Inability to read affected the animals’ daily lives and how they were able to wield power. The pigs are more intelligent than the rest and more well-off because they can read and spell. Soon enough, the hierarchy of the farm is established. The pigs are the rulers and all the other animals are slaves. Because the animals are unable to understand the Seven Commandments, the pigs start to undermine Old Major’s original plans.
Old Major was not interested in Man adopting his vices. They began to feel the same way once they did. The pigs arrived in the homes with the excuse that they needed a quiet area to work. However, some animals were upset when they learned that the pigs ate in the kitchen, used the drawing room as a recreation space, and also slept in their beds. (Orwell, 1979). The fact that the animals were being copied by the pigs made them uneasy about their leadership. The original rules were apparently not being followed by them. Clover also thought she knew a specific rule against bed, and she heard the situation. She “went to the barn end to try to figure out the Seven Commandments that were written there.” Clover couldn’t read any more than the individual letters and so she called Muriel. Clover was fooled when Muriel could not read. The pigs could live comfortably while still breaking the rules because they were able convince them to use their literacy power. Squealer’s intelligence enabled Napoleon to use the pigs’ illiteracy to give him complete control over their actions. Prior to his death, Old Major ordered that no animal should ever take the life of another animal (Orwell 32). All animals reached an agreement to ensure that no animal would ever kill another animal. They were all members of the same team. Because unity was vital to their ultimate goal of conquering Man, killing each other was an impracticable act. Napoleon had his guard dogs kill the “traitors” but they asked for the Commandments to read over again. They noticed that the last two words of the Commandments had somehow slipped from their memory. They discovered that the Commandment hadn’t been broken. The traitors had clearly joined themselves to Snowball. Muriel used his opportunity to add the words “without cause” in order to support Napoleon’s actions. The animals couldn’t argue with him because they relied only on their memories. He used his reading skills to make the unacceptable acceptable. Napoleon’s crimes were unproven because there was no evidence or support.
This revolution was started by the fact that pigs were starting to behave more like Man’s drinking habits. In fact, the rules were first set by animals. “No animal can live in a house. Animals considered everything Man did cruel and evil. They hated all things Man did, because it brought about hardship for their lives. Muriel read the commands to them once more. The Commandment actually said: “No animal shall consume alcohol to excess.” (Orwell, 112). These exceptions started to occur more often, which allowed the pigs freedom to do what they wanted. Squealer used the power of his writing to make it drinkable. Animals hated alcohol, but it now seemed okay to drink, as long as it wasn’t abused.
Because of their cleverness, the pigs changed the values and identities of the animals. Old Major concluded that no animal should ever be tyrannized over its own species after his speech. Regardless of strength, intelligence, or any other trait, all living beings are united in brotherhood… Every creature deserves the same treatment. (Orwell, 31-32). This was the primary objective of all animals. Because they could see the flaws in human hierarchy, it kept them all together. Clover remained focused on Clover’s observation of the Seven Commandments wall. She said that even though she was young, she couldn’t read the Seven Commandments. However, it seems that this wall appears different. Benjamin, did the Seven Commandments remain the same? The Commandment was the only thing that was left. It said: All animals are equal, but certain animals are more equal than other animals.” (Orwell’s 133). Clover saw that Benjamin was being honest and realized that the animals were manipulating the rules and using them for their own enjoyment. Unfortunately, she realized that their rights were being stripped from them. The pigs won the battle and took all the power.
Pigs used the illiteracy of other animals to their advantage and made use of literacy to live comfortably. The animals saw their deceitful and reasoning abilities as acceptable. They were treated in a different way than the pigs who had all the power, comfort and control. Things might have turned out differently if all the animals were literate.
