The seven commandments in Animal Farm

Interestingly, the seven commandments are significant throughout the whole novel, as they provide the reader with a checklist which they can use through out the novel to see the treacherous behaviour of the pigs, and the fact that they change the seven commandments multiple times throughout the novel shows their total lack of morals, ‘Muriel, reading over the seven commandments to herself, noticed there was yet another the animals had remembered wrong’. The fact that the animals regularly just ‘read over the seven commandments’ shows the importance of the commandments to the animals, and the amount of respect they have for them. The pigs are definitely the most intelligent of the animals, and they use this intelligence to manipulate and take advantage of the other animals on the farm by changing the rules and commandments to suit themselves, no matter the cost and discomfort of the other animals. The fact that Muriel believes the ‘animals had remembered wrong’ one of the commandments is ironic to the reader, as the reader knows that the animals aren’t remembering the commandments wrong the pigs keep on changing them.

Additionally, near the end of the book the pigs have changed the seven commandments so many times that there is only one which remains, and that one benefits the pigs, but makes life for the other animals ever worse showing the pigs abuse of power and their total disregard for the other animals on the farm, ‘All animals are equal, but some more equal than others. After that it did not seem strange that the pigs all carried whips’. This final commandment seems very odd, and does not make sense to the reader, as you cannot have ‘more equal’ animals, but because of the low intelligence of the other animals they feel it makes sense, and allows the pigs to do whatever they want. The clear manipulation of words is nonsensical and is dark humour by Orwell to show how if the general populace is not very intelligence, the manipulation of words by the governing body can justify anything. The fact that the pigs now use ‘whips’ on the other animals seems ironic to the readers, as the pigs have become harsher leaders than mister Jones ever was, and the ignorance of the other animals keeps them from seeing how bad the pigs have become.

To conclude, the seven commandments are of great significance throughout the novel, as they help the reader to see how manipulative and selfish the pigs are becoming, and help to outline the ignorance of the other animals as even though they read the commandments daily, they put the changes down to their own memory.