What does it mean to misuse power? It is the commision of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity. To be given such authority one must be responsible for its use. The author, George Orwell, shows how power is misused throughout the book, Animal Farm. The main character, Napoleon, believed he was the most superlative animal and only cared about his own well being. All the animals believed that if they got rid of the owner, Mr Jones, life for them would be more lavish and free. In fact, it was the other way around. When they officially took over the farm, they built a set of rules called The Seven Commandments. Slowly and slowly, these commandments were forgotten and abused. This happened when the pigs started to think highly of themselves …show more content…
In Chapter three it clearly states “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership”. The author is describing when the animals were animals were assigned their duties, the pigs were given less work because of this manipulative idea that their intelligence makes them superior than the others. In time, the pigs will create more excuses for themselves to prove that they deserve more just because of their high intellect which will ultimately end with power being …show more content…
Nevertheless, the customs slowly were altered through the story. In Chapter ten the seventh was changed into ,“ ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” Also in chapter six, the fifth commandment is changed into, “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”. The reason why these set of rules are being changed are for the welfare of the pigs. They are living in a life where they are exceeding the boundaries to their power without believing there will be a punishment for it. In contrast, power has corrupted the society of Animal Farm because of the misuse of
After the death of Major, the pigs rise to power because they are the cleverest
A wise boar, Old Major, expresses a dream of a world where animals live with no human oppression to the rest of the animals in Manor Farm. However, only three days after his speech, he dies, leaving three younger pigs to take over his place and lead the other animals toward Major’s dream. They create the Seven Commandments of Animalism, which set values against acting human-like, and paint them on the wall of the barn. One night, the animals succeed in rebelling against Mr. Jones, the owner of the farm. Initially, farming goes well after the rebellion. However, one of the power-hungry pigs, Napoleon, begins to run a totalitarian dictatorship with an eloquent pig, Squealer, by his side. He also trains puppies, whom he takes from their parents, into vicious guard dogs and uses them to enforce his plans. One by one, the Seven Commandments are broken and altered by Napoleon, who gradually acts more and more human-like. Finally, only one rule remains on the barn wall, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 133). Napoleon and the other pigs eventually walk upright, wear clothing, indulge in alcohol, and even sleep on beds (all of which were originally forbidden in the Seven Commandments), while the other animals work all day with little food. By the end of the book, the other farm animals can no longer tell the difference between the pigs and humans when other human farmers are invited over for dinner. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which” (Orwell 139).
The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership. 4
The first way the pigs use language to abuse their power is by using extensive detail and by using terms and vocabulary foreign to most animals. An example of the pigs using unknown terms can be found when Squealer explains to the other animals about how hard the pigs need to work to keep the farm running. “There was, as Squealer was never tired of explaining, endless work in the supervision and organization of the farm. Much of this work was of a kind that the other animals were too ignorant to understand. For example, Squealer told them that the pigs had to expend enormous labours every day upon mysterious things called ‘files,’ ‘reports,’ ‘minutes,’ and ‘memoranda’…” (129). In this scene, the animals, exhausted, hungry, and overworked, are told about how the pigs work just as hard as they do. Although this is completely untrue, seeing that the pigs only occupy themselves in self-centered and self-beneficial engagements, the other animals believe it to be true because they do not know what files, reports, minutes, or memoranda are. Their ignorance leaves them unable to question Squealers story and they mistake the pigs’ true...
When they put their kind above any other, they truly broke the meaning of animalism. All the laws were changed to one “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than the others,”(pg.134). When the animals found out about this they where mad. The pigs had broke every single law, they even started to walk in two
When animals overthrew the men, the governance of whom had long been oppressing them, they finally broke the chains of perpetual slavery. They no longer had to work extremely hard in the excruciating conditions solely for the benefits of cruel and greedy men, but for the benefits of themselves. They attained the freedom they were desperately striving for. The times of abuse and maltreatment came to its end. In these new hope-inspiring conditions the animals set up to establish the farm in which there would be no injustice and suffering, but it would be the place where everybody is equal and happy. They knew that establishing such farm would be extremely difficult, nevertheless the thoughts of giving in never crossed their minds. They gradually, step by step started to overcome all the obstacles and hardships on their way to prosperity. Those hardships made clear that the pigs were the most appropriate for a position of a leader. Indeed, the pigs were most intelligent, it was them who were guiding the animals and giving effective advises in farming. Undoubtedly, had it not been for them, the animals would have starved to death not being able to solve the problems regarding ploughing and harvesting. Under their governance the farm was thriving, there were no quarrels and arguments, every animal was happy and contented with their lives. Unfortunately, it did not last for long, the society which was supposed to be just, and where everybody is equal, transformed into the tyrannical society, where everybody lived under strong oppression and in total misery. The reasons why this transformation happened are manifold. This paper will show the main reasons of this.
