Commandments In Animal Farm

The novel Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory to the Russian Revolution. It describes USSR dictator Stalin as Napoleon; and Trotsky as Snowball, a brilliant deliverer. However, Napoleon overthrows Snowball and utilizes the animal’s flaws such as their poor memories, weak strength, and gullibility to maintain control over them and the farm. Modifying things in the present can change the perception of the past. After Napoleon had executed the animals for confessing their wrongdoings, Muriel was asked to read the commandment: “‘No animal shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE.’ Somehow or other, the last two words had slipped out of the animals' memory” (page 56). However, if we look back at the original commandments Snowball wrote, the 6th one only says: “No animal shall kill any other animal.” (page 16). The past is in the form of the commandments as the animals had lived by them since they were written, and changing them would also change their beliefs. Due to their bad memories, they could not compare the modified one with the original rule, enabling the pigs to continue abusing it. Through the change of the commandments, the pigs were able to alter how the animals perceived the past, and ultimately leading up to the present

At one point of the story, He pulls the sheep aside for privacy reasons to teach them a new song. Later, when the animals were about to speak up after spotting Squealer with a whip, the sheep starts yelling: “‘Four legs good, two legs BETTER!’... And by the time the sheep had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed” (page 83). Squealer prepares by teaching the chant to the sheep so they can distract the animals at the right time and get them to lose their train of thought about what they were going to say, and forget any rebellious thoughts. Through the act of teaching the chant early on, Squealer forges himself a method to get away with carrying a