Political parties will do anything for the people in order to get reelected. However, some parties may take matters into their own hands when things do not go their way, and resort to violence and fear in order to abuse their power to stay in control. Napoleon does this repeatedly in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Throughout the novel, Napoleon employs his army of dogs to instill fear and violence in order to suppress any animal that attempts to rebel and speak up for themselves, or even other animals. This allows Napoleon to abuse his power and run the farm without fear of repercussions, no matter how much the other animals oppose his ideas. The order to kill Snowball is the beginning of Napoleon's imposition on other animals that go against …show more content…
“Immediately the dogs bounded forward, seized four of the pigs by the ear and dragged them, squealing with pain and terror, to Napoleon's feet.” (Orwell 92). The four pigs are put through a state of terror and pain as Napoleon suspects of their wrong doings. In hopes of Napoleon following one of the seven rules of animalism, “No animal shall kill any other animal.” The four pigs wrongfully confess that they are secretly in touch with Snowball, and are the ones responsible for destroying the windmill. Napoleon, although knowing the truth, puts them all to death. The unethical theme in Napoleon’s totalitarian government does not end …show more content…
“He ordered the hens’ rations to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death.” (Orwell 87). Without the hens' consent, Napoleon inks a contract requiring him to provide four hundred eggs each week in exchange for money. This alone demonstrates what a self-centered leader he is. The hens decide to rebel because they believe that their own young are being taken from them. Napoleon issues a command to the other animals since he does not care about how the chickens feel. Nine hens later perished as a result of this. He instills fear among the other animals and makes them less likely to challenge his rule by displaying his willingness to use violence and exterminate those who resist him. This is further enhanced as Stalin used the same
Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He ordered the hens’ rations to be stopped and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death. The dogs saw to it that these orders were carried out. For five days the hens held out, then they capitulated and went back to their nesting boxes. Nine hens had died in the meantime” (Doc B).
Power and Reality “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing”. A resonating quote of George Orwell to a piece of his writing Animal Farm and interprets the process of establishing dictatorship and power through methods like intimidation, rectifying of information, and the infrastructure of power distribution. Napoleon the leader in the story provokes fear to control the animals. To that end he must starts by obtaining military power that forces the animals to abandon the original way of animalism and adapt to changes and embrace his systems. Examples are using “the three dogs who … growled so threateningly” (Orwell, p58) when an unfaithful member turns up, and altogether with his 9 hounds as his guards and army, they become a representation of the significant physical strength of Napoleon as they present obedient under his command.
He also declares that any animal that feeds the hens will be killed. After five days, during which nine hens starve to death, the hens give in. He caused the death of at least nine hens, all because of his selfish greed for money. But he didn’t stop there. Napoleon had specifically planned to murder by killing several other animals, for what you may ask?
Throughout the years there have been many tyrannical rulers. Although these leaders have very abusive regimes many of them stay in power because of use of manipulative methods. In George Orwells Animal Farm these methods are demonstrated in an allegory of the Russian Revolution. In this novella a farm of animals work together to revolt against their owner Mr Jones in order to escape his tyrannical rule. However, in doing so a pig by the name of Napoleon gains power and treats the animals just as Mr Jones did before the revolution.
Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character.” Napoleon and Snowball worked together to run the farm. Their difference in views was what kept the farm functioning in addition to happy. The reader can see their differences through their debates, “It was always the pigs who put forward the resolutions. The other animals understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions of their own.
In George Orwell's Animal Farm, Napoleon, a pig leader that represents Stalin from the Russian Revolution plays a big role in the book as the pig leaders are a superior group among the population of Animal Farm. In the story Napoleon is representing Stalin in Animal Farm as the main leader after Mr.Jones is ran out of the farm and Old Major died, resembling how Stalin took over rising to power in Russia. Napoleon started as a seemingly good leader but that soon changed… Napoleon, just like Stalin started to have problems with citizens of their own community and tried to hurt people and take things away. Both leaders can be shown using their superiority and power to their advantage to get everything they wanted and felt was necessary.
