Examples Of Abuse Of Power In Animal Farm

Corrupt people who abuse their power often break their own rules. Throughout history this trend has been repeated again and again. One instance of abuse of power was Stalin after the Russian Revolutions beginning in 1917. He was power hungry and did not care if rules were broken. The abuse of power is demonstrated in many examples such as stories in novels. In the novel Animal Farm, author George Orwell explores the dangers of the abuse of power through the characters Snowball, Squealer, and Napoleon. One example of Orwell’s depiction of the dangers of the abuse of power involves the character SNowball. Snowball first begins to read and establishes the seven commandments. However, he does not always follow them. Snowball even leaves out the commandment forbidding the trade with humans. Not only that by he over simplifies the commandments with the slogan of “four legs good, two legs bad.” One of the biggest misuses of power is him building the windmill knowing that it would lead to trade with humans which was cleverly left out of the commandments. Snowball has good intentions, yet still misuses his power.

Squealer can turn black to white and white to black. He is in favor of the pigs sleeping in beds with blankets as long as it is not sheets. Clover is quick to assure her the rule has always been, “no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” He is the pig to always calm down the crowd by spreading propaganda and speaking Jargon, which the animals believe since they do not understand. He often threatens the animals to believe the pigs and allow them to do things, because if the do not support the pigs, Jones will appear again. Squealer is a character that is not given much power in official decisions, but does misuse the small power he is