Animal Farm, by George Orwell Essay

One way Napoleon took control of Animal Farm was by Ideology. By using Ideology to take control, he used the Seven Commandments. The Seven Commandments were seven rules that the animals had to live by. The Seven Commandments were reduced to two legs good, four legs bad. After seeing Squealer lying in the

In Animal Farm, George Orwell uses Napoleon and the pigs to demonstrate how fear and intimidation are used to gain control over a society. Napoleon makes an example out of those who refuse to obey him in order to create fear amongst the animals and preventing more animals from rebellion. After witnessing the slaughter of multiple rebelling animals, the animals “were shaken and miserable. They didn’t know which was more shocking- the treachery of the animals who had leagued themselves with Snowball, or the cruel retribution they had just witnessed.” (84). Napoleon kills the rebels in front of the animals to secure his authority and assert dominance . Knowing that Napoleon would execute them if they disagreed with him, the animals were more

The novel, Animal Farm, is a well-known allegory written by George Orwell. As a satire of the Russian Revolution, Orwell portrays the rise of a cruel dictatorship and the mistreatment of the general population under it. Like the Communist government in Russia, the government in Animal Farm employs the use of many manipulative tools, especially propaganda. Propaganda was used by the pigs throughout the book, deceiving many of the animals. As this story shows, propaganda can enable governments to bend people to any purpose. By spreading positive messages about Napoleon, persuading the animals that Snowball is an enemy, and convincing the animals that they can’t survive without the pigs, propaganda

George Orwell in his novel Animal Farm explores the reality through the abuse of power using the character Napoleon. In order to gain absolute power, Napoleon eliminates any opposition, uses propaganda, and chances the commandments.

Napoleon, the revolutionary leader, was a power hungry and abusive pig. When the animals wouldn’t listen he had to have them follow his rules and visions. He brainwashed the animals into believing whatever he said, threatened them and used popular animals to convey his desires. As dictatorship was the most prominent form of governing during the revolution, the leader used techniques to influence the animals’ opinion.

Soon after building the windmill, it falls and Napoleon blames Snowball for its destruction. Some of the animals sympathize with Snowball, saying that there was no way he could have pushed it over. Napoleon becomes angry, purging the farm, killing anyone who he accuses of allying with Snowball. After he did so, animals questioned his tactics only for Napoleon to ask the animals, “Surely comrades, you would not want Jones back? (Orwell, pg. 67 Chap. 6)” By saying this rhetorical question, the animals would not question what it was that Jones had done that was worse than Napoleon, and they would just get back to doing their work. Napoleon used Squealer the pig to help him get out of situations that he brought upon himself. When Napoleon would say something that he was not supposed to, Squealer would justify for

While Napoleon was gaining power over the animals he had to get rid of other politicians and opposing citizens. He did this by raising dogs that would strike fear into citizens and end up chasing Snowball out of the farm making Napoleon have total power. “Four young porkers…uttered shrill squeals of disapproval…. But…the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again.”(document B). This made it so the animals were too scared to oppose or overthrow Napoleon. He also made it so no one could challenge him politically. He did this by having his dogs kill masses of people so no one would dare have different opinions and speak out against him. “When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice, Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess”(document B). The mass murder made it so Napoleon had total control of the farm. The violence of Napoleon’s leadership caused the animals to fear to have their own opinions and forced them to conform to Napoleon’s

Napoleon uses propaganda through blaming Snowball for false crimes. “...[T]his traitor has crept here under cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year,”(Doc D, Chapter 6). Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat to keep the animals on his side. When Napoleon's propaganda doesn’t always work, Napoleon turns to ideology.

The theme ‘Fear is a powerful motivator’ was conveyed in the novella ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, which is an allegory that is based on events that happened during and after the Russian Revolution. Orwell used animals to represent historical figures such as Joseph Stalin, the totalitarian ruler of the time. Napoleon, who was the pig that represented Stalin, used violence and propaganda to help him take control of the farm, and used the animals’ fear of him to motivate them into following his orders. The other animals did not question Napoleon’s authority out of fear of being killed by his dog’s, which represented Stalin’s KGB. He oppressed the animals and had public executions where the ‘traitors’ were killed for daring to defy him. They were made to watch “these scenes of terror and slaughter”, thus setting an example and making others fear his power to motivate them into following his orders. Their

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.

Obviously, it was a great idea convincing the other animals about the windmill. However, Napoleon is here convincing the animals of Snowball causing farm troubles. For example, he told the animals that Snowball is a traitor because he was working for Foxwood Farm and he also said he proof of the secret documentation of Snowball working for Foxwood. However, Snowball is the animalism because he wanted the animals to be treated equally and have their freedom just like Old major had a dream about. On the other hand, Napoleon didn’t care for the animals he just wanted power so he had seven secret police dogs to scare away Snowball from the farm and also to kill any animal that didn’t obey his

This quote shows again Snowball's strong passion for the farm as he spends hours working on plans for innovations and improvements. Napoleon cannot accept that Snowball is the cleverest out of them both and this is proved to us again when Snowball makes Animal Comittees to teach the animals to read and write as Napoleon claimis that the education of the young is far more important than that of the older animals. He says this clearly because he is jealous of Snowball and wants power and glory all the time. Orwell describes Napoleon as "large" and "fierce-looking". From this description we picture him to be extremely intimidating and he uses this throughout the novel to control the other animals.

Napoleon is an opportunitist. When he realizes that he can turn a situation, whether good or bad, to his advantage, he does so. For example, when the windmill topples, he tells that that Snowball is the cause and turns the animals against him. From then on he makes Snowball a scapegoat. Whenever something goes wrong, it is because of Snowball. This makes the animals feel that they are lucky to have Napoleon instead. It is also an easy way out as it keeps the animals from finding out where the blame really lies. This secures Napoleon's leadership position as the he will not be blamed for anything wrong and creates the illusion that Napoleon's ruling is perfect, making him indispensable. In the case of the timber, he uses Snowball to back up his decision. Since the animals are against him, the party he is not selling to will have Snowball residing there. This causes the animals to support his decision.

Napoleon was not a leader known for being loved by the crowd or having the ability to gain the trust of his followers, rather he just talked when it was truly needed. After the revolution happened, Napoleon took nine pups and trained them in private without anyone knowing what he was doing with them, he was known for being a leader that wasn't transparent with his actions and this was one of the reasons why the animals prefered Snowball. Then when Napoleon realized that he couldn't compete against Snowball, he used the dogs that he trained to kick him out of the farm, later he convinced the animals to believe that every error that was made was Snowball’s fault and blamed him for every bad situation that was occurring in the farm. When he kicked

The most interesting character I found was Squealer. My reasons being, he served Napoleon following everything he said. Whist using excuses and lies to justify Napoleon’s treacherous acts. This made him to be like an under-dog whose purpose was to corrupt, exploit and confuse the other animals on the farm.