From Prosperity to Chaos Animal Farm Essay From Prosperity to Chaos Animal Farm, written by George Orwell is a magnificent novel that teaches the affect power has on an individual. The story unfolds in a sequence of events leading to a question, how would the story unfold for Napoleon if Old Major had never passed? Would the story become the imagined utopian society? These questions are tuff to answer because of what had happened during the story.The book had started off with Old Major as the leader of the animals, he is the one who started the whole movement for the animals to rebel against the humans and have their own society with their own commandments. The Old Major had imagined the farm to prosper into a utopian society and also to help his cause, he created the Beasts of England.
This is a song that the animals had sung every day and after every accomplishment, to prove that they are no longer in captivity and are free animals. Just like any other society, this farm also had rules which were the seven commandments.These commandments were to ensure that all the animals were equal and they never practiced the ways of the humans. The seven commandments were: “whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend, no animal shall wear clothes, no animal shall sleep in a bed, no animal shall drink alcohol, no animal shall kill any other animal and all animals are equal.
”(Orwell, 9) After Old Majors death, Snowball and Napoleon had taken over has the leaders of the farm, this is also around the time, the utopian society ideal, started to fade away.Snowball does not last long as Napoleon chases him off with a bunch of vicious dogs that had nearly killed him. With Napoleon in power, a lot of changes were made around the farm and to the commandments, to favor the pigs. Napoleon created tremendous amounts of inequality and also used violence to keep the animals in fear, so they don’t act against Napoleon. Napoleon had also done many things to occupy the animals time such as the construction of the windmill and showing the animals TV.
He does this so they are distracted from him committing deeds that go against the commandments, such as drinking alcohol, communicating with humans and sleeping on a bed. By the end of the novel, Napoleon only leaves one commandment for everyone to follow which is, four legs good, two legs better. Also towards the end of the novel, Napoleon starts behaving as if he was human as well, as he stands on his two hind legs and hosts a banquet at the farm for the humans. It is evident throughout history that no two leaders are the same, the same goes for the case with Old Major and Napoleon.Due to the change in leadership, the seven commandments altered drastically over the course of the novel resulting in mayhem for Animal Farm as the society that Old Major created was equal and just, through the seven commandments, creating a utopian society and the book ended off with the seven commandments being rearranged drastically because of Napoleon, creating a dystopian society.
The society that the great Old Major had imagined was where there were no humans to order them and make them act like slaves. It is also a place where all the animals would be treated like equals.According to Old Major, the image built for how the farm would be is because of the seven commandments, symbolizing a utopian society, much like Sugarcandy Mountain. Each commandment played a crucial role to build the utopian society.
The commandment that stood out of the seven would have to be the seventh commandment. This rule states that “all animals are equal. ” Old Major ensures that every animal on the farm is to be treated as equals and so no animal is above another. This commandment is made so all the animals can live in harmony as no problems would occur because of power struggles.This commandment relates to communism, a political ideology still practiced by a few countries such as Cuba and North Korea (Freestone, 14-15).
This ideology also states that there is to be absolute equality among the masses, in all aspects. This would mean a neurosurgeon would be paid exactly the same amount as a cleaner. There are clear problems with absolute equality and is also why this commandment fails fairly quickly. “If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak. (Orwell, 34) Through this quote, it is explained about the kind of society that every animal on the farm was dreaming about and the society that old Major gave to the animal farm. The old Major ensured that every animal on the farm participated for the betterment of the farm.
Old Major saw all of the humans as the enemy. Old Major did not want anyone to associate themselves with the humans and also to ensure that none of the animals behaved like the humans as well. After the old Major died, there was a battle between the humans and the anima ls which was renounced as “The Battle of Cowshed”.All but two commandments had gone against what the humans did, such as no animal shall drink alcohol.
The hatred the animals have for humans is reflected upon their commandments and is also why the battle of cowshed was such a monumental victory for them. “In the end, it was named the Battle of Cowshed, since that was where the ambush had been sprung. Mr. Jones’s gun had been found lying in the mud, and it was known that there was a supply of cartridges in the farmhouse. ”(Orwell, 17) This battle was started by Mr. Jones, who wanted to get his farm back, resulting in a fierce battle between the humans and the animals.
The battle left one human and several animals dead. In the end, the animals won and the humans once again ran away. This quote is especially important as it symbolizes that the animals were one team and they will fight together in any battle. The Beasts of England is the anthem Old Major had given to the animals to signify the unity of them all. This song was sung everywhere and every time by all the animals on the farm.
“…the whole farm burst out into Beasts of England in tremendous unison. The cow lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it.They were so delighted with the song that they sand it right through five times in succession…” (Orwell, 5) The song “Beasts of England” gave the animals courage to fight through the battles and gave them hope of surviving the battle against humans. This song did not only become their anthem but also became their motto for encouragement.
