Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The theme of power corrupts in animal farms
The theme of power corrupts in animal farms
The role of Napoleon in the animal farm
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The theme of power corrupts in animal farms
Dictatorship
Napoleon, the leader of the Animal Farm, was a tyrannous pig. Napoleon was always the second in command behind Snowball until he chased him out and became the leader. Soon after that he became a cruel leader that killed his animals and lied to them. Napoleon was an evil dictator that ruled with lies and corruption.
Napoleon shows that power leads to greed. He broke the Animal Farm rules so he could live more luxuriously than the other animals. On pg 67 Napoleon says “ We pigs now sleep in the beds in the farmhouse”. Because of Napoleon saying this one can tell that he thinks just because the pigs have power that they can lie to the other animals to get what they want. On pg 109 Muriel read “ No animal shall drink alcohol to excess”. To excess is italicized because in the book it is shown that Squealer changed the rule to make it so Napoleon could drink alcohol even though the original farm rules didn’t allow it. Napoleon changing the rules is another example of him breaking the rules just to get what he wants because he can.
…show more content…
Napoleon is a very cruel leader.
He mistreated and harmed animals to show that he was in command. On pg 55 Squealer says “discipline, comrades, iron discipline”. Squealer said that to show that Napoleon would not allow any form of disobedience and if you did disobey him, he would not mind harming or even killing to set an example of discipline. On pg 124 Squealer says “ It was the most affecting sight I have ever seen. Boxer was given the best care and medicines all bought generously by Napoleon”. Because of Squealer defending Napoleon, the animals believed him and didn’t understand that Boxer was being brought to the knackers where they will kill him and only pretend to mind about him dying. Also because of this, one can tell that Napoleon doesn’t mind lying to his animals and isn’t afraid of doing and saying things he has to do to keep his
power. Napoleon ruled with lies. He made up things about other animals to make him look better. On pg 74 Squealer says “ Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start”. As a result of Squealer saying that, he convinces the other animals that Napoleon is the good guy and that Snowball was the bad guy. This also shows that Napoleon doesn’t mind having his fellow pigs lie for him because he is too cowardly to do it himself. On pg 82 Squealer says “ We have reason to believe that some of Snowball’s secret agents are lurking among us at this moment”. Because of Squealer saying this, one can tell that Napoleon is not just willing to lie, but he doesn’t seem to care if his lies cause hurt and harm because they are killing Snowball’s secret agents. That is shown when he lies to get the other animals to lie for him and sacrifice themselves to help him. Napoleon was a cruel tyrannous pig that didn’t care about how his animals were doing as long as his corrupted government was lying for him. He also mind getting the other pigs to make new rules and change rules to make it easier for him to rule. As James Oppenheim said: power and action does not lead to freedom and happiness.
Throughout the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell, the protagonist Napoleon emerges as an active political member in a utopian communist society after the animal revolution with the intention of benefiting society as a whole. Napoleon eventually turns into a ruthless dictator without any political opposition. Napoleon’s Transition from political activist, to unitary political figure, to ruthless dictator brings a whole new meaning to the statement, “power corrupts”.
..., wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, and engaging in trade. He even resorts to tyrannizing and killing his own kind. When Napoleon distorts the constitution he uses trickery and propaganda to persuade the other animals of its importance, and when this fails he uses fear. In the end, the animals become weak and Napoleon dominates them with his strength using fear and trickery as his tools.
