Om Darji
4/30/23
Hour 4
Animal farm
George Orwell's novella “Animal Farm” tells the tale of a group of farm animals who overthrow
their human farmer and establish an animal-run society. But over time, the farm's most
intelligent animal, the pigs, starts to take control and turn corrupt. The novella is a satire of the
Russian Revolution, and it conveys two important morals to readers. The novella satirizes the
Russian Revolution while conveying two important morals to its audience. Which can be also
shown in history.
The first moral that “Animal Farm” teaches its audience is that power corrupts. The pigs on the
farm begin to behave more and more like humans throughout the novella, a quote to show this is
when some of the animals are secretly watching the pigs and humans play cards during the end
of the novella “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from
pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”(Orwell 854). This
quote shows the drastic change in the pig’s looks and behavior. The Pigs also start to oppress and
take advantage of the other animals. They control the other animals by using their intelligence to
justify their behavior. For example, they alter Animalism's commandments to suit their purposes
and turn to violence to keep their power and authority. As shown here “There was nothing there
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now except a single Commandment. It ran: All Animals Are Equal But Some Animals Are More
Equal Than Others” (Orwell 853). In the quote the Pigs have removed all the original
commandments and replaced them with one for their benefits. Orwell wants readers to be aware
of the potential risks of giving one person or group a lot of power, so they would fully
understand this lesson. He wants the audience to realize that even someone with good intentions
at first can turn corrupt when they are in a position of power.
The second moral that “Animal Farm” teaches its audience is that revolutions frequently fall
short of their goals. Because they believe they can build a better society for themselves, the farm
animals overthrow their human farmer. The other animals (all the animals except Pigs and
Dogs), however, find themselves in a poorer situation then before, which can be seen in the
following quote “He believed that he was right in saying that the lower animals on “Animal
Farm” did more work and received less food than any animals in the country.”(Orwell 853) .This
quote tells us that all the lower animals on “Animal Farm” are in a worse condition then they
every had been because the pigs ,who are also animals, are now taking advantage of them instead
of humans. To make readers aware of the challenges in establishing a just society, Orwell wants
to convey this moral to them. He wants the audience to understand that revolutions don't always
succeed and that they often have unintended consequences.
In conclusion, “Animal Farm” is a powerful novella that teaches readers two crucial morals. The
first moral implies that power corrupts, and the second moral is that revolutions often fail to
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achieve their goals. Orwell wants readers to be aware of these morals for them to fully
understand the challenges of creating a just society and the dangers of directing too much power
into the hands of one person or group. This two-sided novella can be viewed as either a simple
and direct tale about animals or a warning about the potential dangers of political power and
revolution. Overall, it is a tale of caution that is still relevant.
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