Animal Farm - Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Maddie
English 10
February 5, 2014
Power paper
“Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely”, is a quote that pertains to the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell in many different ways. The quote is saying that when you are given all of the power, you become crazy and it all comes tumbling down on yourself from the destruction. The leader Napoleon, a pig, receives absolute power on the Animal Farm and corrupts absolutely. Three ways he shows this is when he sends his guard dogs after Snowball, he had the animals committing crimes that they did not do so they would wish to be killed, and learned that life on Animal Farm will sadly never change.
Napoleon’s corruption began when he sent his guard dogs after Snowball. “Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before.” Soon after, the guard dogs chased Snowball all over the farm, and Snowball escaped through a hedge. Napoleon was jealous of all of the animals liking Snowball’s ideas. Napoleon wanted all of the power so he got rid of his only competition. This is where absolute power comes into hand.
Napoleon’s corruption progressed when he had the animals committing crimes that they did not do so they would wish to be killed. An example of the confessions come from four pigs, “they confessed that they had been secretly in touch with Snowball ever since his expulsion, that they collaborated with him in destroying the windmill…” You know that this is false information because Mr. Jones and the others had destroyed the windmill not Snowball. It shows that the animals no longer wished to be on the Animal Farm anymore and the only way out of being there was death. A commandment said, “No animal shall kill another animal” and was extended to, “no animal shall kill another animal without cause.”
Napoleon’s corruption ended when the animals realized that their life on the Animal Farm would sadly never change. Corruption never really ended, Napoleon was still in charge and the animals just got use to their way of life. The animals are use to the hard work, little food, long hours, and bad living conditions. The pigs decided that since they had most power they started to turn exactly what they were against… human. The pigs started sleeping in beds, drinking alcohol, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes! They even changed the name Animal Farm back to its original name Manor Farm. They were going against all of the real commandments, and were not going in the direction that Old Major wished for the farm. They later got rid of the commandments and made one single commandment, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” This is where corrupts absolutely comes into hand.
As you can see, in the novel Animal Farm, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” pertains to this novel in many different ways. Animal farm shows that two pigs take over the leader position, and one gains more power than the other and becomes head leader. When that happens, “absolute power” is struck and everything starts going downhill on the Animal Farm. Everything going downhill equals out to “corrupts absolutely”. The three reasons that were given as examples of the quote were when he sends his guard dogs after Snowball, he had the animals committing crimes that they did not do so they would wish to be killed, and learned that life on Animal Farm will sadly never change.