Abuse Of Power In Animal Farm By George Orwell

“Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” These words spoken by Thomas Jefferson encompass the reality of corrupt governments and their focus on power over society. Unfortunately, the cycle of oppression that has occurred in the past shows no signs of ceasing. Given enough time, leaders often forget the significance of their role in a society and tend to make judgements based on their preconceived idea of a successful society. Humans are dangerously selfish and this can lead to a clear imbalance of power in any given community. Animal Farm by George Orwell relates specific thematic ideas to this notion, and it clearly demonstrates

Napoleon, the leader of the farm and “a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar” (Orwell 17), quickly becomes obsessed with abusing his power to meet his selfish goals. As a group, the pigs are allowed more power over the other animals on the farm after Old Major dies and before the rebellion takes place. Early in the history of Animal Farm, the pigs take over the roles of the leaders and no other animal questions this because they believed, “The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals” (Orwell 17). The pigs’ intelligence, as boasted by the pigs themselves, is a valuable asset to the farm and is widely respected by the other animals. Similarly, when Boxer adopts the motto, “Napoleon is always right!” (Orwell 44), he is showing a great amount of trust and admiration for the leader of the farm. The fact that the pigs are so openly appreciated within the farm explains how they have the power reserved to their specific group. As the pigs gain more and more power in the farm, no questions or objections are made, which causes the group as a whole to become greedier and more narcissistic. In American politics, the three levels of government, executive, legislative, and judicial, are separated so that one level does not have complete power over the other two. All three levels

The pigs, especially Napoleon and Squealer, manipulated the other animals on the farm. Because the pigs already see themselves as more intelligent and worthy of power than the other animals, it becomes easy for them to manipulate and lie to them. At the end of the rebellion, the animals created the Seven Commandments. These commandments were followed by all animals, even the pigs, until they suddenly started to change. For example, when the pigs began sleeping in beds, Clover said that she thought the “Fourth Commandment [says] something about never sleeping in a bed” (Orwell 50) when, at the time, it read “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets” (Orwell 51). Clover resolves she must have simply forgotten the last part of the commandment, and it is certainly alright for the pigs to sleep in the beds after all. Her willingness to accept this without asking any questions reveals the ignorance of the animals. This ignorance is taken advantage of again by the pigs when they change the Fifth Commandment which used to read: “No animal shall drink alcohol” (Orwell 23) to “No animal shall drink alcohol in excess” (Orwell 76). It is the pigs’ selfishness that drives them to change the Seven Commandments behind the animals’ backs, as they wish to unfairly enforce commandments that will allow them to do whatever they please. To ensure the other animals never question their