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Absolute Power Corrupted In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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As Lord Acton once said “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”.When one is given the choice of what actions to take with their power, they are more likely to take actions benefiting themselves than others. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is used to define power and the corruption that comes from absolute power. The quote is demonstrated in Animal Farm as the characters show how power can corrupt absolutely. Napoleon, the fierce Berkshire Boar, starts to become corrupt after he fought Snowball for the mastery, gaining full control of the revolution. At that moment, Napoleon made a choice to start to impose his will upon others for the benefit of himself. As Napoleon grows more powerful, he also gradually grows more corrupt. In Animal Farm one way …show more content…

The pigs constantly find ways to blame Snowball for the misfortunes according at the farm even though there is no way he could have done it. To begin, the pigs blame Snowball for destroying the windmill. “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? SNOWBALL! He suddenly roared in a voice of thunder" (Orwell 47). He immediately sentences Snowball to death and the title of “Animal Hero, Second Class” to any animal that detains him. The animals blindly belive Napoleon even though the terrible storm could have contributed to the fall of the windmill. Throughout the novel Napoleon consistently starts to use Snowball as a scapegoat. “Whenever anything went wrong, it became usual to attribute it to Snowball”(Orwell 835). Napoleon consistently blames Snowball so the animals do not concentrate on his own faults. By scapegoating Snowball, Napoleon is able to get what he wants done without the questioning of others. Orwell shows how corrupt leaders need an enemy to blame upon hence diverting the people’s attention. In animal farm Napoleon is the almighty dictator whose power corrupts himself. Men like Napoleon are shown throughout history. For an example Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany, killed thousands of Jews use his charismatic ways and propaganda. Using his authority, Hitler did what

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