As Lord Acton once said "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" (1887). If we look back at history, we find that leaders tend to change after taking power. All they need is a little spark to light up something bad. A little change here, a little change there is all it takes. Napoleon, in George Orwell's Animal Farm, changes one rule after another to suit his and Squealer's needs, thus corrupting them in the end. Napoleon and Squealer show that power corrupts leaders through their actions and attitudes towards society and the animals who work to do their best to improve the Farm. George Orwell got the idea for Animal Farm while watching someone whip a cart horse. When he saw it, he was reminded of the working class, the people who have been treated horribly by capitalist governments with long hours and low wages. Animal Farm was written to be an example of how totalitarianism destroys human dignity. It wasn't just Stalin, but all dictators. In Animal Farm, animals were used to represent the people in the story. Old Major was a boar who believed in a society run by animals without the help of humans. He spreads the idea to the rest of the farm animals and they quickly agree. This meant that the animals would have to rebel against the farm owner, Mr. Jones, and his wife for this to work. Old Major dies of old age a couple of days later. Old Major represents Karl Marx. Old Major's speech parallels Marx's philosophy of a perfect socialist society. With the farm animals, they basically work for Jones. Marx believed that a minority of people holding power was one of the major flaws of capitalism. The farm animals rebelled after Old Major's death just as the Bolsheviks rebelled... middle of paper ......d for the trust of the other farm animals. Corruption only leads to the death of innocence. Works Cited “Animal Farm: Power Corrupts.” Rev. of Animal Farm. Shmoop. Np, nd Web. November 28, 2011. Lamont, George J. “Animal Farm – Character Comparison with the Russian Revolution.” Rev. of Animal Farm. Barney Gonzaga.edu. Np, nd Web. 29 November 2011. .May, Charles E. Masterplots II: British Common Wealth Fiction Series. Pasadena, California: Salem, 1987. 1-3. British fiction series on Common Wealth. Online literary reference. Network. November 27, 2011.Orwell, George. Animal farm. New York: Sigent, 1996. Print.Spartacus Educational. Np, nd Web. December 17. 2011. .