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Mrs.House/Howell
English2HPeriod4
20May2016
UsingPowerEffectivelyThroughtheIgnoranceofOthers
Ifwehavelearnedanything,itisthehorrorthatcanhappenwhenpeopledontthinkfor
themselves,butinsteadfollowauthorityblindly(JacquelineNovogratz).AfterWorldWarIit
wasbelievedthatthingsweregoingtogetbetterthroughouttheworld,butastimewentonthey
onlygotworse.ManyofthecountrieswhodidnotliketheoutcomesofWorldWarIstartedto
seedictatorsrisetopower.Theiraggressiveforceseventuallyledtheworldtoanewworldwar.
Throughtheuseofappealtoignorance,propaganda,andbeggingthequestion,leadersareable
tousetheirpowereffectivelytogainignorantandblindfollowers.
Tobeabletousetheirpowereffectively,leadersrelyontheirabilitytoappealtothe
ignoranceofthecitizens.Hitlerwasatotalitarianleaderduringthe1930swhomanipulated
manyGermansintothinkingthatallJewswerebad,forexampleinadirectquotefromHitler,he
says,Howluckyforthoseinpower,thatpeopledontthink.Hitlerisstatingthatleaderswho
havepowerareluckybecausemostcitizensaresoignorantanddontthinkforthemselvesbut
insteadjustlistentowhatevertheleaderssay.Heisusingtheirignorancetogainpower,
knowingtheywilllistenandbelieveanythinghetellsthem.ThisisalsoshowninAnimalFarm
whenthethepigshadbeendrinkingafterstatingthatitwasarulethattheycouldneverconsume
alcohol:Yetanotherofthemwhichtheanimalshadrememberedwrong.Theyhadthoughtthe
FifthCommandmentwasNoanimalshalldrinkalcohol,butthereweretwowordsthatthey

hadforgotten.TheactualCommandmentread:Noanimalshalldrinkalcoholtoexcess
(Orwell113).Thedayafterthepigshadgottendrunk,theanimalsthoughtthatoneofthe
commandmentswasNoanimalshalldrinkalcohol,butwhentheywenttolookatthe
commandmentitstatedthattheycoulddrinkjustnottoexcess.Thepigsknewtheycoulddoor
sayanythingandtheanimalswouldnotdoubtanythingduetotheirlackofintelligence,because
ofthistheanimalsblindlyfollowedNapoleon'sleadandbelievedwhateverhesaidwasright.
Leadersoftenusedothersignorancetoeffectivelyusetheirpowertogaincontrolandfollowers.
Tobeabletousetheirpowereffectivelytotalitarianleaderswouldusepropagandato
promotethemselvesandotherthingstothecitizenssotheywouldfollowandbelieveanything
theyweretold.StalinwasatotalitarianleaderintheSovietUnionthatwantedtospread
communism,todothisheusedpropagandatoportraytohisfollowersthatwhathedidwasgood
andthathewasagoodleader.ThisisshowninapropagandaposterfromwhenStalinwasthe
leaderoftheSovietUnion,thepostershowsawomanwholookshappyandwellfed,behindher
peopleallworkingtogether,andaquotestating,GivefirstprioritytogatheringtheSoviet
Harvest.Stalinwantedtoshowpeoplethatworkinginthefieldwasagoodthingandhewanted
themtogiveeverythingtheyhadintotheirworkbeforetheydidanythingelse.ThiswasStalin's
wayofportrayingtothecitizensthatworkingwasnotbadandthatcommunismisagoodthing.
Althoughthesepostersoftencontradictedthetruthofwhatwasreallygoingon,peoplewould
stillbelievethemanddowhatevertheyweretoldtodo.
A
notherexampleofusingpropagandato
effectivelygainpowercanbeseeninPoisonousMushrooms,amotherisexplainingtoherson
thatpeoplearelikemushrooms,somearegoodsomearebad,andatonepointshesays,Yes,
mychild!Justasasinglepoisonousmushroomcankillawholefamily,soasolitaryJewcan

destroyawholevillage,awholecity,evenanentirevolk.(Hiemer).Themotheriscomparing
Jewstopoisonousmushroomsandteachingherchildthatnomatterhowtheylook,goodorbad,
theyarecapableofdestroyingthings.Thiswasachildrensbookusedaspropagandatoshow
kidsthatJewsarebad.ItwasHitler'swayofpersuadingeveryonehowawfulJewswereandto
getthepopulationtodislikethem.Withoutanyotherknowledge,theGermansblindlyfollowed
Hitlerandbelievedeverythinghesaid.Propagandawasusedasawayforleaderstocontroltheir
followersbyportrayingthingsineitherapositiveornegativewaytopersuadeindividualsto
believewhatleaderswanttomaintaincontrol.
Totalitarianleaderswouldoftenusebeggingthequestion,astrategyinwhichtheywould
convincetheirfollowersthatwhattheysaidwasrightwithoutgivinganyevidenceastowhy.
WhileHitlerwasaruler,hetoldpeoplethatJewsweretoblameforalldisasterinGermany,
whichresultedinthemajoritytobelievehimandhegainedalargeamountoffollowers.Inthe
imagefromNuremberg,Germany(1953),Hitlerisbeingcheeredforandpraisedbyhis
followers,whileinthephotofrom1954inAuschwitz,Jewsarewaitingonaselectionramp
whiletheNazisdecidetheirfate.WhileHitlerisgaininganabundanceofpower,heistelling
peoplethatJewsarebadandthereforegetssupportfromGermanytokillmillionsofJewswith
noevidencetobackuphisclaim.Howeverpeoplecontinuetobelieveeverythinghesays.An
exampleofbeggingthequestioncanalsobefoundinAnimalFarm,whenSquealerwantedthe
otheranimalstobelieveSnowballwastheenemyandgettingridofhimwasagoodidea:
SnowballwasinleaguewithJonesfromtheverystart!HewasJonesssecretagentallthetime.
Ithasallbeenprovedbydocumentswhichheleftbehindandwhichwehaveonlyjust
discovered(89).SquealerconvincestheanimalsthatSnowballneverreallywantedtohelpthem

outandinsteadsidedwithJones.WithouthavinganyevidencetheanimalsbelievedSquealer
becausehesaidthereweremoredocumentswhichtheyhadnotevenseenyet.Theyquestioned
it,butintheendbelieveditbecauseNapoleonsaidit.Peopleareobedienttotheirleaderand
thereforewhentheyaretoldsomethingtheyautomaticallybelieveitevenifitisalie,thismakes
beggingthequestionaneffectiveuseofpower.
Totalitarianleaderswilldothemostcruelthingstomaintainandgaincontrolovertheir
people.ShownthroughpiecesofliteraturesuchasAnimalFarmandPoisonousMushrooms,as
wellasreallifepeopleincludingStalinandHitler,leaderswillappealtoindividualsbypursuing
theirignorance,producingpersuasivepropaganda,aswellasusingthestrategyofbeggingthe
question.Thesemethodsareeffectiveingainingfollowersandmanipulatingpeopletodo,
believeandoractinacertainway.Ignorancecanleadtofollowinginthewrongfootstepssoitis
importanttoalwaysstriveforthefulltruthinasituation.

WorksCited
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AnimalFarm
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May2016.http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/enus/67457.html
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