Animal Farm, by George Orwell, was written to show how absolute power corrupts, just as Stalin’s power did following the Russian Revolution in 1917. In the allegory Animal Farm, each character represents a political figure from the days around the Russian Revolution. For example, Joseph Stalin is represented by a pig named Napoleon, Squealer, another pig, represents Stalin’s propaganda department, and the dogs represent the Secret Police (KBG). Using the nine dogs that Napoleon raises (intimidation), Squealer (propaganda), and manipulation, Orwell illustrates how Napoleon was able to gain and maintain control of the farm. The nine dogs that stay by Napoleon at all times are useful for Napoleon to gain and maintain control of the farm because they scare the other animals, intimidating them so that they do not disobey Napoleon. Napoleon also uses manipulation to gain and maintain a firm control by changing the Commandments for the farm in ways that work to his benefit. Squealer, Napoleon’s propaganda department, keeps the farm animals believing in Napoleon by describing what they hear and see to make it seem harmless. Using effective tactics of fear, convincing propaganda, and manipulation, Napoleon gains and maintains control of Animal Farm.
First, Napoleon uses the nine dogs that he raises to gain control of the farm and then to frighten the farm animals into accepting everything he does so that Napoleon is able to maintain control. When Napoleon introduces the dogs to the rest of the animals, the animals are speechless. Orwell illustrates the animals’ feelings when the dogs first appear is through the quote, “At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding in...
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...e animals do not realize what is actually going on, and so they do not question Napoleon, who just continues to rule. Using manipulation is another way that Napoleon is able to gain and maintain control over Animal Farm.
Napoleon controls Animal Farm using effective strategies, such as fear, propaganda, and manipulation. By frightening the animals so they will not challenge him, using propaganda to convince the animals of things other than what they suspected, and manipulating situations by twisting the rules to strengthen his own control, Napoleon is able to gain and maintain his control over Animal Farm. Many leaders in the world today use the same strategies as Napoleon did to obtain the trust and confidence of the people they govern. Thus, people must always be on the lookout for where their leaders try to control them using fear, propaganda, and manipulation.
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.
..., wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, and engaging in trade. He even resorts to tyrannizing and killing his own kind. When Napoleon distorts the constitution he uses trickery and propaganda to persuade the other animals of its importance, and when this fails he uses fear. In the end, the animals become weak and Napoleon dominates them with his strength using fear and trickery as his tools.
Firstly, perhaps no book has linked animals to human counterparts better than Animal Farm. Orwell's beasts serve as a representation of important characters of the World War II era and beyond. For example, Karl Marx, the inventor of the communist movement, was represented by Old Major, the most important animal on the farm until his death. Much like Old Major, Marx was a visionary who dreamed of equality. Old Major states:"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion!"(Orwell, Animal Farm, 30). In addition, he inspired the Russian Social Democratic Leader Party, led by rivals Joseph Stalin and Leon Trostky. Napoleon is represented by Joseph Stalin and much like him, he builds loyalties within the communist party ( pigs and dogs) so that he can overthrow Snowball (Trostky). Snowball displaying similar traits with Trotsky in the fact that they both fight bravely in their respective battles. Trotsky was an important component to the victory in the Russian civil war, Snowball displaying this bravery during the battle of the cowshed. The hens, geese, and sheep that are executed are a representation of the millions who opposed Stalin's, and who are killed banished as a result. The hens and geese are not known for their docile natures, and serve as perfect rebels . As well, the pigs' metamorphosis of their face and behaviour is symbolic of the transition of a government initially for the people, into ...
The story of Animal Farm is not just one of a bunch of farm animals getting along and enjoying each other. Rather, the tale gives us insight into who is the real villain during the Russian Revolution, as the farm animals represent certain groups George Orwell, in Animal Farm, reveals the villain as a good character in the beginning of the novel, but as we get deeper into the story we figure out that the good animal has been the greedy, self-centered, and cruel villain the whole time. Orwell exposes the injustices that occurred under the rule of Joseph Stalin, through the act of Napoleon becoming a dictator who is lying to the animals and switching the rules for the farm.
Napoleon tricks many of the animals on the farm from the horses to the hens throughout the story he tries to outsmart everyone. “Napoleon took the puppies away from their mothers, saying that he would make them responsible for their education.” Later throughout the story though the dogs reappear, but they act as his security guard and are very violent. In chapter 9 Napoleon tricked the animals to make them forget how hard life was for them. He accomplished this by
Napoleon’s method of victimizing the animals with his physiological attacks allows for his control over Animal Farm and its animal population. Napoleon initially bombards the animals with propaganda and thus conditions and enslaves them to his subjective ideals. Afterward, Napoleon’s implement of expert power overwhelms the animals and subjugates them to him. Finally, the animals are controlled by Napoleon as they are besieged with his coercive powers. Overall,
Pigs walking on two feet, horses and sheep talking. This is how George Orwell satirizes human nature in his classic novel Animal Farm. Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The title of the book is also the setting for the action in the novel. The animals in the story decide to have a revolution and take control of the farm from the humans. Soon the story shows us how certain groups move from the original ideals of the revolution to a situation where there is domination by one group and submission by all the others. The major idea in this story is the political corruption of what was once a pure political ideal. Orwell uses satire to ridicule human traits in his characters such as Napoleon and Squealer. There are several different characters in the novel utilizing animals as symbols of people in real life during the Russian Revolution. Napoleon is the leader of the pigs that ultimately come to dominate the farm. The characteristics that we associate with pigs , lazy, greedy, and pushy are meant to symbolize the characteristics that the leaders of the Russian Revolution exhibited. Napoleon is admired by all of the animals because he is their leader. All of the animals believe that their leader wants to fulfill all of their needs. They also are convinced that Napoleon’s decisions are made the best interest of the animals. Napoleon’s piglike qualities are shown throughout the story. He exhibited greediness when he sold the dying horse, Boxer to a slaughterhouse for money so that he and the other pigs could purchase whiskey. Orwell ridicules human nature through Napoleon in the sense that he is trying to show how the greedy and power hungry eventually end in corruption.
