How Does Napoleon Abuse Power In Animal Farm

Orwell’s Animal Farm involves a farm of animals who are disgusted by the farm owner, Mr. Jones for abusiveness and lack of taking care of the animals. He (Jones) had fallen into depression over receiving notice of a lawsuit and turned to excessive alcohol consumption and neglecting the farm. The animals are fed up with this and chase him and his men off the farm. Since Old Major died not too long before this, the animals needed a new leader. Napoleon kicked his way in and made himself the master of the farm. George Orwell’s Animal Farm shows how Napoleon gains ultimate leadership and abuses his power and uses it exclusively for his own gain which illustrates that too much power can be harmful.

Throughout the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon uses …show more content…
That is the way he abuses power for his own gain on the farm. This is demonstrated immediately after the animals see Napoleon and his fellow pigs walking on only their two hind legs. Clover asks Benjamin to read her the commandments on the side of the barn. Only one commandment was there and Benjamin read it, “‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others’” (134;ch.10). By adding “‘...but some animals are more equal than others’”, Napoleon is saying that he, and his acquaintances, are “more equal” which makes them better and entitled to stand on their two legs, among other benefits. He first used his power to help the other animals, but ended up using power for himself and the pigs. In the beginning, he did not want to be like the humans with their abuse of power, however by the end he had done the exact same thing as the humans. He used his power to get more food rations, more time to sit around and more opportunity to have access to more comfortable lives. A great example of this is when the pigs began standing. Most of the animals on the farm believed this to be an act of treason. The original phrase “... two legs bad!” is relaying that “we are all one group who will stay together”. This credo is for Napoleon’s own gain in the beginning to rally the animals behind him. The sheep then started to shout “‘Four legs good, two legs better!’” (134; ch.10). The sheep are communicating that, they are kicking the rest of the animals out of their group. The final abuse of power for his own gain comes when Napoleon is discussing with Mr.Pilkington and a half a dozen other farmers about changing the name of the farm “Animal Farm” back to the previous name “Manor Farm”. Napoleon then says to the farmers “‘Gentlemen, I will give you the same toast as before, but in a different form. Fill your glasses to the brim. Gentlemen, here is my toast: To