George Orwell's Animal Farm exemplifies the influence of literacy on power and draws a direct relationship between the two, attributing the rise to power of the novel's leaders due to their abilities to read and write. Using manipulation, propaganda, vague language, and misinformation, the pigs were able to control the farm and its affairs, establishing the important role of knowledge or lack thereof in the general population's susceptibility to manipulation. Written as a political satire and allegory of the Bolshevik Revolution, Orwell makes a statement in Animal Farm by establishing that the lack of literacy and the ability for self-sufficient critical thinking is one of the factors contributing to the manipulation of the general population of the time. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Pigs exercised control over the intellectually inferior. Their leadership system and philosophy were based on the animals' willingness to accept the doctrine of animalism without question. Despite Snowball's attempts to explain the concepts of Old Major's teachings, efforts to teach the animals to think for themselves were futile. "The birds did not understand Snowball's long words, but they accepted his explanation, and all the humbler animals set to work to learn the new maxim by heart." (Orwell 51). Animals blindly follow the authority figure solely because pigs have proven to be more intellectually capable than other animals, thus granting them positions of power. This power imbalance due to discrepancies in literacy levels has allowed for unopposed leadership and a society that is easily manipulated due to ignorance and illiteracy. The relationship between power and literacy can be explored in the quote “As for the pigs, they could already read and write perfectly… [but] none of the other animals on the farm could get beyond the letter A” (Orwell 50). This ability to read and write has allowed the pigs to remain in power unopposed in a society that knows nothing but to blindly follow. The peasants of the Russian Revolution were largely illiterate and easily manipulated by their government due to their lack of knowledge and knowledge. critical thinking. A rudimentary education system ensured that the peasant and working classes continued to be illiterate and easy to control and manipulate. This systematic oppression of education due to the leadership's desire to rule unopposed is reminiscent of the same tactics used by the pigs on Animal Farm. The animals and farmers had the opportunity to learn, but they were in a system where learning had no value.