Farm : How Absolute Power Corrupts In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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.

People play an enormous component in our lives and the choices we make. In George Orwell's “ Animal Farm” there are several people that show leadership and guidance. The Leaders of Animal Farm start off with good intentions, but as the story goes on it becomes obvious the leaders have grown power-hungry and have become the 'superior' animals, showing that equality does not exist. This source of power has been used by leaders at the expense of their followers for their own personal gain, like Napoleon, whose first sign of corruption occurred early in the book when he seemed to be the main leader of them all.

“Remember that all things are lawful to me” (Tranquillus). These words by Gaius Caesar Germanicus, more commonly known as Caligula, epitomize the corruption caused by absolute power. Under his rule, the Roman treasury was emptied, people suffered from seemingly random acts of brutality, and Rome was ruled by an emperor who thought of himself as a god. Similarly, in the novel Animal Farm, the Manor Farm is taken over by its four-legged inhabitants. Their equal government is soon taken over by a power-hungry leader, a young boar named Napoleon. George Orwell’s fictional dictator Napoleon in the allegorical novel Animal Farm and the lavish life of the Roman Emperor Caligula both prove that power always causes corruption.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is reflective of Russia during Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical ruling. The story’s antagonist Napoleon leads the Rebellion with Snowball. Once Napoleon overthrows Snowball, he deceives and manipulates the other animals with promise of a life free of restraint and human influence. After gaining their trust, Napoleon capitalizes on the animals’ vulnerabilities and uses his power to better the circumstances of the pigs rather than all animals. Although he initially presents himself as a democratic head, his leadership tactics are that of a dictator. Through examining the syntax and diction characteristic of Orwell’s writing, one can gain a better understanding of the novel’s sociopolitical theme.

Having so much power is not always a good thing. In George Orwell's classic novel Animal Farm, this is proved to an extent where the characters are mainly animals, not people. In this novel, the animals speak to each other as humans would talk to each other, making the novel very intriguing to read. The point I am trying to make here as it is proven time and time again in history, as well as in this book, is that absolute power corrupts; and it corrupts absolutely. I personally have chosen the topic that power corrupts, if given to much power it corrupts you by making you greedy, violent and egocentric.

Corruption of power happens often, from political standpoint to a simple business. In the story, the animals were gathered together by Old Major to rebel against humanity, who had abused their powers over animals. Old Major help implant the idea of rebellion that will happen soon. The animals are given the realization that they were not being treated equally as the humans and the pigs, the smartest animals, start planning a rebellion against humanity. In Animal Farm, George Orwell asserts the idea that absolute power results in corruption. Napoleon and the other pigs, interested in remain superior, persuade the other animals by using intimidation and emotional appeal in order to keep control of the gullible animals.

Power corrupts those who possess it. George Orwell wrote the book Animal Farm in 1945. The book is about animals on a farm that are tired of being taken and stolen from. The animals rebel against Mr. Jones, their farmer and raise their own ‘animal farm’. Power corrupts those who possess it because, everyone has to follow them, they don’t get told no, and they forget what it’s like to work.

Animal Farm, a complex allegory for the Russian revolution and the events that follow, is a novel by George Orwell that has a myriad of sensitive topics and situations such as the usage of power and its effect. These topics and situations can be found in the real world: such as the one I said before, power. Power can be defined in many ways, but the interpretation in the novel is the ability to rule and change multiple people’s lives for better or worse, mostly used by a leader. In other words, a leader could change people’s lives wielding that power. Take Kim Jong Un, for example: he has the power to control what people say, eat, do, and see. His decisions affect people on a day to day basis, through the use of his power over North Korea.

The adage "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is a crucial message that can be found in the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. It can be applied directly to Napoleon, a pig who serves as the leader of Animal Farm. As Napoleon gains more and more power, he soon becomes a selfish, immoral leader. At first, he had the farm’s best interest at heart, but he soon became blinded with power. This eventually causes him to turn into a copy of Mr. Jones, the previous leader who they had overthrown.

