Power Corrupts in Animal Farm

1258 Words3 Pages

As Lord Acton once said “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” (1887). As we look back into history we find that leaders tend to change after taking power. All they need is one little spark to light up something bad. One little change here, one little change there is all it takes. Napoleon, in George Orwell’s Animal Farm changes one rule after another to fit him and Squealers needs, thus corrupting them in the end. Napoleon and Squealer show that power corrupts leaders through their actions and attitudes toward the society and the animals that work to do the best they can to improve the Farm. George Orwell had gotten the idea of Animal Farm by watching someone whip a cart horse. When he saw this it made him think of the working class, the people that have been treated horribly by Capitalist Governments with long hours and low wages. Animal Farm was written to be an example of how Totalitarianism destroys human dignity. It wasn’t just about Stalin, but about all dictators. In Animal Farm, animals were used to represent people in history. Old Major was a boar who believed in a society run by animals without the help of humans. He spreads the idea to the rest of the farm animals and they quickly accept. This meant that the animals would have to revolt against the farm owner Mr. Jones and his wife for this to work. Old Major dies of old age a couple days later. Old Major represents Karl Marx. Old Major’s speech parallels with Marx’s philosophy on a perfect socialistic society. With the animals on the farm they are basically working for Jones. Marx believed that a minority of people holding the power was a main flaw of capitalism. The animals of the farm revolted after Old Major’s death just as the Bolsheviks revolted... ... middle of paper ... ...d from the trust of the other animals on the farm. Corruption only leads to the death of innocence. Works Cited “Animal Farm: Power Corrupts.” Rev. of Animal Farm. Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. . Lamont, George J. “Animal Farm - Comparison of Characters to the Russian Revolution.” Rev. of Animal Farm. Barney Gonzaga.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. . May, Charles E. Masterplots II: British Common Wealth Fiction Series. Pasadena, California: Salem, 1987. 1-3. British Common Wealth Fiction Series. Literary Reference Online. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Sigent, 1996. Print. Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of George Orwell's Animal Farm

    457 Words  | 1 Pages

    At the beginning of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, an aging pig named Old Major gives a speech to the rest of the animals. In his speech, he explains to them how awful their lives are in order to shows them that the Rebellion against Man, their one true enemy, will come soon. Old Major appeals to the animal’s emotions by using rhetorical questions and fear to effectively persuade the animals of the coming Rebellion.

    Read More

  • Power And Corruption In George Orwell's Animal Farm

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Cruelty in animal Farm

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    This story Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel about an animal revolution over an oppressive farmer. The irony in the story comes when the pigs turn into the very thing revolted against. They exhibit the same cruelty by treating the other animals the same or even worse than previous owners. This cycle of cruelty is shown in the Russian revolution by Joseph Stalin who is represented by Napoleon in the story. Cruelty in animal farm is shown by the human’s treatment of the animals, and the animal’s eventual treatment of each other and the ironic characteristics of the two.

    Read More

  • Human Nature in Animal Farm

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel based on the lives of a society of animals living on the Manor Farm. Although the title of the book suggests the book is merely about animals, the story is a much more in depth analysis of the workings of society in Communist Russia. The animals are used as puppets to illustrate how the communist class system operated and how Russian citizens responded to this. And also how propaganda was used by early Russian leaders such as Stalin, and the effort this type of leadership had on the behavior of the people of Russia.

    Read More

  • Critique of Communism in Animal Farm by George Orwell

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...re breaking every rule that they themselves had put forth in accordance with Old Major’s revolutionary vision. Animal Farm was a mirror image of communism gone awry in the Soviet Union. It also shows Marx’s naivety of the fact that there will always be the clever that take advantage of the ignorant. By keeping the population ignorant, the clever gain even more power, which is was happened in the Soviet Union and Animal Farm. The ones that took part in the revolutions would never realize that they were holding the short end of the stick, just as they were in their previous state of affairs. They were cold, miserable, and starving. In their brainwashed state they still believed that the dismal state they were in was better than their situation before the revolution. George Orwell finished his book on a somber note, the state in which Joseph Stalin left the Soviet Union.

    Read More

  • Symbolism of Orwell's Animal Farm

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    Soon after they take over the farm, the animals create a system called Animalism. Animalism is based on th...

