Have you ever felt that your government was lying to you? Hiding things, changing things behind your back, or convincing you they never said things that you distinctly recall them saying? In the book Animal Farm by twentieth century British author George Orwell many of the animals on the farm felt the same way. They also had suspicions about how honest their leaders were, but like most of society when rulers make excuses or explain their reasoning, citizens almost immediately believe or forgive them. Most of society prefers to be treated like a faceless heard, preferring to let someone rule and control them so they don't have to make any big economic choices on their own, but what most people don't consider is that when you grant someone the power to rule a district, were also granting the power to control that districts inhabitants. No matter how wrong it feels in our hearts, society will believe lies and turn its head to injustices if the man in charge has a good enough excuse, it's no secret that mankind allows itself to be easily persuaded and taken advantage of by it’s dignitaries. Soon after the expulsion of Jones commandments and rules were set in motion to give order to Animal Farm, yet the guidelines weren’t followed by all of the animals on the farm. After Jones had been run off the farm the animals decided to explore the farmhouse, upon exploring the house “a unanimous resolution was passed on the spot that the farmhouse should be preserved as a museum. All were agreed that no animal must ever live there”(pg 23). Everyone on the farm agreed that no animal would ever inhabit that house, yet months later no one put up a fuss when the pigs took it upon themselves to obliterate that rule. “It was about this time that the ... ... middle of paper ... ...id brutes, too ignorant to realize what was happening…”(pg 123) once again let themselves be tricked by the pigs. Throughout the book we see tales of manipulation by the pigs to the farm animals, without the animals the pigs would have never risen to power yet they let their power go to their head and lied and mistreated the animals to get what they wanted. The beasts had several chances to revolt against the pigs, yet for some reason they turned their heads to the injustice an ignored their senses of both reason and logic, maybe they feared having to be in charge, maybe they were just too naive to see it, or perhaps they truly believed the lies. Whatever their reasoning we see the same things in human society, and George Orwell does a good job of displaying to us how willing society is to turn its head to injustice and consents to being exploited by a higher power.
In the beginning of the text, “all animals are equal” (Orwell 6) and are united under the common goal of freeing themselves from “the tyranny of human beings” (5). However, life on the farm progresses in a manner contradictory to this initial belief, and ultimately does not benefit the masses. Rather, it is driven exclusively by and for the privileged elite, “the cleverest of animals” (9): the pigs. Napoleon and his supporters are able to impose their authority upon the “lower animals” (92) by using language to create “the seven commandments” (15), and consequently re-creating them when they see fit. For example, it was declared in the Commandments that “no animal shall kill any other animal” (61). Yet, when the very pigs that created the law break it, it is re-written such that “no animal shall kill any other animal without cause” (61). These subtle manipulations take place consistently throughout the story, until all previous laws are eradicated and replaced with one overarching commandment: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (90). Here Orwell highlights the fact that by re-writing the past, those in power are able to directly control the future. By monopolizing language, they monopolize progress. Without “the words to express” (59) their opposition, the animals lack agency and are effectively silenced, forced to accept what is written “on the
Being uneducated affected all the animals in a very negative way by resulting in the animals getting looked down upon. The pigs were known to be superior and the uneducated animals were looked at as the “working class”. Being educated had plenty of benefits such as all of the pigs took their meals into the kitchen to eat, the pigs even used the drawing room as a recreation room and they even slept in the beds, which breaks one of the seven commandments. “Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing room as a recreation room, but they also slept in the beds.”(66). This quote specifically explained how the educated or the superior animals got more benefits over the non educated animals. The pigs got all of the power on the farm which left no power or rights to all of the other non educated animals on the farm.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, greed is a great influence for many of the pigs’ words and actions. Their greediness began as a small thing when they started ruling the other animals, but as time went on, their greed grew stronger and they wanted more and more, causing them to take more and more from the other animals. This is one way in which the pigs are like humans, with their ability to be influenced by greed when they gain too much power. In this way, it shows how any creature can become corrupted by greed and its power to overwhelm anything good.
The actions of the pigs express this theme by starting with good intentions, but slowly becoming more and more like what they were trying to avoid. In the beginning of the story Old Major gives a speech to the animals on the farm, and in this speech he mentions how cruel the humans are. During his speech Old Major uses Boxer the horse as an example when he says “You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds.” (Orwell 11). He then proceeds to tell the animals that once they revolt the cruelty will end, and at first it does, but soon the pigs begin to act more like humans. The pi...
