A major theme in Animal Farm is the idea that power acts as a corrupting influence on certain individuals. Orwell demonstrates this most clearly through the pigs who begin as well-meaning leaders of the Revolution but quickly create a divide between themselves and the other animals. You can support this idea with the following quote from Chapter Three when it emerges that the pigs are getting better rations than the others, specifically in the form of milk and apples:
"We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organization of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples."
As the plot develops, Napoleon emerges as the clear leader of the pigs but only after running his rival, Snowball, off the farm in Chapter Five, following a violent display of his power. The following quote, spoken by Boxer in Chapter Five, demonstrates Napoleon's increasing power on the farm:
"Napoleon is always right."
By the final chapter of the book, the pigs' ascent to absolute power is complete. They dress differently to the others by wearing human clothes, drink alcohol and carry whips, a potent symbol of oppression. Their transformation is, perhaps, best summarised by the following quote:
"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."
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