...June 2nd 2015 Absolute Power George Orwell created a book in which animals were almost as intelligent as humans are, and held an idea of a farm where socialism ruled. This essay will prove that absolute power is the ultimate downfall of man. This will be proven using examples from the novel Animal Farm, written by George Orwell. This story shows these pigs slowly using their manipulative brains, and thoughts, to take control of this Animal Farm. Throughout the book these pigs gain more power and begin to abuse it corrupting the system transforming this socialism dream into a communism starting the whole cycle of unfair rule where signs of unrest become present once again. As the title suggests, Animal Farm takes place on a farm that was once owned by Mr. Jones, who was an abusive animal caretaker who always got drunk and never followed through with his responsibilities. This was seen in the very beginning when, "Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes." This farm lies in the center of a string of three farms divided by natural barriers, and a road that leads to the town. The farm held a well, fields, orchards, stalls, house, and every other thing that a normal farm would contain. This tale was created to express the ideas of a perfect government called socialism and the human nature to want more than equality. Animal Farm shows how if someone is granted more power with nothing to tie it...
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...“Absolute power… corrupts absolutely” How is this explored in Animal farm and film Antz To a large extent absolute power… corrupts absolutely. Total control perverts governments unequivocally, as the consequences of power versus powerlessness are explored. Composers have used varied literary and film techniques to highlight totalitarianism, the abuse of power and propaganda. Animal Farm and Antz firmly demonstrate this. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. In Animal Farm satire is used to demonstrate the impacts of totalitarianism. The faults of the government system dictating Manor Farm are exposed as being a totalitarian dictatorship; echoing the effects of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Napoleon as well as Snowball compose “The Seven Commandments” for all animals to follow. However power gets to Napoleon and he chases away Snowball to have complete control. His psyche becomes corrupted with the leadership and simultaneously all the pigs, go against “The Seven Commandments”. Biblical allusions of the Commandments are used to emphasise the pig’s outrageous behavior where satire is used to reflect how they obtain absolute power and in becoming corrupted. This pretty much echoes the human condition! Moreover, total control perverts governments unequivocally. This is illustrated via the use of allegory portraying the abuse of power. Animal Farm is an allegory depicting the Russian Revolution in a more childish yet ominous manner. Power was abused during the Russian Revolution...
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...Orwell’s Animal Farm is a satiric allegory of the Russian Revolution, and shows how power tends to corrupt the characters in possession of it. The two prominent pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, are shown to slowly accept the temptations of power and succumb to its effects. After Snowball’s expulsion, Napoleon takes control of the farm. But what if Snowball became the unquestionable leader and Napoleon was written off the board. Would Snowball become a better leader and conduct activities on the farm to ensure everyone was equal? It is clear the Snowball would not pose as morally legitimate political alternative as there are many instances that he was complicit with the pigs’ corrupted behaviour. To what extent is the weakness and foolishness responsible for the abuses of power committed by Napoleon and his followers? George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a satiric allegory of the Russian Revolution, and extensively shows the naivety of a simple working class and manipulated by propaganda. The foolishness of the simple animals demonstrates how they are unable to question the corrupt rule of the pigs and thus condemns them to suffer the full extent of the pigs’ oppression. It creates a loophole for Napoleon and his followers to abuse their power and manipulate it to suit their own benefits After Napoleon gains unquestionable control of the farm, he starts to abuse his power and change the Seven Commandments to shadow his corrupt behaviour. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a satiric...
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...mistreated or be manipulated easily because they are unaware of what is right and wrong. George Orwell’s book Animal Farm talks about how the political obtuseness contributes to political persecution. People’s ignorance contributes to their political and social oppression because the leader will not support the people, abuse their authorities, and brainwash the working class. First, the governor will not treat the uneducated commoners properly nor treat them fairly. In the book Animal Farm, most of the farm animals were illiterate. The pigs, who could read and write, became the leader of the revolution and the farm. Napoleon, Squealer, and even Snowball mistreated the animals as “one...
