Peter McLeod

PAGE 1McLeod

Peter McLeod

Ms. Wolters

English 10

9/21/12

The Trap of the Mind

I designed it to play tricks on the mind. After all, the mind is the greatest trap of all (Hephaestus, from the movie Wrath of the Titans). There is more truth to this statement than one might first expect. In George Orwells dystopian novel, Animal Farm, the tyrannical pig Napoleon turns the minds of the other animals into psychological traps (much like the labyrinth from Wrath of the Titans) by depriving them of their education, thus making it excruciatingly difficult for them to question his dictates. Through Napoleons iron grip on education, none of the animals can escape, as they fear the embarrassment of being the one to bring the stupid idea that perhaps Napoleon does not mean what he says. With complete monopoly over education, and thus information, Napoleon could change policies virtually at will without raising any real alarm or even notice until long after the policy had already been made. With the others minds at his fingertips, their was no limit to what he could force them to do. Although he used other techniques to achieve and cement his power, ultimately each one either depended upon the depravation of education or was meant to further frustrate any attempts of the other animal at furthering their education.