Later on in the book is when the pigs really start to receive treatment that no other animals get. For example, on page 99 it says, “when a pig and any other animal meet on a path, the other animal must step aside.” Page 104 says, “there was a schoolhouse built for the pigs.” The pigs are teaching the younger pigs that they are of higher power. They want to remain higher than all of the other animals. Another time is when Napoleon sends Boxer to a slaughterhouse but tells all the animals that he was sent to a doctor. Squealer convinces them that Boxer died peacefully and uses ethos and pathos when he says that Boxers last words were: “Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is always right.” Squealer tells them this because many of the animals look up to Boxer so they will follow his words. One of the Seven Commandments was: Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. On page 117, the pigs walk out of the the farmhouse on their hind legs. Yet not one animal speaks up because they are now all terrified. The next day, all pigs who are supervising are carrying whips. Still, not one animal speaks because no one wants to be killed. In the end, the pigs end up being just like the humans, they are the enemy too. The animals never put a stop to this because they were always told that this needed to happen if they did
The pigs in George Orwell’s Animal Farm use specific laws, use unknown vocabulary and excruciating detail, implement scare tactics, and create and manipulate law to successfully attain the other animal’s trust, acquire certain luxuries unavailable to most animal, and establish themselves as the dictators of a totalitarian-like society. Through using detail, unknown vocabulary, specific laws, and scare tactics, the pigs acquire the ability to drink alcohol, sleep on beds, eat and drink the milk and apples, destroy Snowball’s credibility, and establish a trust between themselves and the other animals. From Orwell’s Animal Farm, one realizes how leaders with absolute power use carefully manipulated language to abuse their power.
After the Animal Revolution the pigs take the initiative and place themselves in charge because of their claim of having higher intelligence. Over time this power begins to distort the basis of their revolt by recreating the same social situation they were previously in. “When the pigs takeover they claim that their goal is to preside a farm of equal animals, all working together to support one another, yet power quickly proves too much for a pig.” Though the animals originally took over the farm to increase the animal’s independence as a whole, because of the pig’s superiority they soon take the place of the humans further limiting their independence.
The cyclic nature of political revolutions and the uneven distribution of power creates a problematic and dystopic society. This is depicted in George Orwell’s dystopian, allegorical novella “Animal Farm”. This provides a warning against revolutions as he suggests that revolutions are detrimental to a society and its working class citizens. His novel depicts the unfavourable aspects of the human condition, and the terrible effects they can have on society if political leaders are not regulated. Orwell argues that a political revolution leads to an uneven division of power between citizens and their leaders, and this creates problems within politics such as corruption and propaganda.
" The fact that the pigs receive more food than the other harder working animals, shows that the farm is full of inequality. This type of governing is wrong, and Orwell wants it to stop. Less power should be given to the leader, so that the leader and his followers can be more equal. Once a group or an individual obtains power, it is impossible to manage it correctly. & nbsp
Vrisha Shah, Arega Dawit, Sri Manasvi Koppaka Ms. Brown English 9-1 Period 12 11 March 2024 The Manipulative Tactics of Power by the Pigs Control is defined as the power to influence and direct, but this power is sometimes obtained using rhetorical strategies to gain control over others. Animal Farm by George Orwell is a story inspired by the dream of creating a utopian society. It revolves around Manor Farm’s transformation to Animal Farm, where the animals overthrow their human owner, Mr. Jones, aiming for equality. Led by pigs like Napoleon and Snowball, they establish a system of governance based on the principles of Animal Farm, shown in the seven commandments.
Stalin as a dictator, shared no power, and didn’t give his people the equality nor the rights they deserved. Orwell demonstrates these acts of inequality by the actions and several ways, the pigs, who were the main leaders made the animals feel low on the social level. The pigs would constantly manipulate the other animals into making them believe that they had no right to obtain equality due to the abilities they had. During the argument between the pigs and the other animals, concerning the amount of food they were given, Squealer, whose allegorical meaning is the media, manipulated the animals. Squealer stated that if they, the pigs, failed at their duty (which was eating the milk and apples) Mr.Jones, their dishonorable owner, would come back to the farm. (Orwell) Since the animals were afraid of Jones, the pigs would constantly use Mr.Jones as method of fear. At the beginning of the novel, all the animals were convinced that the only way to achieve freedom and equality was to be part and succeed in a rebellion. that they would be part of a rebellion that would lead to freedom and equality, and these animals got neither of both promises. The pigs, just like Stalin and his team, would manipulate their people into believing that the actions they were using and doing against others was for their own good. Soon after the rebellion had succeeded, the
Just as in Animal Farm we see Orwell express a likewise idea. The animals wanted a government without human-like behavior and they got it, post-rebellion. As the story goes on the pigs continually lie to the animals to make they believe what they want them to trust in. “The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was mixed everyday into the pig’s mash…
The Consumption of The Pigs Everyone has their wants and needs. Some people seem to put their wants above their needs, or sometimes above others needs. In the novella Animal Farm, George Orwell describes how the pigs abuse their power by using it in a very dictator like manner. Old Major had set the animals on a path of success to reach their freedom. They had chose to rebel against the farmers which they were successful in doing.
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 is intended that the perfect government utilize its resources to improve the lives of the lives of the citizens that fuel it; sadly, this is not always the case. George Orwell reflects upon the issues of an unsatisfactory government in in his allegory based novel “Animal Farm”. The story follows a group of animals that have rebelled against their owners only to later be thrown back into another tyrannical regime under their so called brethren the pigs. The author wrote “Animal Farm” to bring to light the problems of Russia’s earlier government, he also does this to inform readers of what happens when you accept everything a government says without question.