One of the key ideas represented in George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm” is control and how it is abused. Control is shown throughout the novel in many places, usually by Napoleon and the other pigs. It can be easily spotted in the scenes where the animals take over the farm from Mr. Jones, where the commandments are changed to suit the pigs needs and when the animals are made to believe whatever Napoleon says. These are not the only moments showing this idea, but are some of the most important.
In the first part of the novel, the animals take over the farm, which is one of the biggest representations of control in the book. It is one party taking control from another. The animals did not like how Mr. Jones was running the farm and decided to get rid of him. When everything else fails, the animals resort to violence to get what they want, inspired by Old Majors’ speech. This starts the entire plot for the book, of different animals (Napoleon, Snowball, Mr. Jones and the other farmers) trying to become the leader of Animal Farm. Mr. Jones abused his position of power and was kicked out, proving that majority rules. Control is essential to running the farm, whether that means a democracy or a dictatorship. Without a current leader, who is going to take over the burden of running animal farm? This moment is significant because it starts off the whole story, and is a clear representation of how control can be taken.
Over the course of the book, Napoleon and the other pigs change each of the commandments to something else, to benefit their needs. Every animal committed to the commandments when the joined the rebellion so nobody will argue with what they say. Most of the other animals cannot read so the pigs are easily able to trick them into thinking that the commandments were always like this. This allows them to manipulate everyone on the farm and get what they want. For example, one of the changes was “all animals are equal” to “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. This is to justify why the pigs are the ones leading animal farm, and gives them control over the farm. Another change that benefits the pigs is “no animal shall drink alcohol” to “no animal shall drink alcohol to excess”. The pigs do this just so they can drink, so they can be more human. The other animals have no say as most of them cannot read and the ones that do could be executed (the cause of another changed commandment). The pigs have complete control of the farm and the animals through the seven commandments. This is significant as it shows the power Napoleon has and how he is able to easily manipulate the other animals into doing what he wants.
Many of the animals believe that Napoleon is a fair and perfect leader for Animal Farm. In truth, he is a poor leader as he is a dictator who only cares about himself and (maybe) the other pigs. He doesn’t care about the welfare of the other animals and works them as hard as he can with as little nourishment as possible. Despite this, all the other animals think he is the best choice for leader. They are mislead to think that he doesn’t have any bad qualities and that the animals safety and health are at his best interests. One of the reasons everyone thinks Napoleon knows best is because Boxer says so. Boxer is one the most respected animals on the farm and with his motto “Napoleon is always right”, the other animals are inclined to believe it. Also, all the other pigs (the smartest animals on the farm) say the same thing, meaning to the animals that it must be true. Having the respect that Napoleon has, means he can convince and control the other animals into doing what he wants them to do. Squealer is essential to this plan because he feeds the other animals information that has been filtered to suit what the animals need to hear. It is not the truth, or at least the whole truth. This is important because without this power, all the animals would see him for what he is and Napoleon would be kicked out like Mr. Jones.
Control is one of the most important themes in the book, possibly the most important. The book is about how a group of animals take control of a farm, and how they manage without the people. You can see this theme most clearly in the moments where the animals take over the farm, when Napoleon and the other pigs change the commandments and how the animals are lead to believe that Napoleon is the best leader. Control is in every part of the story, but is more evident in these places.