the end of the book “Four legs good, two legs better” (Orwell 89)! The pigs are walking on their hind legs and the sheep began to bleat this line repeatedly. The result is that the pigs mirror the humans in every way, crushing the laws of animalism. This can be noticed when the sheep say “two

In the beginning of animal farm there are set rules that all the animals must follow in order to achieve perfect society. One of the first things that happened however was that they shortened the seven rules to one because most of the animals were so uneducated that they could not remember or even read the seven rules written on the barn wall. This is the start of how Orwell shows how uneducation is a serious problem. The pigs used the animal’s inability to comprehend to their advantage. They changed the rules on the barn and because the animals could not understand them in the first place, they accepted the changes because they did not know any better. Those of the animals that did understand them however were later convinced that they had been the same way all along because of their blind loyalty to their ruler. Another factor they came into play when trying to control the animals, and also played a part in helping the pigs rise to power, was Squealer, who represented propaganda. Anytime the animals questioned something that didn’t seem right Squealer was immediately there to show them how they should be looking at the situation and what the consequences could be if they did not accept what they were being told, as one of Squealers favorite things to say was, “You don’t want Famer Jones to come back, do you?”. Because none of the animals could challenge or cared to challenge the pigs, that is what really cleared the path to let the pigs gain

These commandments were to “form an unalterable law” (pg.17) but as the pigs quickly began to realise that their mental capabilities outshone the other animals, their self entitled supremacy rose with it. Their constant desire for power then followed and they believed that their egotistical ideals were not something to be reckoned with, therefore manipulating the commandments to their own liking. This was exemplified when the commandments are gradually undermined by the pigs to; “no animal must sleep in a bed” to “no animal must sleep in a bed with sheets” (pg.17,50), and “no animal shall kill any other animal” to “no animal shall kill any other animal without cause” (pg.17, 66)( Dr Jennifer Minter, English Works, 2016). The pigs act as if they are abiding by the commandments to gain the trust from the mindless animals using strategical manipulation strategies, then later reveal their true intentions in a time and way that no animal is cunning enough to challenge them, making them all powerless to protesting against the supremacy. A representation of this occurs by all the original commandments being erased and replaced with the new guiding principle “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others” (pg.

First off, imagine that you are one of the animals on the farm, you would have no other choice but to listen to the pigs. This is similar to listing to your boss at work, even though you may disagree with what is being done, you are obligated to follow the rules or else you will have to face the consequences. This is shown thought out the novel, because the pigs are seen to be the leaders of the farm, while the other animals are seen to be the followers. In this novel if any of the animals disobey the pigs in anyway, they will have to face the serve consequences that follow. An example of this was when, snowball was kicked off the farm. The reason why snowball was kicked off the farm was because the pigs had believed that he had

George Orwell’s allegorical novella, Animal Farm is a satirical retelling of the events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. After the animals rebel against Mr. Jones and his employees, they set up a government constituted by “Animalism”, which in its raw state parallels the basic principles of socialism. In order to govern them, they create basic laws meant to unify them known as, “The Seven Commandments”, which they write on the outer wall of the barn. However, the pigs begin to disobey the commandments and change them to get away with it. None of the other animals notice due to their illiteracy, so Napoleon continuously exploits this fact to get what he wants. As a result, the farm that was meant to be utopic

In the novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell, many events have happened on the farm as the book surrounds itself on the Russian Revolution. As problems start to arise on the farm due to the idea of equality in Animalism, animals on the farm revolted to get their fair share. Soon they were able to overthrow their human master after a long period of mistreatment. Not long after, the pigs started to lead the animals since they were believed to be more “intelligent” than the rest. However as time goes on, the pigs took advantage of this and became more dominant on the farm, especially with Napoleon, who was one of the pigs. His power on the farm led him into becoming a power-hungry pig, which negatively impacted him. Napoleon’s selfish behavior

Jones from the farm, renaming it "Animal Farm". They adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, "All animals are equal." When Major dies, two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, assume command and consider it a duty to prepare for the Rebellion. The animals revolt and drive the drunken and irresponsible farmer Mr. Jones from the farm, renaming it "Animal Farm". They adopt the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, "All animals are equal."

In "Animal Farm,” the pigs make up the 7 commandments that all of the animals in the