Animal Farm Essay “Napoleon now called upon them to confess their crimes” (Orwell 92). In Orwell’s Animal Farm, an allegory with themes and connections to the Russian Revolution, Napoleon orders innocent animals on the farm to confess to fictitious wrongdoings. The setting takes place on a somewhat maintained farm in England, run by an inattentive owner, Mr. Jones, that often forgets about his animals. Because of his memory lapses, the animals eventually seize power, and a myriad of struggles and debates ensue about who should reign. Napoleon eventually exiles Snowball and becomes the demagogue over the farm. The Berkshire Boar, however, misuses and extends his power into an absolute dictatorship, leaving the farm with a totalitarian government.
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Napoleon alters the Commandments on multiple occasions, due to the stupidity of the other animals on the farm. When he changes the Commandments, the changes exclusively benefit the pigs. “But a few days later Muriel, reading over the Seven Commandments to herself, noticed that there was yet another of them which the animals had remembered wrong... Actually the Commandment read: ‘No animals shall drink alcohol to excess’” (Orwell 112). This is one of the multiple occasions the Terror of Mankind and the other boars change the Commandments simply for the benefit of themselves and not for the farm in general. The other animals do not fully know the Commandments, so Napoleon benefits by leveraging his power by altering the Commandments. Another example of Napoleon modifying the Commandments is when he combines several Commandments into one big Commandment. “There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS” (Orwell 133). Napoleon does this because the new Commandment infers that the pigs are better than everyone else and more superior. Obviously he is saying all members of the farm are equal, but thinks the pigs deserve preferential treatment because he believes they are better, smarter, and higher class members of the community. After this, the other animals start to feel inferior and powerless, and allow the pigs to rule over them just as Mr. Jones and other humans would. Through Napoleon’s distinct alteration of the Commandments, he further establishes his clear outright power on the farm, and his abuse and control over the other
Napoleon alters the Commandments on multiple occasions, due to the stupidity of the other animals on the farm. When he changes the Commandments, the changes exclusively benefit the pigs. “But a few days later Muriel, reading over the Seven Commandments to herself, noticed that there was yet another of them which the animals had remembered wrong... Actually the Commandment read: ‘No animals shall drink alcohol to excess’” (Orwell 112). This is one of the multiple occasions the Terror of Mankind and the other boars change the Commandments simply for the benefit of themselves and not for the farm in general. The other animals do not fully know the Commandments, so Napoleon benefits by leveraging his power by altering the Commandments. Another example of Napoleon modifying the Commandments is when he combines several Commandments into one big Commandment. “There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS” (Orwell 133). Napoleon does this because the new Commandment infers that the pigs are better than everyone else and more superior. Obviously he is saying all members of the farm are equal, but thinks the pigs deserve preferential treatment because he believes they are better, smarter, and higher class members of the community. After this, the other animals start to feel inferior and powerless, and allow the pigs to rule over them just as Mr. Jones and other humans would. Through Napoleon’s distinct alteration of the Commandments, he further establishes his clear outright power on the farm, and his abuse and control over the other