Absolute Power: Destruction at its Finest Although power is coveted by many, it is nothing compared to absolute power—command that has no limitations and is beyond anyone’s control. Absolute power is like the authority Tsar Nicholas II had before the Russian Revolution. The Tsar has a divine right to rule, therefore, his decision, once made, was final. The President of the United States’ power is nothing compared to the Tsar’s absolute power. However, just because one has complete control, does not mean one should use it, nor does it make one qualified to make the “right” decision. Once one is given power, it is up to that person to not let it control him or her. That is why Lord John Dalberg-Acton’s quote, “power corrupts; absolute power
…show more content…
The pigs automatically assume leadership, but having superior knowledge does not necessarily make one a great leader.
Napoleon is a prime example of a leader corrupted by absolute power. He knows he has the power to make significant changes to the farm, and his original intentions were actually for the good of the farm, but he then later created laws for his own personal benefit. Northrop Frye states that Orwell “makes Napoleon inscrutably ambitious and lets it go at that, and, as far as he is concerned, some old reactionary bromide like ‘you can’t change human nature’ is as good a moral as any other for his fable” (11).
When Napoleon first comes to power, he desires to do what he thinks is best for the people. After the revolution, the animals establish a set of rules to follow, one stating that no animal should sleep in beds or live in the farmhouse. The farmhouse is intended to be left alone and serves as a museum for the animals to remember the revolution. However, Napoleon and “the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, [decided that they] should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the dignity of the Leader . . . to live in a house than in a mere sty” (Orwell 56). Believing that he is truly superior because of his intellect and power, Napoleon sets himself even higher than the rest of the animals and is impervious to his own …show more content…
There was only one candidate, Napoleon, who was elected unanimously” (Orwell 93). Napoleon even takes precautionary measures to ensure that he is the only leader and eventually concludes that having power means he is superior in intellect.
Napoleon further abuses his power when he no longer is able to distinguish between right and wrong. The farm shifts from a republic to a dictatorship when Napoleon seizes the animals’ freedom of speech, kills traitors, and forces the animals to work seven days a week. The pigs slowly adapt to the laws of the human world, a world they so adamantly despised. Frye observes “they finally become human beings, walking on two legs and carrying whips, just as the old Farmer Jones had done. At each stage of the receding revolution, one of the seven principles of the original rebellion becomes corrupted” (9). Once Napoleon trades with the farmers, walks on two legs, and renames the farm “Manor Farm,” he is completely corrupt with power. The very last sentence of the novel states that “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
The pigs automatically assume leadership, but having superior knowledge does not necessarily make one a great leader.
Napoleon is a prime example of a leader corrupted by absolute power. He knows he has the power to make significant changes to the farm, and his original intentions were actually for the good of the farm, but he then later created laws for his own personal benefit. Northrop Frye states that Orwell “makes Napoleon inscrutably ambitious and lets it go at that, and, as far as he is concerned, some old reactionary bromide like ‘you can’t change human nature’ is as good a moral as any other for his fable” (11).
When Napoleon first comes to power, he desires to do what he thinks is best for the people. After the revolution, the animals establish a set of rules to follow, one stating that no animal should sleep in beds or live in the farmhouse. The farmhouse is intended to be left alone and serves as a museum for the animals to remember the revolution. However, Napoleon and “the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, [decided that they] should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the dignity of the Leader . . . to live in a house than in a mere sty” (Orwell 56). Believing that he is truly superior because of his intellect and power, Napoleon sets himself even higher than the rest of the animals and is impervious to his own …show more content…
There was only one candidate, Napoleon, who was elected unanimously” (Orwell 93). Napoleon even takes precautionary measures to ensure that he is the only leader and eventually concludes that having power means he is superior in intellect.
Napoleon further abuses his power when he no longer is able to distinguish between right and wrong. The farm shifts from a republic to a dictatorship when Napoleon seizes the animals’ freedom of speech, kills traitors, and forces the animals to work seven days a week. The pigs slowly adapt to the laws of the human world, a world they so adamantly despised. Frye observes “they finally become human beings, walking on two legs and carrying whips, just as the old Farmer Jones had done. At each stage of the receding revolution, one of the seven principles of the original rebellion becomes corrupted” (9). Once Napoleon trades with the farmers, walks on two legs, and renames the farm “Manor Farm,” he is completely corrupt with power. The very last sentence of the novel states that “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