When an idea is romanticized by a community, it is difficult to determine where the original idea ends and others begin and can quickly morph into a corrupted system. In George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, the animals put blind faith into Animalism making it easier for the pigs to corrupt the system. This is achieved through societal pressure, fear of men, and propaganda. Societal pressure plays a key role in the corruption of Animalism as it is used multiple times to control the other animals. Napoleon capitalizes on this tactic by teaching the herd of sheep to repeat a few of his key phrases at specific moments. This is seen when they “break into ‘Four legs good, two legs bad’ at the crucial moments in Snowball’s speeches” (Orwell, 43). This
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The first time the hatred of men is introduced is by Old Major who says, “[w]hatever goes upon two legs is an enemy,” and “[w]hatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend” (Orwell 11). He makes the clear distinction between men and animals, for it to be used as a guide for the rest of the animals to treat the others like friends, as opposed to men. After the rebellion, however, the pigs use the hatred of men for their own benefit and as an incentive for the other animals to work harder. This is seen when the pigs move into the farmhouse, and Squealer respond to the outcry from the animals about them sleeping in beds by saying, “[y]ou would not have us too tired to carry out our duties… [s]urely none of you want to see Jones back” (Orwell 60)? He is defending the pigs’ right to comfortable and disguises it as they need to be well rested to work, as opposed to admitting the corruption. The animals buy into his false explanation, because the last thing they want is Jones’s return, and fail to see the lack of fairness in their situation. The pigs twist Old Major’s form of Animalism with the intent to exploit the system, despite still preaching his old ideals to the believing animals, insisting that any revisions would allow Jones to …show more content…
Squealer serves as an informant for the other animals, and since he is an animal, the population of the farm put blind faith in him to tell the truth. However, he serves to do the opposite, in an effort to hide the pigs’ corruption. For example, when the pigs first start to exploit the system, Squealer justifies their actions by telling the animals, “[i]t is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples” (Orwell 32). Realistically, the pigs only want the extra food, however Squealer spins the story to seem like it is benefitting all animals and the others have no choice but to believe him because of their blinding trust in the system and the pigs. He also attacks the other animals and suggests their memory is failing them when they oppose the pigs. When the pigs sleep in the beds, the animals do not remember the commandment having any leniency around the use of sheets, yet Squealer insists, “[t]he rule was against sheets, which are a human invention” (Orwell 60). After his explanation, the animals have no issue with the pigs sleeping in the beds because according to the Seven Commandments, the sheets were the issue, not the beds. This fact goes completely against Old Major’s idea of Animalism because it is not fair, yet the animals’ blind faith that Squealer would not lie to them, leads them to believe this is what Major would have wanted all along. Ultimately,
The first time the hatred of men is introduced is by Old Major who says, “[w]hatever goes upon two legs is an enemy,” and “[w]hatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend” (Orwell 11). He makes the clear distinction between men and animals, for it to be used as a guide for the rest of the animals to treat the others like friends, as opposed to men. After the rebellion, however, the pigs use the hatred of men for their own benefit and as an incentive for the other animals to work harder. This is seen when the pigs move into the farmhouse, and Squealer respond to the outcry from the animals about them sleeping in beds by saying, “[y]ou would not have us too tired to carry out our duties… [s]urely none of you want to see Jones back” (Orwell 60)? He is defending the pigs’ right to comfortable and disguises it as they need to be well rested to work, as opposed to admitting the corruption. The animals buy into his false explanation, because the last thing they want is Jones’s return, and fail to see the lack of fairness in their situation. The pigs twist Old Major’s form of Animalism with the intent to exploit the system, despite still preaching his old ideals to the believing animals, insisting that any revisions would allow Jones to …show more content…
Squealer serves as an informant for the other animals, and since he is an animal, the population of the farm put blind faith in him to tell the truth. However, he serves to do the opposite, in an effort to hide the pigs’ corruption. For example, when the pigs first start to exploit the system, Squealer justifies their actions by telling the animals, “[i]t is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples” (Orwell 32). Realistically, the pigs only want the extra food, however Squealer spins the story to seem like it is benefitting all animals and the others have no choice but to believe him because of their blinding trust in the system and the pigs. He also attacks the other animals and suggests their memory is failing them when they oppose the pigs. When the pigs sleep in the beds, the animals do not remember the commandment having any leniency around the use of sheets, yet Squealer insists, “[t]he rule was against sheets, which are a human invention” (Orwell 60). After his explanation, the animals have no issue with the pigs sleeping in the beds because according to the Seven Commandments, the sheets were the issue, not the beds. This fact goes completely against Old Major’s idea of Animalism because it is not fair, yet the animals’ blind faith that Squealer would not lie to them, leads them to believe this is what Major would have wanted all along. Ultimately,