Erykah Foss

Mr. Pace
DC English IV
Outside Reading Project Essay
27 May 2020
Pigs in Power

“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” These insightful words

were spoken by Lord Acton, a British historian born in the nineteenth century. His idea is

demonstrated in George Orwell’s ​Animal Farm​. This novella is about a farm in England, called

Animal Farm, whose animals are against humans. They especially hate Mr. Jones because he

makes them work and treats them badly. After the prize-winning pig, Old Major, dies, Snowball

and Napoleon create a set of commandments that represent his main beliefs. As time goes on,

Snowball and Napoleon argue about the future of their farm until Napoleon’s dogs chase

Snowball away. The farm went under the rule of pigs who gain total power. ​Animal Farm​ begins

with the noble goal of equality for all animals. The absolute corruption of power occurs in a

series of stages throughout the book. It begins with a common goal that is transformed into an

ideology, which is used to control the thoughts and actions of the farm.

Orwell uses anthropomorphism to tell a tale of how power corrupts. In order for a

movement to take hold, there has to be a large enough group of people who all share a goal.

Defining this common cause is the first stage of the path to power and corruption. In the opening

scene, Old Major, a prize boar near the end of his life, describes the plight of animals as slaves

who are fed only enough to live, then they are slaughtered mercilessly when they are no longer

needed. He dreams of a world where animals live free from the tyranny of men in a state of

perfect comradeship. This notion is memorialized with a song called “Beasts of England.” After

Old Major dies, Squealer outlines the principles of Animalism, a philosophy that requires
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animals to give up all aspects of their relationship with humans. The animals shun others that

disobey this rule: “a fat red-faced man… was stroking [Mollie’s] nose and feeding her with

sugar… She appeared to be enjoying herself, so… none of the animals ever mentioned Mollie

again” (26).

The second stage in concentrating power and corruption is a revolution followed by the

creation of the Seven Commandments. The Commandments were created by Snowball and

Napoleon, who represent the formation of the intelligentsia who are in charge of running the

society of animals. The animals work together and produce a bounteous first harvest. They meet

each Sunday in a democratic meeting where all animals can voice their opinions, however,

Snowball and Napoleon prove to be the more persuasive voices. Snowball divides tasks among a

number of committees while Napoleon quietly raises a litter of puppies in a loft above the

harness room. This shows two divergent paths to power. Snowball seeks to employ the abilities

of each animal while Napoleon quietly plans to harness a powerful force that will follow his

command. The animals mostly go along with the Seven Commandments. They demonstrate a

lack of interest and understanding in the new system. Squealer, as the lead propagandist,

convinces the animals to accept the pig’s instructions without question. He is a skilled orator and

was able to bend the noble socialist goals to the will of the pigs. Animals who disagreed with

Squealer were considered an enemy to the Farm. Mr. Jones and his neighboring farmers make a

stand to try and take back the farm. War ensues and Boxer, a workhorse, unintentionally kills a

stable boy. His actions are celebrated and the power structure expands to include justifiable

killing of humans. The gap widens between what the animals are fighting for and what the

animals think they are fighting for. A power struggle emerges between Snowball and Napoleon
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which ends in Napoleon chasing Snowball from the Farm with his pack of dogs. Napoleon

announces that the democratic meetings will from then on meetings would only be held for

ceremonial purposes with pigs making all decisions. Squealer comes to Napoleon’s assistance

arguing that Napoleon is only reluctantly leading by making a great sacrifice. Squealer turns

Snowball into a scapegoat for any and all issues which helps to justify Napoleon’s use of deadly

force.

The third stage is the rewriting the Commandments, inflicting suffering upon the animals

and rewriting history. The pigs, who recognize they must procure iron, nails and paraffin oil,

morph the Commandments to allow trade with humans, breaking this commandment: “whatever

goes on two legs is an enemy” (5). They change the rules to allow pigs to sleep in the beds by

changing the Commandment “No animal shall sleep in a bed” to “No animal shall sleep in a bed

with sheets.” These actions make the pigs appear to act more like humans than animals. The

animals fall short of food during the winter, so the pigs demand more work in the form of egg

laying. When the hens rebel, Napoleon cuts their rations until nine hens die. Squealer continues

portraying Snowball as an evil force, an invisible enemy as a way to support the actions taken by

the pigs. In response to the hardships, Napoleon calls a meeting and uses it as an opportunity to

identify and kill certain animals as traitors. Another Commandment is rewritten to read, “No

animal shall kill any other animal without cause.” This causes Boxer to work even harder even

though he cannot grasp why things have gotten so hard. As the animals’ suffering increases, the

pigs’ luxury also increases. With each perversion of the Seven Commandments, the pigs become

increasingly tyrannical. The animals were promised a retirement (horses at the age of 12), but

when Boxer fell ill, he was sent to the glue factory. Squealer makes up a story about how he died
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in a hospital and Napoleon gives a speech in his honor. The pigs quickly recover to the house

and another case of whiskey, purchased from Boxer’s sale to the glue factory. This act highlights

the pigs’ disregard for the working animals. Boxer’s death is important because it signifies the

breakdown of the hard-working peasant class from which the pigs derived their power. The pigs

culminate their hold on power by beginning to walk upright. They change the final

commandment to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” The

farmers admire how the pigs have devised a way to get more work from their animals and with

less food. They are eager to try the techniques on their own farms. The pigs have become

indistinguishable from the humans.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This arrangement requires a ruling class and a

working class. If the working class is manipulated and controlled through a series of steps, they

will rely on the ruling class for their history and identity. They may suffer, but they will go along

with the ruling class, ignorant of any other possibilities. Napoleon achieved total control by using

brute force ruthlessly. It is logical to portray the working animals as victims. However, early in

the story, they had an opportunity to help create the rules for Animal Farm, but they chose to

remain silent and illiterate, not involving themselves in the process. If there were no debates or

protests, our world would be run by a single person or group that would control every aspect of

living to keep their power. The United States Constitution gives us the right to speak our

independent thoughts so that we can remain free. Freedom only has value if it is acted upon.