Animal Farm: The Seven Commandments

Animal Farm Essay
What would a society be like if all of its inhabitants were uneducated? What if no one could make a clear and distinct decision for themselves about what is right and what is wrong? If they allowed a ruler to have absolute control over their future lives and present quality of life, then the ruler would promptly become corrupt from this new overload of authority. An uneducated person is taught how to think whereas an indoctrinated person is taught what to think. There is an unmistakable difference; the ability to formulate one’s own opinion and draw one’s own conclusions greatly influences the structure of any society. George Orwell emphasizes the importance of an education in his allegorical and satirical novel "Animal Farm". The political nature within the book leads to the questioning of propaganda and indoctrination. Readers will recognize after reading the novel that education and who delivers the education are important matters. It is clear that Orwell suggests that the animals within the book do not think for themselves, and only do what they are told too.
From the beginning of the novel, readers become aware of educations role in stratifying Animal Farm’s population. Following Old Major’s death the pigs are the ones that take on the task of organizing and mobilizing the other animals because they are “generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals” (Orwell 35). At first the pigs are loyal to their fellow animals and to the revolutionary cause. They translate Major’s vision of the future faithfully into the seven commandments of animalism.
“THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in beds.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal. (15)
However it is not long before the pig’s intelligence and education turn from...