Power Corrupts In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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Recommended: Theme of power and corruption in the text Animal Farm by George Orwell

George Orwell uses power corrupts as a theme for Animal Farm. Orwell defines “power corrupts” as a distortion of ideals and practices to legitimize the power of a particular group or person. Orwell uses the pigs, and specifically Napoleon, to show how power is gained and then corrupted. “By the time he (Snowball) had finished speaking, there was no doubt as to which way the vote would go… Napoleon stood up… uttered a high-pitched whimper… and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn.” (52,53) George Orwell’s message that power corrupts is shown through pigs rise to power, Napoleon’s takeover, and Napoleon’s dictatorship. After the death of Major, the pigs rise to power because they are the cleverest …show more content…

Napoleon takes nine puppies to a secret location to teach them. He uses them in his plan to overthrow Snowball. After Snowball’s speech the animals cheer loudly, thus making Napoleon realize his loss of power. After this, Napoleon uses his dogs to drive Snowball off Animal Farm. Napoleon has corrupted these dogs in some way and is now using them for corrupt actions.
When Napoleon finally takes over as leader, he uses fear, twisted words, and a good reputation to gain support and power. Napoleon uses his nine dogs as a means of execution and terror. He demands that anyone who has had contact with Snowball come forward. Many animals do and Napoleon tells his dogs to kill them on the spot. By doing so, he disposes of everyone who could get in the way of his power. He wants the animals to realize that if they are his enemy, they will be killed. If they are afraid of this, they will do whatever Napoleon asks of them.
Napoleon adds extra words to the seven commandments which then corrupts the meaning of the commandments. One commandment that was written was “no animal shall kill any other animal”. The revised commandment is “no animal shall kill any other animal without cause”. This revised commandment is used to justify his action of killing Snowball’s supporters and to create an example of

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