Examples Of Illiteracy In Animal Farm

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It is rare to find a government that is not corrupt in one way or another. George Orwell's Animal Farm demonstrates that very well. Nativity, illiteracy, and lack of advocacy leads to manipulation by authority figures. Over the course of the book, many of the lower class animals are taken advantage of due to their nativity. For example, the pigs claim all of the milk as theirs, explaining to the others, "It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples" (31). The animals don't know enough to realize that the pigs are not truthful and are taking advantage of them. Another instance of this is when Napoleon changes the Commandment about drinking. The narrator says "They had thought the Fifth Commandment was 'No animal shall drink alcohol,' but there were two words that they had forgotten. Actually, the Commandment read: 'No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.'" (96). The animals, once again, trusted the pigs instead of their own memories, making it easy for the pigs to take manipulate them.…show more content…
With the exception of the pigs, dogs, and a few others, most animals "were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart" (29). When the lower class cannot educate themselves, they stand no chance of overcoming their circumstance or moving up in the social order. The illiteracy also allows Napoleon to twist the information he gives out. He made up lies about Snowball and offered evidence that he said "I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to read it" (72-73). The lower class of animals don't have any reason to doubt Napoleon because they don't hear any information that contradicts what he
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