Everything has a cause, from the greatest wars to the smallest habits, we must ask: Why? This is the case with the book and movie “Animal Farm”. What was it exactly that led the pigs to lead the rest of the animals in rebellion against Farmer Jones? Was it hunger alone that caused them to leave their pens, or were there more factors? I believe that there were. Their desire for food was the excuse, not the driving force.
If not food, then what did the animals want? They wanted freedom. They wanted power. Hunger was the rallying point, the centripetal force that the pigs declared and the rest of the animals believed. The animals were inspired by the words of Old Major, and they would have acted on those words, no matter what it took. The fact that they weren’t fed the day after Old Major died was a stroke of luck that sped up the process, but the rebellion would have happened anyway. Napoleon had determination and genius, Snowflake had charisma and good intentions. They were perfectly set up to come into power, and they would have soon taken control with a reason or not. It would have been harder, but the pigs had the talent necessary to control a nation, let alone a small group of animals.
Mr. Jones’ lack of concern for his animals was the last straw, the tipping point, before the animals rebelled. However, Old Major’s words were the rest of the haystack, the force that moved them to the border between rebellion and contentment. The hunger of the animals was thus not a cause, but a small factor. They cannot-nor can anyone else- excuse the animals or condemn Mr. Jones for the corruption of the farm. It was the work of the pigs, and they are solely to blame.
