The Role Of Autocracy In George Orwell's Animal Farm

At a glance, Communism appeals to many individuals as an ideal form of government that can provide equal opportunities for all aspects of society. However, in reality this ideal is easily bastardized by human greed. Within George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, the citizens of Animal Farm face a similar situation when their livestock paradise is transformed by Napoleon’s oppressive regime. By the use of several methods of control, including: corruption of leadership, use of terror in society, and the complacency of the citizens, the pigs built a farm for themselves rather than for their fellow animals. From the start of Animal Farm, the pigs’ growing autocracy dominates the other farm animals’ lives. The effects of the autocracy are first
Earlier in the story, Napoleon raises a pack of dogs that respond only to his command. They do so relentlessly and without question, as portrayed by the narrator, “They did not know which was more shocking- the treachery of the animals who had leagued themselves with Snowball, or the cruel retribution they had just witnessed” (76). After this scene, Napoleon alters the Sixth Commandment (“No animal shall kill any other animal” (80)) in his favor by adding “without cause” to the end of the commandment to provide an excuse for the incident and possible future incidents. He uses his policing dog force to create a diversion that will force the other animals to comply with what he does and says, or they will risk being killed or banished. Napoleon also takes credit for the Snowball’s ideas for, and makes it seem as if he was the intelligent mastermind behind the creation of the windmills and the leader in the victory at the Battle of Cowshed. Eventually, the citizens of the Animal Farm begin to accept this change (and more alterations to the Seven Commandments to come), leading to the final stage to the dystopian