The Book of Power and Manipulation

The Book of Power and Manipulation

  • Submitted By: lorenreid
  • Date Submitted: 10/21/2008 11:58 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1092
  • Page: 5
  • Views: 3

Animal Farm written by George Orwell (1945) is a book about power and manipulation.
Napoleon and Squealer use the dogs throughout the novel as weapons and as a way to scare the animals.
However, the dogs aren’t the only use to keep the pigs in power. Squealers way with words manipulates the animals into thinking things that aren’t true and forces them to remember false memories.
Snowball, in certain ways, is utilized by Napoleon and Squealer to stay in power, Snowball having left the farm, the two can blame their faults on him.

Napoleon has brought the dogs up to be fierce, aggressive killing machines, this scares the animals into keeping the pigs in power.
The first time we witness the dogs being used as weapons, is when they chase Snowball off the farm. They start snarling and biting at him as they are chasing him and they only just miss him. After Snowball has disappeared, the dogs return to Napoleons side, and it is clear that they belong to him, and they are under his command.
If the animals misbehave or if they break the commandments, they are slaughtered.
“… The dogs promptly tore their throats out…” (56)
When some of the animals ‘admit’ to being accomplices of Snowball, they are instantly killed. This is a perfect example of the power Napoleon has over the animals.
We know as readers, that Snowball hadn’t been in contact with the animals, and that the dogs and Napoleon together had managed to force the animals to admit to something that they didn’t do. This shows us, that the animals are scared of both Napoleon and his dogs.
You wouldn’t admit to something you didn’t do, if you weren’t scared of something.
Boxer questions Napoleon when one of the commandments is changed, and Napoleon sets the dogs on him. Boxer manages to fight back and pin one of the dogs down.
He would have been able to kill the dog in a second, but he looked at Napoleon, and didn’t kill the dog, he simply lifted his hoof and let him go. He did this because of the power...

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