Some people will do anything to stay in power. Once they have the power they want they become corrupt, selfish and manipulative because the feeling of having power is just never enough. They always want more. The novel Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory about the former corrupt government in the Soviet Union. The main characters Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball are all pigs and they represent real people who had a place in the Soviet Union’s corrupt government. Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin, Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, and Squealer represents the propaganda department Stalin had to support his image. Napoleon is able to keep his power by using scare tactics, manipulating the seven commandments, and by lying to the animals. …show more content…
In chapter 10, we learn from the narrator, “For once Benjamin consented to break his rule, and he read out to her what was written on the wall. There was nothing there now except a single commandment. It ran: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” (Orwell 134) This quote proves Napoleon manipulates the seven commandments to stay in power because in chapter 2 of Animal Farm we learn the seven commandments; in chapter 1 Old Major says, “No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil.” Throughout Animal Farm Napoleon and the other pigs break every single one of the seven commandments but since almost every animal could not read, they are tricked into thinking they did not hear the commandments correctly. “No animal shall drink alcohol.” turned into “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.” some of the other commandments changed too. By the end of Animal Farm the animals realized the commandments have changed because the wall looks different although they still can not read what is on it. Benjamin reads the single commandment left on the wall and all of the animals realize it isn’t so strange what the pigs are doing now. Napoleon manipulating the seven commandments helps him out a lot in staying in
No animal shall kill any other animal 7.) All animals are equal. ”(Document A). All the pigs including Napoleon changed,bent, or removed a commandment. “Four legs good two legs better!
Overtime Napoleon changes these commandments, for example he changed it to “four legs good, two legs better!”(Doc. A excerpt 3, Animal Farm Chapter 10), instead of “four legs good, two legs bad”. He also renamed the farm, Manor Farm; the original name. In the beginning all of the animals wanted to be free from the humans, but the the pigs slowly started morphing to human ways. Eventually they changed the seventh commandment to “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS”(Doc
These three reasons are why animals were too scared to overthrow him and to be free from his rule. One example of how Napoleon stays in charge is Animalism. Animalism was meant to be set in place keeping any animal from having more power than the others. Napoleon uses this to his advantage by having a basic first set of commandments which is “reduced to… ‘Four legs good, two legs bad.’
Napoleon made a substantial impact on the way the animals reacted to their new hardships. The pigs, including Napoleon, are said to be the most intelligent animals on the farm, but unlike the others, Napoleon uses it to manipulate the
In Chapter 2 pg 24 Snowball wrote out a list of commandments that would shape the community of Animal Farm. In the end of the book (ch 10 pg 134) “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.” is the one commandment that is left to describe the leadership of Napoleon. Napoleon is able to get away with changing the commandments because he blames everything on Snowball and says that Snowball ran away because he was secretly in league with Jones and his men. None of the animals are able to read except the pigs, Benjamin and Muriel.
In Animal Farm, George Orwell warns how power will often lead to corruption. Napoleon was placed in a position of power after Major died, and he slowly starts to lavish in his power and become addicted to the lush life of a dictator. When Napoleon first becomes a leader, he expresses how everyone will work equally, but as his reign goes on, he shortens the work hours. At the very end of the novel, the observing animals even start to see that pig and man had become the same. The irony present in the above example, illuminates how regardless of how much a ruler promises to maintain equality and fairness, the position of power that they hold, will corrupt them.
Furthermore, Napoleon gives the other animals the impression he was the sole leader of the rebellion on Animal farm and makes Snowball -a leader who wanted what was best for the animals- seem like an enemy who was in cahoots with Farmer Jones since long before the animals took over the farm. Napoleon and Squealer (another “fat cat” pig.) always put the blame on Snowball whenever something went wrong in the farm to avoid having the blame fall on them. Napoleon is an exemplary example of just how selfish and hypocritical people can be in furthering their own aims because he continued to subtly but purposely change the seven rules put in place as the pillars of animalism. For example, Napoleon and the other pigs move into Farmer Jones’s house and sleep in his bed after commanding “No animal shall sleep in a bed”, so he changes the commandment to read “no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”.
Only puppies and pigs can live in the house, sleep in the bed, eat apples and cookies and have all of the best things. As the history is developing, Napoleon is getting more and more like a dicator. He slowly begin to being superior but did not act like a dictator. Moreover, he broke some rules, he’s in contact with humans, and he had hours of works, and he killed aniamsl, and change the only commandment for “4 legs good, 2 legs better”. He also think that “Every animals are equal, but some are more equal then others.”
The tremendous book “Animal Farm” is showing how Squealer (the media) is corrupting all animals to think that what they're doing and how they are changing the 7 commandments is the right way. As the animals see how they’re changing everything they don’t try to do anything to stop, they’re too dumb and have no knowledge to realize that they are being used. Napoleon has the power, but got carried away with the power and was doing awful choices with the animals even if it stated that all animals are friends, having power could be good, but take it as if you have brownie, you eat multiple brownie’s and get tired of it such as getting carried away with power. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” quotes like this
Originally, the commandments were made to create ‘fairness’ and ‘equality’ among the comrades. However, the novel reveals how “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (Orwell, page 134) through the commandments, as Napoleon uses his skillful rhetoric to get away with breaking the very commandments that every animals are suppose to follow, while the other animals are punished for not doing so. For example, in chapter 8 when the pigs purchase a brewery to to produce and later drink the alcohol, even though the fifth commandment says “no animals shall drink alcohol” (Orwell, page 25), which shows that the pigs are hypocrites. Thus, the novel shows the difference in intelligence between the animals that made it easy for Napoleon to manipulate and make them obey
Napoleon would always be changing the seven commandments. At the beginning of the book, there were seven commandments. By the end of the book, there was only one commandment left that read “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (134). This constant change will greatly affect the farm as the animals will not recognize the changes. Adding to Napoleon’s poor leadership, he wasted the farm's money to buy a crate of whiskey.
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. “Animal Farm” has corruption and equality in a way the animals try to succeed and achieve a goal to make the farm better. Power corrupts in “Animal Farm” because the pigs have a goal which is working together and helping one another.
Thesis Statement: Dictators Create decisions for what can be said and done. The animals in the novel Animal Farm had created a set of commandments that all the animals had to follow, then one day the group Napoleon and the other pigs broke the fourth commandment by sleeping in beds, the Animals on the farm read the commandment and it decreed “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets” (Orwell 67). The quote supports the thesis for the reason that Napoleon has changed the rules so that he is not breaking them, so that the other animals will not be tempted to confiscate Napoleon's power. The statement supports the quote because Napoleon decision to change the fourth commandment. Napoleon changes the fourth commandment without the vote of the other animals which leaves the animals no choice but to go along with the change for the reason that the animals have been brain washed.
This shows that he does not wish to be seen as an equal to the other animals. This also shows that he is quickly becoming more human by, using their items--the gun and medals-- year round. Moreover, he rids of the Seven Commandments and song which inspired the rebellion of the animals, the Beasts of England, in favor of a song describing his greatness (29). This shows that he does not care for the true origin in of Animal Farm, unity among animals for a better future, and eradicates such for a song only speaking highly of himself. This also shows that he finds himself to be much more worthy of such attention although the Seven Commandments and Beasts of England involve all animals, the new song by the name of Comrade Napoleon is only about the boar.
For example, at the beginning of the story, one commandment stated: “No animal shall drink alcohol” (9). However, after Napoleon drank too much and became drunk in chapter eight, the commandment changed to say “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess” (42). By changing this commandment Napoleon tricked the other animals into letting him break the rules and allowing him