What does it mean to misuse power? It is the commision of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity. To be given such authority one must be responsible for its use. The author, George Orwell, shows how power is misused throughout the book, Animal Farm. The main character, Napoleon, believed he was the most superlative animal and only cared about his own well being. All the animals believed that if they got rid of the owner, Mr Jones, life for them would be more lavish and free. In fact, it was the other way around. When they officially took over the farm, they built a set of rules called The Seven Commandments. Slowly and slowly, these commandments were forgotten and abused. This happened when the pigs started to think highly of themselves …show more content…
and completely extinguish the fact the all animals are equal. Eventually, this could only lead to only one solution which is the other animals revolting. Clearly, this shows that if one misemploys their control it will lead to conflict. In Animal Farm, authority is abused by the pigs using their intelligence to their advantage, mistreating other animals, and changing the commandments. Intelligence in the novel is a characteristic that all the pigs used as an excuse for them to believe they are worthy enough for such high rank.
In Chapter three it clearly states “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership”. The author is describing when the animals were animals were assigned their duties, the pigs were given less work because of this manipulative idea that their intelligence makes them superior than the others. In time, the pigs will create more excuses for themselves to prove that they deserve more just because of their high intellect which will ultimately end with power being …show more content…
misused. When the animals decided to overthrow Mr. Jones, they all hoped to live together under the idea that all animals are equal. However, slowly overtime the concept changed and the animals besides the pigs were treated unfairly and harshly. In Chapter six the author states “Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and 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 his rations reduced by half.” Thus, this represents how the pigs are mistreating and blackmailing the animals for their own benefit. Napoleon also used his guard dogs to scare and force the animals to do what he wants, otherwise he will command his army to slaughter them on by one. Using brutal force and mistreating others symbolizes the fact that the authority given to the pigs is being misapplied. The Seven commandments were a set of rules that were created for all animals to follow.
Nevertheless, the customs slowly were altered through the story. In Chapter ten the seventh was changed into ,“ ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” Also in chapter six, the fifth commandment is changed into, “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”. The reason why these set of rules are being changed are for the welfare of the pigs. They are living in a life where they are exceeding the boundaries to their power without believing there will be a punishment for it. In contrast, power has corrupted the society of Animal Farm because of the misuse of
authority. To put in briefly, when power is not handled with responsibility corruption and chaos will overflow. The reason why Napoleon was not able to successfully become a good leader and help Animal Farm prosper is because of how the pigs and himself misapplied the given authority. If he had been able to properly handle the capability of using his power the right way, All the animals could still live happy and lavish lives. Unfortunately, because he was greedy and stubborn conflicted permeated throughout the story. It is important to know that with such power comes great responsibility.
The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership. 4
In the early parts of the story it stated “Major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life. They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals. (2.2) Also the pigs persevered to become the most intelligent by setting aside the harness-room as a headquarters for themselves. “Here, in the evenings, they studied blacksmithing, carpentering, and other necessary arts from books which they had brought out of the farmhouse.
Although George Orwell’s Animal Farm was created in order to mimic individuals as well as occurrences that took place during the Russian Revolution period, it is still possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the text without a past knowledge of history through the exploitation of human nature’s imperfections. Following the publishment of his novel, Orwell confirmed that his goal in writing this fable was to expose the wrongdoing of the Soviet Union as well as the treachery of the true ideas of the Revolution. Nonetheless, there have been several other examples of events such as the French Revolution that can effortlessly be contrasted against components of the allegory. However, we need not to dig no deeper than to the fundamental faults in human nature to witness the catastrophic consequences that attributes such as hierarchy, propaganda and betrayal have on today’s society.
After the Animal Revolution the pigs take the initiative and place themselves in charge because of their claim of having higher intelligence. Over time this power begins to distort the basis of their revolt by recreating the same social situation they were previously in. “When the pigs takeover they claim that their goal is to preside a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another, yet power quickly proves too much for a pig.” Though the animals originally took over the farm to increase the animal’s independence as a whole, because of the pig’s superiority they soon take the place of the humans further limiting their independence.
They knew that establishing such a farm would be extremely difficult, nevertheless the thoughts of giving never crossed their minds. They gradually, step by step, started to overcome all the obstacles and hardships on their way to prosperity. Those hardships made clear that the pigs were the most appropriate for a position as a leader. Indeed, the pigs were most intelligent, it was them who were guiding the animals and giving effective advice on farming. Undoubtedly, had it not been for them, the animals would have starved to death not being able to solve the problems regarding ploughing and harvesting.
In Animal Farm, the pigs are first given the leadership position by the other animals, as shown here, "The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals." As shown by the text, the other animals must respect the pigs intelligence, and must value it over all other qualities, as the pigs were given the leadership position. If a different quality was more important, that quality would have been recognized and the animal with that quality would have been
About 80 per-cent of all the animals on Animal Farm completely followed the seven commandments. The other 20 per-cent of the animals would rarely follow all the rules and they were often treated like a piece of dirt. All the animals on Animal Farm were treated differently according to their social status, where in today’s society everyone should treat everyone equally. The characters in Animal Farm had many diverse characteristics, some of the animals were powerful, stupid, and sneaky.
When they put their kind above any other, they truly broke the meaning of animalism. All the laws were changed to one “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than the others,”(pg.134). When the animals found out about this they where mad. The pigs had broke every single law, they even started to walk in two
The pigs misused the power because they wanted to be in control and rule over others. All the other animals on the farm were mistreated because the pigs were in control of everything. Social class was very unfair. All the animals, except for the pigs, had to follow the commandments and work a lot. Language was also very important. Since all the pigs could read and the rest of the farm could not, the pigs verbally abused everyone on the farm. The animals symbolize how humans act when they are in positions of power and how people are
pigs begin to take control. By the end of the novel, the pigs have manipulated the rest of the animals into doing everything they want. The pigs then become almost exactly like the humans. The most important pigs are Napoleon and Snowball, that is until Napoleon
Once the pigs gained power commandments are violated. By the end of the novel in chapter ten, pig and man were to similar and it is written, “but already it was impossible to say which was which.” When the pigs acquired more power they violated the seven commandments. The pigs gained their power through manipulating and outsmarting the other animals.
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
This is shown in Animal Farm, “Years passed ... A time came when no one remembered the old days before the rebellion, except Clover, Benjamin, Moses the raven, and a number of pigs,” (Orwell 117). In the beginning, the sole idea of Animalism was that all animals are created equal. The seven commandments were made to ensure that the animals would never make the same mistakes as humanity had done. By the end of the book, Napoleon and the pigs, who wrote the rules, ended up breaking every single one.
The poor use of power can be viewed as the manipulation of people with the capacity to punish them if they don't cooperate. In the world, the abuse of power is admired and fought over by those who desire it and often feared by those who lack it. In the novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell abuse of power that affects the community is shown through: manipulation of laws, making others believe untrue stories, and manipulating others causing them fear.
Sooner than later, the animals change this commandment, and it is now “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” which is not fair. The most intelligent animals on the farm are the pigs because they are able to understand what is happening, and they become more protective of the farm. He uses the