Throughout the course of Animal Farm, a fable written by George Orwell, there is a recurring theme on how knowledge is dangerous in the hands of the self-serving. The tools he uses to present this idea are his characters. Napoleon and the pigs are a perfect example of a group that takes advantage of knowledge on the farm. Orwell further portrays this idea through Benjamin’s indifference and the easily manipulated masses on the farm. Early on in the story, the animals overthrow their tyrant, a man named Mr. Jones, through rebellion to create their own society based on socialism. After laboring a little on the newly claimed farm, the pigs realize that the work of the animals must be organized and efficient, and thus have decided to “supervise” …show more content…
But one group lacked this level of intelligence and their lack thereof was their downfall. This is of course referring to the other, uneducated animals on the farm. They are naive and ignorant, making them extremely easy to manipulate by anyone who is cunning and deceptive. A blatant example of this occurring is when Napoleon banished another pig named Snowball. He sent his subordinate Squealer to explain why Napoleon done what he has done to the other animals. Squealer told it to be a masterful plan to get rid of Napoleon’s rival through what he called, “tactics, comrades, tactics!’ skipping around his tail with a merry laugh. The animals were not sure what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.” The inhabitants of the farm could not think for themselves as they physically incapable of doing so. What really makes knowledge and education as dangerous as it is on Animal Farm is the intelligence of the masses. If the masses were not as dependent on their leaders they would not have been taken advantage of, or at least to the extent the pigs got away with. The pigs knew exactly which words to say and which actions to take to gain control of the farm using their knowledge over the other animals and made it seem as …show more content…
Napoleon and his lackeys are a prime example of knowledge being a dangerous weapon in the hands of the self serving. They manipulated the less knowledgeable animals on the farm and they took what wanted when they wanted it by using their own knowledge to the fullest extent. The character who was the exact opposite was Benjamin the donkey, who was also knowledgeable, but did not use it in any sort of way and just remained silent. Then there are the rest of the animals on the farm who were used like puppets by the downright evil pigs. These charecters are tools used by George Orwell to portray a message that can be seen as relevant even today, that is knowledge can be dangerous, especially in the hands of the self-serving. This is a lesson to ensure we think for ourselves as we might be currently being manipulated by our leaders, whether we are aware or
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.
Animal farm is a book written by George Orwell. The book is a reflection of the events of the Russian Revolution and Joseph Stalin’s rise to power. Joseph Stalin is represented by Napoleon and the story follows the events that lead up to Napoleon’s rule over Animal Farm. During the novel, Napoleon uses both psychological and physical fear to control the animals. This is proved by Napoleon using Jones and Snowball as a Physiological fear, to prevent rebellion.
Who is at greater fault? If a tyrant is given the power, albeit to abuse, is it his fault to utilize the power given, or the fault of those who bestow the power on them? Failure cannot be pinned on just one person, but the people involved as a whole. Therefore, by indirectly causing the collapse of one 's own community, it is the community 's fault for acting as catalyst to the events to come. Although unintentional, it is the passiveness and ignorance of the farm animals that leads to the utter failure of their ideal society.
Juliette Blalock Singh 4/5 Animal Farm In the satiric novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the character Napoleon represents a dictator in society, who turns a self-governed and unbiased farm into his own. Napoleon initially unifies with the rest of the animal’s, but soon decides to take matters into his own hands and disposes of Snowball and his proposals towards the farm. He takes advantage of the vulnerable animals so he can become in command. Napoleon is clever, brutal, and dictatorial to the animals.
The fictional book Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is about Mr. Jones’ farm of animals who rebel against him and make their own society. Although equal at first, the pigs slowly create a peerless government due to the malleable minds of the rest of the animals. I the end, the pigs have broken all of their originally set commandments and begin to act as humans at the dismay of all of the other previously equal animals. Three topics addressed in this amazing book are anthropomorphism, foreshadowing, and motif. To start, the first topic, anthropomorphism, is used the entire book, as the animals are the main characters.
Don’t be the enemy. Now that Napoleon is in charge life is getting a whole lot worse because is has complete power of Animal Farm. Napoleon from Animal Farm written by Orwell maintains control by using ideology, propaganda, and fear. Napoleon uses ideology of Animalism to give him more control over the animals.
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.
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.
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”.
Napoleon’s system of ruling is no different, if not even more dictatorial, than that of Mr. Jones because he can never be appeased by his starving desire for more power. He shows that there is no guarantee of satisfaction to greed because it never ceases to grow. Orwell illustrates this visualization perfectly through Animal Farm by using Napoleon’s unceasingly growing desire for power to bring upon destruction to the social
When somebody receives incredible power, they also receive a large burden of responsibility. Some people, such as Napoleon, disregard these responsibilities and become corrupt. In reality, we have seen this in leaders such as Stalin, who became corrupt once into power. In “Animal Farm”, Napoleon, a totalitarian pig, is a great example of how too much power is equal to corruption.
Ignorance is dangerous. Lack of knowledge can cause someone to be manipulated and used. Knowledge brings choice and freedom which is something that the animals in “Animal Farm” did not have. The story “Animal Farm” is a significant story because it shows that not having knowledge about certain situations can be a bad thing. The theme of the story is knowledge is power.
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, 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.
“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.
Jaewon Shim Ms. Manning English 9B 06 February 2015 Animal Farm Analytical Essay "Orwellian" is an adjective that describes the condition of the society that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. The adjective suggests an attitude that is controlled by propaganda, the denial of truth, and manipulation of the past. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell develops his ideas about the Russian Revolution through a highly satirical story written in the form of a fable. The characters represent actual people in history during the Russian Revolution, which took place in the years between 1917 to 1944, as it talks about a story of a farm rebelling against a human owner and establishes their own way of running the farm, which was effected by Old Major’s speech who talked about a society where all workers led the society, with no actual leader. However, imbalance of power occur as the pigs, who are the smartest of the animals gain influence by supervising other animals to work.