Power Leads To Corruption In George Orwell's Animal Farm

Improved Essays
“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” was said by Lord Acton. The lesson Orwell intends to share with his readers is that power can lead to corruption. He does this by showing Napoleon abusing the trust of his comrades, misguiding the lesser-educated animals, and placing the blame on everyone but himself.
Orwell shows power leads to corruption through Napoleon consistently abusing how much faith the animals have in him. This is first seen with the milk incident where the animals aren’t given a drop and convinced that it is best for the pigs to have milk and not the other animals. “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in the spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and
…show more content…
The revolution starts with the animals justly blaming Jones for their problems.(quote) As the revolution moves forward and into the hands of the pigs it becomes unclear as to whom should take the blame for problems that arise on the farm. One of the biggest receivers of blame on the farm, besides Jones, would have to be Snowball. “Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!” (28) After his abrupt dismissal from the farm things are constantly blamed on Snowball whether he committed these wrongdoings or not. “And as to the battle of the Cowshed, I believe the time will come when we shall find that Snowballs’ part in it was much exaggerated.” (22). Another group under scrutiny would be the opposing side at The Battle of the Cowshed, the group of farmfolk who attack the animals but exactly what happened at each attack is exaggerated by the pigs when the tell their war stories later and make out the opposition playing dirtier than they really did. Orwell introduces these characters to the story to satisfy his analogy but also to show the blame never landing on the one making decisions,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The manipulation of human nature is illustrated in Animal Farm. Through napoleons characteristic we are able to classify how he influences the certainties to match his own requirments. Orwell uses propaganda through napoleon when he changed the seventh commandment “all animals are equal” to “all animals are equal; some are more equal than others”. This shows his manipulation towards the animals setting a naïve working class. Napoleon is in a high power position in the novel, he is pictured as manipulative and abusive to his power, making it corrupt.…

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    “Four legs good, two legs bad.” is the motto of the barnyard animals who have just recently rebelled against their owner. Life is good, for they are free from the burden of under-feeding, over-working, and whips. Later on the animals recognize a change and its result, something that had happened to them not long ago . . . Animal Farm tells of equality in beings and the power of power.…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The pigs made sure that when they took over no other animal in the farm can make them change their mind about anything. After certain people gain power they think that they have the power to do anything they want and they might end up breaking rules. In ‘‘ Animal…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, he proves that it is inevitable for humans to equate everyone. Orwell explains this by his story which is about a group of farm animals that rebel against their farmer. After he gets kicked out, Napoleon, a pig, takes power and corrupts the farm. His power gets to the point where they were better off with the farmer, Mr. Jones. Orwell also illustrates how it is human nature to make mistakes and take control of power.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Characters like Snowball and Napoleon use propaganda in their struggle for power over Animal Farm throughout the book. Snowball is a pig who lives at Animal Farm. He seems to have a true interest in improving the animals he lives with and commits his time into them in physical and mental…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples” (Orwell 35-36). By saying this, it makes the pigs look selfless when they actually only care about themselves. The animals believe everything Squealer says, and do not make up their own…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    INTRODUCTION: Someone in position of power might do anything to maintain their position. They disregard the rule and strive to be superior over everyone. This is seen in George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm through the antagonist napoleon. Napoleon starts to take privileges for himself.…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Violence and Corruption of Leaders “They had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes” (Orwell 87) This is the scene for George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where pigs take over governmental rule after driving out the tyrannical Mr. Jones. Although the new government was designed from ideas of equality, corruption amongst the pigs leads to a reign of terror equal to or worse than that of Mr. Jones. Orwell’s intention in writing Animal Farm was to indirectly critique the ruling of the newly formed Soviet Union, therefore many characters in the novel are related to prominent leaders after the Russian…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A mindset can change from good to evil by the power of greed. Power requires responsibility, and if an individual does not use their power in a positive light then they will destroy the people around them. Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory of animals based of the Russian Revolution leaders that rebel after being harshly mistreated by their owner. The leader of the animals, Napoleon, manipulates the farm animals to establish a tyrannical rule over the farm. George Orwell reveals how the use and misuse of power can inspire or corrupt a society through the main characters Napoleon, Squealer, and Old Major in his novel, Animal Farm.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, Orwell expresses how the utilization and abuse of power can affect a union. In the novel he expresses the Russian Revolution in the form of an allegory in which important figures are portrayed as animals. His main characters Napoleon and Mr. Jones illustrate how the misuse of power can lead to corruption and oppression, while Old Major shows that not everyone with power will abuse that responsibility. At the start of the novel, readers are introduced to Mr. Jones, who represents Tsar Nicholas II, as he drunkenly stumbles home after a long night.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Revolution was inspired by Karl Marx who wanted a world where everything was equal and this lead to the novel Animal Farm. In the novel Animal Farm, George Orwell explores the dangers of the abuse of power through the characters Snowball, Farmer Jones, and Napoleon. One example of Orwell’s depiction of the dangers of the abuse of power involves the character Snowball. Snowball is a young…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The story of Animal Farm is not just one of talking animals living on a farm. Rather, the tale chronicles the historical event of the Russian Revolution and the figures that took part in establishing the totalitarian regime in Russia, as well as the people that were affected by the ascendance of a corrupt leader. George Orwell, in Animal Farm, creates the villain character of Napoleon, a Berkshire pig, and the main antagonist in the novel, who rose to power through acts of exploitation, fear tactics, and manipulation to demonstrate the corruption of Joseph Stalin 's dictatorship. Throughout the story, corruption arose in the farm as Napoleon gained power and began to grant himself privileges.…

    • 1747 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ignorance Enables Corruption Who is at greater fault? If a tyrant is given the power, albeit to abuse, is it his fault to utilize the power given, or the fault of those who bestow the power on them? Failure cannot be pinned on just one person, but the people involved as a whole. Therefore, by indirectly causing the collapse of one's own community, it is the community's fault for acting as catalyst to the events to come.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Importance of Education Essay: “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others” the previous quote found in George Orwell’s acclaimed novel Animal Farm; that criticized the Soviet government in Russia showcases the importance of manipulating and limiting education in order to achieve full power and control over others. The novel contains characters that are symbolic of the communist leaders and were able to manipulate the other animals by limiting the quality of education which then led to the animals becoming ignorant and closed minded. Napoleon (who was symbolic of Joseph Stalin) the dictator, found out the animals’ weakness and used it against them throughout the novel while only educating specific animals. To begin with,…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1984 & Animal Farm Comparative Analysis 1984 and Animal Farm are two novels written by George Orwell. These two books overall want the same thing, obedience and total control. In 1984 we have our main character Winston Smith. He is a man who has no love for Big Brother. He does not agree with the rules and wants to rebel.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays