Unbridled Power for Corrupted Leaders
If you want to control someone, all you have to do is make them feel afraid, this quote by Paul Coelho, is very true for both chosen texts. Hence, not only are intimidation and exploitation the result of unbridled power, but both have a interchanging relationship. Both texts, Animal Farm and the Hunger Games Trilogy, contain characters that use intimidation and exploitation to increase or obtain their power. After experiencing unbridled power many leaders use intimidation and exploitation to gain or keep power, President Snow and Napoleon the pig, are no different.
To gain power, Squealer knows that ‘tactics’ (pg. 43) must be used. These however included betraying previous promises. In the beginning of Animal Farm, the author writes about seven commandments which all animals must follow in order to be equal. The pigs, in spite of this, have desires that can only be fulfilled through breaking these commandments. For example, when Napoleon decides that the only way to secure his power was to kill all those against him, Clover recalled that he’d broken the sixth commandment which was ‘No animal shall kill any other animal.’(pg. 17). However, when she checked it was actually ‘No animal shall kill any other animal-without cause’. Although Clover accepts this, it is obvious to the reader what has occurred- the pigs have betrayed and broken the rules that they were required to stand by, this is a common result in all leaders with unbridled and sole power.
Propaganda in communism is frequently used by oppressive leaders to manipulate citizens into thinking that a certain leader was an effective person support. Napoleon too is an oppressive leader who also uses propaganda (Squealer) to delude them into thinking that he is a kind and caring leader for them; this would ensure that they continue to be loyal to him. An example of propaganda being used is ‘But not more comfortable…to carry out our duties?’(pg. 50), which Squealer says while he is giving reason for staying in the farmhouse. Here he is portraying himself as a victim; trying to convince the animals of how deserving the pigs are of ‘a little comfort. Throughout the book, Squealer continues to convince the animals of Napoleon’s ‘enormous labours’ (pg. 94), with paperwork. These ‘enormous labours’ would both receive sympathy and prevent him and any of the other pigs to do any manual labour out in the farmyard. Using propaganda, Napoleon is able to effectively manipulate and exploit the farm animals, further promoting his image as a victim of hardships.
Leaders usually fear being overthrown, therefore many take measures to prevent this from happening; Napoleon, like the few other tyrannical leaders, turn to more gory strategies to keeping his citizens loyal. The first time where intimidation was used for Napoleon to gain unbridled power was when he sent vicious dogs to evict Snowball, making himself the default and exclusive leader. Using the dogs to intimidate the farm animals was efficient especially when the animals ‘sick and terrified, crept back into the barn’. The animals were not only sick and terrified of the cruel and swift expulsion of Snowball, but also of what Napoleon’s dogs could do to them, in this way, Napoleon had successfully bullied the animals into submission.
After the first betrayal, which occurred when Napoleon consumed the milk, intended to be distributed equally amongst the animals, he realized what luxuries he could gain with the appropriate actions. This was his first experience of unbridled power. As mentioned in the paragraphs above, soon after, he began to exploit the animals naivety, misleading them into doing his and all the other pig’s portions of the jobs. A key factor to making his plan work was the use of intimidation through the dogs trained specifically for the purpose of protecting Napoleon’s reign. Therefore, in relation to the book Animal Farm, the thesis: After experiencing unbridled power,