Animal Farm Essay

Animal Farm Essay

In Animal Farm, by George Orwell, there are changes to the seven commandments that were put in affect by the 'Animal Farm'. When the Seven Commandments were created they were intended to "form an unalterable law by which all animals on Animal Farm must live forever after" (Orwell 21). These commandments were painted in giant white letters on the side of the barn by Snowball, so everybody could see them. This goes to show the importance of the Seven Commandments when they were first formed. However, as the pigs adopt human behavior progressively throughout the novel, the Seven Commandments are changed. Three of the commandments that were changed were "No animal shall sleep in a bed", "No animal shall kill any other animal", and "All animals are equal".

The first commandment that was altered is "No animal shall sleep in a bed." This commandment was now changed by the pigs to "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets". This commandment was changed after the pigs started living in the farmhouse and rumors were saying that they were even sleeping in beds. This would be a violation of one of the seven commandments, but when Clover asked Muriel to read the appropriate commandment it now read "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets". Squealer explains to hem that all animals sleep on beds and that a pile of straw is a bed after all, but sheets are a human invention, that constitutes the true source of evil. This change shows how supreme power on the farm corrupts whoever possesses it. The pigs on the farm are now turning into power hungry entities that subsist only by oppressing others. This event is the first real sign that the pigs were turning into dictator like figures.

The second commandment change was to the commandment that stated "No animal shall kill any other animal". This commandment was changed to "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause" after the bloody executions. These executions were held when Napoleon forced certain animals to admit their participation in a conspiracy with Snowball. This change shows that the pigs' leadership, Napoleon and Squealer's in particular, render their dictatorship indestructible. This is because they now have a death penalty that will be used when anybody questions the pigs' false sense of reality at the farm. Even though the animals literally catch Squealer rewriting the law on the side of the barn, they don't do anything about it. At a time when they should rebel they don't, showing you their fear. This shows that the pigs' power has reached an all time high, to the point where the other animals are afraid to intervene with anything they do.

The last and possibly the most important change was to the commandment that said "All animals are equal". This commandment was the last