Cavan J. Brady April 29, 2023 Mr. Hardwick 61,911,000. That was how many people died due to the Soviet Union. Between the years of 1917-87, the communist party of Russia ruled over the lower and middle classes with an iron fist, striking fear into both its citizens and the Western world. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, written as an allegory for the Russian reorganization of power, a swine named Napoleon, written to resemble Joseph Stalin, seizes control of an Animal-controlled farm and begins to abuse his power, all the while keeping power through the use of Fearmongering, gaslighting, and the distortion of statistics. To Begin, Napoleon was a simple swine during the book’s early stages. He was described as being a “Fierce looking Berkshire …show more content…
The former of the two is observed in the opening year of chapter six, where it is noted “All that year the animals worked like slaves. (...) Throughout the spring and summer they worked a thirty-six-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. (Orwell, #59)”. Napoleon immediately began forcing the animals to work longer hours than before, beginning to rival that which they worked with Mr. Jones. All animals on the farm worked near to death, unable to catch nearly any breaks, all while Napoleon began the altering of commandments. Again in Chapter Six, Boxer; the famed workhouse of Animal Farm, notices an alteration in commandment number four, previously stating “No Animal Shall Sleep in a Bed”, now changed to “No Animal May Sleep in a Bed With Sheets.”. When this discrepancy is brought to light, propaganda artist Squealer explains “You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a rule against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep in. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed, properly regarded. The rule was against sheets, a human invention. (Orwell, #67)”. Squealer’s explanation of the changed rule furthered the abuse of Napoleon’s power in two ways: It gaslit the animals into believing the rules never changed, and it guilted them into not questioning the commandments further, rendering them …show more content…
However, it would make more sense to believe that they were constantly kept in fear and gaslit to the point they were unable to do anything about Napoleon. The fearmongering began nearly immediately with the introduction of Napoleon’s bodyguards/secret police in the form of Bluebell’s puppies; grown up and trained by Napoleon, However, the most notable piece of fearmongering comes in the form of the phrase uttered by Squealer throughout the book: “Surely, none of you wishes to see Jones back? (Orwell, #67)”. The phrase was used often by Squealer to strike fear into the animals- making them believe they were constantly in danger of returning to their old lives, therefore instilling fear within the opposition, and controlling the population through fearmongering. The fearmongering, however, would not have been complete without gaslighting the animals into believing the only safe place was the farm. The gaslighting aspect was incredibly prominent within the winter when concerning the supply of food. In Chapter Seven, it was detailed that Squealer had been annually reporting the production of food, indicating “Production of every class of foodstuff had increased by 200 percent, 300 percent, or 500 percent, as the case may be. (Orwell, #92)”. This, while the animals were shown to be
“Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work
Don’t be the enemy. Now that Napoleon is in charge life is getting a whole lot worse because is has complete power of Animal Farm. Napoleon from Animal Farm written by Orwell maintains control by using ideology, propaganda, and fear. Napoleon uses ideology of Animalism to give him more control over the animals.
The next ruler of Animal Farm is Napoleon, one of the pigs on the farm. Once he gains control of the farm, he does whatever it takes to strengthen his power. He trains a group of dogs to be his guards, frighten the other animals, and kill for him. He later becomes paranoid and forces the animals to confess to crimes they did not commit, and the, “dogs promptly tore their throats out” (93) to show his power and give an example of what happens when there are crimes committed. When the farm first became Animal Farm, there were a set of commandments set up that all animals need to follow, except for Napoleon.
