Compare Animal Farm And The Truman Show

Does power always corrupt it’s holder? Can you live a good life without the power to control your decisions? Should one person’s idea of a good society decide what a utopian society is? Power, the good life and utopia are all unachievable without being in perfect balance. Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, follows the lives of an animal society overthrowing humans and attempting to construct a good society, that allows everyone to live their good life, while still keeping power in balance. Similarly The Truman Show directed by Peter Weir, a film revolving around a young man Truman, and his life being aired to the rest of the world without him being aware, supports extremely similar ideas about societies struggling to live in the perfect

They particularly demonstrate the negative outcomes power produces. Power can be defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events, each text flaunts ideas that support this, and how power can often be used to benefit the leader's life, and not the society’s, demonstrating how power can corrupt those who wield it. Orwell indicates this in Animal Farm, for example Napoleon uses his capacity to change the seven commandments given to the animals at the start of the revolution, he doesn’t change the commandments to offers other freedom, but to justify his actions. Napoleon selfishly alters the original slogan “all animal are equal” to “all animal are equal, but some are more equal than others” to improve his character, and ensure others understand how superior he is. Likewise, Weir suggests that power is often abused and taken advantage of, for one's benefit. Weir displays this when he uses Truman to create a television show about his life without Truman knowing. Christof does this to become successful in his career, to have no financial worries and eventually to become a well-known person. One may argue that Christof also tries to help Truman achieve happiness, as he creates the show around Truman’s life based on living the American dream: loving wife, white picket fence house and a 9-5 job, Christof claims he “knows you [Truman] better than you know yourself”. This is in contrast to Animal Farm, due to the fact that Napoleon does not do anything to benefit his “supporters”. Both Animal Farm and The Truman Show support the idea that power is easily abused, and can quickly become