Rules Throughout The Story Of Animal Farm example essay topic

The original dream of Animalism was not to just have animals successfully run a farm, but to live by certain rules. Rules such as, all animals are equal, no animal shall kill another, and no animals shall drink, wear clothes, sleep in a bed, or do anything else that has to do with humans. This dream was a failure, because Napoleon disobeyed all of these rules throughout the story of Animal Farm. The dream of Animalism failed because of Napoleon's selfish nature, and inability to abide by rules that he found inconvenient.

From the very beginning, Napoleon started breaking the commandment that stated all animals are equal. He had all the milk and apples set aside for the pigs. He put forth the idea that the pigs depended on these things for survival, and that it was in the interest of the entire farm that they be set aside for them. The others were convinced by Squealer's arguments that " Milk and apples (this has been proven by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well being of a pig", and reminding them they didn't want Jones back. Another inequality on the farm was that only the pigs slept in the farmhouse. Not only that, but even among the pigs there was inequality.

Napoleon had Jones' bedroom all to himself. The usual excuse was given, that the pigs needed extra rest, because they had to organize everything and such, but the end result was that all the pigs lived in the comfort of a house, while the rest of the animals had to sleep on hay in the barn. The biggest inequality on Animal Farm was that none of the animals had any say against the word of Napoleon. It was an absolute dictatorship. After Snowball was expelled from the farm, Napoleon that there would be no more Sunday meetings, in which decisions had always been debated.

Instead, they would all just assemble to receive orders for the week. When some of the younger pigs began to protest, "the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again". From then on, Napoleon had complete control over the farm. Anyone who went against him would no doubt feel the wrath of his army of dogs. Eventually, Napoleon went so far as to change the commandment from "All animals are equal" to "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others". A second example of Napoleon's failure to follow rules is his breaking of all the commandments that prohibited animals to engage in human activities.

The first is "No animal shall drink alcohol". At first, the pigs never drank, because boxer had kicked over the barrel of beer, and they had no access to any. This changed very quickly when a bottle of whiskey, that had been previously undiscovered, was found in the house. They all intoxicated themselves without hesitation, and became quite fond of alcohol. So fond in fact, that they made a brewery on the farm so they could produce their own beer.

He also broke the commandment that "No animal shall sleep in a bed". In the beginning, it was decided that no animal should ever live in the farmhouse. This was never a commandment though, so it was not particularly appalling when the pigs moved in. It was, on the other hand, a big deal when it was discovered that the pigs had been sleeping in beds. Naturally, Napoleon did not want to give up the comfort of his bed, so he took extreme measures: he changed the commandment to fit his needs. The commandment soon read "No animal shall sleep in a bed in sheets", and it was therefore acceptable for the pigs to sleep in beds without coverings.

The last example of Napoleon breaking rules that prohibited human-like behavior is that he and all the other pigs taught themselves how to walk on their hind legs. It had been a fundamental principal of Animalism that walking on two legs is wrong, but they eventually broke this rule, to further the pigs's uperiority over the other animals. It certainly symbolized the failure and rejection of Animalism when there was a commotion and " out came Napoleon... majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side" and "he carried a win in his trotter". This left the animals speechless. The last example of commandments that Napoleon broke is "Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy". The first example of this is when he started dealing with Mr. Whymper.

The animals had agreed never to interact with humans, and many of them protested, but Napoleon put forth the idea that they never actually agreed that there would be no dealings with humans, and that it was necessary. Mr. Whymper was used to communicate with the outside world, which leads to the second example of interaction with humans; trading with the neighboring farms. The animals had agreed to never engage in trade with humans, but this did not fit Napoleon's agenda, so he chose to ignore Animalism's principals. It was decided that "From now onwards Animal Farm would engage in trade with the neighboring farms: not, of course, for any commercial purpose, but simply to obtain certain materials which were urgently necessary". So Napoleon decided to sell some hay and wheat, and eventually firewood to one of the farms, ignoring the wishes of the other animals and protests from the younger pigs.

Lastly, near the end of Animal Farm, Napoleon had several men over to the farm as his guests. This was not a business meeting, in which necessary trades were made, it was a social gathering, in which Napoleon could show off the farm, and how successful it had become. Napoleon made a toast, "Gentlemen t, here is my toast: To the prosperity of the Manor Farm!" , After which they resumed their game of poker. Not only were the humans no longer enemies, they were friends. How could a way of life be considered successful when every single principal and ideal has been ignored, broken and changed?

In the beginning, Animalism was about equality among animals, freedom, and rebellion against humans. In the end, the animals were even more underfed and overworked, the farm existed in alliance with human farms, and to the animals who did physical labour, which included all but the pigs, nothing had improved. Napoleon controlled the farm with his dogs, he organized all contact with humans, and he both allowed and instigated all breaking of the commandments. Animalism was a complete failure, and Napoleon was directly responsible.