Thomas Grey once said that, “Ignorance is a bliss.” Over the years through literature and the growth of knowledge, many have accepted this principle. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge and the lack of education. Animal Farm, by George Orwell, depicts the axiom through the perspective of a populace of animals. George Orwell purposely connected Animal Farm in relation to the Russian Revolution and Stalin’s rise to power. Ignorance can be a curse or a bliss, depending on the situation at hand. In the farm animals’ case, ignorance ultimately leads to a curse, parallel to the peasants in Russia during the time of Stalin’s influence. Simply used as pawns and tossed to the side for the grasp of power, the animals of the farm, and the peasants in Russia were edging towards checkmate.
The animals were deprived of proper education, and only obtained basic knowledge. For example, in the novel Animal Farm, George Orwell wrote, “Boxer could not get beyond the letter D” (Orwell 30). Boxer, the cart horse, was only one of the many examples of the animals, other than the pigs, that lacked much of the right schooling. For that reason, the animals were taken full advantage of, and in turn did all of the work on the farm. In Animal Farm, the animals worked “like slaves” (Orwell
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Both were ruthless, and took the lives of many. Napoleon was ravenous for his feast of power, and the looming shadow of bad fate hovered over the animals’ like a dark cloud. During Napoleon’s reign, he killed off any animals that showed any sign defiance or resistance. One by one, animals were slaughtered, and the blood of many was spilled. As George Orwell wrote in his novel, “When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out…” (Orwell 73). Napoleon contained little to no sympathy to anyone that even attempted to tarnish his name. As time went on, Napoleon became even stronger and had almost full control of the