Examples Of Selfishness

Selfishness and Fear
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, selfishness is an noun meaning “ arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others” (Merriam-Webster). By this definition, all tyrants are selfish because they rule with their own personal gain in mind and have no interest in their people. This is seen in both in the story Animal Farm by George Orwell and in North Korea. The citizens of each institution live in terror underneath their tyrants: the pig Napoleon in Animal Farm and Kim Jong Un in North Korea. As a result of this selfishness and fear, tyranny is a terrible thing for all people. Because it makes people worry not only about both their own physical condition and starvation but also
The first way that this is done is through propaganda. According to a Frontline video, the tyrannical government in North Korea spreads false videos through its closed television network. Daily, videos are broadcasted saying that the United States is poised to attack the country (Frontline). This leads the North Korean people to the false conclusion that the U.S. will kill them all. This causes them to believe that their lives are in immediate danger. This makes the people turn to the tyranny in North Korea for false protection. This false protection, however, is a way for the government to take advantage of their people. They accomplish this by creating an aura of safety so people have no desire to leave or be unloyal. This allows the government to unfairly stop people from leaving. The people would leave if they could, but the manipulation of the government stops them. This spreading of lies to maintain power and prestige is most definitely selfish. Propaganda is also used to spark fear on the animals in Animal Farm as well. Squealer is a pig who gives speeches to the general public that constantly manipulate the others. He does this by threatening that Jones, the farmer, will come back to get the animals do not do or believe what the pigs want the animals to accomplish. They do this because the memory of Jones’ reign evokes fear in the animals because of the cruelty
Boxer, a cart horse in the story Animal Farm speaks of this. In the story, the animals have just watched the tyrant Napoleon slaughter animals for tiny crimes. His use of force and blood causes many animals to worry about the future of their institution, and what the root of the problem is. Boxer is one of these questioning animals. On page 85 he says, “‘I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder’” (Orwell, 85). Boxer is very worried about what has happened. He sees the bloodshed as an issue, but it does not occur to him that Napoleon is at fault. He believes that it is the animals’ fault. His idea of a solution is to work harder to improve the situation. However, Boxer does not realize that Napoleon wants him to think this way so that his work ethic will increase. This will allow selfish Napoleon to take advantage of Boxer by using his power to continually work harder through his fear for the future of his society. Boxer’s hard work produces many fruitful and successful results, which Napoleon takes advantage of simply to improve his own life. Once again, Napoleon’s selfishness is evident in the way he manipulates his comrades’ fear to get what he wants. Like Boxer, the North Korean