Animal Farm Power: Leadership and Corruption Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half. (6.2)

Apparently, power means that you get to redefine language so that "strictly voluntary" means "in order to eat." Pretty soon, he's going to be saying that Boxer had a "negative patient care outcome" or that the new tax is a "revenue enhancement."

Quote #5

It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there...It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the dignity of the Leader (for of late he had taken to speaking of Napoleon under the title of "Leader") to live in a house than in a mere sty. Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing-room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds. (6.10)

The pigs are just so exhausted from doing all the brainwork that they need to sleep in beds. You can't get the sleep you need in a pile of hay, right? Can you imagine what their SAT scores would look like after a night in barnyard?

Quote #6

Nevertheless, towards the end of January it became obvious that it would be necessary to procure some more grain from somewhere. In these days Napoleon rarely appeared in public, but spent all his time in the farmhouse, which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs. When he did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an escort of six dogs who closely surrounded him and growled if anyone came too near. Frequently he did not even appear on Sunday mornings, but issued his orders through one of the other pigs, usually Squealer. (7.5)

Napoleon later derives power from his own prestige—by separating himself from the rest of the animals, he heightens his importance.