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Literary response paper to animal farm
Literary response paper to animal farm
Broader analysis of the book animal farm
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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 …show more content…
The disappearance of the milk grew questioning in the animals on the farm, but Napoleon sent Squealer to explain, “Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of the pig (Orwell 36).” They took advantage of the animal’s knowledge by saying it was for the animals sake that they consume the apples and milk to keep the farm running, and threatens the return of Mr. Jones. Napoleon often uses the image of Jones as a scare tactic in order to get the other animals to agree with him. When the scarcity of food increases it is explained as a “readjustment (Orwell 112),” not as a reduction. The animals minds are being manipulated about reality by Napoleon and his growth of power. Throughout Animal Farm’s struggle, Napoleon still receives a fair amount of food, along with the other pigs, as well as the
“Power doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt power” (William Gaddis). This quote describes the leadership of Napoleon in Animal Farm because as a leader, he was dishonest to the animals in order to do what he wanted without their consent and was using his power to his advantage. The book Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is about the Russian Revolution that began on March 8, 1917. It was a revolution in Russia that dismantled Czar Nicholas II and established the Soviet Union. In Animal Farm, it has many references to what occurred in the revolution such as the hens rebelling, the public executions that were led by Napoleon, and the trade between Frederick and Napoleon. In order to know how the events in Animal Farm compare to Russian
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”.
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the pigs take over Manor Farm and dominate the weaker animals by using a combination of strength, fear, and trickery. This book is an allegory to the Russian Revolution, which led to Josef Stalin’s rise to power and the beginning of his dictatorship. In the novel Farmer Jones symbolizes Czar Nicholas II and Napoleon symbolizes Josef Stalin. The animals overthrow their dictator, Farmer Jones, and eventually end up replacing him with another dictator, Napoleon the pig. Napoleon demonstrates how the other farm animals’ weakness can be dominated by strength, fear, and trickery, revealing one of George Orwell’s themes.
Absolute power leads to the corruption of government. In Animal Farm, when a group of mistreated animals rebels against their cruel farm owner, two intelligent pigs on the farm take it upon themselves to lead the animals jointly. However, due to the animals' greedy co-leader Napoleon who dominates that power, the pigs' leadership turns into a corrupt power-hungry government that causes the entire farm system to collapse. In order to secure a life of luxury for Napoleon and his fellow pigs, Napoleon (with Squealer as his spokesman)uses language that intimidates, language that distorts the truth, and language that appeals to the emotions of the animals in order to manipulate gullible animals of Animal Farm.
Jones, a drunk farm owner. The animals the victoriously celebrated their victory on conquering Manor Farm the animals rename it Animal Farm as it is now theirs. They had decided to elect three pigs who were the smartest of the animals to become their new leaders. After a fairly successful first harvest Snowball, a caring pig who works to improve the farm, suggests that the animals build a windmill to help with the harvest, but comrade Napoleon is against this idea, so a debate takes place and the animals decide the concluding answer. “ ‘Comrades I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labor upon himself…’” -Squealer (Orwell 50). After Snowball had been evicted from the farm Napoleon had used the excuse that Snowball simply disregarded the animals and was a false leader. Trust was a tactic used by Napoleon so that the animals wouldn’t question his authority and his actions because after all they should trust a leader that only looks out for their best interests. Napoleon also used Squealer, the propaganda-like pig, to make announcements on how Napoleon was
The history of the human race follows a plot detailing the struggles and triumphs of various individuals with the concepts of power and control. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, these elaborate concepts are further explored through various characters such as the shire boar, Napoleon. Napoleon’s ability to exercise control over the animals derives from his capability to indoctrinate them with his partial ideologies. Napoleon then further clasps his power by his avail of expert power throughout the novel. Finally, the excessive and abusive use of coercive power, secures Napoleon’s control over the animals. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm Napoleon assumes the reins of power over the animals and controls them by means of physiological manipulations.
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.
Like a snake, Napoleon cheated his way through words and overthrew Snowball, only to find out he would steal his justifying ideas after he attained enough authority. Consequently, Napoleon’s corrupt power is evident when the author asserts, “Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoon as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half” (Orwell 29). This is captivating for it exemplifies Napoleon’s tarnished power for he was voluntarily forcing his comrades to work for food on their plate. By withholding food rations, Napoleon has control over all of the animals as food is crucial resource to survival. He promises more food, yet he abused the animals’ inability to remember as a mean of regulating distribution. Subsequently, Napoleon wasn’t barring there, “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 on 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
Pigs walking on two feet, horses and sheep talking. This is how George Orwell satirizes human nature in his classic novel Animal Farm. Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The title of the book is also the setting for the action in the novel. The animals in the story decide to have a revolution and take control of the farm from the humans. Soon the story shows us how certain groups move from the original ideals of the revolution to a situation where there is domination by one group and submission by all the others. The major idea in this story is the political corruption of what was once a pure political ideal. Orwell uses satire to ridicule human traits in his characters such as Napoleon and Squealer. There are several different characters in the novel utilizing animals as symbols of people in real life during the Russian Revolution. Napoleon is the leader of the pigs that ultimately come to dominate the farm. The characteristics that we associate with pigs , lazy, greedy, and pushy are meant to symbolize the characteristics that the leaders of the Russian Revolution exhibited. Napoleon is admired by all of the animals because he is their leader. All of the animals believe that their leader wants to fulfill all of their needs. They also are convinced that Napoleon’s decisions are made the best interest of the animals. Napoleon’s piglike qualities are shown throughout the story. He exhibited greediness when he sold the dying horse, Boxer to a slaughterhouse for money so that he and the other pigs could purchase whiskey. Orwell ridicules human nature through Napoleon in the sense that he is trying to show how the greedy and power hungry eventually end in corruption.
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.
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.
Animal Farm is an allegoric moral satire by George Orwell that depicts the struggles and conflicts of the Russian revolution. The novel can be said to be an intriguing child’s book in which animals could talk and express their opinions. It can likewise be said to be an evaluation of the communist regime, which took place in Russia under the rule of Joseph Stalin. The reader comes across a plethora of interesting characters from whichever perspective it is looked at from, especially the pigs who possess the traits of human behavior. In this essay, I intend to look at how Orwell depicts Napoleon, one of the major characters.
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.
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.
Leaders are not always to be trusted, and this is highlighted in the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell as the message of the text. In Animal Farm, leadership is represented through the actions and personalities of the various characters as a powerful, but easily corruptible force. The Leaders of Animal Farm start off with good intentions but as the story goes on it becomes obvious the leaders have grown power-hungry and have become the ‘superior’ animals, showing that equality does not exist. Propaganda and manipulation play a big part in the novel, stopping the animals from protesting or noticing that their leader was extremely greedy and corrupted. There are excellent leaders as well as awful ones, making it hard to know who to trust in, who to believe and what to do, after all leaders are hard to go against, but a corrupted leader is never a good thing.