Lake 1

Alyssa Lake
Mrs. Buescher
English 10, Period 1
12 May 2014
The Inescapable Repercussions of Too Much Power
Perhaps the world never expected a brutal communist dictator to be paralleled by
a snobbish pig in classical literature, but Animal Farm confounds all expectations. This
novel, written by George Orwell, depicts a Farm in which the animals rebel and take
over. The pigs on the farm slowly snatch power from the farm as a whole, and begin
abusing their control. Animal Farm shows that power corrupts those who posses it by
causing them to enforce their power cruelly, manipulating those under their control, and
causing them to use their power for selfish desires.
The pigs in animal farm were cruel leaders, and they enforced their will viciously.
This passage shows the use of intimidation Napoleon uses, The animals were not certain
what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who
happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation
without further questions (Animal Farm Ch.). Napoleon had kidnapped the dogs as
puppies, and raised them to be tools for his will. This shows that Napoleon had already
begun to be corrupted. The animals could hardly disagree, or even have an opinion
without fear, and fear of speaking freely is a product of corrupt government. Squealer
announced that the hens, who had just come in to lay again, must surrender their eggs
they protested that to take the eggs away now was murder Napoleon acted swiftly and
ruthlessly. He ordered the hens rations to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving

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so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death (Animal Farm Ch. 7).
This was not the first, or last time Napoleon used cutting rations to force obedience from
the animals. This shows that Napoleon was a cruel, power-hungry character, and he had
no honor. Napoleon also began executing whom he deemed as traitors, They were the
same four pigs as had protested when Napoleon abolished the Sunday Meetings
Without any further prompting they confessed When they had finished their
confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out (Animal farm Ch. 7). This passage
shows how quickly Napoleons violence and brutality escalated to all out executions. This
is what frightened the animals most, and if they had been more intelligent, at this point
they wouldve realized that the pigs were not working for the good of the entire farm.
Although the pigs used unveiled cruelty as one method, they had other methods such as
manipulation.
The pigs had many techniques of manipulation, which they used to maintain
control of the farm. These techniques included Squealer, who symbolized propaganda, 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! Yes, Jones would come
back (Animal Farm Ch.3). Squealers main technique was fear, which is displayed in
this passage. Squealer often threatens the animals with Jones return, for which he has no
evidence. However, in their uneducated state, they willingly accept everything Squealer
says. This shows the absolute importance of education in society, in order to maintain
freedom, and not just the appearance of it. Napoleon also used Squealer to spread
unproven lies such as, Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health.
Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances

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absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig (Animal Farm Ch. 3). Squealer speaks of
unproven facts as if they were proven by science. This is yet another testament of how
important education in the general public is. The animals blindly accept what Squealer
says, simply because hes telling them, showing how corrupt the government was
becoming. The pigs also used intimidation to persuade the animals to be obedient, But
suddenly the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell
silent and sat down again (Animal Farm Ch. 5). The use of government intimidation
should never be acceptable, and was yet another example of how corrupt the pigs were
becoming. They did not even think about using their power for the good of the farm, but
for the good of themselves. The pigs used manipulation to control the other animals in
order to satisfy their selfish desires.
The pigs used their intelligence to gain power over the other animals, and once
they had that power it quickly corrupted them, and their focus became their own luxury.
This is demonstrated in the passage, Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve
our health it is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples (Animal
Farm, ch.3). This was said by Squealer, a character in the story who represents
propaganda, and persuades the other animals to blindly obey Napoleon. The pigs were
already lying to the other animals for their own pleasure, and this marks the beginning of
their short road to corruption. Although it seems a superficial thing to lye about, this got
the pigs comfortable with the other lies they told throughout the story and this event set
them on the track to destruction. The pigs also began violating the laws they themselves
had created, It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and
took up their residence there. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution

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against this had been passed in the early days, and again Squealer was able to convince
them that this was not the case (Animal Farm Ch. 6). This was when the pigs began
changing and explaining the rules they had created, to fit their own comfort. This showed
that the pigs had never had any intention of ruling fairly or equally, but corruptly serving
themselves only. Napoleon eventually became an alcoholic, another action, which
violated the rules they were supposed to live by, The pigs came upon a case of whisky in
the cellars of the farmhouse... That night there came from the farmhouse the sound of
loud singing, in which, to everyones surprise, the strains of Beasts of England were
mixed up (Animal Farm Ch. 8). All the animals had been ordered not to drink alcohol,
but the pigs changed the rules for their own benefit. They drank far too much, while
ordering the rest of the farm not to drink in excess, in another example of their selfishness
and corruption.
Throughout Animal Farm the idea of Power leading to corruption is supported by
the pigs using it for selfish desires, enforcing their power cruelly, and manipulating those
under their control. The pigs used their intelligence to mistreat the other animals, a cruel
practice which the animals could not oppose. They strategized the phases of taking
complete power perfectly, corruption happened far too fast. Animal Farm shows that too
much power quickly corrupts, and people in the governments control should strive for
education and not be apathetic, in order to prevent a similar situation.