Single Commandment In Animal Farm By George Orwell

regardless of the circumstances they are born in to. Often times people in history will strive to elude danger or struggle in an attempt to stray from conflict entirely. In the book, Animal Farm by George Orwell, the use of self-preservation was present in most of the main characters, as it is an instinct. Benjamin, a pessimist donkey, presented the same attitude towards the rebellion through it’s entirety. In the following paragraphs I will explain how Benjamin used self-preservation in order to survive on the Animal Farm and the role self-preservation plays in present society.

This was not the beginning of the Rule of Napoleon; it was supposed to be “All animals are equal;” however, it was changed to “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Napoleon’s ultimate demise was shown through some small actions in the beginning. Power twisted Napoleon’s conscience and his morals created a monster from which many feared.

What would your life be like if you were being watched every second and had no control over any of your actions? George Orwell wrote an allegory for Animal Farm to compare it to the Russian Revolution and then on to the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, all the animals were always under someone's control. To start this novel, “Mr. Jones” was the farmer of Manor Farm until the animals planned a revolt against him since things were so bad. They thought if they got Mr. Jones out of being in charge then everything would be 100% better. All animals did not want to be under the control of one person.

Without law and order, it is nearly proven that civilization will fail. Because of this, Snowball saw it necessary to create a set of rules for the animals on the newly evolving farm, so came about the 7 Commandments. Unfortunately, but undoubtedly in the pigs’ advantage, most of the other animals did not know how to read or write. Because of this the other members of the farm had to bestow their trust and goodwill in the more educated of the animals. Little did they know that their innocence and their devotion to the farm as a whole would in the end lead to their demise. “The birds did not understand Snowball’s long words, but they accepted his explanation, and all the humbler animals set to work to

"There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS." George Orwell, Page 134.

I have decided to explore the theme of how ‘Fear is a powerful motivator’. Different leaders and influential people have various ways of using fear to motivate people. Two of my texts: ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, and ‘The Rise of Evil” directed by Christian Duguay, both show how totalitarian leaders used violence to motivate the public. The other texts: ‘Bowling for Columbine’ directed by Michael Moore, and ‘Who’s for the Game’ by Jesse Pope, both show how two different influential people motivated the public without using violence, instead creating fear using words.

The antagonist of the book ‘Animal Farm’, Napoleon was highly emphasized for his cruel tactics that he upheld against his fellow animals. He tortured and tormented them giving himself the title of a cruel leader. This sense of tyranny is why he resembles Mr.Jones the previous owner of Manor Farm. Similar to Mr.Jones, Napoleon has created a caste system in which he is the “farmer” and the rest of the animals are his “slaves”, he has shown that he only uses the animals for his own monetary gain, and that he uses fear and propaganda to control the rest of the animals. In this essay I will compare and contrast the two individuals.

The quote show how Napoleon has made himself more important by separating himself from the rest making him seem more important to the rest. The quote states, “In April, Animal

Power changes a person in one of two ways: it can turn them into a power crazed maniac or it can completely deplete and make them feel like a grain of sand. In George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm and in Elie Weilsel’s book, Night shows us that having too much or too little power can change someone in a negative way. In Animal Farm, Napoleon is changing the commandments and rules to fit his needs.

Ignorance is one of the key factors that led to the totalitarian rule as well as enslavement of the animals on the farm. Education plays a diminutive role during the whole story. The pigs were rewarded with the control over the farm because of the ignorance of the other animals. The animals had decided that “the pigs, who were manifestly cleverer than the other animals, should decided all the questions of farm policy”. (62)

The key to ideality, is, in my opinion, obedience. If the people of Animal Farm are obedient to their superior pig leaders, then we will be successful in creating the utopia we strived for since Old Major’s death. “But why would this work,” you may ask, and I will tell you. This plan shall work because we pigs are the thinkers. We are intellectually superior to our other comrades. This isn’t a boast, we are simply stating facts, and besides, we still need their strength. But because of that very fact that I have explained to you, there is one thing that comes out of this. I, Napoleon, the great leader of Animal Farm, is always right because of this.

This quote represents fear tactics used by Napoleon: “If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak... Instead - she did not know why - they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes. ”(Orwell, Quote 15). Napoleon uses the dogs to make the animals confess even if they didn’t want to. Animals started to confess because they were scared of the dogs, and thought that Napoleon will spare their life, but Napoleon still killed all the animals that confessed.

“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (Animal Farm, 112). When George Orwell wrote the books Animal farm and 1984, he wrote two pieces of satire with the overarching theme of government and Orwell utilizes characters such as Napoleon and Big Brother and similar events to prove that absolute power corrupts. However, he wrote Animal farm as a satire on previous events, while 1984 is a warning to the future. “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute.

This was the final cut on the Seven Commandments, the most significant example of the pigs’ abuse of wording. This statement gives the word “equal” a more relative than absolute meaning, implying that there are different levels of equal (which is an oxymoron), or to put it indirectly, “All animals are not equal”. This is directed at the fabricated line of division between the pigs and the animals. The pigs definitely consider them that “some”, while the rest are the “all”. The Rebellion was for the social good of the animal society. But what was with the best of intention, turned into something conceivably worse than the previous oppressive state. This quote, which is a revision of the original Commandments, was formerly a symbol of good intent,

Though Animal Farm can be considered nothing more than a charming animal fable depicting a doomed rebellion, its origin is actually of a more serious and political nature. It is not only the tale of Napoleon and Animal Farm, but a satire and commentary on that of the Russian Revolution, Stalin and Communism. For a person to gain a true understanding of Orwell's meaning in Animal Farm, it is best that he or she has an understanding of the political parties and history surrounding Communism, Stalin, and the upheaval and fear that followed Stalin's rise to power.