This extended essay is based on research on the novel ‘Animal Farm’. It seeks to find out how power leads to social oppression in the text, in order to prove that anyone can be misled when given high positions of power. Thus, the story of ‘Animal Farm’ can be related to real life and has significance beyond the Russian Revolution which is the focus of the text, to wherever there is a system of leadership and governments that rely heavily on maintaining power. In the text, Orwell responded to the power structure set up by political leaders, he describes the characteristics of the animals and their behaviour in relation to these structure to show their social oppression. This essay explores the different responses of the animals in this situation where power is abused. It also touches on the impact of power on …show more content…
Nicholas then decided to abdicate his throne in the hopes of avoiding any other civil war and to prevent more loss in the military. Even though he had power, Tsar Nicholas saw his power lead Russians into a socially oppressed state of lack. Therefore, this topic is important and worth investigating because it shows how they react to power. It also display the relationships of dominance and subordination between categories of people impacted and how they react to power. It also suggests that power is best used openly and democratically because power that leads to multiple forms of social oppression is never progressive, and characterization in Animal Farm clearly depicts this. In the reality, it is desirable for power to be misuse when people are unaware of the negative effects of their
"All oppression creates a state of war" -Simone de Beauvar, French Philosopher. Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory for the Russian Revolution. Each animal was a key character in the Revolution such as Napoleon being Joseph Stalin, Mr. Jones being Tsar Nicholas and Boxer, being an ignorant. Mr.Jones was run off the farm because the animals were tired of the drunken man mistreating them. What the animals didn't know was that they went from one dictator to a whole group of them. The pigs. Ignorance contributes to political and social oppression and is proved by the inability to comprehend what the pigs are doing to the other animals. The animals cannot read or write as well, are perplexed easily, couldn't see the blemishes in the pig's leadership, or how the pigs changed things and didn't see or completely ignored how the pigs had acted.
What is power? Power means the strength and the right given of controlling anyone else. However, when too much power is given to someone, dictatorship cannot be avoided. In the book “Animal Farm”, George Orwell used a lot of events happened on the farm to illustrate that how did the ‘animalism’ turn into “totalitarianism” and well defined the sentence “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”, which also reflects how the society was like at that time. Therefore, in order to find out the reason why George Orwell wrote the story, this essay will talk about how power is abused and the effect on other "comrades" by using several events and the examples of language features used in the story.
Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In history what was viewed as a villain or wrong doer is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing, showcased in Animal Farm as Utopian ideals but with failed practices.
When people are ruled by an oppressive government, they all resort to a rebellion, unfortunately, at the end they are the ones that become the government they had rebelled against. This cycle of revolution is depicted in Animal Farm, a fairy story by George Orwell. In this novel, animals, specifically pigs, come to realize that they are not treated with the proper care that they deserve. The animals feel the need to rebel, little do they know it will lead to their demise. Orwell discusses the concept of corrupt leaders in power, of individuals grasping power for their own benefit, and of ignorant individuals being manipulated by the powerful.
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.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the pigs are in control. Napoleon became the official leader after Snowball was chased out by the dogs. Squealer, Napoleon’s sidekick, now has social control over the farm animals. Squealer uses language to confuse and persuade the animals into thinking the commandments did not change, humans are allies and not enemies, and that some animals are more equal than others.
If Jones were to come back to the farm and take over once again, the
Power is the ability to control something or act in a particular way, this can get to any leaders heads when they are given power. Power can be misplaced and mistreated often, especially when given to the wrong person. The novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell is a good example of this. In the novel Animal Farm, the animals do not like the way the farm is being run, to fix this they decide to take over and the pigs forcefully take charge. Eventually the farm winds up corrupt because of the misuse of the power by the pigs.
The largest over riding theme in Animal Farm is the famous quote by Lord Acton and the title of this essay “ power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.” Animal Farm is the story of a revolution gone sour. Animalism, Communism, and Fascism are all illusions which are used by the pigs as a means of satisfying their greed and lust for power. The book concentrates on whether a focus of power in one person is healthy for society and comes to the overwhelming conclusion that it is not.
Power is the ability to rule and control the behavior of people or the whole community. And how the well-being of a community depends on how their leader uses their power. For example, in North Korea, Kim Jong Un comes to power and becomes a dictator, rules North Korea in fear of war because he has been tested nuclear weapons and ignored the threat of other countries. In the novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, the leader’s use of power affect how the well-being of the community because a bad use of power can lead the community to negative effects, in the worst case, is a collapse, but positive use of power can make a poor country become prosperous, and the way of the leader using their power can affect the
In the novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell, the use of allegory and symbolism depicts the abuse of power which emphasizes the villainy of the character. Orwell’s use of allegory to characterize the villain, Napoleon, as Joseph Stalin emphasizes the use of power in both the fictional world and reality. The use of symbolism, like the windmill and commandments, show the change in characters over time and how a leader is able to manipulate their citizens with power. Napoleons dynamic characterization and innocence depicted in the beginning of the novel illustrates how power is abused when given to one specific group, who are considered the elite in the population.
Animal Farm was written by George Orwell and published in 1999 by Transaction Publishers. This novel takes place on Manor Farm in England. The animals on the farm revolt against the farmer because of his cruel and unfair treatment. They set out to develop their own society free of human rule where all animals are treated equally, they called it Animal Farm. At first, life on Animal Farm is everything they dreamed about, but eventually the society they create falls apart and life seems worse than before. This novel demonstrates how greed and power can corrupt a society and how easily words can influence and persuade minds.
A good text will captivate the reader through enduring and pertinent thoughts . George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegorical satire of the Russian revolution, which is constructed around the ideals of corruption and power, manipulation through language and authority and how rules can be used as political tools to sustain order. Animal Farm is portrayed in an innocent atmosphere which is in stark contrast to the dark, corrupt, malignant tendencies that it attempts to expose. The exploration of these concepts throughout the book, not only endures but also educates the reader on the events of the Russian revolution. The novella Animal farm is constructed around the relevant idea of the corrupting effect of power.
Exploitation and abuse of power is the issue around which the animals come together. At first, the animals don't understand Jones is abusing and exploiting them. After listening to the Old Major's speech, the animals realize that they are subjugated and abused and that Man is to be blamed for it. He educates them on the meaning of exploitation, and also that it isn't unavoidable. Orwell says that exploitation will undoubtedly happen when one class of society has favorable position over another.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the manipulation of characters by those in power is the root cause of corruption in the higher class. This is evident through deception, variable acts of classism, and the instillment of fear.