Essay
Animal Farm
George Orwell is the creative pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair, a famous English
writer, journalist, essayist and critic. His work is characterized by a deep awareness
of social injustice, intense opposition to totalitarianism, faith in democratic
socialism, as well as a passion for clarity in language and unsurpassed wit.
"Animal Farm" is an allegorical novel by George Orwell, in which the author
refers to the traditions of fable, fairy tale and classic English satire. This work of
Orwell was recognized as a magnificent parable that touches on global themes. The
problems of society touched upon in this work are still relevant. This essay reveals
the topic of people in power and how it can be used in the wrong way. In my
opinion, the main idea of the book is the destruction of human moral principles due
to excessive power and its misuse. The people who came to power differ from the
rest in their ability to lead everyone and convince others of their rightness and their
point of view. Such characters are also found in the work of J. Orwell. I would like
to note that such people can use their oratorical qualities not only for the benefit of
society and its prosperity, but also against it and for their own possibly selfish
purposes. So, what kind of people should be in power and why can power be used
to the detriment of society?
In the modern world, where everyone can freely express their opinion and point of
view, which may differ from others or vice versa be similar to others, there are
people who skillfully use it. However, there are people with quite a lot of influence
who can impose their worldview on others, and they may not notice it and blindly
follow everything they are told. At first, it may start very innocuously and
unobtrusively, it may seem as if these people are trying to help and offer the best
option for certain situations. But after a while it can be noticed that they are
becoming more and more despotic in their manifestations of power over others.
And here we can draw a parallel with the work of J. Orwell "Animal Farm". Since
it can be seen that in his work at the beginning everything was voluntary, each
character was more than happy and happy with the things happening on the farm,
because they all rejoiced, overthrowing people and proclaiming pigs as new
"leaders". But despite this, the problems only begin when, again “the "leaders"
begin to share power and use it for their own selfish purposes. Also, closer to the
middle of the book, you can notice the disclosure of one of the characters, and in
particular, Napoleon from a completely different side. He uses repression and the
repressive apparatus as a means of controlling the rest. While the rest of the cattle,
due to their lack of education and stupidity, do not know who to believe and what
is right and what is not. This state of affairs was taken advantage of by pigs and,
especially by Napoleon himself. Here I would like to draw a parallel with the
present time and note that even now uneducated and ignorant people are the easiest
to manage. And educated and enlightened people cannot freely express their
opinions and defend their rights. Since the higher-ranking people in power do not
give them such opportunities and try in every possible way to slander them and
refute their position. And plus, such self-serving people in power most often abuse
their powers and a vivid example of this can be seen in the work of J. Orwell.
In conclusion, this book clearly describes how power can be used very unilaterally
and selfishly and change people by having a bad influence on them. Through the
characters, the author describes what people with power can be and what they do
not always think about the welfare of members of society. It can also be noticed
that along with the characters, their secret shortcomings are revealed, which the
author wanted to convey to the reader through the prism of power and impunity.
