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Animal farm and soviet history
Corruption of government in animal farm
Animal farm and soviet history
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The book Animal Farm was written to show the downfall of Soviet Communism using animals. The book shows this through the corruption that the pigs show in their ruling and the brainwashing in their governmental policy of animalism.
Primarily, corruption leads to the failure in the government on Animal Farm. Orwell shows this when the animals come up with the rule "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others"(133). This rule is obviously showing corruption because it doesn’t even make sense. The pigs have put themselves up on a pedestal above every other animal on the farm. This fraudulent government shows the true weaknesses of communism. The ideals of everyone being equal fell into disarray as the pigs had more privileges. Corruption
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For example, when Boxer gets sick the animals were told he was going to the vet but when the van arrived to pick him up the animals saw that on the side of the van said it was a horse slaughterer. This had the animals all freaking out because they knew Boxer was being taken to be killed. After Boxer was taken Squealer came to the animals and told them "the van had previously been the property of the knacker and had been bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted out the name"(Orwell, 125). This commonly happened when something happened that the animals were suspicious about, Squealer would always tell them something to make them happy with what happened. He would brainwash them to believe anything he said no matter how ridiculous. When government authorities lie to their people it is setting them up for a failed government. Another time the animals were brainwashed to believe something that wasn't true was when the windmill was first destroyed by a windstorm. Napoleon saw it in ruins he cried out "Snowball has done this thing"(Orwell,82). When their leader says it they believe it, even if they thought otherwise first. Lying the animals was easy since they weren't very smart, and the pigs knew that and used it to their advantage. They were lied to and told when anything bad happened, it was Snowball's fault. Brainwashing isn't going to help your government succeed, if anything it's
animals believed Squealer was telling the truth about them, even after they found him one
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
Comrade Napoleon, the pig on the farm was effectively the Joseph Stalin equivalent of the revolution. The dogs followed Napoleon around like the KGB or secret police to Stalin. The dogs were devoted to Stalin and hurt those who were opposed to them. “Immediately the dogs bounded forward, seized four of the pigs by the ear and dragged ...
As Napoleon's spokesman, Squealer uses intimidation to prevent the animals from questioning the intentions of Napoleon and his fellow pigs. He first uses intimidation on the night that the animals question why the pigs get to receive the missing milk from the harvest. "'Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!'" Squealer intimidates them by inferring that the consequence of not preserving the milk for the pigs is Jones's return, which is a false exaggeration. However, his attack on their vulnerability to the government and the security that they are provided with by the pigs causes the animals to trust Squealer's word and willingly supply the pigs with the milk as the pigs' personal luxury. When Clover also questions why only the pigs are enabled to use beds, a human mechanism, Squealer intervenes by saying, "' You would not rob us of our repose, would you comrades?'" Squealer here uses reverse psychology to intimidate Clover by accusing her and the others of denying the pigs' comfort...
Just as Stalin did in Russia, through their use of propaganda, the pigs gain power by manipulating the lower level animals through their use of simplicity and repetition, lying, and gaining trust. In Animal Farm, the pigs relate and connect to Joseph Stalin and the Russian Revolution because they both had power and gained leadership through agitprop techniques (Stults). “How easily totalitarian propaganda can control the opinion of enlightened people.” -George Orwell.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm farm animals drive their cruel owner out to have independence. After this rebellion, the pigs being naturally smart take the role as leaders. The pigs are able to keep their rule because they take advantage of the animals’ horrible memory and lie about the past in order to benefit themselves and sustain a better rule for the future.
In Orwell's Animal Farm, the animals revolt against the cruel human leaders and set up a better method of farm management where all animals are equal. As time passes, the new leaders become greedy and corrupt, and the other animals realize conditions are just as miserable as before. There is a major connection between Animal Farm and Russian communism. The pigs are one of the most significant of these connections, representing the communist rulers of Russia, like Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Their traits, personalities, and actions are similar to the actual men in power. In the novel Animal Farm, the pigs represent the communist leaders of Russia in the early 1900s.
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. The first way the pigs use language to abuse their power is by using extensive detail and by using terms and vocabulary foreign to most animals. An example of the pigs using unknown terms can be found when Squealer explains to the other animals how hard the pigs need to work to keep the farm running.
Squealer uses propaganda such as rhetorical questions, lies and threats to convince the animals to believe the pigs. Unfortunately for the animals, they are easily led. If it were not for their blind devotion, trust and naivety, they could easily see how the pigs gradually gained power. The pigs also use the dogs as force to keep the animals ‘in line’, discouraging them from trying to rebel.
By first using propaganda to persuade the animals that Snowball was an enemy, Napoleon’s rise to power began. Snowball was Napoleon’s only real threat to assuming leadership. In the story, the two pigs always disagreed with each other. The other animals were divided equally in supporting either Snowball or Napoleon. By spreading the rumor that Snowball was a traitor, Napoleon was able to drive Snowball from the farm and become the leader of Animal Farm with no one to oppose him. Napoleon, with the help of Squealer, turned all the animals against Snowball. Squealer, who was a masterful manipulator, played an important part in convincing the animals that Snowball was an enemy. Naming Snowball as a “traitor”, Squealer played on the animals’ fear of humans and told them that Snowball had been a spy for the humans. The animals believed Squealer and thought that Snowball was only trouble on the farm. They later suspected that S...
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.
Through use of language, the pigs appeal to the animals basic hopes and desires of a better life and a better future. They make others work extremely hard, while they themselves rest and unfairly reap most of the benefits of the work. For example, “Now comrades,... to the hayfield! Let us make it a point of honor get in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men do.” Later in chapter three, Squealer is sent to justify the pigs selfishness and to convince the animals that the pigs are working in their favor. He said, “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples...Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig...the whole management and organization of this farm depend on us.” This how the animals are persuaded to believe almost anything without question.
During 1917, Russia underwent one of the most famous revolutions in history; with the sole intention to improve the nation. However, the original plan for the revolution was quickly put aside as the new leaders began to abuse their power; this brought on more than two years of slaughter and economic decrease. Within the text Animal Farm, George Orwell portrays the working class animals as naïve, while also having a lack of personal awareness; the pigs, however, were corrupted and manipulative. The pig’s hypocrisy against their own rules and ideas lead them to become the farms most powerful figure. Nevertheless, none of this would have been possible without the animals constantly turning a blind eye and failing to acknowledge when they were
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a political satire of a totalitarian society ruled by a mighty dictatorship, in all probability a fable for the events surrounding the Russian Revolution of 1917. The animals of “Manor Farm” overthrow their human master after a long history of mistreatment. Led by the pigs, the farm animals continue to do their work, only with more pride, knowing that they are working for themselves, as opposed to working for humans. Little by little, the pigs become dominant, gaining more power and advantage over the other animals, so much so that they become as corrupt and power-hungry as their predecessors, the humans.
The author of the novel “Animal Farm” George Orwell once wrote “every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been against totalitarianism”. Similarly “Animal Farm” also highlight about the totalitarianism. As all other revolutions, the revolution of animal farm also arises with the dream for a better and more perfect society which transfers in to a totalitarian night mare with the urge for the power in the minds of animals, who symbolizes the people who live in society. “Animal Farm is a satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism during the Stalin era. In the novel Orwell uses pigs to represent the ruling class and throughout the story he represent how the ruling class people spread and improve their power employing pigs as the characters.