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...especially by powerful people’. It is displayed by Hitler in the Holocaust, George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, and even in our modern day. George Orwell conveys a powerful message that applies to all three situations, supporting Orwell’s compelling message. Orwell’s political message about corruption of the government and leaders abuse of power is depicted in the way Hitler led Germany, the current U.S. government and George Orwell’s portrayal of the Russian Revolution in Animal Farm. There are many examples of people taking advantage of power in our country today. In a New York Times Article titled “ "Officials Push to Bolster Law on Wiretapping", author Charlie Savage informs readers of the government’s new push for an increase in surveillance. Recently, phone companies and networks have updated their software, causing it to be additionally difficult for the government to spy on them and take the customers personal information(Savage 1). As the U.S. government continues to wiretap and collect information from large phone carriers such as AT&T and Verizon(Savage 1), it will become an extreme and impactful invasion of privacy. This push will extend the laws to companies like Gmail, Facebook and Skype(Savage 2). Savage paraphrases Valerie E. Caproni’s (FBI spokesperson) comment at the FBI’s general counsel “...the government was seeking only to prevent its surveillance power from eroding”(Savage 2). The government also wastes money on fixing technical problems that occur...
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...Animal Farm George Orwell’s Animal Farm can be said to be one of the most popular parodies, dealing with politics, which has ever been written. It is shown to be against communism and shows how the author observed the disloyalty of the ethics and beliefs of revolutionary Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It describes the meaning of tyranny in general and sarcasm at the mannerisms of any ruling class, to think what they know is right and it is the best course of action for those they rule. Animal Farm was written for almost sixty years now and it still impacts the way people think mentally. Animal Farm warns of blind faith, the abuse of power, and propaganda. The story mostly tells readers how a revolution of farm animals emerged against a cruel master. They were all revolting against the unethical, greediness and a power hungry master. There is something we refer to toxic leadership. Being in the military, there are times where myself rarely make decisions. There is always somebody that out ranks me, giving a demand, and I go about following out those orders. That is where all the decisions come from, those higher ranking. Those high-ranking individuals sometime misuse their power to do unjustifiable things in my eyes. It is not something that happens all the time, but it does happen. In Animal Farm, the pigs abuse their power by changing the law to their own advantage. In the Novel, Boxer has a motto. This motto is “Napoleon is always right!” Before you know it...
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...George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm by the means of why government is necessary. The concept of the necessity of government is brought up in the beginning of the novel when Mr. Jones is ran out of his farm due to nationalist uprising brought upon by Old Majors speech and song. When the animals rebelled against Mr. Jones there was no standing army to put them down. There wasn’t any laws or rules for the animals to follow so this led to anarchy due to no government or authority to enforce them. The novel Animal Farm demonstrates a lot of ideologies and themes that are similar to our politics today. In Animal Farm we see a repetitive theme of the consequences...
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...Governments shouldn’t have total control because they will abuse their power, they will rule unfairly, and they will have too much power. This is shown in Animal Farm, The Case for More Government and Higher Taxes, and How Power Corrupts Leaders. Governments shouldn’t have total control because they will abuse their power. This is shown in Animal Farm, “Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so.”(Orwell 67). This is saying that the Pigs were using their power to change the laws without consulting or telling the other animals. Some may say that the pigs were changing these laws for the better, but they are wrong because these laws were only making the conditions worse for the farm and the animals....
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...There is an old saying that knowledge is power; it is a basic human function that enables us to survive and grow as a whole. Power alone has its own affects, however when paired with knowledge and language it becomes a force to be reckoned with. In the beginning of the novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, the character Old Major gives a speech which inspires the animal revolution that erects the seven commandments; it foreshadows the downfall of the farm as each commandment is broken and changed one at a time. By examining the characters uses of propaganda, force and vulnerability it will be made clear how the abuse of language is connected to the abuse of power. Propaganda is known as “information, ideas or rumors deliberately...
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...Greed and abuse of power. These are two words that can describe any leader of today’s time period. Often, leaders use propaganda to get their people to do what they want for them. According to Eric Hoffer, “Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.” Propaganda is a biased misleading statement. When a political leader or anyone in general shares propaganda people don’t often believe what one may say. However, propaganda affects people and their thinking about life. Throughout the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, propaganda is used very similarly. Napoleon is the leader of the farm and squealer is his sidekick. Usually Squealer states, propaganda to the animals to get them to do work for Napoleon. Most of them time the animals listen to what Squealer says however it causes the animals to often feel very confused. Therefore, George Orwell shows that the common theme is abusing too much power by sharing false statements about other animals....