In George Orwell’s allegorical fable, Animal Farm, the statement, once power is given to an individual or group, individual thought ceases to exist, is portrayed. Beginning when Napoleon took over as the leader of the farm, all tasks were completed under his command, whether the animals approved or not, they remained obedient. The animals no longer share their opinions; rather they do not have any welcomed personal thought. Consequently, the animals have become strictly dependent on Napoleon’s word, as they have become accustom to his dictation and performing simultaneous actions. The instant crowning occurs, is the same moment that the individual thought of the greater population ceases to exist, exhibited through three classes by Boxer,

According to the book, Orwell says, “Then Snowball (for it was Snowball who was best at writing) took a brush … painted ANIMAL FARM” (20) and “With some difficulty (for it is not easy for a pig to balance himself on a ladder) Snowball climbed up and set to work, … thirty yards away” (20), what the author means is Snowball is working with the animals, not telling the animals to work or not doing anything. Snowball is willing to work hard, which different from Napoleon. The book says, “And every animal down to the humblest worked … so much as a mouthful” (24), which means the animals can be able to do much more works when they were with Jones. Orwell also describes, “Snowball, who had studied an old book of Julius Caesar’s campaigns … defensive operations” (36), this means that Snowball is beware because he knew that Mr. Jones and his men will come back one day, so he learns about the campaign to prepare for the fight against the human race. In addition, the text says, “Snowball has made a close study … labour of cartage” (44) and “Within a few weeks Snowball’s plans for the windmill were fully worked out … little whimpers of excitement” (44-45), means Snowball is smart, spend most of his time for researching and always care and want to improve the animals lives in the farm. This is significant because it shows us that a good leader and a positive use of power will give the

Leaders who aim for total control have one goal: to keep their citizens uneducated in order to gain complete power. They realized that with more knowledge, the citizens can be empowered to protest the decisions of their rulers, which is the opposite of what dictators want. So, these tyrants always kept the general public ignorant to only greater serve themselves and expand their power. The pigs in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” are no exception. When the pigs take leadership of the new Animal Farm, they begin to formulate the necessary propaganda to slowly gain control of the animals and the properties of the farm so that they could receive all the possible benefits that come with it. This is one of Orwell’s main themes in the book, which is that an uneducated public only further allows their rulers to take advantage of them. Being a satirical novella of the Soviet Union’s rise to power, the pigs show how the leaders of the USSR had acquired total control with propaganda and manipulation of their citizens.

Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history with the Russian Revolution and can also be proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing. As someone gains more and more power, they increasingly become corrupted with that power.

Power is a corrupting force; it is one of the main themes in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Towards the beginning of the novel, Old Major, a prize winning pig, portrays the persecution that the animals experience, and predicts that the day will come when they overrun their human commanders and construct a fair society. Soon after Old Major’s death, the animals of Manor Farm drive off Mr. Jones from the farm in hopes to become equal and free. By this action, it gave the animals the idea that the day has come, of a fair society. A dictatorship government can form when majority of power is given to one authority to make all the decisions. The character Napoleon is used to depict this style of government. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, he depicts how power has a tendency to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely through his characters. Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.

“No one knows for sure how many people were murdered during Stalin's Great Purge, but estimates put the figure at more than 1 million.” Over the course of his reign, Joseph Stalin has executed and imprisoned perceived threats to his power. During the three public trails of former prominent Communist Party leaders, and plenty of other private trails held, the defendants have been charged under pretenses fabricated by the NKVD, the Soviet Secret Police. The defendants have fully confessed to their crimes in court after facing intense beatings, sleep deprivation, and threats to arrest and execute their families. However, the West has continued to see Stalin and the Soviet Union favorably. This has urged George Orwell to write Animal Farm so he can expose the truth about the Soviet regime. In Animal Farm, the author George Orwell uses the manipulation, and fear of the leaders and the naivety, and loyalty of the followers to contribute to the theme of loss of freedom and equality in order to show how power can lead to corruption.