Animal Farm Essay

Animal farm shows readers that power always corrupts. Discuss.

George Orwell’s famous book, Animal farm is an example of how power corrupts, but it does not always corrupt. Old Major never attempts to gain control over all the other animals. Snowball is not trying to appear superior to all the other animals. Napoleon however is trying to control every animal on the farm to do his bidding. Animal farm is an example of how power corrupts, but not always.

Old Major never attempts to control the animals despite having an immense amount of power. All he does is influence the way all the animals think and he gives the idea of the rebellion. Old Major tells the animals the song, “Beasts of England,” to encourage their moral and to begin the rebellion. He has the power to call all the animals to one area so he can tell them about what he thinks. Every word Old Major speaks, affects all the animals to some extent. Showing the power that Old Major possesses over the animals and the huge influence he is. If he so desires, he can get the animals to do what he wants them to do. But, Old Major never does that sort of thing, suggesting that power does not always corrupt the ones in power.

Snowball is one of the animals that became in power shortly after the rebellion along with Napoleon. He is telling us what we can do to help defeat the humans at the “Battle of the Cowshed.” This shows a huge amount of power in his hands and he does not abuse this right. Snowball is announcing how we should have ceremonies every year on the same date as the “Battle of the Cowshed” and when the rebellion occurred. This reminds everyone about the rebellion and how the animals have can win against the humans. Snowball can easily control all the animals with all that power, but he is not, showing little signs of corruption despite all that power in front of him.

Napoleon is controlling all the animals and thinks that he is superior to all the other animals, despite the original commandment saying that