Major Themes of Animal Farm Essay Example

stand on what is occurring is a cynical dismissal of the facts: Although he is correct in stating that “Life would go on as it had always gone on — that is, badly,” he, too, does nothing to stop the pigs’ ascension or even raise the other animals’ awareness of what is happening. His only action is to warn Boxer of his impending death at the knacker’s — but this is futile as it occurs too late to do Boxer any good. Role of the PopulaceBroadly speaking, Animal Farm satirizes politicians, specifically their rhetoric, ability to manipulate others, and insatiable lust for power. Despite his seemingly altruistic motives, Napoleon is presented as the epitome of a power-hungry individual who masks all of his actions with the excuse that they are done for the betterment of the farm.

His stealing the milk and apples, for example, is explained by the lie that these foods have nutrients essential to pigs, who need these nutrients to carry on their managerial work.His running Snowball off the farm is explained by the lie that Snowball was actually a traitor, working for Jones — and that the farm will fare better without him. Each time that Napoleon and the other pigs wish to break one of the Seven Commandments, they legitimize their transgressions by changing the Commandment’s original language. Whenever the farm suffers a setback, Napoleon blames Snowball’s treachery — which the reader, of course, knows is untrue.Napoleon’s walking on two legs, wearing a derby hat, and toasting Pilkington reflect the degree to which he (and the other pigs) completely disregard the plights of the other animals in favor of satisfying

their own cravings for power.

Thus, the dominant theme of Animal Farm is the tendency for those who espouse the most virtuous ideas to become the worst enemies of the people whose lives they are claiming to improve. Religion and Tyranny A final noteworthy (and again, satiric) theme is the way in which people proclaim their allegiance to each other, only to betray their true intentions at a later time.Directly related to the idea that the rulers of the rebellion (the pigs) eventually betray the ideals for which they presumably fought, this theme is dramatized in a number of relationships involving the novel’s human characters. Pilkington and Frederick, for example, only listen to Jones in the Red Lion because they secretly hope to gain something from their neighbor’s misery. Similarly, Frederick’s buying the firewood from Napoleon seems to form an alliance that is shattered when the pig learns of Frederick’s forged banknotes.

The novel’s final scene demonstrates that, despite all the friendly talk and flattery that passes between Pilkington and Napoleon, each is still trying to cheat the other (as seen when both play the ace of spades simultaneously). Of course, only one of the two is technically cheating, but Orwell does not indicate which one because such a fact is unimportant: The “friendly” game of cards is a facade that hides each ruler’s desire to destroy the other.