Decoding The Seven Commandments in Orwell’s Animal Farm

Analysis of The Seven Commandments in Animal Farm

Introduction

George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is a well-known novel that uses animals on a farm to tell a story about the Russian Revolution and early Soviet times. A big part of this story is the Seven Commandments the animals make to keep order and equality among them. But, things change as the pigs, who lead the group, get greedy and start messing with these rules. They twist things so much that they end up replacing all the original commandments with one sneaky saying. Let’s dive into these commandments, looking at what they were supposed to do, how they changed over time, and what it means when they're all swapped out.

The First Commandment

The first commandment goes like this: "Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy." The animals started off really wanting freedom from humans because they thought humans were just there to use them and boss them around. But then, over time, the pigs changed it to "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." Doesn’t that sound like some double-dealing? It shows how the pigs start acting just like humans, even though they claimed to hate them. The pigs are all about getting comfy now—they want those nice human-like beds for themselves.

The Second Commandment

Next up is "Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend." This was all about sticking together against those pesky humans. At first, it was all "We’re in this together!" But later on? It turns into "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause." Now, isn’t that convenient? The pigs used this tweak to justify offing anyone they thought was a threat or a traitor. By changing what counts as "okay" killing, they kept everyone else in line.

The Third Commandment

"No animal shall wear clothes," says the third rule. This was kind of their way of ditching human vanity and showing they were fine without fancy stuff. Yet when corruption hit? It turned into "No animal shall wear clothes without permission." See what happened there? The pigs could now decide who got to dress up—letting them play favorites while keeping everyone else believing things were still fair.

The Fourth Commandment

The fourth commandment was "No animal shall sleep in a bed," which kept them away from fancy human comforts. Originally, it pushed for equal plain living among all animals. But surprise! The pigs adjusted it again: "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." All about getting cozy now! With this change, they created special perks just for themselves—separating even more from their fellow animals.

The Fifth Commandment

"No animal shall drink alcohol" was originally meant to reject bad habits humans had—like drinking too much—and stand for being disciplined instead. However soon enough? They amended it to say “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.” Ah-ha! So now it's fine if you don’t go overboard (in their view). Double standards much?

The Sixth Commandment

This one said “No animal shall kill any other animal,” representing life’s importance and aiming towards nonviolence among each other initially—but later morphed by those scheming pigs into “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause” again! Just another way they justified violent acts under certain conditions suiting THEM best!

The Seventh Commandment

Finally—the kicker—was “All animals are equal.” It painted dreams of society free from ranks or privilege; basically paradise! What did corrupted piggies do here then? Switched everything around becoming infamous line we know today: “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” Complete betrayal indeed! Manipulating language expertly; maintaining power greedily through twisted truths—a rather haunting reminder where unchecked authority leads us toward hopeless destruction ultimately.

Conclusion

So yeah...Looking back at changes made within those once-honest commandments sheds light on how power shifted among characters gradually losing sight core beliefs meant unite initially amidst hope-filled revolution gone wrong eventually thanks manipulative leadership exploiting everyone's trust selfish gains alone leaving stark warning behind.