Essay: Animal Farm by George Orwell – pigs

Introduction:
In this report, I shall be covering Animal Farm by George Orwell, and the specific area that at the end of the book, the pigs were as bad as the human. Throughout the book, the pigs had slowly made the farm go downhill. The other animals’ workload was increased, their food was shortened and the farm had few benefits. At the end of the book, there is little to distinguish between what was a pig and what was a human. I will be explaining this further.
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Throughout the book, the pigs slowly increase the obvious gap between them and the animals, and the quality of the farm slowly deteriorates. At the end of the book, the animals cannot decipher the difference between the pigs and the humans. The pigs begin to show this more and more, the further you get into the book. Some examples of this are: Walking on their hind legs (pg. 89), and drinking whisky (pg. 72). “Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. 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” – pg. 95 – This statement already states that there are many similarities between the changed pigs and the humans. Although there is no guarantee that the animals’ opinion is correct, as they have poor sight and throughout the book show their low level of intelligence, it could very well be true.
After the rebellion, the pigs set Commandments. These are to ensure that ‘all animals are equal’. One by one, the pigs begin to turn on these commandments, either changing them at night time to their own, twisted version and taking advantage of the other animals’ lack of intellect, or going back on them and disobeying them completely. Because they do this, they ultimately are very similar, as the humans lead over their workers as well. They also begin to take advantage over the animals. They take more food for themselves as they think they are of higher class, and also begin directing orders to the other animals. They set a food ration, even though they are all equal, and Napoleon, the ‘leader’, would often be seen patrolling the grounds with a procession of other pigs and dogs, who serve as guards. If the pigs were all equal, then why would they need guards? They also use the quote: ‘All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.’ This is wrong as there is obviously no such thing as more equal than others.
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When the animals first completed the rebellion, it was obvious that the farm had rid of the source of the problem. The community was happy, they were not pinned down by a ruler and could replenish their health. This was their farm now. The pigs set rules so they could never go back to what it once was, because it was better now. The pigs took it into their own hands to manage the farm from behind the scenes. It was working, for a while, and everyone was equal. The farm had clearly escalated in its productivity, and the general vibe. The farm was running smoothly until the day snowball was banished from the farm and Napoleon became ‘leader’.
‘Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more. Silent and terrified, the animals crept back into the barn. In a moment, the dogs came bounding back. At first no one had been able to imagine where these creatures had come from, but the problem was soon solved: They were the puppies that Napoleon had taken away from their mothers and reared privately” – pg. 35-36. This quote marks the start of the downfall of the farm. Napoleon knew that Snowball, the other ‘leader’, would overpower him and therefore chased him off. He was powered by his own, frightful lust for power, and was rewarded for his dark tactics.
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The pigs running of the farm is very different to what Old Major had previously stated. The running of the farm was to be conducted in a fair way, with all the animals having a fair share of food, water and workload. As the book progresses, the pigs begin to bend and twist this ideology.