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Jason Yang
Mrs. Belongie
English 4
19 March 2014
Power Explained in Animal Farm George Martin once said “Power resides only where men believe it resides. A shadow on the wall, yet shadows can kill. And often times a very small man can cast a very large shadow” (Goodreads, George R.R. Martin). This quote is an example of how power can corrupt a whole system even if only one man or animal does some action to change it. This concept is the same for the book Animal Farm because power in the story is used by the pigs to control the whole farm. Power can be viewed as fear, influence, greed, and corruption. “Animal Farm” by George Orwell contains the power aspect of fear because in the story it displays multiple examples to show how fear is used throughout the story to establish power. For example, when Napoleon takes over the farm he first kicks out his partner, Snowball. The narrator states, “Napoleon let out a loud shriek and nine dogs started running after Snowball. They chased him until he slipped through a hedge and was seen no more” (Animal Farm 53). Napoleon uses the dogs to scare the animals into thinking that the same harm will come to them if they disobey Napoleon. Therefore he uses the dogs to establish his position as a leader. Another way fear is used to control power is how Squealer explains to the animals of the farm
Yang 2 that they should be given all the apples and milk. Squealer says, “Do you know what would happen if the pigs failed? Jones would come back and we certainly don’t want that” (Animal Farm 36). Squealer uses this reason to make the animals afraid to Jones coming back and to explain how the pigs of the farm are the main reason why Jones isn’t coming back. Hence, he strengthens the power and position of the pigs of Animal Farm. Fear then is one of the leading factors of power in Animal Farm. Although fear can be used to show power, influence of one’s position can also affect how things are being run in Animal Farm. For example, Napoleon was the only leader of the farm because he was smarter than the other animals. Boxer solidifies this by saying, “If comrade Napoleon says it; it must be true” (Animal Farm 56). Boxer ignorantly accepts that whatever Napoleon says is correct because Napoleon was smarter than he was. So this ultimately shows how Napoleon status and education affected how he was being viewed by the other animals. Another example from the animal farm would be when the narrator says, “The pigs with their superior knowledge it was only natural that they should assume the leadership” (Animal Farm 27). This clearly states how the pigs in the story got their role as leaders. Influence of one’s position can also be displayed history too. For example, during the times before the French Revolution the Nobles and the Clergy were the two of the leading powers. So they often were able to override the third estate because they were poor. All in all, the influence can affect how other people a can view person. Yang 3
Greed is also a part of power because it shows what people do to get whatever they desire. This happens inside animal farm by the pigs of the farm because they had many desires that only benefited themselves. Greed is represented in the story when the pigs are not satisfied with living in their sty, so they move into the farmhouse. They take their meals in the kitchen, use the drawing-room as a recreation room and sleep in the beds. They also start getting up an hour later than the other animals do (Animal Farm 66). Later in Animal Farm Squealer announces, “Napoleon demands four hundred eggs to be put for trade.” This was unfair to the chickens so they rebelled and got killed in the process. This represents greed because Napoleon only wanted to do this to get money for himself so he can put the other animals to work on some other project and then give the workers no rations to eat. Greed is essential to power because it gives leaders or people the lust for power and when