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Napoleon's Abuse Of Power In Animal Farm By George Orwell

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Animal Farm - Essay

Intro

Animal Farm is a novel written by George Orwell and published in 1945. The book depicts various farm animals overthrowing their human owner and assuming power themselves. The story of their revolution and government represented the establishment of communism in the USSR and contained themes of greed and exploitation. These ideas were important in showing the corruption that power causes and how this affects the weakest in society, specifically the youths.

Point One: Napoleon’s abuse of his power & position.

The theme of corruption through power is strong in this novel. It was critical to Orwell, as it delivered his purpose well and communicated to the audience the truth about the communist revolution. A significant character who was used to support this concept was the novel's main antagonist, Napoleon, who is perceived as a selfish, devious pig and stands as the oppressive ruler of Animal Farm. Napoleon is an effective representation of the consequences of absolute power. He is also used as an allegory for the infamous leader of the communist revolution, …show more content…

By consuming alcohol, the pigs move further from the original principles of animalism and behave more and more like humans. Whom they previously all agreed are their one true enemy. By indulging in alcoholism, the pigs have also furthered themselves from the working-class animals and the audience is able to associate them sluggish tendencies (aspects often related to alcoholism). Another point of corruption is how Napoleon reinforced the unjust roles of the middle class in his society. The merciless dictator used propaganda (Squealer) and more viciously, threats/public executions. An example of this is when working-animals come forward to make clearly false confessions about collaborating with Snowball. At the end of this scene, the slaughter is described as

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