Ignorance In George Orwell's Animal Farm

Samantha Steinglass
Mrs. McGowan
English I
24 March 2023
Power Corrupts Corruption is the process of gradually shifting a government’s power and ideals until its original intentions are obliterated. Throughout his allegorical novel Animal Farm, George Orwell clearly demonstrated how easy it is for those in command to completely corrupt a society. Although ignorance and power-hoarding behavior were significant themes, manipulation was the most powerful tool in facilitating the corruption of Animal Farm. Ignorance played a vital role in the ruin of Animal Farm. The original ideals of the animal revolution were equality, freedom, and a good life. Napoleon, however, betrayed those ideals almost immediately by harnessing the ignorance of the

He understood the idea that animals left in the dark are easily brainwashed into blind conformity. Although they didn’t foresee the ramifications of their support, all of the animals felt joyfully united in the revolutionary cause presented to them, and so “...the whole farm burst out into ‘Beasts of England’ in tremendous unison. The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it” (10-11). Due to their ignorance, the animals misunderstood the selfish intentions of the rebellion and would live in a constant cycle of laborious misery from false promises. Boxer is a sad example of an individual who was unable to analyze situations and think for himself. Naive and gullible, his personality allowed the ruling class to take advantage of him. Even when he defended Snowball in the Battle

The pigs were masters of manipulation. High on the pigs’ priority list was their ability to alter the Seven Commandments, enabling them to have a life of power and privilege. When a governing body rewrites the accepted rules, its power increases exponentially. Every article of the Commandments was modified to be diametrically opposed to its original phrasing. Every article expanded the right and might of the pigs and relegated all onerous tasks to the other animals. But this hierarchy depended upon the verbal artistry of propaganda. And the chief propagandist was Squealer. He used complicated and fancy words to distort the truth. Deception was accomplished by constant repetition of lies, threats, and misinformation. One of Squealer’s greatest devices in controlling the animals was utilizing the fear of Jones’s imminent return as a deterrent to any complaints. “It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!” (31). That warning silenced the crowd; “When it was put to them in this light, they had no more to say” (32). The animals returned to their meager existence, further prompted into submission by the fabrications of Moses who promised a better life in the land of Sugar Candy Mountain. His baseless lies, once again, ensured quiet