Power And Corruption In George Orwell's Animal Farm

Boxer was an extraordinary and a motivational character to the other animals in the novel by George Orwell, “Animal farm.” In this book, Boxer represented the peasants and long suffering workers. Boxer was a hard working contributor to the farm, he was very loyal to Napoleon and the other farm animals, and he was also a leader and motivation to everyone around him.

By now the responder clearly realises that the strong relationship between Boxer and Napoleon is obviously a negative one. It saddens the responder and invites their empathy to find Boxer to be so oblivious to what is going on around him and at the same time his level of incomprehension creates a feeling of slight frustration in a sympathetic type of sense. A strong feeling of dislike is formed towards Napoleon as he so easily controls Boxer, forcing him to do such tough, punishing labour as he is aware that Boxer is extremely loyal to his superiors and happily prepared to complete all set tasks. Boxer and the other animals fall victim to the pigs’ cunning ways, but besides the easily convinced sheep and Boxer, the other animals are aware of this but are too frightened or cowardly to put a stop to it, for fear of being accused of treachery and then executed.

As soon as the revolution starts, Boxer is more devoted than ever to the farm. At the Battle of the Cowshed, Boxer is trying to prove his loyalty to the farm by defending the animals against a stable boy with kicking him with his hoof. “I will work harder.”(Orwell 25)The quote reveals his hard work and devotion to other animals and the farm. Though Boxer is very strong, he is also very naïve. The pigs bossed him around, being blindly loyal to Napoleon. “Napoleon is always right”(Orwell 48) When he says this, it demonstrates that he does not understand that the pigs are using him. He believes that everything Napoleon says is just. While others are trying to learn how to read Boxer does not feel the need he only wants to work harder for the good of the animal farm. Unfortunately, at the end of the book, he is so worn down that he cannot work anymore, so the pigs make the decision to send him to be slaughtered. At this point Boxer realizes that pigs have used him and was not loyal to the animals like he was. Boxer represents the Russian working-class in the Soviet

Boxer’s death has a powerful impact in Animal Farm by George Orwell because it shows how the pigs acted as merciless leaders and how they manipulated the other animals on the farm. Boxer was an old horse on the farm who symbolizes how laborers were treated during the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. The pigs are merciless leaders because they took most of the food and milk for themselves without caring about the rest of the animals’ needs. The animals had thought that the apples would be distributed evenly throughout the farm, “however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs.” (Orwell 25) This misbelief proves that the pigs do not care for the workers on the

Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This quote shows how power leads to corruption. There is a lot of corruption. There is a lot of corruption in the world like Joseph Stalin.

Boxer was looked up to by many, for he was one of the most industrious characters in the story. Whenever he came across a problem, he would not back down; instead he would say to himself, “I will work harder!” (Orwell 29). When Animalism began, he threw himself to the cause and showed the same dedication and loyalty to his companions as he did to himself. The corrupt pigs of the farm used his virtues against him, and used him as a pawn in their game to gain control over the farm.

Blind loyalty is an example of how corruption enters a system. When work became difficult, Boxer steps into the role of lead man and carries the load. This inspires the animals to increase their work ethic. Orwell presents this by stating, “His answer to every problem, every setback was “I will work harder!” —which he had adopted as his personal motto” (Orwell 29).

Throughout the book of Animal Farm the theme of leadership and corruption is continuous. The animal’s who have the biggest part in both of these major themes are the pigs. Napoleon, for example, takes over as the leader in the beginning of the book and later his leadership methods turn corruptive.

Coincidentally, Boxer is the structural backbone for Animal Farm. Carrying the heavy workload on his broad, muscular shoulders. Sooner than later, Boxer’s death brings the end of any hope for Animalism, as totalitarian regime is wrought onto the innocent animals. As Boxer dies, so do the hopes for any idealistic farm Old Major ever dreamed of. Orwell’s novella brings around many points, one being the fact of revolutions always turning into a failure.

Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth century said, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In Animal Farm, several themes are shown, a couple being naivety of the working class, or socialist ideas. However, the main themes in Animal Farm is leadership and power corruption. Animal Farm portrays the Russian Revolution. In the book, by overthrowing Mr. Jones, the animals give the power to the pigs who take complete control of the farm.

In the book, Animal Farm,by George Orwell, the animals of the Manor Farm work to achieve the idea of “paradise” where the animals are free of total human control and in order for this to be accomplished, all the animals in the farm must work together. Later in the book, the animals manage to overthrow the farmer and rename the farm Animal Farm, devoting their efforts to achieve their paradise. One particular character of the novel is Boxer, one of the horses who is known for his strength and faithfulness to the farm, working the hardest out of all the animals. Yet, he is very trusting and naive which makes him vulnerable to manipulation from the other animals. After getting hurt from working on the windmill, the pigs realize he cannot recover from

At the beginning, the two pigs lead the revolution against Mr. Jones, just as Stalin and Trotsky played a roles in the Russian Revolution under Lenin. Eventually, Stalin exiles Trotsky by using force, the same way that Napoleon drives out Snowball through the use of a pack of dogs. As when Napoleon took over in the Animal Farm, as he shows his true colors. As he encourages the animals to worker harder, and faster than ever before.

With Jones gone, Snowball and Napoleon begin to seize leadership of the farm, and the principles of animalism are quickly adopted as the new governing ideals of the now renamed Animal Farm” (Carr 66). So, Napoleon and Snowball become ‘pigs of charge’ on the farm because pigs are the most intelligent beings of them all. To demonstrate that power corrupts people, Orwell makes Napoleon and Snowball corrupted and makes Napoleon as the one who makes all the rules on farm.

As John Dalberg-Acton once said,“Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Animal Farm is an allegorical text of the Russian Revolution, that focus on the rebellion of the farm animals against humans, like Mr.Jones. After the rebellion the animals are left with two competing leaders, Snowball and Napoleon, that cannot agree on a single thing. Napoleon was left with complete power after chasing Snowball away. In animal farm, George Orwell asserts the idea that absolute power results in corruption. Napoleon and the other pigs, interested in remaining superior, persuades the other animals by using intimidation and emotional appeals in order to keep control of the gullible animals.

George Gurdjieff was an influential spiritual teacher in the early twentieth century. He once said that when one is uneducated he will always remain a slave. “Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave” (George Gurdjieff Quotes). This ties in with how the animals are treated in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Animal Farm is a novella about animals who take over their farm and form a society. The animals rebel and overtake their master, Mr. Jones, forming their society based on Animalism, or the belief in equality of all animals. However, a corrupt pig named Napoleon comes to power and uses the animals’ ignorance for his benefit. He ensures that the animals slowly forget the commandments of Animalism and how the farm used to be like before the rebellion. It is evident that the animals themselves are the most harmful to the society of Animal Farm because of their naivety; this naivety relates to the working class of today's society, in both that the working class make up the majority of followers and that most people are uneducated about how the power of government is run. Boxer is one specific animal in this book that represents this naivety.