Corruption In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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Corruption Doesn’t Discriminate Power, in the hands of an individual, eventually turns one corrupt. In the real world and the literary world,many leaders of society become corrupt since they use their authority to enhance their lifestyle rather the lives of others. Power itself is not a corrupt concept; however, giving power to a person creates corruption. This corruption is evident in many instances in history as well as literature. Anyone who obtains power innately becomes corrupt no matter how good of a leader one is. The demand of power is an aspiration everyone contains as this desire is human instinct. Because an individual abuses his or her power for personal gain, an individual becomes naturally corrupt, manipulating others for power.…show more content…
In George Orwell’s allegorical novella, Animal Farm, he depicts animals corrupting power. Orwell uses animals to prove his point that no matter who holds power, they will always become corrupt. He does so by using pigs to show corruption and the rest of the animals as the victims of corruption. Specifically, antagonist Napoleon, a pig, changes the farm he resides in, Manor Farm to Animal Farm and promises a world free of misery after a rebellion occurs overthrowing, the humans of the farm; however, Benjamin the donkey expresses his opinion of social reform and foreshadows the dictatorship and tyranny the animals will face. Benjamin believes, “...life would go on as it had always gone on- that is, badly” (page 65). Orwell uses the donkey to symbolize himself in the story, showing his skepticism of the future after the rebellion as Orwell has experienced the same situation that the animals have. Many people wish for change in desperate situations, believing and trusting in anyone who guarantees a better future. Because of this trust, a person rises to power, manipulating others into…show more content…
Propaganda is a very popular form of persuasion and toys with a person’s emotions. Propaganda entices a person to do something, take actions, or make a certain decision. With the support of mass populations, leaders are able to take control over a society due to the manipulation of feelings. Furthermore, Orwell believes many leaders use propaganda as a method of manipulation as well. He uses Squealer, the pig, to symbolize the propaganda leaders use to convince others, helping Napoleon to gain more power. Squealer reassures the farm animals that their leader is trying to make life better when actually he is making life even worse. Squealer’s superb use of propaganda affected the animals greatly as he “made excellent speeches on the joy of service and the dignity of labour” (page 84-84). Squealer is concealing the fact that the animals are working for others, but Squealer utilizes his rhetorical and propaganda skills to convince the animals to work harder. This manipulation to make the animals work harder is a profit for the pigs, not the workers. Many corrupt leaders overuse their powers to not do any work while they force others to do the hard work. Because of propaganda, many think that their hard work pays off as leaders use their powers to manipulate others, causing corruption. Neverless the hard work, people face difficult tasks just to satisfy their leader and a better
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