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Corruption of power in animal farms
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Corruption of power in animal farms
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Lord Acton – a British Historian from the 19th Century once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. His maxim is seen in many cases and is also shown in Orwell’s Animal Farm as power is strength and authority, which is any form of influence, the ability to sway, and control. When an individual is given too much power, a dictatorship is formed – where all decisions are made by one authority. Thus, it is to say that power always causes corruption. In the satire, Old Major, the most respected animal on the farm, had rallied many of the animals on the farm to start a rebellion against Farmer Jones – the owner of the farm. And because Old Major was so respected, he essentially had all the power. But, history has proven that dictatorships don’t always work as all the power easily leads to corruption, which then leads to a communist-style government. The power Old Major had led his comrades into taking actions for his desires, leading to the future tragedies on the farm. Further on in the novel, with the death …show more content…
Both pigs were in constant debate as Snowball proposed an ambitious plan to build a windmill as it would supply “the farm with electrical power.” (23), increasing general comfort and production, although production would decrease until then . While Napoleon argued that “the great need of the moment was to increase food production, and that if they wasted time on the windmill, they would all starve to death.” (24) The debate would finally come to an end when Napoleon “uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before.” (25) Which signaled an attack on Snowball, causing him to run in fear and out of the farm. Thus Napoleon was made the sole leader of Animal Farm. Using his knowledge and support from the pigs and dogs, Napoleon had absolute power over everyone, ruling Animal Farm with an “Iron
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” ("Abraham Lincoln Quote"). Lord Acton also said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (“Lord Acton Quotes”). Both of the quotes show that power is not always a good thing, and can sometimes make good people, do bad things. Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novella about animals rebelling against humans on a farm in England. The novella has been said to be directly related to the Russian Revolution of the early 20th century. Immediately after the animals gained power, the pigs took over as the leaders of the animals. The pigs became corrupt with the power, and may have made conditions worse than they were with humans
The saying “history repeats itself” is used quite often, but how many times have you actually seen it happen? The book Animal Farm portrays the idea of history repeating itself. The character Benjamin and the pigs in the story show history repeating itself throughout the book. In addition to these characters within the book, North Korea displays history's repetition outside the book.
What Goes Around Comes Back Around Eduard Shevardnadze, a Soviet minister of foreign affairs once said “Corruption has its own motivations and one has to thoroughly study that phenomenon and eliminate the foundations that allow corruption to exist.” (www.brainyquote.com) Some people take advantage of power and fail to see that what they are doing, corrupting everything involved. In the Russian Civil War, there were two sides; the reds and the whites. One side had declared “No war, No peace,” which means that if they don’t fight for what they believe in, then there will never be a peaceful place.
Often times in a communist society, a leader’s use of language can lead to abuse of power. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the farm leaders, the pigs, use unknown language, invoke scare tactics, and create specific laws, thereby enabling them to control other animals, to suit their greedy desires, and to perform actions outside their realm of power. Because of the pigs’ use of broad language, implementation of scare tactics, and creation and manipulation of laws, they are able to get away with avoiding laws and convincing other animals into believing untrue stories and lies that are beneficial to the pigs.
There is a substantial amount of conflicts that occur in this satirical story. Often these conflicts are between the pigs and the rest of the animals. Only a minute portion of the animals didn’t really have some sort of conflict with Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, or the rest of the dominating pigs. Overall, Snowball was a better leader than Napoleon, yet the animals reacted differently to Napoleon than to Snowball.
Pigs walking on two feet, horses and sheep talking. This is how George Orwell satirizes human nature in his classic novel Animal Farm. Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The title of the book is also the setting for the action in the novel. The animals in the story decide to have a revolution and take control of the farm from the humans. Soon the story shows us how certain groups move from the original ideals of the revolution to a situation where there is domination by one group and submission by all the others. The major idea in this story is the political corruption of what was once a pure political ideal. Orwell uses satire to ridicule human traits in his characters such as Napoleon and Squealer. There are several different characters in the novel utilizing animals as symbols of people in real life during the Russian Revolution. Napoleon is the leader of the pigs that ultimately come to dominate the farm. The characteristics that we associate with pigs , lazy, greedy, and pushy are meant to symbolize the characteristics that the leaders of the Russian Revolution exhibited. Napoleon is admired by all of the animals because he is their leader. All of the animals believe that their leader wants to fulfill all of their needs. They also are convinced that Napoleon’s decisions are made the best interest of the animals. Napoleon’s piglike qualities are shown throughout the story. He exhibited greediness when he sold the dying horse, Boxer to a slaughterhouse for money so that he and the other pigs could purchase whiskey. Orwell ridicules human nature through Napoleon in the sense that he is trying to show how the greedy and power hungry eventually end in corruption.
Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In history what was viewed as a villain or wrong doer is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing, showcased in Animal Farm as Utopian ideals but with failed practices.
Old Major was a clear leader at first. He was wise and all the animals looked up to him. Soon enough, the result of his death meant someone else would have to take charge and help raise ‘Animal Farm’. The ‘power’ idea clashed when two pigs put their hands up for the crown, but clearly there was only room for one.
The allure of power and the difficulty of resisting said temptation has long been an issue for several rulers. In the metaphorical comparison of the Russian Revolution and Animal Farm by George Orwell, both face the temptation of power and ultimately fall to is corruption. Stalin and his animal representation, Napoleon, are proof that the quote “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” by Lord Acton rings true.
Old Major chose a poor time to launch a rebellion. The dogs showed little care for the outcome of their pups’ upbringing. The hens’ independence could be seen as a bad action to the taking over of the farm. If the sheep were genetically smarter the story’s course could have been changed. Boxer’s tolerance of the pigs could have been a factor leading to his death. Benjamin’s negligence could have been the downfall of the farm. Lastly the remaining pigs selfishness is a contribution leading to the worse then average life of the farm animals. All these animals were responsible for the pigs’ dictatorship.
Old Major, who is a respected animal on the farm, had given a speech to stir the animals emotion into rebellion. He used his power of respect and trust to persuade the others to pursue the vision in his dream. “Old Major was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say” (Orwell 15). Old Major’s dream was for the earth to be ruled by animals. Old Major strongly believed that animals have only one adversary. “Man is the only real enemy we have” (19). His oration inspired and energized the listeners. “At this moment there was a tremendous uproar” (21). Old Major had all the power and history has proven that dictatorship does not work, due to the fact that, power leads to corruption in a communism style government. The power Old Major held led his friends into taking action in what he desired to do, which led to rebellion and future tragedies. Power corrupted society and absolute power that is eventually obtained becomes corrupt within. (Lord Acton).
Harold S. Geneen once said, “Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” Throughout George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, Orwell uses the animals on the farm to criticize the Soviet Union, and portray an analysis of faulty leadership based on historical events (1). There are a variety of animals with different roles on the farm, although very few are capable of operating the farm in a successful manner. Many can argue that Snowball could have been a more suitable leader over Napoleon because Snowball is a pig, but does not act like one. Snowball is everything that Napoleon is not. He believes in being organized and maintaining sustainability within the farm, as opposed to power and sovereignty. His visions to develop
In his novel “Animal Farm,” George Orwell argues how power can damage a person’s/beings morals. By using an allegory to simply define his point, Orwell explains the events that have lead to the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist Era in an elementary manner. Orwell supports his argument by demonstrating how power corrupted, in specific, the character Napoleon and influenced him to dictate the farm even though he originally aimed for a more positive goal. Napoleon’s vulnerability to power proves how easy it is for someone to fall into a desire for control. Orwell’s purpose is to assert how power has corrupted Stalinist Russia and how that power swallowed Stalin himself.
Even though not being smart is still valid and the cause of Manipulation nobody can ignore the fact that not all the animals on the farm aren't intelligent which some protest when they see wrong and get killed that, happened on the farm, and which leads to the brutality and murdering of animals. When the executions of many animals occurred, the animals were in shock to see this happening between them. Even though they may not have been smart as the pigs, or can’t write or read but deep down they know this isn’t the reason they went against their master to have their freedom and probably not to see their comrades get killed in such a cruel way. When they decided to check the commandment that was written and changed slightly by the pigs, of
It was the glorious speech from Old Major that made the animals want to rebel so badly. Animal Farm, written by George Orwell is an excellent novel that portrays the need for power. It shows how power can be used for either good or evil. The story begins on Manor Farm, owned by a farmer named Mr. Jones. One of the pigs, named Old Major, gives a speech that motivates the animals to rebel. After a while, the animals ended up rebelling, and managed to kick out Mr. Jones. During the beginning of “Animal Farm’s” reign under Snowball and Napoleon’s (main characters) lead, it brought the animals on Manor Farm together into a peaceful world. However, after this initial stance of power, Snowball and Napoleon began to fight for it. In the end, Napoleon ends up with control of the farm and Snowball is never seen again. Power is a corrupting influence in Animal Farm and both Snowball and Napoleon’s way of leading are very different.