“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Jeremiah Homer
March 22, 2012
English III: Mr. Smith

Animal Farm Analysis Paper

Animal Farm, by George Orwell is a story that depicts the consequences that arise when people (or in this case, animals) are given too much power, as they have shown to abuse it. The story begins with a boar named Old Major, who gathers all the animals on the farm to tell them about a dream he had in which the animals lived on the farm under their own power, and not under the power of humans. Old Major explains to them that they must work towards this goal, as he teaches them a song called “Beasts of England” which eventually becomes an essential part of their rebellion on the farm. When Old Major dies and passes away, three younger pigs,
Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball take leadership positions in their plan to overtake the human owners, which they managed to do, running him off the land. In its early stages, the farm prospered extremely under the control of the animals, as Snowball teaches the animals reading skills, and Napoleon took a group of young puppies under his wing to teach them the principles of Animalism. In later times, Napoleon and Snowball begin to argue and bicker about what is best for the prosperity of the farm, like when Snowball had an idea to build a windmill that generates electricity, which would greatly benefit the farm. However, Napoleon disagreed on this and when the town meeting came to vote on the idea, he had his dogs chase Snowball off the farm, making him the sole leader. As the story, the animals are confused because they cannot tell the difference between the humans and the pigs, as they both mirrored each other in looks and characteristics. Snowball: Snowball is shown as a very intelligent character, as he was effectively able to teach the animals how to read, which was extremely helpful in their efforts to read the 7 commandments of Animalism. Although he is very smart and articulate, he is proved to have flaws that can be easily missed. For example, Snowball basically accepts the superiority of the pigs over the rest of the animals. His use of logic and common sense of principles is what led to his downfall on the farm, as Napoleon was able to easily dominate his way to power by brute force, as he ordered the dogs to run Snowball off the farm.

From Chapter 10:

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”- Narrator.

This sentence is vital to the story because it basically tells the theme; “Power corrupts.” It shows how much the pigs have abused their leadership powers as they revised one of the seven commandments, from “All animals are equal” to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” It clearly goes against the dream that Old Major explained to the animals before his death, and becomes the definite symbol of corruption in the book.