In Animal Farm, the pigs are generally regarded as being the most intelligent of all the animals. This idea is expressed as early as Chapter Two, before the revolution takes place:
The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals.
This idea is further reinforced after the revolution, in Chapter Three, when the pigs organize the other animals during the harvest, instead of doing any real work:
The pigs did not actually work but directed and supervised the others.
What these quotes show, then, is how the pigs exploit their 'natural intelligence' for their own benefit. Their intelligence is used as justification for not doing physical labour, for example, and later, for eating milk and apples and for sleeping in the farmhouse.
The only exception to this rule is Snowball who tries to share his intelligence by teaching the other animals to read and write and by designing a windmill which will function as a labour-saving device. But Snowball's democratic tendencies will not be tolerated by the other pigs, particularly Napoleon, and he is driven to exile in a brutal display of force.
No comments:
Post a Comment