Equality In Animal Farm By George Orwell

George Orwell in his novel Animal Farm states that society will never be about equality, but more about power. In this book, farm animals start out as equal under Old Major’s philosophies of equality and fairness, yet they soon separate into greater and lesser levels under Napoleon’s rule. The animals are just mindless followers and live under Napoleon's rules without thinking of the consequences. They trust Napoleon, relying on him for all the brain work, so in turn they stopped thinking for themselves. Then came the loss of ideas, as seen from Snowball. He has the idea of building a windmill, as that would be best for the entire farm, but Napoleon wasn't tolerating it. Napoleon felt threatened by Snowballs ingenuity and had scared him off. Napoleon was only wanting to keep his power and wasn't concerned with the equality of the other animals.
Equality goes against human nature because there is always one person trying to reach the top, whether it be in status or power.
Napoleon is always searching for a hole in the animals’ view of equality only to use the animals as a ladder to Napoleon’s own power. “We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management of this farm depends on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed out duty? Jones would come back!” (Orwell 36). Even at the beginning, Napoleon and Squealer bend the rules to fit their own agenda to keep hold on their own power, rather than living in
equality. To hold power in a society built on equality, brainwashing needs to be conducted. Napoleon sees that, and chose to change the commandments. The animals believed that the commandments were never changed. Napoleon also ensures that none of the animals could read and/or write so they can’t recognize the changes he makes to them, giving himself power over the animals. An ignorant person is easier to control. Napoleon knew what he was doing, and was able to sustain his rule by brainwashing. For people to be at their strongest state they can be in, they need to be given some power to grow. Without an equal spread of leadership and power, no-one can progress in a society, and would never have any goals or aims. Good and fit leaders don’t see themselves as above everyone else, but rather as an equal. Napoleon wasn’t a leader at all, he was a dictator and only the power all to himself. Napoleon doesn’t see to the needs and comforts of those under his rule and only seeks out his own progression. Leaders move others forward to learn and grow as one unit. Napoleon wasn’t giving any room for the animals to grow, refusing to relinquish his power. In turn Napoleon hindered the animals rather than helping them. They weren’t the strongest they could have been, but under a right leader, there is no doubt that they would have prospered. Animal Farm has a strong message about equality and the human traits that make it impossible to achieve. Power hungry people make the notion of equality worthless. There will always be someone trying to use others as a ladder to reach their own goals, especially if they are given leadership. Napoleon is a perfect example of why humans can’t have true equality; humanity is too busy looking to make personal gains. True equality is impossible, for humanity will always see themselves as above or below others, never as equals