Napoleon had strong support system that consisted of most of the animals on the farm and everyone looked up to him. His strongest supporters were Squealer, the dogs, Boxer, and the sheep. Squealer did many things throughout the book that show his loyalty to Napoleon. Changing the commandments and being Napoleon’s voice were the main ways Squealer supported Napoleon ( ). The dogs were Napoleon’s way of using scare tactics and intimidation. They did anything that Napoleon commanded them to do. The dogs main impact on the story was when they chased Snowball off the farm and when they oversaw the slaughtering of all the animals ( ). “Napoleon is always right,” was Boxer’s motto and he always blindly supported Napoleon ( ). The sheep would save Napoleon when he did not know how to talk his way out of something by yelling out “four legs good, two legs bad!” ( )
In order to secure a life of luxury for he and his fellow pigs, Napoleon, along with Squealer as his spokesman, uses language that intimidates, language that distorts the truth, and language that appeals to the emotions of the others to manipulate the gullible animals of Animal Farm. Napoleon's life of luxury included the milk, human beds, alcohol, money, a par education, and the surrounding of his fellow pigs to emotionally and physically stabilize him. However it tampered with a more crucial goal, which was the goal for the equivalent animals lesser than him to prosper equally with him as well. His abuse of his absolute power by ordering his guard dogs to drive his adversary out of competition, and his tactics to silence the animals from rebelling again made his leadership corrupt, and the entire existence of the post-rebellion corrupt as well.
Two specific quotes support the opinion that Napoleon is the most negative behaved animal in Animal Farm. “...Napoleon stood up and... uttered a high-pitched whimper... and nine enormous dogs... came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball”(52,53). This quote tells just a little bit about how dangerous Napoleon can be. He raised the dogs from birth saying that he would be responsible for their “education”, when truly he was training them to help him take over the farm. He had them attack Snowball because he was the only one standing in the way of him taking over the farm. “When they finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess”(84). In this quote Napoleon had animals killed in a terrible way. They had their throats torn out for something they didn’t do. They confessed only because of the stress, everyone would believe their leader Napoleon over the animals that confessed. When Old Major first started the revolution he said that no animal should ever kill another. Even when Napoleon and Snowball thought up the Seven Commandments they came up with “No animal shall kill any other animal” for the sixth commandment. There is no further evidence needed to confirm the fact that Napoleon is the most negative animal in Animal
...d have his rations reduced by half” (Page 40). Here, Napoleon’s forces the animals to work and controls them while hiding behind the façade of the fact that the work is voluntary. Thus, Napoleon does not set himself as a target for the animals and, hence the animals do not aim for him or try to revolt. Overall, Napoleon’s use of coercive power allows him to exercise control over the society of Animal Farm.
One of the main characters of Animal Farm is the heartless and merciless leader Napoleon. Napoleon is a leader that prefers to have things his way and not cooperate with others, in other words really obnoxious. For example “He declared himself against the windmill from the start. One day, however, he arrived unexpectedly to examine the plan. He walked heavily round the sled, looked closely at every detail of the plans and snuffed at them once or twice, then stood for a little while contemplating them out of the corner of his eye; then suddenly lifted his leg, urinated over the plans and walked out without uttering a word.”(Page 33, chapter5) Thus, this proves that Napoleon is an obnoxious pig because just because he was against Snowball’s windmill idea he urinated all over his work so he could get his way.
The statement, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”, simply means that the more power one has – the more control one has over people – then the more corrupt it is possible for that person to become. This statement is certainly correct if the person with the power has certain proclivities towards corruption. There are many examples in the book, “Animal Farm”, by George Orwell, of power corrupting those in charge because they had these tendencies. In the story, the most powerful animals are the two pigs, Napoleon and, to a lesser degree, Snowball. During the course of the story these pigs used their power to get more power, and in the process their inclinations towards corruption triumphed. When Old Major, the boar who came up with the idea of all animals uniting against humans, died, Napoleon and Snowball saw an opportunity where they could take control and took it. Napoleon used force to get rid of Snowball and take all the power for himself, and he used fear to keep the other animals from revolting. He used scapegoats so that he could not be blamed for anything that went wrong, and propaganda to brainwash the animals into loyal slaves. Napoleon changed and broke the commandments of Animal Farm to benefit himself, and he lacked empathy for all those who worked hard for him, executing those that might cause him trouble.
He promised more food, yet he abused the animals’ inability to remember as a means of regulating distribution. Subsequently, Napoleon wasn’t barring, “In April, Animal Farm was proclaimed a Republic, and it became necessary to elect a President. There was only one candidate, Napoleon, who was elected unanimously” (Orwell 54). How fortunate must’ve Napoleon been to inherit full authorization from Animal Farm? Once Napoleon orders the execution of the pigs and the hens, there is an immediate descent into supplementary betrayal, which leads to Boxer’s passing and despotism.
