Theme Of Corruption In Animal Farm

Snowball was one, if not the only pig, that wanted a better life for all of the animals and not just for the pigs. Old Major was already dead by this point and Snowball carried the torch of Old Major’s dream as he sought to build the windmill for everyone’s benefit. It was not until his excursion by Napoleon that the Animal Farm started to take on a more tyrannical appearance in government.

Napoleon being another intelligent pig on the farm believed he could become the leader and have all the power on the farm by scaring the animals. He does so by telling the animals they will work more or there will be punishment “Throughout the spring they worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half” (Orwell 40). “The animals believe what the leadership tells them—that they are working for their own good now, not for Mr. Jones’s—they are eager to take on the extra labor”

Napoleon was so eager to keep his power that he used scapegoats for anything that went wrong on the farm. When the windmill that all the animals had been building collapsed, Napoleon did not want faith in him to be lost and replaced with rebellious thoughts. Napoleon relieved himself of any blame for the bad construction plans of the windmill by naming Snowball, who unbeknownst to the other animals had been killed, as the person responsible for its collapse. He told them that Snowball was a traitor and that anyone found to be in league with him would be punished.

First of all, Napoleon is unjust, does not demonstrate good leadership qualities and has poor reasoning. Napoleon has just held executions for animals he considers traitors and scares the animals while killing without reason. Orwell shows this as he states how, "the tale of confessions and executions went on until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon's feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones," (Orwell 84). This proves how Napoleon is unjust and doesn't care for the animals at all. He is only concerned with the efficiency of the farm and does not show sympathy for the animals, but treats them as though they are machines only there to do his work. Similarly, another example of Napoleon being corrupt as a leader is when he is becoming more secretive and separates himself from the other animals on the farm. For example, "Napoleon inhabited separate apartments

Power is one of the most desired things in the world, and is often hard to attain, but once it is gained it can often corrupt a person. Corruption due to power is shown in many instances in the book, Animal Farm. In the book, there is an opening for someone to take control of the power, and the animals that do are the pigs. The pigs gain the power for many reasons. When power is gained there are many things people can do with it, either bad or good. The pigs’ actions in animal farm show the different ways that power can be used by those in charge.

Napoleon has wanted power over the farm for awhile and will do anything to keep it. He takes Jessie and Bluebells newborn puppies and trains them for the main aspect of his fear campaign. He teaches them to do what is right for the farm and to only think about the Animal Farm’s future. He uses the puppies to eliminate his nemesis. Snowball comes up with the idea for a windmill on the farm, Napoleon opposes it and uses his trained dogs to chase Snowball off the farm. With Snowball gone, Napoleon declares himself the ruler of the farm. “They dashed straight for Snowball… he slipped through the fence and was seen no more. (Orwell, pg. 53 chap. 5).”

“No animal shall drink alcohol” (Orwell 25) was the 5th commandment, but Napoleon didn’t let that stop him. After he got drunk he had Squealer change the 5th commandment to “No animal shall drink to excess” (Orwell 109). Having that much power can be used for self-interest instead of thinking about the common good. No man or animal should have that much power or they will abuse it, just like Napoleon. Napoleon starting to think that the pigs were more superior. Orwell seemed to be stating that if Napoleon was the only one who knew what was right or true, then Napoleon could convince the animals that he and the pigs needed more of the resources, like milk and apples. Simultaneously Napoleon later on state that “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (Orwell 134) Napoleon is literally saying all the other animals are less than the pigs. Because they are using tyranny as their style of government they can say whatever they want without having to prove it. From the start Napoleon is gaining control by having a better education, having apples and milk, drinking alcohol, wearing clothes, walking on two legs, and manipulating the animals to think they are dumb. Power is corrupting the farm and all of the other animals besides the pigs are losing control. From the start the pigs only did what they wanted to benefit themselves, by pretending to have the other animals