Although George Orwell’s Animal Farm was created in order to mimic individuals as well as occurrences that took place during the Russian Revolution period, it is still possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the text without a past knowledge of history through the exploitation of human nature’s imperfections. Following the publishment of his novel, Orwell confirmed that his goal in writing this fable was to expose the wrongdoing of the Soviet Union as well as the treachery of the true ideas of the Revolution. Nonetheless, there have been several other examples of events such as the French Revolution that can effortlessly be contrasted against components of the allegory. However, we need not to dig no deeper than to the fundamental faults in human nature to witness the catastrophic consequences that attributes such as hierarchy, propaganda and betrayal have on today’s society.
As human beings we often crave power and the thrilling sense we get when in control. The responsibility of power can quickly transform someone’s personality and change the way he acts towards others. When power is in the hands of one individual, and the repercussions can ruin a society. Power can lead to an inequality between the people of a country and its leaders and it can often . Throughout societies in the past, there has been this frequent concept of whether it is better to be feared than loved as a ruler. The idea that someone could retaliate and overthrow power and authority could threaten a leader and push them towards abuse of power. Society’s fear could seem more reliable and allow manipulation than a caring relationship between a society and its leader. For example, in the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin assumed power and took total control over the Russian society. He used violence and manipulation to persuade victims and preserve his position in power. Leon Trotsky was one of the many victims of Stalin’s m...
These commandments are meant to represent an “unaltered law” (15), but after the pigs began to rise in power, their superiority in language allowed them to change it to their benefit. At the height of his reign, Napoleon established his position of power by changing the commandment “all animals are equal” (15) to “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (90). At its core, this change is an abuse of language in order to manipulate other animals’ thoughts. Initially, the commandment states that everyone is equal which allows the other animals to feel acknowledged, but then it contradicts itself by saying a hypothetical “some” are more equal than others. Although not explicitly stated, it implies that the pigs identify as the “some which are more equal than others” (90). This implication leads to the notion that the pigs who are in the ‘some’ category are to be considered a different class compared to the animals in the ‘all’ category, and as such the pigs’ position as more equal provides them more power over the lesser
pigs begin to take control. By the end of the novel, the pigs have manipulated the rest of the animals into doing everything they want. The pigs then become almost exactly like the humans. The most important pigs are Napoleon and Snowball, that is until Napoleon
The pigs changed the rules without consent of the other animals to limit the rights of the other animals which indicates that the pigs have absolute power. The pigs were altering the seven commandments to fit their personal needs. The animals were in utter shock after realizing that the
The pigs misused the power because they wanted to be in control and rule over others. All the other animals on the farm were mistreated because the pigs were in control of everything. Social class was very unfair. All the animals, except for the pigs, had to follow the commandments and work a lot. Language was also very important. Since all the pigs could read and the rest of the farm could not, the pigs verbally abused everyone on the farm. The animals symbolize how humans act when they are in positions of power and how people are
After the Animal Revolution the pigs take the initiative and place themselves in charge because of their claim of having higher intelligence. Over time this power begins to distort the basis of their revolt by recreating the same social situation they were previously in. “When the pigs takeover they claim that their goal is to preside a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another, yet power quickly proves too much for a pig.” Though the animals originally took over the farm to increase the animal’s independence as a whole, because of the pig’s superiority they soon take the place of the humans further limiting their independence.
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
To take control, leaders use false information to persuade the others into doing what they want. This is called using propaganda. Propaganda was used to effectively rule the other animals in Animal Farm. The Pigs manipulated the uneducated. As did Napoleon used this to his advantage. There was use of fear by violence. They inflicted fear by using hypothetical situations to get the other animals to do as told. The leaders in Animal Farm show numerous types of propaganda to effectively take control of all the other animals.