The novel, Animal Farm, is a well-known allegory written by George Orwell. As a satire of the Russian Revolution, Orwell portrays the rise of a cruel dictatorship and the mistreatment of the general population under it. Like the Communist government in Russia, the government in Animal Farm employs the use of many manipulative tools, especially propaganda. Propaganda was used by the pigs throughout the book, deceiving many of the animals. As this story shows, propaganda can enable governments to bend people to any purpose. By spreading positive messages about Napoleon, persuading the animals that Snowball is an enemy, and convincing the animals that they can’t survive without the pigs, propaganda helped give rise to a vindictive and selfish totalitarian government.
Next, Orwell uses hyperboles to demonstrate why the animals submitted to Napoleon, even when the animals were abused by him; thus, mimicking the followers of Stalin during the Soviet Union. The animals of Animal Farm were exceedingly obscured, believing that their leader, a boar named “Napoleon is always right” without strictly observing Napoleon’s actions (Orwell 70). As if it were hypnotism, the animals on Animal Farm willingly believed that every demand or law made by Napoleon was a perfect decision; thus, Napoleon looked as if he was some sort of government guru. However, if the pigs had not muddied the waters as much, the animals would have been able to look through Napoleon’s deceptions. They would have been able to see that Napoleon
Lord Acton, the British historian once said, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the author gives many examples of how power is used to manipulate and produce fear. In this book the main character, Napoleon, became a master of using various tactics to gain and maintain power over the rest of the animals. Napoleon used propaganda, manipulation and fear to gain more loyalty and power throughout the farm.
Absolute power leads to the corruption of government. In Animal Farm, when a group of mistreated animals rebels against their cruel farm owner, two intelligent pigs on the farm take it upon themselves to lead the animals jointly. However, due to the animals' greedy co-leader Napoleon who dominates that power, the pigs' leadership turns into a corrupt power-hungry government that causes the entire farm system to collapse. In order to secure a life of luxury for Napoleon and his fellow pigs, Napoleon (with Squealer as his spokesman)uses language that intimidates, language that distorts the truth, and language that appeals to the emotions of the animals in order to manipulate gullible animals of Animal Farm.
The animals in the story are dissatisfied with letting Farmer Jones rule their lives, so they decide to change their society. A boar, named Old Major, introduces the idea of Animalism in order for them to rebel and live in harmony. When Old Major dies, other animals try to rule the farm. Napoleon, a power hungry pig, becomes successful in controlling the other animals. He manipulates the animals by only educating his young instead of the other working class animals, like the cart horses and cows. By creating this boundary, Napoleon diminishes the idea of rebellion. Napoleon also uses a technique of propaganda called Cult of Personality, which makes him seem heroic and godlike to the animals around him. Lastly, Napoleon intimidates the other animals by using his threatening dogs that he trains to keep the other animals from questioning his scheme. By showing how Napoleon does whatever he can to control the animals in his dystopia, Orwell implies that leaders manage their people so that they can preserve their power.
In every society there are leaders who, if given the opportunity, will likely abuse their power. Napoleon takes over the farm but in the process he becomes exactly like the humans by mistreating the other animals and actually becoming friends with a human that owns a farm nearby. He breaks the laws that the animals made for everyone.
The author of the novel “Animal Farm” George Orwell once wrote “every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been against totalitarianism”. Similarly “Animal Farm” also highlight about the totalitarianism. As all other revolutions, the revolution of animal farm also arises with the dream for a better and more perfect society which transfers in to a totalitarian night mare with the urge for the power in the minds of animals, who symbolizes the people who live in society. “Animal Farm is a satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism during the Stalin era. In the novel Orwell uses pigs to represent the ruling class and throughout the story he represent how the ruling class people spread and improve their power employing pigs as the characters.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a main theme is that power corrupts those who possess it. A definition of corruption is,“dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.” Orwell develops this idea through the character Napoleon in various ways. Looking back in the book, the animal’s rebellion quickly turned political and revolved around, “Leader, Comrade Napoleon (Orwell 81)”. The power Napoleon possed was executed through lies and selfishness, aided by the lack of intellectual ability in the other animals. The corruption of Napoleon’s power is displayed when he favors himself, along with the other pigs, and eventually the dogs, who all get better rations of food compared to the other animals. Another main demonstration of how power corrupts Napoleon is how he separates himself from the other animals on the farm, displaying his feelings if superiority to the other animals. A ceremonial nature develops towards Napoleon. The last way power corrupts Napoleon is how he acts recklessly; killing other animals and lying about