Greed Through the Power of Corruption: “Animal Farm”

Greed is indescribable; to want everything and anything, to never be satisfied until it consumes the world. Of all the traits that one possesses, greed is said to be the most influential of them all. Through the course of George Orwell’s popular satire, "Animal Farm", traits of greed and selfishness can be picked up chapter by chapter.

These traits that Orwell uses to describe the actions of the characters can be comparable to the modern era where our society is ridden with greed and selfishness for different desires. Animal Farm and the society of North Korea are consumed and impacted by greed and selfishness through unequal rights, ruthless oppression, and lack of a unified government. Throughout the course of "Animal Farm", unequal rights are traced through the building of the windmill, to the harvest for food. Through the harsh summer harvest, Napoleon announced “Any Animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced in half”.

The pigs and dogs were the only ones that did not have to work, ultimately causing the breakup of the equal rights idea Old Major stressed about. Napoleon and the pigs were manipulating the animals and abusing their authority to benefit themselves and the progress of the harvest, regardless of the effect it would have on the other animals. Despite the Old Major’s philosophy of equal rights, the pigs went on to abuse the other animals, further showing signs of their greedy nature. A comparable quote such as the one above can strongly relate to North Korea’s human rights and how the low working class has little to no basic rights.

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Much like how the rations of the animals would be reduced, many North Koreans also faced food shortages due to the government giving most of the food to the soldiers. The pig and dog’s selfishness through the progress of "Animal Farm" causes them to diminish the dream Old Major once dreamed of; a perfect society where everyone is equal. Many years after the rebellion, Benjamin “consented to break his rule and he read out to her what was written on the wall. There was nothing there now except a single commandment. It ran: All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”.

Not only does this prove that the pigs were manipulating the commandments and altering the rules, it clearly shows the progress of the pigs selfishness to make them superior over the general population. They used this commandment to their advantage to justify their actions and superiority against the other animals. Similarly, in North Korea, women have no set of rights at all and are subject to be submissive to their male counterparts. North Korean males are subjected to be submissive as well to those of higher social status such as a government official or someone with more money than them.

These depictions of no Human Rights help tell the story of how the higher classes’ greed caused the general population to be stripped of their most basic rights. Throughout the history of Animal Farm, ruthless oppression was used to detain anyone that opposed the government. Harsh punishments were under way when, “Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He ordered the hens’ rations to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death”. Napoleon and the pigs’ tolerance to rebellion are so strict, that death sentences are held without facing a court or trial.

This is a clear depiction on how Napoleon and the pigs are selfish for power where they will take it to the point to death penalties. It shows how the pigs are not afraid to show their wrath and how they will forcefully deal with it, even if it is one of their own comrades. It also shows how manipulation is involved and how Napoleon is installing fear into the minds of the animals. This relates to North Korea's oppression on its citizens and how anyone convicted of any small crime can be dealt with harsh punishments. For example, anyone that is caught listening to an outside radio broadcast can be sentenced to capital punishment.

With the executions of the animals made public, “They were all slain on the spot. And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleons feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood…” (54). Napoleons greed for being on top forces him to detain anyone that is against him through the public executions. Because of his desire to stay on top of the chain of command, Napoleon would not hesitate to use his power to rout any sort of insurrection or even a small action that might seem to question his authority.

Similar to the statements above, manipulation is also a key factor in his ruthless terror. He manipulates the animal’s mind in thinking that he is the true leader and enforces his place as the leader of Animal Farm. His greed for authority can be seen as a sort of an obsession which in turn increases the abuse of power to do whatever it takes to continue to be in power. This event greatly relates to the public executions in North Korea and how the government tries to institutionalize the fear of the punishment of crimes and rebellions.

By instilling fear into the people, the government can then go on to commit whatever kinds of immoral deeds they desire without fear of protest from the people. Furthermore, ruthless oppression was the main driving force of the pig’s greed for power. With Animal Farm turning into a totalitarianism government, there were great deals of corruption throughout the years. Another unforgiving winter season hit the animals hard “and food was even shorter. Once again all rations were reduced, except those of the pigs and the dogs.”

While many of the animals were starved during the cold winter, the pigs and the dogs were able to enjoy the same amount of food, further supporting the notion that the government is riddled with corruption. Likewise, in North Korea, many government officials order assassinations or kidnappings of people that are against their rule. With some difficulty, Muriel spelt out “no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. With Squealer defending his opinions, he stated, “you have heard then, comrades he said that we pigs now sleep in beds of the farmhouse?”

Firstly, this shows the pigs selfishness towards the animals and how they don’t even care about the treatment they receive. More over it shows corruption in a way where the leaders are living a better life compared to the animals because of their current position in leadership. North Koreans can relate to this because there is corruption where positions in government may give you access to better rights than the general population. Over the different actions of the pigs and dogs, the corrupted government in which they rule caused them to be a step ahead of everyone else.

During the course of the novel, many discussions are made that can be related to greed and selfishness. Examples of greed and selfishness impact on "Animal Farm" can be related to the actions of North Korea and how it affects them in the modern world. Napoleon caused many troubles throughout his service in Animal Farm and many of these troubles can be traced back to his selfishness and greed for power. Greed’s impact has caused many unlawful events in the book, which can also be found in North Korea. Ruthless oppression, unequal rights, and corrupt government are only a handful of what impact greed and selfishness had in "Animal Farm".

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