Corruption of Power in Animal Farm 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 proves the quote “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This quote is saying that power can corrupt anyone, and with all the power complete corruption can occur. Farmer Jones had the power, it began to control him but then he lost it to the animals. He didn’t have control long enough for it to corrupt him.

Shortly after the Revolution, Snowball comes up with the plan to construct a windmill to make the lives of the inhabitants of Animal Farm easier. Napoleon hides in the shadows per se until the puppies that he has taken and trained are old enough to act as a police force. Once they are old enough, Napoleon has the dogs drive Snowball off the farm. He then takes credit for the idea of the windmill and proceeds to claim that he, not Snowball, won the award at the Battle of Cowshed. Napoleon then informs the animals that Snowball was an enemy and was a threat to Animal Farm. The animals are swayed by his propaganda and are fearful of his police dogs; this is what keeps him in power.

When thinking about pigs, you generally associate them with being dirty, repulsive and gluttonous. Well, that's Napoleon. In the novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell Napoleon is a pig on Manor Farm who slowly exerts power over others and begins his reign as a dictator. Napoleon takes over and renames the farm Animal Farm while being completely deceptive and unfair. Napoleon is a prime example of how absolute power corrupts absolutely because he is unjust and doesn't care for the wellbeing of any of the other animals on the farm but himself.

“Four legs good, two legs bad” (Orwell 34) the sheep kept shouting whenever someone tried to question Napoleon. Before any animal could say their point on what they thought, the animals other than Napoleon were rudely interrupted. Through these outbursts and other schemes Orwell introduces the idea that power can corrupt those with too much control and he shows it through Napoleon. During Animal Farm Napoleon and his side kicks, the other pigs are changing the commandments and doing whatever they please. Napoleon, and the pigs never follow the rules instead they change them up. The dogs are the secret police that Napoleon has formed to protect him. All of the animals are afraid of Napoleon because of his dogs that he has trained to obey only

Squealer the pig was very persuasive and could make anyone believe anything he said. He communicated to all the other animals what Napoleon had said, and always convinced them that it was right. Lenin, much like Squealer made sure that everyone agreed with Stalin’s decisions, and persuaded them to think that it was always the right move. Animal Farm characters have strong connections to people and things that actually existed. During the Russian revolution, Orwell did a great job contrasting three famous Russian leaders, with three common farm

Power itself is not necessarily a bad thing; in many cases power produces positive results. It is when power is combined with abuse that the problem begins. In Animal Farm by George Orwell, it studies the topic of power. Indeed, the story suggests that when people are given too much power, power will be abused. One way power is mistreated is by the pigs violating the seven commandments. Power is also abused when the animals try to get rid of each other. Another way in which power is misused is in the attempts to brainwash others.

Power Corrupts those who Possess it John Dalberg-Acton once said, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely”, this means that the more power that a person has the more corrupt the person will become. This statement is obviously correct especially if the person with absolute power has tendency towards corruption. The book, “Animal Farm”, by George Orwell, has many examples of how power is gate way to corrupt leaders because they have some tendencies towards corruption. Introduction Power corrupts those that possess it; this is a very important theme in Animal Farm.

Squealer is always making up excuses and bending the rules to make it seem as though Napoleon was the lord and savior of the entire farm. He once gave a short speech and said, “No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and when where would we be?”

The pigs under Napoleon often twisted the truth to justify their actions, as well as to make the animals trust Napoleon’s leadership. Napoleon used Squealer, the sheep, and the farm rituals to spread propaganda. For example, Napoleon used Squealer as his mouthpiece to push his doctrines and ideas by getting him to explain to the farm animals that everything Napoleon did was for one reason or another. Squealer would refute each and every one of the farm animals concerns, form ones about food rations to the commandments’ revisions to even their memory about their past life. If any animal had any distrust in Comrade Napoleon, Squealer would eliminate it. But as time went on and there were more changes to The 7 Commandments of Animalism, Napoleon

Squealer, one of Napoleon’s advocates, also convinced the animals into believing in Napoleon. Squealer was so consumed with Napoleon’s leadership that he managed to convince the animals into believe in his manipulative ways. While Animal Farm was very prosperous, it was also very

Napoleon, who is the leading power in the farm, had complete control of the animal’s minds, being able to convince them that “Snowball [had] done this thing! In sheer malignity, thinking to set back our plans and avenge himself for his ignominious expulsion, this traitor has crept here under cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year” (Orwell 70). Napoleon’s need for complete power was able to be achieved from the trust he had established from the other animals, making them not question him and follow whatever he said.

The first reason power leads to corruption is because with power comes broken rules. The pigs use their power to override the rules in Animal Farm. They show the reader this when George Orwell says, “It was a few days later than this that the pigs came upon a case of whiskey”(106-107). This means that the Pigs are breaking a rule that no other animal is allowed to break. The reason no other animal says anything is because the pigs possess power and they can not do anything about it.

Contextualize- Squealer does his best to do Napoleon’s bidding as a speaker to the animals. Squealer represents the Soviet Press, which Stalin controlled throughout his rule as well.

Napoleon, in a similar fashion as to how Stalin exiled Trotsky with his specialized police force, had cheated the animals on Animal Farm by eliminating his opponents. During a meeting with the animals, when Napoleon realized that the other animals were in favor of Snowball. he “[stands] up and, casting a peculiar look at Snowball, [utters] a high-pitched whimper of a kind that no one [has] ever heard him utter before. At this there [is] a terrible baying sound outside and nine enormous dogs… [dash] out straight for Snowball” (Orwell 67). By taking out his competitors, he is forcing the animals to choose him, as well as going against the very foundation of which Animalism was built upon. The Seven Commandments clearly state that “whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, in a friend” (Orwell 43). By exiling Snowball, Napoleon is boldly stating that Snowball is no longer his comrade and should not be treated as such. This disregard of the Seven Commandments clearly foreshadow the rest of Napoleon’s rule. The pig’s corruption is shown in another incident involving the ‘working class’ of the farm. Like the farmers did not want to give up their farms, the hens did not want to give up their eggs; however, Napoleon continues to demand that the hens give up their eggs so that more grain and meal could be bought, but fails