This quote accurately depicts the love the animals have for this song as it symbolized the animals are not to be taken lightly, they shall not stand to be treated like slaves and showed that they are all free beings.This was the society that old Major had built and the society that every animal on the farm dreamed of. This dream was shattered when the old Major died and Napoleon came to power. With the death of Old Major and with Snowball chased off the farm, Napoleon took control of the Animal Farm and completely altered it from its original state.
The book ended off with the seven commandments being drastically rearranged because of Napoleon, creating a dystopian society. The seven commandments is the basis of Animal Farm, without it, the animals would not know how to act.The commandments were changed due to the fact that all the animals except the pigs were not so intelligent. This had resulted in the pigs being able to change the commandments overnight and state they were always like this. Since the cynical pigs were the intelligent ones, the rest of the pigs agreed thinking that they had just forgotten.
All the commandments were very important for the animals to follow including “all animals are equal”, this commandment was changed to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. (Orwell, 51-52) Under the Napoleon rule, the changes that were made to the commandments allowed for inequality to settle between the pigs and the rest of the animals. These changes were made in favor of the pigs and allowed for them to have more rights than the rest of the animals on the farm. “The whole management and organization of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink the milk and eat those apples.
” (Orwell, 14) This quote explains how the pigs are making excuses for eating all of the food and not sharing with the rest of the animals.They state that they are eating all the food because they need the strength in order to keep the whole society in order. These are all just excuses to take control of the food supply, showing a tremendous amount of inequality. “There were times when it seemed to the animals that they worked longer hours and fed no better than they had done in Jones's,” (Orwell, 35) Through this quote it can be seen that the animal farm was once again in the state that it was in when Mr. Jones was in charge. All the hard work the Old Major had put into the farm has all gone in vain.
The animals were treated like slaves where they worked for longer hours but were not fed properly. “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy” and “Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend” are two commandments which were also altered into one commandment which sustained as the only commandment left, which animals must follow according to Napoleon. This commandment is "Four legs good, two legs better" (Orwell, 51) Under the Napoleon rule, he wanted everyone to behave more like humans and less like animals. This Animal Farm was becoming more human and less like the farm that the Old Major had dreamed of.Napoleon and his gang of pigs were becoming more like humans not only in the way they behaved but also they were trying to walk like humans as well, using two feet.
“Then they saw what Clover had seen. It was a pig walking on his hind legs. Yes, it was Squealer. A little awkwardly, as through not quite used to supporting his considerable bulk in that position, but with perfect balance, he was strolling across the yard. ” (Orwell, 51) Here it is shown that the pigs are going against the original commandments and are becoming more like humans.The pigs are walking on two feet which is why the commandment was changed.
The third commandment that was changed under Napoleons rule was “No animal shall kill any other animal” which was changed to “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause. ” (Orwell, 35) This change in the commandment proved to be the most controversial out of all the changes because it distilled a tremendous amount of fear in the animals. The fear the animals have towards Napoleon is one of the main reasons why many suggest that Napoleon had become a dictator as well as a tyrant.The way the pigs had treated the other animals with the use of fear and violence was the opposite of what the old major had wanted to happen.
The old Major wanted a society where the animals did not kill each other but protected each other but Napoleon had made a society where only the pigs ruled and everyone else lived in fear. “When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess. ” (Orwell, 33) This shows how the pigs were using power for their own amusement and because they could.The other animals were made to confess to any wrong doings they committed and when they confessed Napoleon ordered his dogs to kill them. This shows how Napoleon had frightened the other animals to follow his orders without any arguments. “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, 54) In the end of the book, this quote shows that now there was difference between the pigs and the humans.The pigs had completely become humans and the rest of the animals were just once again slaves to the humans, back to where the book had started. Animal Farm is truly a spectacular book that teaches a powerful lesson on power, control, greed and self-righteousness. It is a miraculous story that leaves its readers questioning the outcomes, if certain events had followed through. The Animal Farm was not the farm that the animals had dreamed of and the dreams of the animals and Old Major were truly shattered.
The death of Old Major had resulted in a series of events that would lead to the down fall of the farm.After Snowball is chased off, Napoleon is the only one in charge. Napoleon goes completely against what Old Major believed in and indirectly going against the seven commandments. Using violence, terror and intellect, Napoleon seizes absolute control over the farm.
When this happens, the animals are being treated as they were treated when Mr. Jones was in charge of the farm. Sugarcandy Mountain was the kind of utopian society that the animals had dreamt of, a place where they would not have to work as hard as they were and a place where each animal would have equal opportunities and rights.This was not the case as the seven commandments changed drastically over the course of the novel.
A utopian society much like the Sugarcandy Mountain, is what all the animals had strived for, so what if Old Major and Snowball, remained on the farm, would Animal Farm become the utopian society? And is there such thing as a utopian society in the real world? Bibliography Freestone, Perry. The Communist Countries. Guernsey: Francis Hodgson, 1968. 14-15.
Print. Orwell, George. Animal Farm;. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.
