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The Importance Of Commandments In Randall Terry's 'Animal Farm'

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“Once you depart from the Ten Commandments of being the foundation of right and wrong, you are in a free fall.” This quote by Randall Terry is relevant to the book Animal Farm written by George Orwell because in Animal Farm the animals discover seven commandments which was their foundation of life on the farm. Although the animals were sworn to the commandments earlier in the book, Napoleon and Squealer altered them for self-benefit, turned their unpleasant realities into pleasing lies, and became noticeably more like humans. There were many occasions in the book where Napoleon and Squealer altered the commandments to benefit themselves. On page 91, after Napoleon had executed many of the animals, the other animals thought they remembered the sixth commandment as “no animal shall kill another animal” but when Muriel read it, it read as “no animal shall kill another animal without cause. Napoleon only did it to appear as more powerful or superior to the other animals, but while he was doing it, he affected the lives of the other animals. Napoleon and Squealer make it hard for the animals to question any changes that are made. Another example is in chapter 7, the pigs start drinking alcohol, which was …show more content…

On pages 133 and 134, the pigs start walking on two legs and the sheep burst out bleating “four legs good, two legs better.” It is disturbing to see how loyal the sheep have to Napoleon and Squealer but have got nothing in return. They are being brainwashed into speaking on behalf of the pigs more human-like behaviors. On page 135, the pigs start wearing clothes and carrying whips. This completely contradicts with the animals commandment about not wearing clothes. It is another step towards human behavior for the pigs. In the beginning of the book the animals considered anything that walks on two legs an enemy, towards the end of the book the pigs started acting like

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None of the animals...except for old Benjamin...seemed to understand...” That quote means that Napoleon forced squealer to go change the commandments to benefit the pigs. The pigs think they are superior over the other animals even though the farm's motto is “Four legs good, two legs bad.” Napoleon wanted to keep superiority over the farm by using fear, propaganda, and Animalism to get his ways at the farm. Napoleon wanted to have complete power over the farm but the animals were catching onto what he was doing to the future of the farm

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The pigs misuse their authority in several ways throughout the book, including stealing food, disobeying the law, and lying about it to maintain peace on the farm. As the other animals begin to notice the misuse of power, propagandist Squealer begins spreading lies about what the pigs are doing to prevent mutiny and ensure control over the rest of the

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When the pigs changed the commandments, the animals didnt think another second about the cruelty of

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(Orwell, 80). Napoleon is able to trick the animals. Also, the animals are very uneducated, evident in, “…Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets…” (45). This shows that the pigs do not care for the animals and are negligent to educate them. They use this opportunity to take advantage of them and continuously alter the rules but

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Due to the fact that many of the animals are unable to read or write, they are forced to memorize the Commandments. For example, on page ninety-one, Orwell states, “It ran: No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.” Somehow or other the last two words had slipped out the animals’ memory. But now they saw that it had not been violated; for clearly there was good reason for killing traitors who leagued themselves without Snowball”, (Orwell 91). As proven in the text, Napoleon uses the fact that the animals cannot read to do what h e desires.

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This illustrates how powerful, power is. It is one of the most addicting feelings and the more the pigs get the more they want. The other animals are not educated and trust the pigs to do what is right, making it easier for Napoleon and Squealer to take advantage. Clearly, acquisitiveness is very common and if all were equal as planned, then all the animals, not just the pigs, would have food rations of the same

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In the book, the pigs who have taken over change the seven commandments to benefit their needs to help themselves. “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others" (Animal Farm pg. 112). The original commandments show the pig's hypocrisy and their use of words to manipulation to use their advantage over other animals. Changing the commandments demonstrates how the higher class is created through rhetoric to win the animal's approval.

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However the other animals do nothing to help their poor comrades in this small attempt at rebelling against Napoleon’s will. One of the cruelest things the pigs have done though was take the animals song “Beasts Of England” the very song the SOUL of the rebellion and made it outlawed however yet again since the animals were scared and couldn’t make an intelligent argument just let it happen when squealer said “It is no longer necessary” and let them take away their song of hope just like they let it happen when the pigs many years later started using whips and walking on 2 legs and acting like humans to the point where they couldn’t tell the

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All pigs had a sense of superiority due to their enhanced skills, and since no one else had those skills, they used them to their advantage and manipulated the other animals. Every time the pigs wanted to do something that went against the rules, they just changed it and then deceived them into thinking that it had always been like that. At the end of the novel, the pigs, who first stated that "Whoever goes upon two legs is an enemy," also known as humans, became friends with the pigs. They became hypocrites because they were given too much power. They were manipulating the animals in any way they wanted because the other animals didn't know any better.

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They say that is for their benefit, but really that they are selfish and they want the food and drink for themselves. Without it, they would not fulfill their duties. On page 52, the author states, “Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back!” The animals are being put in the position is which they fear the one that abused they came back.

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The Seven Commandments Throughout Animal Farm During the course of Animal Farm, the Seven Commandments change drastically. In the very start, all of the rules are against anything relating to a human, and forbid human-like activities. Old Major had wanted all animals to be equal, and for them to rule over the humans.

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In George Orwell’s political satire, Animal Farm, three of the seven commandments that were broken are: whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, no animal shall kill any other animal, and all animals are equal. Commandment number one, whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, was broken by Napoleon when they made their first friendly interactions with humans since the rebellion. “There would be no need for any of the animals to come in contact with human beings, which would clearly be most undesirable. He intended to take the whole burden upon his shoulders.” (Orwell, 64)

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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

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In chapter 10, the animals on the farm peered through the window and saw how the pigs and humans were celebrating their success together. In the beginning of the book, the animals could differentiate between the pigs and humans. However, by the end of the book, “it was impossible”, because the pigs have become just like the humans. They begin wearing clothes, drinking, sleeping on beds and essentially behaving like regular human beings. Gradually, throughout the book, readers witness the transition of pigs from animals into humans.

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But as the months go on, the pigs change them to their benefit, giving them more power and luxury. The quote, “when the terror caused by the executions had died down, some of the animals remembered that the Sixth Commandment decreed ‘No animal shall kill any other animal’... Muriel read the commandment for her. It ran: ‘No animal shall kill any other animal without cause’,”(Orwell 98) shows that the pigs obviously change the commandment before the other animals got a chance to read it. This happens more times as the book goes on, and shows the pigs abusing their power by changing the commandments to fit their actions and desires.

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