Rebellion In George Orwell's Animal Farm

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Although in George Orwell's Animal Farm the animals institute a rebellion with the intention of forming a democratic utopia, Napoleon wrests control over the farm by appealing to the emotions and implementing doubts of self-worth into the psyches of the other animals. Through use of shock and awe, Napoleon constructs a society too fearful to defy him. Snowball, while expressing his ideas for the windmill, heard Napoleon screech and suddenly, "Nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws". (53) By employing the threat of death, Napoleon's strategy embodies "shock and awe": blitzkrieg. Napoleon…show more content…
The other animals' passive attitude towards the pigs' leadership fosters a sense of opportunity and entitlement among the pigs. After Snowball painted the Seven Commandments on the barn wall, "Snowball read it aloud... all the animals nodded in complete agreement and the cleverer ones at once began to learn the commandments by heart". (25) The unquestioning agreement with which the animals instantly accepted the pigs' laws illustrates the animals obedience. The most significant sign that the pigs would be able to take over the farm came from the response of the cleverer animals, who might have had the intellectual and moral strength to offer resistance, but who chose to merely memorize the edicts of the pigs. Clover realized that even though she could never read the commandments they looked different. Benjamin then read out to her the only commandment left on the wall. "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS... after that it did not seem strange when the next day the pigs... all carried whips". (134) The animals collective gullibility, proven by the lack of hesitation in accepting both the remaking and revoking of the pigs' laws, shows that it "did not seem strange" to them. Had some of the more intelligent animals protested earlier the power might not have been solely seized by…show more content…
Napoleon gives no regard to individuals' emotions as is proven by the out casting of Mollie. After the pigeons' report of seeing Mollie on a neighboring farm with a man stroking her nose, "None of the animals ever mentioned Mollie again". (47) Although Mollie is the poster child for violating the commandments, instead of being vilified as a traitor her presence is never examined again. Conscious of how the others will blindly accept these abuses, and not require "explanations", Napoleon thereby rewrites the "rules" through omission of Mollie's existence defying them without consequence. While walking through Mr. Jones house Mollie went missing and when the other animals went to check on her they found that, "She had taken a piece of blue ribbon from Mrs. Jones's dressing table, and was holding it against her shoulder and admiring herself in the glass in a very foolish manner". (23) By viewing individual preferences with disgust, Napoleon shows how his own selfish reign supersedes consideration of others' feelings. Since "what you give is what you get", the disapproval of others demonstrates a self loathing tendency of his own. Mollie's mistreatment thereby depicts not only how Napoleon maintains his tyranny through persecutions based on trivial matters, but how the lack of protest insures he will
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