The first president of the United States, George Washington, said: "If freedom of speech is taken away from us , then we will be stupid and silent. can be led like sheep to the slaughter” (Washington). Often, an uneducated working class is exploited by the upper intellectual class. This type of exploitation is evident in George Orwell's novel Animal Farm. While Animal Farm is intended to be an allegory of the Russian Revolution, Orwell demonstrates in a somewhat broader way how an uneducated working class is easily manipulated by a more intelligent population. After all the animals cooperate to overthrow the farm's owner, Jones, they quickly agree to establish specific rules to ensure all animals are equal. Napoleon, a pig who symbolizes Joseph Stalin, creates seven commandments that the animals follow devotedly. However, only pigs are able to read and remember the commandments. The consequence of the pig's superior intelligence allows it to reap the rewards and luxuries provided by the hard work of other animals, who lack the mental capacity to understand that they are being taken advantage of. The ignorant working class of Orwell's novel Animal Farm illustrates how class stratification and exploitation are the result of a naïve and uneducated population. First, the animal's inability to think critically and question authority allows pigs to make decisions without challenge. Then, the animal's memory incapacity allows Napoleon's partner, Squealer, to promote false propaganda and a story that the animals foolishly believe. Finally, the incompetence of the animal's literacy level gives pigs the power to deceive the population with written words or laws. Therefore, challenging and opposing authority is essential to bring about change in a society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay One problem is the refusal to question authority or analyze information. This is presented several times throughout the novel in many characters. Boxer, a loyal and hardworking horse, naively believes that Napoleon is working in the best interests of all animals and refuses to inquire about the choices Napoleon makes. When Napoleon blatantly lies and states that another pig is no better than a criminal, Boxer does not initially disagree, but is unable to protest because he cannot find the right arguments (Orwell 36). Rather than trying to challenge Napoleon's assertions, he justifies his action by believing in his slogan: “Napoleon is always right, it seems to him a sufficient answer to all problems” (41). Boxer's refusal to investigate and review Napoleon's orders leads him to rashly work for Napoleon without any compensation. Another example where animals do not challenge sovereignty is pigs revealing how they distribute food. While the general working population struggled to feed themselves, the “intellectual workers,” or pigs, lived in luxury and comfort. Confronted with this inequality, Squealer brazenly declares: “You don't imagine, I hope, that we pigs do this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? [. . .] Milk and apples (this has been proven by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary for the well-being of the pig. It is for you that we drink the milk and eat these apples” (23). After this improbable explanation, the animals believealways that it is in the best interest of all, and there is no longer any dispute. This ignorant and stubborn belief that Napoleon's leaders represent equality forces them to believe propaganda that results in the product of their hard work being stolen. Finally, Clover is another horse who recognizes that his original vision of animal equality has gone awry. Despite this awareness, it does not call into question Napoleon's regime. She would continue to "stay loyal, work hard, carry out the orders given to her, and accept Napoleon's leadership." But that was not what she and all the other animals had hoped and worked for” (59). Clover's inability to speak out and debate against Napoleon gives the pigs the opportunity to continue their oppression of the working class without any opposition. Without Clover prompting the other animals, they are completely oblivious to their situation. The animalistic presumption of the naive ideal that governing animals only work for the benefit of the entire population makes them vulnerable to exploitation. The animals' inferior memory makes Napoleon's deception easier because he creates a false story that the animals must believe because they cannot remember. . For example, when the animals begin to perceive that their living conditions are deteriorating, their doubts are dispelled by Squealer who provides them with fabricated statistics. Complaining about the famine, Squealer states that "the production of all classes of food increased by two hundred percent, three hundred percent, or five hundred percent" (61). Despite this obvious lie, the animals “seeed no reason not to believe him, especially since they no longer clearly remembered the conditions that existed before” (61-62). The inability to remember past living conditions forces the animals to assume that Squealer's falsifications are correct, thus allowing the resource imbalance to continue in favor of the pigs. Later, Squealer attempts to slander Snowball's (another pig) reputation. The animals vaguely remember that Snowball fought valiantly against Farmer Jones and was praised for his actions. Squealer immediately stamps out these thoughts, proclaiming how “he tried to have us defeated at the battle of the stable” (53). He then explains his fictionalized version of the battle which glorifies Napoleon's efforts so well that "when Squealer described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the animals that they remembered it" (54). Once again, the inability to record history or accurately recall the past gives Squealer the opportunity to misinform the population into doing his bidding. Finally, pigs are able to modify the basic seven commandments to their advantage, because they no longer remember what they originally said. When pigs begin sleeping in beds, in blatant violation of the commandment: “No animal shall sleep in a bed,” Clover recalls this ruling against beds (15). Yet when Squealer informs her that the commandment has always been written like this: “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets,” Clover thinks, “she had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have been” (45). Thanks to the animals' altered memory, pigs can change the law without hindrance to improve only their own way of life. The revision of several laws gives pigs the freedom to do things that were initially forbidden, like drinking alcohol or wearing clothes. Subsequently, without being able to correctly remember or document history, animals fall victim to propaganda and.