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Examples Of Absolute Power In Animal Farm

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From conqueror to tyrant, does Napoleon's reign reveal how absolute power corrupts absolutely? Yes, according to George Orwell's animal farm. When Napoleon's absolute power started getting into his head, his ideals and ways of leadership began to change. The term absolute power corrupts absolutely is implying that an observation that a person's sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The basic idea of this is that occasionally leaders tend to let power get into their head. Once this has happened, they end up valuing themselves more than others, just like how Napoleon had done in the novel. The topic discussed is a very well made observation that a person's sense of morality lessons his or her power increases. Another example of this is when an extremely powerful emperor is seen declaring himself the title of god. This quote has been seen throughout history as well when the Seleucid ruler, the only king to claim divine honours, called himself Theos Epiphanes ‘’God manifest’’ and Nikephoros the ‘’bringer of victory’’. …show more content…

He undertakes actions similar to this countless times in the novel. When Snowball goes against what Napoleon wants he sends dogs after him to chase him away from the farm. This makes it so that snowball cannot go against what he says and causes the animals to see Napoleon as the all knowing leader. Squealer goes around the farm afterwards and says to the other animals “Comrades… I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon himself. Do not imagine comrades, that leadership is a

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Napoleon Bonaparte was a ruthless dictator who rose and fell during the turbulent French Revolution because of his singular combination of ego, toxic masculinity, and authoritarian methods. He was first hailed as a military genius for his victories, but his fortunes changed when he lost battles while defending the very nation he had fought to rule. After attending military academies and rising through the ranks to finally hold the prestigious title of General, Bonaparte developed an unquenchable craving for power. But eventually, his stratospheric ascent and unavoidable collapse resulted from his unbridled ambition, his bloated ego, the continuation of toxic masculinity, and totalitarian leadership. Napoleon possessed one of the most notorious egos in the world.

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Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” When one person is placed in complete control, they have a tendency to strive for higher power. That power continues to manifest, and could eventually lead to their own self destruction. In these four literary works: Animal Farm by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury, “Beowulf” told by an Anglo-Saxon poet, and Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the common themes portrayed are that power has led to immense greed and selfishness. Orwell demonstrates this theory best in his book, Animal Farm.

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They might change because they were leading people on at first and pretending to be a really good person when deep down they aren’t. If they aren’t pretending, they may just realize they can do whatever they want because they have all the power. They can make anything happen which sometimes is not good because they can cause conflicts and corruption in a society. If a person is not careful of what they do with their power, they can change a society in a very drastic or terrible way. In Animal Farm, at first, Napoleon seemed quiet and less competitive for the lead.

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Power is entirely about influence and freedom to act upon one’s will. Humans are corrupted by power and greed because of the selfishness and narcissism that exists within everyone. While almost all leaders mean well, every politician’s true motives and goals are applying their ideas to the world. This becomes a problem when others don’t speak out against damaging, wrong ideas, especially when absolute power exists and there are no means of communication between parties. Napoleon perfectly characterizes a totalitarian regime, similar to North Korea’s.

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It is seen that the power rid of Napoleon’s conscience, and created a ruthless dictator.

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Jack in Lord of the Flies by William Golding demonstrates authority being put in the hands of evil. Napoleon from Animal Farm be George Orwell shows the power put in the hands of the immoral. Napoleon used his power to kill innocent animals. For example, Napoleon forced animals to make fake confessions as an excuse to gruesomely murder them: “And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon 's feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the time of Jones.” (Orwell) Napoleon was motivated by power, the desire to be in control and the desire to kill.

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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.

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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.

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The final outcome of this whole story would be totalitarianism for example, “comrades, you have heard about the strange dream that I had last night… I do not think, comrades I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom I have acquired… the life of an animal is misery and slaver: this is the plain truth…man is the only real enemy we have. Remove man from the scene.” (27-29) Major who gave the speech to “remove man from the scene” had passed three nights later leaving an inspiration to the other animals in the farm. There was a rebellion coming soon…

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1441 Words | 6 Pages

Everyone perceives power differently. Some might say, power is the ability to control others, others might say, power is when you can influence others around you and such. The book Marked by Steve Ross and Animal Farm by George Orwell perfectly portray power in a unique, interesting way that will change your perspective about power. Marked is a graphic novel, which is a retelling of the Gospel of Mark in a modern way, while Animal Farm is a fable that is a satire of the Russian Revolution. In Marked, power is represented mostly through the graphics of the novel and camera angles, while in Animal Farm, power is represented through the use of language.

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The quote by Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is a good example of what is happening in the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. The pigs immediately gain control and leadership of the farm and eventually start to abuse the power. The pigs abuse their power by changing the commandments, living in luxury, and by treating the animals poorly. First and foremost, the pigs start changing the commandments to fit their acts and desires. In the beginning of the story, the animals decide on fair rules that everyone on the farm should abide by.

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This is the case because people usually look forward to acquire authority only because of the luxuries that come along with it. This includes wealth and respect , so such rulers could frivolously spend their money ,but can get get away with it because citizens are obliged to respect them. As for Napoleon, he did not commit any selfish acts because he was most satisfied with the fact that the citizens did not feel troubled at all and was willing to contine to have the society progress from there

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1118 Words | 5 Pages

Napoleon in the novel is not a wise character. However, he occupies the leader’s position since he is intimidating and authoritative. In contrast, Snowball who is portrayed as the intelligent character, somehow gets expelled from the farm, because he was not as manipulative as Napoleon. To begin with, Orwell uses propaganda as one way of illustrating the theme of power. Napoleon and Squealer both utilize propaganda to brainwash and motivate the animals into following their orders, such as when Snowball teaches the sheep into chanting the slogan, “Four legs good, two legs bad!”(Orwell, page 34).

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439 Words | 2 Pages

One dominant theme in animal farm is totalitarianism and abuse of power. Totalitarianism is defined as a political system in which the state possesses complete authority over the society and controls all aspects of public and private life whenever necessary. The author criticized totalitarianism and believed that it was inevitable in a communist system, as those put in charge will result in the abuse of their power. The theme Orwell intended to get across was that all totalitarian regimes are the same and those who hold power will do anything to maintain it. The pigs, who were the leaders, frequently displayed this throughout the novel.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

Absolute power can make the reader think that they are god like. And if the leaders think that they are god like they assume that they are at higher power. They start believing they they have a god like complex so they think that they can do things like lie, bend the rules, shoplift, and that they are above the law. For example, Hitler thought that he was above the law and that it was his duty in life to kill all those Innocent Jews and fooling everybody in other places unaware of the millions being killed Hitler told all that the camps were Red Cross camps for the needy. He let the power get to his head and started believing that he was above the law so he started lying to all and manipulating and threatening innocent people to death if they did not participate in the moment that he thought was the correct one.

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