The Seven Commandments May be the Key to Understanding Animal Farm

The plot of Animal Farm is made of many events. There is the initial rebellion of the animals against Farmer Jones. This rebellion begins the rest of the story and struggles that come along. The animals are left having to figure out how to run the farm themselves while also keeping law and order. The pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, step up as leaders and create the Seven Commandments which start out as: “1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. 2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. 3. No animal shall wear clothes. 4. No animal shall sleep in a bed. 5. No animal shall drink alcohol. 6. No animal shall kill any other animal. 7. All animals are equal” (Orwell 24). Snowball’s approach to freedom was an idea of complete equality; all the animals worked for their share of the food. Napoleon

Animal Farm is a book about a group of animals who started a revolution against the tyranny of their farmer. The animals ran Mr. Jones out of the farm, along with all of his men. Then they started their own government following 7 commandments. It was a challenge for the animals, and they faced many difficulties. There were Sunday debates, and they spent many hours working to get food. One day, a pig named Napoleon had taken control of the farm using the dogs he had hid from society. Napoleon slaughtered those who disobeyed him and ordered everyone around. Once again, the animals were being tyrannised. Still, none of the animals stood up because of fear. Therefore, not standing up for oneself can lead to negative outcomes. For example, Benjamin never spoke up, the life and death of Boxer and Mr. Jones had tyrannised the animals.

The animals organized a rebellion and they take over the farm and organize defense mechanisms in case of the people coming to take the farm back. One day the people rally against the animals and snowball the lead pig gets injured 1or 2 get killed and they take their previous owners gun. After their battle, they make rules called the 7 commandments first was Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, second whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend, the third no animal

“They explained that by their studies of the past three months the pigs had succeeded in reducing the principles of Animalism to Seven Commandments” (Orwell 24). This passage from the book suggests that the pigs are completely in charge of Animal Farm, and they use their intelligence to create the Seven Commandments, and rule the farm This moment is the beginning of the pigs’ reign over Animal Farm. Although it may look like Orwell shows the pigs using their intelligence for the well-being and prosperity of Animal Farm, he is actually using techniques like simile, metaphor, and imagery, to portray that they are using their intelligence incorrectly.

Two other commandments are harmonious in showing the drastic difference in appearance versus reality on the farm. “Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend” And “No animal shall kill any other animal” both make it clear to see how things began on the farm. In the beginning, the animals were all comrades and even the thought of killing another or not working for the good of all was unheard of. Later in the story, both commandments are betrayed when they send Boxer, the hardworking and loyal horse to the slaughterhouse. The pigs then tell the rest of the animals that Boxer went to the vet, but unfortunately they could not help him and he ended up dying, of course with Squealer right by his side. “It would have been the first time that he had had leisure to study and

Animal Farm written by George Orwell is an animal fable happens in a farm where animals start building a communism society, but end up being totalitarianism, hinting obliquely at the communists in the real world. The gaps between pigs and other common animals, demonstrate the theme that the corruption of power appears when majority is ruled. The intelligence superior allows the pigs placing themselves at a position which is closer to the power and which is more easily to corrupt. The inability to question the authorization makes the other common animals becoming the naïve working class who suffers the corrupting influence of power. The nature of pigs, greed, is the source of their undying lust for ultimate power. At the end, the

The pigs then introduce “The Seven Commandments of Animalism” and write them on the barn wall; soon the main idea is captured in the minds of all the animals, “FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD”.

History has a tendency to repeat itself over time. Therefore, people try to learn from the past to prevent similar events to reoccur. However, George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This shows that the past always finds a way to come back and haunt us, no matter how hard we try to prevent it from happening. If we don’t learn from the mistakes made in history, we will repeat it. In the book Animal Farm, this quote summarizes the plot of the story. It starts when one of the characters, Old Major, states the seven commandments:

Eventually leading to the downfall of the “animalism” doctrines. This is accurately shown through the passage “Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so … You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep in. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed properly regarded” (Orwell 45-46). At this time Clover is at the side of the barn only a few months after snowball has been banished. She wonders how she could have forgotten remembering “without sheets” on the fourth commandment. At this time Squealer comes along and settles any confusion or suspicion. The pigs sleeping in beds, breaks the fourth commandment. If the animals discover that the pigs have really broken this crucial rule, then the pigs will lose the privileges of being the leaders of animal farm. Such as, the larger portions of food and the ability to live in the farmhouse. Through the greed of wanting to live in the farm house, the pigs are motivated to “adjust” the fourth commandment to fit their needs. This adjustment demonstrates the cause of the animals self-deception. The passage also shows how Squealer uses his infamous propaganda theories when explaining that there is nothing wrong with sleeping in a bed. He uses logos (logical reasoning) which clears the animals doubt. Squealer is also motivated through greed of sleeping in the beds. The result of constantly changing the commandments is shown through the quotation at the end of the book “Four legs good, two legs better” (Orwell 89)! The pigs are walking on their hind legs and the sheep began to bleat this line repeatedly. The result is that the pigs mirror the humans in every way, crushing the laws of animalism. This can be noticed when the sheep say “two

At the beginning of the text, the animals had seven commandment; all of which were meant to be followed in order to ensure equality throughout all animals on the farm. However, by the end of the book the only commandment left on the board was “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THEN OTHERS”. This commandment was the only commandment to be followed and this was demonstrated by how the pigs always considered themselves more equal than the other animals. The pigs received the best living conditions; allowing themselves for food, less work, better living conditions and extra rewards such as beds, alcohol and clothing. The pigs considered themselves to be more intelligent compared to the rest of the animals, a saw themselves high above all except the dogs; of whom they kept close. The pigs never actually stuck to any of the seven original commandments, making the last standing commandment the most important of

Symbolism and allegory in three aspects of Animal Farm : Old major, The Windmill and The Seven Commandments George Orwell uses symbols throughout the novel Animal Farm to show how the upper class groups use manipulation to their advantage. Animal Farm in simple terms is the allegory of a revolution gone sour. Animalism, Communism, and Fascism are all the symbols which are used by the pigs as a means of satisfying their greed and lust for power. As Lord Acton wrote: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely” which is definitely the case. The author uses the animals, the windmill, and the seven commandments to symbolize the extreme power over the animals (workers commune). “Writers such as Jonathan Swift use allegory to

In chapter 2, when the 7 commandments were first written down, there was already a slight corruption in the pigs. The pigs steal the milk and apples and explain it with the lie that these foods have nutrients essential to pigs, which need these

Napoleon exploit's the animals inferiority complex. When he changes the seven commandments to justify his actions, the animals are doubtful as their memories tell them that the seven commandments were different. However Squealer tells them that they are wrong and it is just a figment of their imagination. The animals think that if napoleon says so then he must be right and so let him get away with it.

George Orwell’s allegorical novella, Animal Farm is a satirical retelling of the events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. After the animals rebel against Mr. Jones and his employees, they set up a government constituted by “Animalism”, which in its raw state parallels the basic principles of socialism. In order to govern them, they create basic laws meant to unify them known as, “The Seven Commandments”, which they write on the outer wall of the barn. However, the pigs begin to disobey the commandments and change them to get away with it. None of the other animals notice due to their illiteracy, so Napoleon continuously exploits this fact to get what he wants. As a result, the farm that was meant to be utopic

In "Animal Farm,” the pigs make up the 7 commandments that all of the animals in the