Essay response to Animal Farm by George Orwell
Literature throughout the ages seems to always question people of power--the people that messed up; the people who let the power drive them to insanity. In the novel, Animal Farm, the author, George Orwell, writes about exactly that; how people of power should never be trusted. Power is practically a lethal weapon and when strong enough, can not be stopped. Great power is the most dangerous power when that power and control is not shared. Power comes in many forms, from controlling and demanding to praising and loved, but they all have potential to turn into a spiraling downfall.
When power is compared, it has its many similarities but it also has its differences. For instance, when power of rulers before are compared to the celebrities now, the power is completely different. Power then, to people, means kings and queens and dictators and, in our eyes, most of them used their power to do evil but when we look at celebrities today, we love them and praise them for their abilities. Think of Oprah, think of how she has this huge show that millions of people watch, think of when she has a product or service advertised on that show, by Oprah herself, the first thing the watchers do is go out and buy it, thinking that it will work. The power the woman has is massive, she could say anything and people would believe her. Now, her power isn’t that bad though, only a few lies here and there but that’s just human weakness; we can’t help it, but the powers of rulers then was much worse. First, the time was much stricter and laws were less strict about what a ruler could or couldn’t do. They could get away with lies and cruel discipline, that normally no one would be able to get away with now. Power then was horrific and scaring when compared to most people of power now; power before was only fueled by one thing, fear.
Napoleon is a perfect example of a ruler that is cruel and merciless. Napoleon, who the animal version of Stalin, seems to think that harsh consequences are earned with every act of disobedience. He forces fear to pulse through his supposed comrades veins while he murders their kind if front of their eyes. He makes his own rules and is too ignorant to notice that the some animals are on to him. That Clover, who can not read, can still see past these bogus lies he’s put out. This is one flaw in Napoleon’s plan for power, that one little crack that has the potential to burst, the potential the rebel against his evil ways. Yet, Clover only suspects and does not take advantage of it when she had the chance. Same with Benjamin, an old donkey meant to play the role of the Jewish community during the Russian Revolution, who knows the stealthy ways Napoleon runs things and just lays back and watches his friends suffer. To this, I disagree, people should always speak out even if it means consequence to them or if too scared to, make a plan to slowly make the power deteriorate. Sometimes, keeping what you know inside can not only hurt you but the people around you when the time comes, when things get too bad to handle.
Even now, we, as humans, still dream of major power; it is what most people crave. We can’t help but to take advantage of it, to do what we want when we finally have it. In Animal Farm, Napoleon is overwhelmed by this new power he has and is controlled by it, causing cruelty and chaos at his will. A good ruler has to share his power and share their ideas, otherwise we might never know what’s going through their heads as they watch us from their high thrones of power. It is things like power that, in fact, keep our world together but it is also what can crush our world to pieces.
