Ignorance And Corruption In The Animal Farm By George Orwell

The Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is a classic novel that explores the idea of power and corruption. In the novel, the animals of Manor Farm overthrow their human masters and create a new society based on the principles of Animalism. While it might be true that power hoarding and manipulation led to the corruption of animal farms, ignorance was the most influential in the corruption of animal farms. One factor that led to the downfall of the animal farm was power hoarding, due to the ignorance and lack of knowledge from the other animals they were unable to protest to the pigs. “There came a time where no one dared speak their minds, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades ripped apart

Since the animals lacked knowledge, they were ignorant to the pigs' manipulation and trickery. “Four legs good, two legs better”(133). This was said by one of the pigs to the sheeps, who were one of the less intelligent animals, they manipulated them into thinking that two legs (humans) were better than four legs(animals). “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again;but already it was impossible to say which was which”(97). The pigs who had now become indistinguishable from man, they had manipulated the animals and their lack of knowledge blinded them to the pigs' plans. The animals of Animal Farm are ignorant of the human world and its complexities. They are unaware of the power of language and the ability of humans to manipulate it. This leads to the animals’ inability to understand the true meaning of the Seven Commandments, which are the laws of Animalism. As a result, the pigs are able to twist the commandments to suit their own needs and gain

“Never mind the milk comrades! Cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the bucket. That will be attended to, The harvest is more important. Comrades Snowfall will lead the way, I shall follow in a few minutes, forwards my comrades! The harvest is waiting” (26). If only the other animals were not so ignorant, they would have seen how Napoleon was trying to change the subject and lead them away from suspecting them as the culprit. They would have been able to see right through the pigs' plans and banded together to overthrow them, but no, lack of knowledge caused them to cower and be controlled by them. “And so the tales of confession and execution went on until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon's feet and the air was heavy of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones” (53). The other animals wanted to protest and speak their minds, but could not think of the right argument, due to their low intelligence. All the animal could do was tell rumors and tales, yet no one was smart enough to bring the animals together to revolt against the dictatorship of the pigs. The animals’ ignorance of the human world also leads to their inability to recognize the danger posed by the pigs’ increasing power. The animals are unaware of the danger of a totalitarian government and the potential for abuse of