Animal Farm

The Seven Commandments and the way they are used in Animal Farm clearly indicate the satirical purpose Orwell intended to highlight; human vice and folly. This is displayed by both the leaders in the story and the rest of the animal community through the pigs' deceit and the animals' naivety.

The pigs in the story, who represent the leaders who take over after the Rebellion, use the Commandments to manipulate the other animals, forcing them to do what they want the animals to do and believe what them want them to believe. This highlights human vice. The pigs take advantage of the fact that the animals are uneducated, therefore unable to read or remember the Commandments properly or unable to recognize that they are being tampered with and manipulated to serve the pigs' agenda. For example, in chapter 8 after the "confessions" and executions took place Clover felt certain one of the Commandments ruled out killing another animal, but when she asked Muriel to read it to her, it said "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause." Since the animals could not remember the original rule they accepted it. Instead of the Seven Commandments setting the standard for the life Major's dream predicted, they are a tool used by the pig, making their indiscretions plausible.

The pigs also take advantage of the animals' trust and belief in the Seven Commandments. For the animals, the Commandments represent a future they have worked hard to secure; it's a symbol of the Rebellion and their freedom. The Commandments are important to them and so they don't want to see that their leaders are using the Commandments, along with "statistics" and propaganda, to feed them empty promises and give them false hope. This blind faith shows us human folly. The animals' foolishness to believe what is being fed to them prevents the outcome for them to come even close to the Utopian life that they have worked