    Read More

  • Animal Farm And The Russian Revolution

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is a great example of allegory and political satire. The novel was written to criticize totalitarian regimes and particularly Stalin's corrupt rule in Russia. In the first chapter, Orwell gives his reasons for writing the story and what he hopes it will accomplish. It also gives reference to the farm and how it relates to the conflicts of the Russian revolution. The characters, settings, and the plot were written to describe the social upheaval during that period of time and also to prove that the good nature of true communism can be turned into something atrocious by an idea as simple as greed.

    Read More

  • Animal Farm: An Allegory of Russian History

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main characters of Animal Farm is an allegorical parallel of Joseph Stalin. Napoleon is the pig that emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the Rebellion. He represents the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in Animal Farm, but can easily stand for any of the great dictators in world history. Napoleon seems at first to be a good leader, but he is eventually overcome by greed and becomes power-hungry. Stalin was the same in Russia, leaving the original equality of socialism behind, giving himself all the power and living in luxury while the peasants suffered. While Stalin’s national and international status flourished, the welfare of Russia remained unchanged. In Animal Farm, Orwell writes a similar thing: “Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves richer – except of course the pigs and the dogs.” In the novel, Napoleon openly seizes power for himself by using the dogs he trained to chase Snowball off Animal Farm. He banishes Snowball with no justification and rewrites history in order to further his own ends. Similarly, Stalin forced Trotsky from Russia and seized control of Russia. Stalin used his secret police ...

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Russian Revolution And Animal Farm

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Warnings in George Orwell's Animal Farm

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    George Orwell's goal in writing the novel Animal Farm was to portray the events surrounding the Russian revolution that took place in 1917. Orwell's tale of Animal Farm is seemingly a story of how a group of farmyard animals plot to overthrow their owner and seize control of the land. The novel seems to be a simple story, however Orwell wrote this book as an allegory, a story that has a clear secondary meaning beneath is literal sense. Everything in Animal Farm is used to represent people and events that took place during the Russian revolution from 1917-1939. Orwell chose to represent Russia's three famous leaders during this time with three pigs. Each three are drastically different and have dissimilar beliefs. Snowball representing Leon Trotsky, Napoleon by Josef Stalin and Old Major by Karl Marx. Orwell wrote this and many other books as warnings. The warning is that people must change their ways, or we are most surely doomed.

    Read More

  • Totalitarianism in Animal Farm

    1637 Words  | 4 Pages

    Animal Farm by George Orwell is a satire of the Russian Revolution that took place during the late 1930s. Orwell uses vibrant characters such as Snowball, Old Major, and Napoleon to represent some of Russia’s horrific past. While Old Major represents the idea of revolution and Snowball represents the idea of industrialism, Napoleon represents the totalitarian dictatorship in Russia. Animal Farm is a good example of what happened to Russia during this time period. While Animal Farm could represent any dictatorship, it more specifically represents the totalitarianism brought on by Joseph Stalin through communism.

    Read More

  • How Power Corrupted the Pigs in Animal Farm by George Orwell

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely is a concept widely understood after having read Orwell’s satire. It is first shown when the pigs take the milk and apples, explaining to the rest of the animals that everyone is equal, but some are just more “equal” than others. They also argue that the pigs do more thinking, and therefore need more energy to do so. It is in the latter part of the book, that the concept of

    Read More

  • How Does Napoleon Gain Power In Animal Farm

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Corruption In Animal Farm

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Leadership's Corruption as Represented in Animal Farm

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    George Orwell represents leadership as an easily corrupted and abused power through the characters throughout the novel, Animal Farm. This source of power has been used by leaders at the expense of their followers for their own personal gain, like Napoleon, the other pigs, and even including Snowball to an extent, who‘s first sign of corruption occurred early in the book when they took the milk harvested from the cows while the other animals were working. The pigs' corruption, excluding Snowball, grew worse and over time made life extremely difficult for the animals. In addition to this, the animals were forced to work more hours and rations were constantly being cut, yet the pigs still convinced them that they were living a better life. As well as the pigs, other characters of the book have also abused their leadership and showed signs of corruption. Mr Jones abused his lea...

    Read More

More about Power Corrupts in Animal Farm

Open Document