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The satire Animal Farm by George Orwell expresses the idea of self-government through the animals. The animals play the role of humans, in this way using most, if not all, of the human characteristics. Because the animals decide that they want to run the farm by themselves, they make up a way of living called Animalism. The basic principles of Animalism are two, all animals are to be treated as equals, and no animals shall acquire any human traits or characteristics whatsoever. The seven commandments under which they live are based on these major principles. As soon as they develop a whole new system, they throw out all of the humans that run the farm.
Even though they are supposed to be equal, the pigs begin to take control. By the end of the novel, the pigs have manipulated the rest of the animals into doing everything they want. The pigs then become almost exactly like the humans. The most important pigs are Napoleon and Snowball, that is until Napoleon throws Snowball from the farm.
It is throughout this satire that Orwell illustrates how power corrupts by showing the pigs actions. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely is a concept widely understood after having read Orwell's satire. It is first shown when the pigs take the milk and apples, explaining to the rest of the animals that everyone is equal, but some are just more "equal" than others. They also argue that the pigs do more thinking, and therefore need more energy to do so. It is in the latter part of the book, that the concept of corruption gradually earns its meaning.
When Napoleon forces Snowball to leave the farm, the power is all his. Napoleon fixes anything that goes wrong on the farm simply by blaming Snowball. He insists that Snowball had always planned everything in order to harm the farm. Napoleon does not have a limit. The pigs break all seven commandments, some without notice, simply because power is addictive, and they constantly want more of it. It is never enough.
These commandments are to be followed by all the animals living on the farm at all times. Included in these commandments is the sixth one which states that no animal shall kill any other animal. Napoleon breaks this commandment when he kills the chickens he says are against him and the farm's ideals. He justifies this to the rest of the animals saying that no animal shall kill any other animal without reason to do so.
The fourth commandment states that no animal shall sleep in a bed. After the pigs move into what used to be the owners house, they begin to sleep on beds. "Its O. K. , " they say, because a bed is simply the place you sleep on, the commandment is intended to be no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. The pigs continue their way of being until the end, when the rest of the animals finally see what is happening inside the house.
The pigs invite their neighboring farmers to join them for dinner. In doing so, they break the first commandment which states that whatever goes on two feet is an enemy. It is during this dinner that they break the majority, if not all of the commandments. The pigs, together with the humans, are breaking the fifth commandment while drinking alcohol. It is throughout the book that the pigs break all seven commandments, in this way proving how power corrupts. The satire Animal Farm by George Orwell is a perfect example of how power corrupts.
The pigs become so corrupt, that they become exactly what they hate the most. In this book, Orwell shows the reader how it does not matter what anyone thinks at first, greed always brings them to doing what they did not want to at first. The animals are simply a way of showing the reader how power corrupts even when the nicest and most caring concepts are what started everything. In the world today, there are always problems in the government because the people high in office take more and more power. The major example is the Russian revolution.
In this book it is proven how power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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Research essay sample on Seven Commandments Power Corrupts
