I agree with Lord Actons premise that Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Various examples of this are shown in Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies and even in a historical context.
Comrade" Napoleon, the "Leader" of Animal Farm, executes numerous disloyal acts that start tearing at the animals' free will and liberty. A good example of this is while working on the farm one day, the animals found some milk and took it to Napoleon, he said, "Never mind the milk comrades! That will be attended to, the harvest is more important . . . "(Orwell, 44). When the animals returned, the milk was gone because Napoleon covertly and greedily took the milk for himself and the other pigs. Napoleon only wants power and comfort for himself, and the animals are too ignorant to notice that he slowly takes away their independence. He also doesnt enough care about previous laws and agreements (7 commandments) enough to obey them himself. An instance of this is when Napoleon slaughters several animals that were guilty of treason, showing clear disregard for the 6th commandment, No animal shall kill any other animal. He justifies this by pointing to an amendment to commandment adding without cause to the end. Napoleon controls Animal Farm by making the other animals afraid of him, not by making the animals more equal. This leads other animal to not question him in fear of their life. This is dangerous because blind devotion to a corrupt person can ultimately lead to the distortion of the ethics of a nation. For example, Boxer, the horse on Animal Farm, is blindly devoted to the pigs. He often says, "Napoleon is always right" to all of the animals on the farm. Boxer sets an example for the rest of the animals by accepting Napoleon's dictatorship and does not give anyone a chance to question Napoleon's actions. He believes that by working harder, the farm will receive more wealth, but instead ha just adds to the leader's reasons to dismantle the nation's liberty.
When some puppies were born on the farm, Napoleon volunteered to raise them and teach them the rules. He kept them hidden away until he was done with them. Instead of teaching them the rules of equality that the animals had created together, he taught them to be viscous guard dogs that only listened to him. During a Debate between snowball and Napoleon, Snowball mentioned that a windmill would improve the farm. Napoleon, was against the idea from the start. When Snowball finished his plans for the windmill, it was time for the animals to vote, but the animals were already split into two groups, one for Napoleon and another for Snowball. After Snowball finished his speech, it was clear that the animals would vote for him. This led Napoleon to call his specially trained attack hounds. The dogs then came in and chased Snowball off the farm. At this moment in the novel Napoleon gained absolute power. A similar occurrence happened in Lord of the Flies when Jack questions Ralphs authority. "There was a kind of sigh on the platform as if everyoneknew what was coming. Jack's voice went on, tremulous yet determined, pushing against the uncooperative silence. `He's like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn't a proper chief" (Golding, 47). In both cases the incumbent is taken from the throne, per say, and replaced with his opponent.
I also believe the pigs on Animal Farm represent the Soviet Government, with Napoleon resembling Stalin. Both used manipulation to get want they wanted from their constituents. Also, both Sovereigns used propaganda as a means of managing information; occasionally for personal gain, at other times as a way of controlling workers knowledge. Therefore the pigs reign resembled Stalins Russia.
In conclusion, the quote "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is true in this book. In the beginning, the power was split between Old Major and Mr. Jones. In the end, Napoleon had all the power and the animals' minds were completely corrupted into thinking that no matter what, Napoleon was right.
Blind devotion to a corrupt person can ultimately lead to the distortion of the ethics of a nation. Boxer, the horse on Animal Farm, is blindly devoted to the pigs. Napoleon, the corrupt leader of the farm, wants to control the animal's lives for his own self-satisfaction. George Orwell, in his satirical novel Animal Farm, demonstrates that Napoleon's want for absolute power and Boxer's ignorance and toleration of Napoleon's control eventually wipe out their nation's equality and freedom.
"Comrade" Napoleon, the "Leader" of Animal Farm, executes numerous disloyal acts that start tearing at the animals' free will and liberty. For example, Napoleon changes numerous commandments to give the impression that he is always correct, even if the new commandments appear wrong. Napoleon only wants power and comfort for himself, and the animals are too ignorant to notice that he slowly takes away their independence. Napoleon does not care about previous laws and agreements enough to obey them himself. In addition, Napoleon orders the killing of all the animals guilty of treason. Napoleon controls Animal Farm by making the other animals afraid of him, not by making the animals more equal. Napoleon believes that if all the animals are afraid of him that they will not think they have any other option than what he forces on them.
