mini essay

In the novel ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell we are confronted with the blatant use of manipulation, distortion of the truth and the willingness to lie and kill to maintain the control of others. This power struggle is retained all through the book but is very significant in chapter six and seven. Many of the characters in ‘animal farm’ fall victim to Napoleons tactics that are used to retain his control of ‘animal farm’; Napoleon bans the song ‘The Beasts of England’, the changing of the 10 commandments and the mass killings.

The first act of suppression often is something very small and insignificant. So that it builds up to something really big but because its been so gradual no one really notices until its to late. Like not being allowed to go out after dark or a song may be banned. Although in the scheme of things this may seem tiny and irrelevant, the suppression can only grow. When Napoleon bans the song ‘The Beasts of England’ no one really thought twice about it because it is so small. “It's no longer needed, comrade, In 'Beasts of England' we expressed our longing for a better society in days to come.
But that society has now been established. Clearly this song has no longer
any purpose.” Squealer says this to the animals after announcing that beasts of England, this of course is only the first of many things that become ‘frowned upon (banned)’ this small thing just leads the pigs to change the rules for their benefits.

Power and manipulation come hand in hand because to get one you must use the other. Power is a dominant theme in animal farm. Usually surrounding the pigs as they manipulate the other animals too think they are acting to do what best for them when what they’re doing is what’s best for the pigs. Squealer is often convincing the animals to think that napoleon is doing what best for them even if it means he has to li

e. 'A most terrible thing has been discovered. Snowball has sold himself to Frederick of Pinchfield Farm' squealer lies to the animals to set them against snowball to manipulate them into thinking napoleon did he right thing when he ran snowball off the farm. This is just one example of the lies and distortions of the truth, so that animals can have no doubts about the ‘Great Leader Napoleon’. And when the animals start to disagree or when the pigs believe there is a threat of some kind they make examples of innocent animals by killing them. Death is a horrible and unnecessary way of keeping people in line. Napoleon kills many animals because they have ‘betrayed’ animal farm. The pigs are always talking about how napoleon is only looking after them and that he only has their interests at heart when really he is only ever thinking of himself, and when he thinks that his lavish lifestyle is under threat he finds a new and more effective way to instil fear in his ‘comrades’ so that his power will never be taken away from him. “I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could
happen on our farm.” Boxer says this after the mass killing. He is shocked because one of the Ten Commandments is ‘No animal shall kill any other animal.’ This commandment and many others begin to be broken and changed by only the pigs. In the early days of the rebellion no one would have ever dreamed such a thing would happen on animal farm why would animals kill each other it’s barbaric.

Animal farm is based on actual events that happened during the Russian revolution. Chapter 6 and 7 are very significant because it is when the pigs start breaking the most basic rules for there own benefits, and because this is when you start to see the relationship between the power and suppression because one cannot occur without the other. The pigs use every tactic to remain in power and the other animals are suppressed in the process. So in the novel ‘animal farm’ it seems that everyone is afraid of something, the pigs are afraid of the animals revolting and taking away there power and the animals are afraid of the pigs taking away the idea of there precious animal farm (weather or not the animal farm is actually there dream) so in the end the pigs become what they hate and loathe the people they feared in the first place.