(Orwell,65). In reality the farm is suffering from chaos and the corruption of the pigs hording profits for alcohol, which resulted in no wheat seeds being bought. Instead of explaining this otherwise selfish behavior to the other animals, the pigs convince them that their “perfect" harvest was being deliberately afflicted by Snowball. To protect their own interests in money and power, the pigs misinform the
In democratic meetings, the animals discuss new policies for Animal Farm, and the animals joyously sing Beasts of England. However, early into the establishment of Animal Farm, the pigs assume leadership and oversee the other animals. This already shows that a difference persists between the pigs and the other animals. Napoleon gradually
Originally, the commandments were made to create ‘fairness’ and ‘equality’ among the comrades. However, the novel reveals how “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (Orwell, page 134) through the commandments, as Napoleon uses his skillful rhetoric to get away with breaking the very commandments that every animals are suppose to follow, while the other animals are punished for not doing so. For example, in chapter 8 when the pigs purchase a brewery to to produce and later drink the alcohol, even though the fifth commandment says “no animals shall drink alcohol” (Orwell, page 25), which shows that the pigs are hypocrites. Thus, the novel shows the difference in intelligence between the animals that made it easy for Napoleon to manipulate and make them obey
In Animal Farm written by George Orwell. This novel showed the animals rebelling against their corrupted leader Jones and then their next Napoleon. These animals were mistreated, manipulated, gaslighted, and abused for a good chunk of their lives because of their corrupt leaders. This story focuses on Napoleon and his leadership over the animals, it shows his many ways of committing Animalism.
In Animal Farm, Orwell shows us many different points and ideas through the characters and plot. One of the major ideas in the story is that power corrupts those who possess it, and Orwell shows us this through the character Napoleon due to his actions and ways of handling problems and the way he forces things to happen or go into effect. Due to those ways he shares many similarities with many different tyrants and dictators, one being Adolf Hitler. The characteristics that brings out the idea is that Napoleon is abusive, manipulative, and selfish. Selfishness is one of the major characteristics that almost all tyrants have.
In chapter 6, Napoleon recently took charge of Animal Farm, expelling Snowball. The animals during that year worked like slaves to build the windmill, and Napoleon announced that there was work on Sunday afternoons as well. “... Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half,”(Page 54).
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell, is a story to show how absolute power corrupts, just as Stalin’s power did during the Russian Revolution in 1917. In the allegory “Animal Farm” each character represents a political figure from the days around the Russian Revolution. For example, Joseph Stalin is represented by a pig named Napoleon, Squealer, another pig, represents Stalin’s propaganda department, and the dogs represent the Secret Police (KBG). Using the nine dogs that Napoleon raises (intimidation), Squealer (propaganda), and manipulation, Orwell illustrates how Napoleon was able to gain and maintain control of the farm. The nine dogs that stay by Napoleon at all times are useful for Napoleon to gain and maintain control of the farm because they scare the other animals, intimidating them so that they do not disobey Napoleon.
No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade” (Orwell 31). The animals do engage in these banned activities. On the first day of their freedom, the animals begin using human tools and procedures to maintain the farm. By the end of the novel, the commandments painted are tweaked according to the needs of Napoleon, Squealer, and the dogs who act as Napoleon’s bodyguards. For
Animal Farm -the history of a rebellion that went wrong- is George Orwell 's brilliant satire on the corrupting influence of power. It was first published in 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. In the book, Mr. Jones, the owner of the Manor farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock.
Napoleon ruled animal farm harshly and overworked the animals. Orwell described, “This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half” (Orwell 59). The animal’s are given a choice in the sense that if they wanted to, they could have Sundays off. However, the brutal consequences the animals would face if they did not work forced the animals to listen to the pigs.
Throughout history there have been dictators who have corrupted their countries, brainwashed their people, and have been responsible for the deaths of many. In Animal Farm, George Orwell wrote about animals on a farm who were able to speak and suffer through very similar things that humans have suffered through within their country, and under the rule of a modern day dictator. The animals in the novel were fighting for their freedom from the rule of Mr. Jones, a poor leader who often forgot to feed the animals and take care of them daily. Napoleon, a pig, ran out his competition and took power during a time of instability. And suddenly Animal Farm was turned into an allegorical novel. The allegory was for Stalin, the dictator that was responsible
“Animal Farm” is a historical novel by Owell which is set in England but deals with the events leading up to and after the Russian Revolution, using animals to represent historical figures. It illustrates the idea that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” a quote by Lord Acton. This essay is about Napoleons cancellation of the Sunday meetings. Every Sunday morning, when the Sunday meetings begin the animals hold a flag- raising ceremony.