Napoleon knows that the dishonest actions he commits are wrong and takes all the credit for the cruel work he forces the animals to do, even though Napoleon does none of the labor.
Boxer contributes to the deriding of independence and equality because he accepts Napoleon's totalitarianism and can not see the corruption of Animal Farm. For example, Boxer often says, "Napoleon is always right" to all of the animals on the farm. Boxer does not bother to think for himself and challenge Napoleon's actions. Boxer sets an example for the rest of the animals by accepting Napoleon's dictatorship and does not give anyone a chance to question Napoleon's actions. In addition, Boxer nearly kills himself because he works so hard for their corrupt state, and eventually is slaughtered. Boxer naively trusts Napoleon and does not know that the pigs are using him. Boxer believes that by working harder, the farm will receive more wealth, but instead ha just adds to the leader's reasons to dismantle the nation's liberty. Boxer is unintelligent and unaware that their nation is corrupt and so does nothing to better their situation.
Napoleon wants all the glory of ruling for him and thus intensifies the inequality and injustice, while Boxer is not smart enough to recognize that Napoleon's control over him grows and that fraud and dishonesty permeates throughout the farm. Napoleon's and Boxer's actions make all of the animals less equal. Both leaders and followers add to discrimination and disparity, not just a single person or group. Inequality and injustice are ensured if no one speaks up or questions corrupt authorities.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely," there are many examples of this in the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. In the beginning of the story, a pig named Old Major kind of has power over the rest of the animals. He slightly corrupts their minds into thinking that they could survive without humans. After Old Major's death the pigs take over, they ran the humans of the Animal Farm and gained a little more power than Old Major had. Toward the end one of the pigs began twisting the rules and slowly gaining absolute power.
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As the story began, Old Major had some power. He used this power to corrupt the animals into thinking that there could be a life without humans. "Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings?" (ch.1; 30). Old Major used lines like this to convince the animals that the humans were the enemy and that they could survive on the farm without them. The animals then began planning the rebellion. After Old Major's death, the corruption only gets worse.
When Old Major died, two young pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, took over in his place. They started the rebellion. The animals chased Mr. and Mrs. Jones, the owners of the farm, off the farm. The animals then began making rules that basically stated that all animals are even. However, because the pigs were the only ones that could read and write, they began to take advantage of the other animals, especially Napoleon. While working on the farm one day the animals found some milk and took it to Napoleon, he said, "Never mind the milk comrades! That will be attended to, the harvest is more important . . . " (ch. 2: 44). When the animals returned, the milk was gone. Right now in the story, the power is split between the two pigs, but this will not last for long.
When some puppies were born on the farm, Napoleon volunteered to raise them and teach them the rules. He kept them hidden away until he was done with them. Instead of teaching them the rules of equality that they had created together, he taught them to be viscous guard dogs that only listened to him. Once at a meeting, Snowball mentioned that a windmill would improve the farm. Napoleon, was against the idea from the start. When Snowball finished his plans for the windmill, it was time for the animals to vote. The animals were already split into two groups, one for Napoleon and another for Snowball. After Snowball finished his speech, it was clear that the animals would vote for him. That was when Napoleon made a loud unusual squeal. That was when the dogs came in and chased Snowball off the farm. This is when Napoleon gained absolute power and corrupted the animals absolutely. A similar occurrence happened in Lord of the Flies when Ralph questioned piggy "There was a kind of sigh on the platform as if everyoneknew what was coming. Jack's voice went on, tremulous yet determined, pushing against the uncooperative silence. `He's like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn't a proper chief." After Squealer told the animals of the new arrangements around the farm, you could hear the animals saying things like, "If comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right." (ch. 5; 70) and "Napoleon is always right." (ch. 5; 70).
In conclusion, the quote "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is true in this book. In the beginning, the power was split between Old Major and Mr. Jones. In the end, Napoleon had all the power and the animals' minds were completely corrupted into thinking that no matter what, Napoleon was right.
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