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Essay, 4 pages (850 words)

Animal pigs were vastly superior to the rest

Animal Farm by George Orwell is about how those who possess power crave to amasseven greater power. This is because power results in corruption, power is possessed by those whohave something of crucial value to their society’s social order, and power within any dictatorshipcannot be divided without detrimental consequences in the long term.

It is evident that this isapplicable to the character of ‘ Comrade’ Napoleon the pig in the book Animal Farm. The book tells a story of farm animals rebelling against a lazy, drunken farmer named Mr. Jones. The animals felt that they would receive more food and lead happier lives if they were theones running the farm. They establish a democracy, run by the pigs. Napoleon, one of the mainpigs, becomes power hungry and takes control of the farm. He converts it into a pig-rundictatorship. Power results in the corruption of those who possess it.

At the beginning of Animal Farm, Napoleon wants to “ Increase food production” (Orwell 20) (instead of focusing on building thewindmill) to keep the animals from starving to death. This is more to benefit the animals thanNapoleon, so it is a benevolent act. But, by the very next page, he lusts to possess all theauthority for himself. So he runs Snowball off the farm (even though Snowball had vastly more Carter 2popularity and intelligence) and the Sunday meetings (Which until that point, had been where theanimals democratically voted on the changes proposed by the pigs) were ended. Napoleon gotmost of this power for himself, but the rest of the pigs were powerful as well. Napoleon evenbans the singing of Beasts of England; the song of the Rebellion (most likely to prevent theanimals from realizing that they were still being oppressed and starting another rebellion). Later, Napoleon bends the seven commandments, the core principles of Animal Farm, to his desires, ason page twenty five when he initiates negotiations of commerce with the humans. By the tenthchapter of Animal Farm, he gets rid of all of the commandments except the seventhcommandment (“ All animals are equal”), which he modified (“ All animals are equal, but someanimals are equaller”) (51-52).

He even changed the traditional maxim (“ four legs good, two legsbad”) to show that the pigs were vastly superior to the rest of the animals (“ four legs good, twolegs better”). Also, he instigated this maxim by torturing the sheep (with a whip) until they werebleating only the newer maxim. This shows how corrupt Napoleon becomes once he has nocompetition for power. Those who posses something of value are also those who possess the power. This isshown on page fourteen when Squealer, a younger pig, is convincing the animals that, if the pigsweren’t there to lead them, “ Jones would come back.

” The animals believe this argumentbecause, if Mr. Jones came back, the society of Animal Farm would collapse. This is the pigs’explanation as to why they receive more of the rations (specifically the apples, the milk, and thealcohol), the power, and better sleeping quarters (the pigs lived inside the farm house and slept in Carter 3beds), and also why the rest of the animals are receiving lower rations than when Mr. Jones wasrunning the farm. The thing they posses that no other animal on the farm has is a vastly superiorintelligence, as shown on page nine when they are the first of the animals to learn to read andwrite (from some old textbooks previously owned by the Jones children). This is important to thesurvival of the farm because they are the ones who are the military leaders as well. In any dictatorship, the splitting of the power never produces positive results. This isrevealed in the book, starting when Napoleon can’t agree with Snowball on even the simplest ofmatters (19).

He later urinates all over Snowball’s windmill design (that Snowball had spent daysmethodically drawing and planning out) in an envious act of jealousy. When the time comes forthe animals to decide on whether or not to begin construction of the windmill, Napoleon ordersall nine of his dogs (whom he had brainwashed and trained since they were puppies into beinghis loyal bodyguards and enforcers) to run Snowball off the farm. He then tarnishes Snowball’snoble reputation as a leader and as a war hero in the Battle of the Cowshed.

He declares that, either Snowball is a traitorous coward who had formed an alliance with the humans from thevery beginning or, he was being forced to work for the humans from the very beginning torecapture the farm from the animals. This makes farm life miserable for the animals. Those who posses power will go to extravagant lengths to obtain even greater sums ofpower; even becoming extremely corrupt, using something as political leverage to maintain theirpower, or eliminating another individual who possesses power as well. This is what leads AnimalFarm to turn into an absolute monarchy under the drunken, tyrannical dictatorship of ‘ Comrade Carter 4Napoleon’ (or, as he insists on calling it, Manor Farm; Which is its ‘ proper’ name).

And so, thefarm came full circle, once again being ruled by a drunken ruler who fed his workers very littleand treated them as slaves. The oppressed had become the oppressors

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