‘All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others’. How far is this idea important in Animal Farm?

Write about:  • What you think Orwell is saying about equality and inequality • How Orwell presents these ideas through the events of the novel. The original seven commandments produced by the pigs at the start of the Revolution are ultimately reduced to the single commandment; “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. Through this corruption of the original values of the revolution, Orwell presents his disgust at how the Stalin regime had twisted socialism to their own benefits, suiting their luxurious wants and greed and the ruling elite. This can be seen when Napoleon changes the commandment, “no animal shall sleep in a bed” to “no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” Through these manipulations, Orwell presents the emergence of a Totalitarian government, exposing what he believed to be the immoral practices of the Soviet regime. After the Revolution, the animals write the seven commandments in order to avoid what they deem to be the immoral and indulgent practices of the humans. However, after exiling Snowball and becoming more powerful, Napoleon soon realises that these human practices were present in order to exploit the animals for money and that he could do the same. Orwell exposes the similarities between the pre-Revolution regime and Napoleon’s rule through the contradictory line,"besides, in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference." This corruption of power can be seen in the gradual manipulation of the seven commandments. Orwell presents the failure of the Revolution in the ending scene of the book with the line, “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." The pigs have become the government they once despised, because they saw the benefits they could gain from the exploitation of a people who believed they were living free and did not realise what was happening before it was too late. Paragraph 2: Would indicate why the pigs think they have the right to be in charge- examples of them getting better food etc. and justifying this -They don’t work - Use animals- e.g. Boxer represents the hard-working naïve member of the lower class. “I must work harder” Conclusion: Through Animal Farm Orwell is presenting an allegory of the real-life decay of corruption in the Soviet government. Presents how the lower classes suffer at the hands of the greedy and exploitative. Immoral twisting of socialism. Uses the quote ‘all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others’ to expose this.