Essay On Power And Corruption In George Orwell's Animal Farm

A shimmery golden gossamer curtain blowing delicately in the wind twinkles provocatively in your mind at the thought of sweet power being just within your grasp, doesn't it? Don't be afraid to be honest as this is the reality of many humans and even some animals. In fact, the classic novel Animal Farm, written by George Orwell in 1945, is an allegory that symbolizes the powerful politicians and those close to them during the Russian Revolution. This fairy story quite successfully uses pigs to represent communist and fascist leaders Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Orwell composes the complex tale that effectively communicates all the points made in Lord Acton's infamous declaration: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Power is defined as the ability or capacity to influence others in some way shape or form. With the piece of literature in
This Animal Farm and its authoritarian leader facilitate a severely unethical environment, wherein law changing for one's personal benefit and conversing with the enemy is perfectly fine. Animals are chosen to portray humans in this narrative because during the Russian Revolution "leaders" performed unspeakable acts; acts that people would and should never even think about doing to their fellow man. Napoleon and his minion pig, Squealer successfully replicate these acts by manipulating the lesser intelligent animals to believe in Napoleon's superiority. Secretly both the ladder and former have worked together to become an oppressive, sorry excuse for a government institution to extremely hardworking. Napoleon eventually strays very far from the base idea that all animals are equal which was established by the wisest of the pigs. The makeshift Stalin says, "...all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others."(Orwell