From the very beginning, Napoleon started breaking the commandment that stated all animals are equal. He had all the milk and apples set aside for the pigs. He put forth the idea that the pigs depended on these things for survival, and that it was in the interest of the entire farm that they be set aside for them. The others were convinced by Squealer’s arguments that
First of all, Napoleon is a huge Berkshire boar and he clearly is the most powerful of all the animals. He was able to take complete leadership of the farm because he secretly trained the dogs to attack Snowball. George Orwell writes, “ ‘Never mind the milk, comrades!’ cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. ‘That will be attended to, the harvest is more important’ (817). Napoleon is quite demanding none of the animal’s even question his authority because they know that he has more control than any other animal. Throughout the novel Orwell has many quotes that describe Napoleon as a leader, “ ‘long live Comrade Napoleon’ ” (846). All the animals on the farm (no matter what Napoleon did to them) would treat him as a powerful leader and whatever he said they would do. Often Orwell stirs up controversy about the rebellion, “ ‘forward in the name of the rebellion. ‘Long live Animal farm!’ ‘Long live Comrade Napoleon!’ ‘Napoleon is always right.’ Those were his very last words, comrades’ ” (849). Squealer’s letting everyone know that no matter what happens to Animal Farm, just remember that Napoleon was an outstanding leader most of the time. Napoleon was an outstanding leader and contributor to Animal Farm without his power the farm would have collapsed earlier.
He is also a coward by nature not much of a bigmouth or a braggart, but with a reputation for having his way in the sense that he does not put himself as the spearhead, instead with enthusiasm he decides to coach a litter of puppies belonging to Jessie and Bluebell. He trains this pack for his own good thereby making them his ferocious trustworthy soldiers, which he uses as a violent means of imposing his will on others. These helped him in hiding the notion of affluent living, which he reserved exclusively for himself whilst he operated through cruelty and treachery. Napoleon who was a spiteful tyrant by nature uses cunning oratory skills to spread propaganda and favorable support for him through the help of Squealer. Squealer is used as Napoleon’s own network for spreading beliefs; Squealer in this book possesses the power to manipulate the animals with his orating capabilities with great skill.
Napoleon was a leader who led with an iron fist. A fist he used to secretly abuse his fellow animal. He began by raising several ferocious dogs to aid him in enforcing his rules, laws, and expectations. Using them, he abruptly ended Snowballs reign by using the dogs to exile him from the farm. Shortly after, he halted the construction of the windmill. More often than not he would cleverly work his way around the seven commandments by altering them to his pleasure. For example, 'Now animal shall drink alcohol to excess.'; Or 'No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.'; Napoleon grounded the rations of each and every animal. The farm slowly fell into a dark abyss with every wretched move Napoleon made.
Lord Acton, the British historian once said, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the author gives many examples of how power is used to manipulate and produce fear. In this book the main character, Napoleon, became a master of using various tactics to gain and maintain power over the rest of the animals. Napoleon used propaganda, manipulation and fear to gain more loyalty and power throughout the farm.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a main theme is that power corrupts those who possess it. A definition of corruption is,“dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.” Orwell develops this idea through the character Napoleon in various ways. Looking back in the book, the animal’s rebellion quickly turned political and revolved around, “Leader, Comrade Napoleon (Orwell 81)”. The power Napoleon possed was executed through lies and selfishness, aided by the lack of intellectual ability in the other animals. The corruption of Napoleon’s power is displayed when he favors himself, along with the other pigs, and eventually the dogs, who all get better rations of food compared to the other animals. Another main demonstration of how power corrupts Napoleon is how he separates himself from the other animals on the farm, displaying his feelings if superiority to the other animals. A ceremonial nature develops towards Napoleon. The last way power corrupts Napoleon is how he acts recklessly; killing other animals and lying about