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...I'm Not a Vegetarian! But . . . Should the Animals Eaten Have Rights? Oh, no! That steak is from a living animal that breathes the same air as humans. Should this animal have to be killed and butchered to become something humans use for survival? All living beings should have certain rights, correct? The answer is a profound . . . yes, and no. Animals have been eaten for billions of years in order to sustain the human race. That will never change. For example, a hunter will go out on an early Saturday morning just when the sun is rising to look for a deer to kill so the family will have meat to eat. After a period of time, several deer are spotted fifty yards away in a clearing. With careful aim, a single shot is placed directly behind a deer’s shoulder that results in, dinner for the evening. Even though animals must be killed in order to supply the humans with meat . . . they should have certain rights prior to their demise. Animal abuse in slaughterhouses is caused by trying to process more animals than the slaughterhouses can handle in order to maximize profits, along with using outdated processing methods with under maintained equipment; however, this problem can be solved by incorporating well maintained up-to-date processing equipment and better internal quality controls. Looking back, as reported by Farm Forward, n.d.: In the last 70 years—a tiny blip in the history of farming—cruel, unsustainable factory farms have grown to the point where they produce...
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...ANIMAL FARM George Orwell Important Quotations Explained 1. “Four legs good, two legs bad.” This phrase, which occurs in Chapter III, constitutes Snowball’s condensation of the Seven Commandments of Animalism, which themselves serve as abridgments (abbreviations) of Old Major’s stirring speech on the need for animal unity in the face of human oppression. The phrase instances one of the novel’s many moments of propagandizing, which Orwell portrays as one example of how the elite class abuses language to control the lower classes. Although the slogan seems to help the animals achieve their goal at first, enabling them to clarify in their minds the principles that they support, it soon becomes a meaningless sound bleated by the sheep (“two legs baa-d”), serving no purpose other than to drown out dissenting opinion. By the end of the novel, as the propaganda needs of the leadership change, the pigs alter the chant to the similar-sounding but completely antithetical “Four legs good, two legs better.” 2. Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, Beasts of every land and clime, Hearken to my joyful tiding Of the golden future time. These lines from Chapter I constitute the first verse of the song that Old Major hears in his dream and which he teaches to the rest of the animals during the fateful meeting in the barn. Like the communist anthem “Internationale,” on which it is based, “Beasts of England” stirs the emotions of the animals and fires their revolutionary idealism. As...
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...“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”(Lord Acton,1887) Power is something only the right person should have, it could turn into an absolute mess if it's not handled correctly. Having power means others look up to you, and you could change the way they see things. This effect a person has on someone could cause dangerous events. It can also cause something really good. Meaning the outcome of having power could be either positive or negative. A person could easily abuse power and think that people won’t retaliate. The book “Animal Farm” by George Orwell is a great example of how power can be abused. Mr.Jones, the owner of Manor Farm is an alcoholic who doesn’t treat his animals right. He sees it as he can do whatever he wants and nothing will happen.The animals decide take the power into their own hands. They are sick and tired of Mr.Jones treating them unfairly so they decide to start a revolution. In the book Mr.Jones comes back to the farm to try and take it back. The animals don't let...
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...Animal Farm Propaganda Posters Through the unjust lies of a corrupt politician, the animals are led onto a destructive path. Napoleon portrays his self-indulgent driven efforts to be beneficial to all animals of the farm; in reality, the animals are put through physically draining work with harsh living conditions. The posters are made from the perspective of Squealer and are all as if he was the one who designed them for the other animals. These posters are an example of how Squealer and his linguistic skill is a tool Napoleon exploits to achieve his goals and rise into power. The successes of Animal Farm are attributed to those who inflate their own importance in a manner that forces all to believe it to be true. The abolition of a reigning...
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...How do individuals and groups maintain power over others in society? “The way to have power is to take it”. This was said by William ‘Boss’ Tweed, an American Politician in the 1860’s. Tweed mentions the way to obtain power, however he never once mentions how to keep it. In more than one way maintaining power is more important than gaining it. However, there are many philosophies which explore how one can maintain power. These methods include the use of propaganda, the power of language, your own sense of authority, and perhaps the most effective but least humane; violence. The maintenance of power over others in society is highly dependent on the ability of those in control to distort and abuse language. This is highly evident in our civilization, not only modern society but going back thousands of years. Both powerful individuals, and groups of people and establishments all use language as a means of control, and through deception such propaganda allows power to be maintained. In George Orwells Animal Farm, we see the pigs use their intellectual ability to take control over “Manor Farm”, and turn it into “Animal Farm”. Animal Farm is promised to be carefree and easy, Old Major tells the animals “almost overnight, we could become rich and free”. This is a powerful statement, used to entice and excite the animals, which is soon contradicted with “it might be in a week or in a hundred years”. However due to Old Major’s skilled ability to manipulate language he quickly follows...
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