Why Do You Know What Would Happen If We Pigs Failed In Our Duty
George Santayana’s quote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” proves to be true in relation to Animal Farm by George Orwell, for the animals forgot the way they were treated by Jones, allowing Napoleon to treat them just the same. The animals strived for a communist society where “All animals are equal”, but in the end, they ended up in a totalitarian society ruled by Napoleon and the rest of the pigs. "Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? ...Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?" (36). Napoleon constantly held the possibility of Jones coming back over the animal's heads, and due to the false statistics the animals were given by Squealer, the animals had no choice
but to believe him. When some of the animals attempted to start a rebellion against Napoleon, it resulted in the slaughter of many animals. Napoleon tricked the animals into thinking that the slaughtering of the animals who defied him was the end of the Rebellion, for they had rid the farm of internal and external enemies. Squealer’s sly manipulation messed with the brains of the animals, making the animals replace their true memories with false events.
Napoleon did not truly care for the laws of Animalism or the wellbeing of the animals; all he cared about was that the farm was prospering and that he had the most power. The moment the pigs were given superiority over the farm, the potential of a true communist farm went down the drain. At the beginning of the book, the farm’s motto was ‘four legs good, two legs bad’, but by the end of the book the motto was “four legs good, two legs better’. “The creatures looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again, but it was impossible to say which was which” (Orwell 141). But because “A time came when there was no one who remembered the old days before the rebellion…” (127), the animals didn't realize they were in the same situation that they were in when Jones was their master, therefore making the same mistakes they had made then. Their lack of memory allowed history to repeat itself, convicting them to the same fate.
but to believe him. When some of the animals attempted to start a rebellion against Napoleon, it resulted in the slaughter of many animals. Napoleon tricked the animals into thinking that the slaughtering of the animals who defied him was the end of the Rebellion, for they had rid the farm of internal and external enemies. Squealer’s sly manipulation messed with the brains of the animals, making the animals replace their true memories with false events.
Napoleon did not truly care for the laws of Animalism or the wellbeing of the animals; all he cared about was that the farm was prospering and that he had the most power. The moment the pigs were given superiority over the farm, the potential of a true communist farm went down the drain. At the beginning of the book, the farm’s motto was ‘four legs good, two legs bad’, but by the end of the book the motto was “four legs good, two legs better’. “The creatures looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again, but it was impossible to say which was which” (Orwell 141). But because “A time came when there was no one who remembered the old days before the rebellion…” (127), the animals didn't realize they were in the same situation that they were in when Jones was their master, therefore making the same mistakes they had made then. Their lack of memory allowed history to repeat itself, convicting them to the same fate.