Animal Farm Power Quotes

Imagine a world where the people holding power always did what was good for everyone. As history has taught us, this doesn’t always happen. Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is a complex story about the dangers of too much government power, and the ones in power are definitely not doing things for the good of others. When the pigs take control of the farm, they become greedy, dishonest, and deceitful. Orwell lived in Europe during the time of the Russian Revolution, when there were countless dictatorships around the world. He wrote this story to symbolize (and mock) the Russian Revolution; which includes Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, and Vyacheslav Molotov. Orwell uses this story, where the oppressed become the oppressors, to warn the world about the power of the government. He also warns the reader not to let the corrupt control and not stand by and let it happen. He shows that the abuse of absolute power can lead to corruption, violence, and finally, chaos.

Power can change people into the thing or character that said they never would be. Absolute power changes people and creates something new and often times a monster. As Paul Krishner wrote in The Dual Purpose Of Animal Farm “…the commandments are chipped away and the pig-managers increasingly resemble farmers…”3 this demoralizes the majority oppressing them. Spencer Brown quotes Wanda Hale in "Mealymouthed Critics Ignore Animal Farm's Anticommunist Flavor,” Animal Farm is a

Have you ever been curious about how animals feel inside living in farms and who are the big bosses that run everything within the farm? And who has the power? In, Animal Farm, size did not matter in this case! The animals were convinced to do what the pigs tell them to. The power holders in the book are the pigs ! Puny, chubby, and persuading pigs! Ruling a whole farm of animals. They were smooth with their words and careful and manipulative. Then, soon enough the pigs took matters into their hands causing surprises to most of the farm animals. In the book Animal Farm as well as in our society, the leader that rise to power are usually the cleverest or most intelligent and most able to manipulate.

People are intrigued by a book through its content. However, when a reader can relate to the book, it reminds them of their own life story. This is exactly what Orwell did when writing Animal Farm. He created the book to open people’s eyes and see what was really going on in front of them. Animal Farm intrigues so many people because though it is a fiction book, it is based on true events that happened in Russia. Animal Farm, a book based on Stalin’s Russia, can be interpreted in several ways: the similar characteristics between Stalin and Napoleon, the animal parallels, and the parallel between Stalin’s Russia (USSR) and the Animal Farm.

A key character who explores the themes of rhetoric and social control, is the pig Squealer, the animals are easily tricked particularly by Squealer who has an understanding of rhetoric and is able to control other animals by abusing language and radicalising simple mantras bleated by sheep, “Four legs good, two legs bad”. This causes Animals with opposing views to be silenced out and the mass of uneducated animals follow along as big words are complicated to understand but small words and simplistic slogans are easy to follow regardless of their logic. “Frightened though they were, some of the animals might possibly have protested, but at this moment the sheep set up their usual bleating of "Four legs good, two legs bad," which went on for several minutes and put an end to the discussion.” (7.36)

In a society where an elite class has access to tools that the masses do not, this elite group of people often use these tools to dominate and oppress society. In George Orwell’s story, Animal Farm, Orwell demonstrates that education is a powerful weapon and is a tool that can be used to one’s advantage. Living in a world where power is easy to gain, the pigs quickly use education (or lack thereof) to manipulate the rest of the animals on the farm to serve themselves. This story ultimately reveals the underlying message that  first, education is important to all levels of society, next, for when it is not, society is stratified, resulting in the masses suffering.

George Orwell's novel, Animal Farm, was his very first piece of political writing. On the surface, this novel is about a group of miserable and mistreated farm animals that overthrow their neglectful owner; they take control of the farm. However, it too is a political allegory mainly focusing on the Russian Revolution. Orwell wrote Animal Farm in response to what had occurred in the Russian Revolution. Seeing how the people were being manipulated over for their freedom, he decided to write about these events through farm animals. The author's purpose for writing this novel is to warn his audience that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutly. Orwell's intent in fusing political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole, was truly

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a perfect example of how ignorance and lack of education can be used for control. Control which can lead to political and social oppression. The experiences of the various characters present how the pigs use this idea to oppress the animals of Animal Farm.

Quote #1 - “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” ̶ George Santayana

“Animal Farm” by George Orwell is an allegorical novel published on England in 1945. According to the author, this book reflects historical events leading up and during the Stalin era before World War II. It is the story of a revolution which goes wrong, based on the Russian revolution and Stalin’s use of power, the overall message is that man’s desire for power makes a classless society impossible. In the book, each animal represents a public figure or a type of person in real life. With this we can begin to develop the questions below in order to have a more complete idea of the meaning of the novel.

Animal farm is a renowned, allegorical novella written by George Orwell in 1945, which can be interpreted to have a hidden political meaning behind it referring to the Russian Revolution. Throughout this novella, the author purposely positions the audience to make judgements based on sensible, moral perception to show that Orwell effectively revealed how the pigs exploited a vast majority of propaganda techniques to deceptively manipulate the values, attitudes and beliefs of the other animals, with full intention of complete social control. This was exposed to the reader when the three main values of ‘Animalism’, as outlined in Old Major's speech, which consists of freedom, unity and equality, are abused for the pigs own advantage. This task

The sub theme of power corrupting people is very eminent in animal farm. The leaders on the farm - the pigs, were the brains of the farm. The animals let the pigs lead the farm, thereby placing them into a position of power. This power corrupted them as they became more and more greedy and their ideology became more and more corrupted. Also, the pig’s transgressions of the rules of animalism worsen as they grow in power.

The Russian Revolution was led by a few leaders of the common people, promising better work conditions and a Communist government with equality for all. However, when the Communist party was established, so much power was given to the government, that, it quickly went corrupt and abused peoples’ rights far worse than the previous government. In George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm, the pigs promise the animals better lives than their current lives under Jones’s rule. However, mirroring the Russian Revolution, the pigs went corrupt almost immediately afterwards, changing previously declared rules, and killing other animals without reason. In the end, the pigs ended up as bad as man. In Animal Farm, George Orwell utilizes situational irony, displaying the pigs as corrupt leaders, to support Lord Acton’s quote: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and and from pig to man again, but already it was impossible to say which was which.” Orwell wrote Animal Farm as an allegory based on problems resulting from the Russian Revolution. In Animal Farm, George Orwell uses tone, characterization, and stylistic elements to show that people in power use manipulation to stay in power.

One of the main reasons why the pigs were able to stay in control is because the animals were easily brainwashed into supporting and believing that whatever the pigs say is right. The pigs were able to control the animals like this through the use of propaganda, they used many forms of propaganda and controlled the animals very strategically. When the other animals notice that the pigs took all the milk and apples Squealer said, “ Comrades!" he cried. "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 … It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples ” ( Orwell-14). It is seen how squealer bends the truth in this excerpt to make it seem like the pigs are doing this for the good of the animals, but they are actually doing this out of greed for more food and power. The pigs often use different propaganda techniques to encourage the animals to keep working and supporting the pigs. Squealer once stated that “ production of every class of foodstuff had increased by two hundred per cent, three hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent, as the case might