In Animal Farm, George Orwell warns how power will often lead to corruption. Napoleon was placed in a position of power after Major died, and he slowly starts to lavish in his power and become addicted to the lush life of a dictator. When Napoleon first becomes a leader, he expresses how everyone will work equally, but as his reign goes on, he shortens the work hours. At the very end of the novel, the observing animals even start to see that pig and man had become the same. The irony present in the above example, illuminates how regardless of how much a ruler promises to maintain equality and fairness, the position of power that they hold, will corrupt them.
In addition to being used for eliminating uncomfortable opponents, violence is used as a tool for political oppression in Animal Farm. The situation at the Manor Farm conjures up Maximilien Robespierre 's reign of terror, where any political opponents were violently punished. Likewise, in Animal Farm, any animals that oppose the leadership of Napoleon and the pigs are brutally punished. For example, when four pigs at the farm give Napoleon a distorted account of how they kept in touch with Snowball after his exile, Napoleon decrees his dogs to “tore their throats out” (Orwell 59). Napoleon’s use of violence is so effective that it helps him to instill the idea that he “is always right”
Lord Acton, the British historian, once said, “All power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the character Napoleon puts himself in charge. But, not only that he allows another pig, Squealer, to do his dirty work. And also uses dogs to chase his enemy, Snowball, away . In which leads to other animals not knowing that the farm is being ran the same way as when under Mr. Jones, the old farmer 's, control.
They often disagreed on many issues involving the farm until Napoleon expelled Snowball from the farm. However even after the expulsion of Snowball, with the use of persuasive language the pigs still find a way to blame him for any misfortune the farm may encounter. To begin, the pigs blame Snowball for destroying the windmill in which the animals worked soo long to build. “Comrades," he said quietly, ‘do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill?
Furthermore, Napoleon gives the other animals the impression he was the sole leader of the rebellion on Animal farm and makes Snowball -a leader who wanted what was best for the animals- seem like an enemy who was in cahoots with Farmer Jones since long before the animals took over the farm. Napoleon and Squealer (another “fat cat” pig.) always put the blame on Snowball whenever something went wrong in the farm to avoid having the blame fall on them. Napoleon is an exemplary example of just how selfish and hypocritical people can be in furthering their own aims because he continued to subtly but purposely change the seven rules put in place as the pillars of animalism. For example, Napoleon and the other pigs move into Farmer Jones’s house and sleep in his bed after commanding “No animal shall sleep in a bed”, so he changes the commandment to read “no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”.
The animals start recognizing Napoleon for any good achievement done that day. For example, one of the hens recognizes Napoleon for just one stroke of good fortune. “Under the leadership of our Leader Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days…”(78). These poor animals are tricked into thinking that everything good that happens is due to “Comrade Napoleon's Leadership”. Every quote we see is a deeper level of corruption in Napoleon, and now, his influence on the farm is tearing what the revolution was all about.
Napoleon had all the privileges and rights to amend the rules to fit his needs but there were severe consequences for those who questioned his authority or broke the rules he had established. The four pigs who had protested when Napoleon abolished the Sunday Meetings were singled out to be colluding with Snowball and pressured into confessing their crimes. The dogs “promptly tore their throats out” in front of all the animals. The hens that took part in the rebellion confessed that they were incited by Snowball appearing in their dreams and they were duly slaughtered along with a string of other animals. Along with power, corruption seeps into the farm.
After all, he was in charge of the milk when the rest of the farm went to harvest hay. Napoleon was also quite good at guiding the other animals to reach their goals and supporting the farm. The animals have enough trust in Napoleon to leave him with harder jobs that no one else gets to experience. However, these aren't valid enough characteristics that a leader should have. Napoleon would take what he wanted, but it was never to support the farm.
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell, is a story to show how absolute power corrupts, just as Stalin’s power did during the Russian Revolution in 1917. In the allegory “Animal Farm” each character represents a political figure from the days around the Russian Revolution. For example, Joseph Stalin is represented by a pig named Napoleon, Squealer, another pig, represents Stalin’s propaganda department, and the dogs represent the Secret Police (KBG). Using the nine dogs that Napoleon raises (intimidation), Squealer (propaganda), and manipulation, Orwell illustrates how Napoleon was able to gain and maintain control of the farm. The nine dogs that stay by Napoleon at all times are useful for Napoleon to gain and maintain control of the farm because they scare the other animals, intimidating them so that they do not disobey Napoleon.