Power Corrupts Absolute Power In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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.

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

When one acquires a position of extreme power, it is only a matter of time before it is maliciously abused for personal benefit. As socialized power, the power used to benefit others, transitions to personalized power, the principle of morality is lost as the leader becomes unable to discern from right and wrong.

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.

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.

Orwell uses threats created by the dogs to show the length Napoleon and the pigs would go in order to intimidate the animals and restrict their actions to remain superior. Napoleon and the pigs would carry this out by using the dogs to create a threatening presence to silence the opinion of others. If an animal tried to protest, like the piglets that revolted early on in Napoleon’s dictatorship, then “the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep menacing growls” (54). The dogs intimidated the animals, and not wanting to be hurt, the animals do not express their opinions. Napoleon and the pigs then gain the ability to do anything they want without the consent of the other animals. These actions also reflect the relationship between the pigs and the other animals. The pigs do not think that the other animals are worthy of contributing ideas, so they do not want to listen to them. In order to reinforce the belief that the animals should not go against the pigs, they stage public executions. By using public executions, Napoleon and the pigs show the animals how real their threats are, and in turn be able to control them. Since the executions are done in public, the animals see how “the dogs promptly tore their throats out” (84). When the animals see the other animals being killed, they realize the dangers of opposing the pigs are real. When “in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal

Often times in a communist society, a leader’s use of language can lead to abuse of power. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the farm leaders, the pigs, use unknown language, invoke scare tactics, and create specific laws, thereby enabling them to control other animals, to suit their greedy desires, and to perform actions outside their realm of power. Because of the pigs’ use of broad language, implementation of scare tactics, and creation and manipulation of laws, they are able to get away with avoiding laws and convincing other animals into believing untrue stories and lies that are beneficial to the pigs.

Orwell shows how power was given to the pigs through intimidation. Squealer tries to intimidate The Animals by mentioning a name they dread. Squealer noticed the animals knew the pigs slept in beds, so he mentions,“Surely none of you wishes to see Jones come back?”(67), to scare them. Orwell conveys how powerful Jones’ name is. He shows how Napoleon and the other pigs use Mr. Jones name to their advantage. They create an environment of fear amongst the animals. The lives of the animals were also threatened by Napoleon when an incident came up. The text states that “ They were all slain on the spot and the tale of confessions and executions went on…”(84). Orwell wanted to show that Napoleon was ready to kill anyone in his way of absolute power. The animals felt “shaken and miserable” and they were now more frightened to even have the thought of rebelling against Napoleon. Using this

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.

“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

In George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, one of the major themes was power, and how absolute power corrupts absolutely. To the animals, Jones was a tyrant, always mistreating and abusing them, until one day Old Major told them of a dream he had, where the animals will be able to live in a utopia, and lead lives of peace. After the rebellion occurred and the animals overthrew Jones, Napoleon soon came to power. He promised the animals lives of prosperity, and for a while Animal Farm was a blissful place, however after a while his reign became a tyranny, one very similar to Jones, if not worse.

Language is a powerful tool, some abuse it to obtain power and some use it to inspire movements and bring change. I believe that language is more powerful if you use it to control a population via lying, manipulation, and fear. There have been many instances of individuals and groups using fear and language for control.

“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.

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.

Throughout history, leaders with power become corrupted causing them to become tyrants and rule their lands harshly and unfairly.. In April 5, 1887, Bishop Mandell Creighton stated, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The quote states that the amount of power the person has directly influences how much they changed. In Animal Farm, the pigs obtain power causing them to turn corrupt. Power corrupts all