Animal Farm Power Analysis

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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. Jones is the owner of the Manor Farm and all the animals on it, but is an alcoholic and neglects to care for and feed the animals. On this particular night, …show more content…
With Old Major having passed away, a pig named Napoleon who represents Stalin is named the leader of Animal Farm. As the animal’s new leader, he uses fear and manipulation to get all the animals to obey his commands. In chapter 6 Orwell writes “...in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have rations reduced by half”(Orwell, pg. 26). Although Napoleon says this work is voluntary, he is manipulating the animals to work by threatening to take away their food. This abuse of power continued as Napoleon favored himself and the other pigs. In paragraph 10 of chapter 6, Orwell mentions that the pigs have moved into the farmhouse so that they could have a ”quiet place to work in” since they are “the brains of the farm”. He also writes “Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing-room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds”(Orwell, pg 28). Napoleon and the other pigs have also began to use human items, which is strictly prohibited. Napoleon and the other pigs have now returned the farm to its original state when Jones was in

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