The animals of Manor Farm are irate and frustrated under Mr. Jones, Old Major starts the idea of a revolution by overthrowing the incompetent leader of Manor’s Farm and the

Built on Leon Trotsky, Snowball is one if the 2 pigs who develop as leaders of the animals after Old Major dies. Both, Trotsky and Snowball’s similarities are

At first, Animal Farm prospers. The pig leaders, Snowball and Napoleon assume the administration of the farm and as Snowball tries to teach the animals to read, Napoleon takes a group of young puppies to educate them in the principles of Animalism. Mr. Jones reappears to take back the farm but the animals defeat him again. As time passes however, Snowball and Napoleon increasingly quarrel over the future of the farm and they begin to struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals. These disagreements lead up to a vote in order to build Snowball's proposal for a windmill, which Napoleon was opposed to.

Napoleon was seen by the rest of the animals as a force to be reckoned with; he was most certainly a dictator and was very narcissistic and self-centered. Additionally, he brain washed his supporters to obey his every command. On the contrary, Snowball understood the responsibilities that come with great power and was ready to accept them. He always made decisions based on what he thought would benefit the farm.

Before Napoleon had even chased snowball away the farm he was starting to become egocentric, Napoleon shows how truly selfish he is when Snowball was no longer apart of the farm napoleon had full control and started spending the money that the animal's had worked hard to get on whiskey. Napoleon committed acts much worse than that in a way he had sowed racism towards the other animal's by changing the seven commandments so that the pigs could be treated like royalty by the animals ''ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THEN OTHERS''(Orwell 1945, pg.97). Napoleon turned out to be a very selfish person who was cruel towards anything that was not a pig he was consumed by the power he obtained and lost his humility towards the other animals of the animal

By using Napoleon’s character, Orwell effectively shows how fear and superiority can be used to intimidate the animals. The animals remember what life was like when a human was in charge and do not want any humans back; the pigs are aware and use it as leverage. Squealer, when he could not get the animals together, threatenly asked them that “surely there is no one among you that wish to see Jones back?”(pg 36) Life was Jones was harsh: minimum food, killed early, no free will. They much prefer the current state as they stop protesting and allow the pigs to do what they want. They think they have a voice when the pigs are leaders because they were allowed to take votes at first, when Snowball was around. Even though pigs are seen as superior, Napoleon does not care who gets in his way and will threaten them. The young pigs had protested but then “the dogs sitting around Napoleon let out deep and menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent…” (pg 54) Because Napoleon has the most power, no one wants to go against him since they could get injured by the dogs. With no one opposing Napoleon, he could do whatever he wants. This also shows how Napoleon is as a leader, a leader that does not even give a glance at his own kind and will threaten them. With this show of display, the animals will be will aware that Napoleon will threaten anyone if he needs to, causing the animals to feel frightened. By pinning blame on Snowball, Napoleon can achieve more authority as every other animals are told that Snowball

Throughout the novel “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, Napoleon gained, managed and maintained his power over the animals of the farm. Napoleon gained power over the animals by using force, propaganda, manipulating the animals and sending his opposition into exile. His style of leadership involved using the media to support his decisions, enforcing a variety of new laws and using fear to keep himself in a position of superiority over the other animals. By changing events to his advantage and implementing strategies to signify his importance, Napoleon manages to maintain his power.

Later, Mr. Jones comes back and tries to reclaim the farm, only to be defeated again in the Battle of the Cowshed. With a renewed confidence, Snowball and Napoleon begin to argue more and more. It is clear now that they are both struggling to be the dominant pig on the farm. Snowball creates the idea of building a windmill that will harness electricity, but Napoleon disagrees. They hold a meeting to let everyone hear their sides and make a final decision. After Snowball gives a strong speech, Napoleon swiftly gives his argument and calls the dogs he took earlier. The dogs he was supposed to educate were really being trained as attack dogs. They chased Snowball off the farm, and left Napoleon in charge.