Animal Farm and Breaking Bad are texts of  different genres and tell completely different stories. There are many ways that these two stories can be perceived, but they are similar in some ways as they both teach lessons regarding trust and relationships. In both of these stories, the main characters’ lack of respect leads to extreme consequences. Animal Farm and Breaking Bad both show how ignorance can be exploited and how power, or a desire for it, corrupts people and makes them selfish.

In Animal Farm, it is evident that the pigs are the most knowledgeable animals on the farm. From the beginning, the pigs, like Old Major, were the animals with the vision of a revolution or a better life for the animals. The pigs, especially Napoleon, used this extra knowledge to his advantage. Napoleon used it to silence some of the other animals just so he could keep his power. “For instance, he has the support of the sheep, who are less educated, and has them chant ‘four legs good, two legs bad’ during debates to prevent his opponents from speaking”(Davidson).  Davidson’s example shows how Napoleon would not let anyone speak up to him and only truly cares about himself.  Napoleon shows more selfishness when he uses other animals for his own well being. Snowball, a pig, looked out for the farm and tried to educate the animals. The narrator says, “Snowball also busied himself with organising the other animals into what he called Animal Committees”(Orwell 27). Snowball took his time to try and help the animals become literate, and it worked. Meanwhile Napoleon had no interest in doing any of this. Instead of trying to help the people who needed it because they could eventually realize his wrong doing, he took Bluebell’s puppies who were taught from the beginning to abide by him, so they would know no other way and help him maintain control on the farm. “As soon as they were weaned, Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for their education”(Orwell 29). This shows us the difference between Snowball and Napoleon’s values. It also shows us how Napoleon exploited the dogs that had no other choice. Napoleon uses the dogs for his own crimes like taking out some of the animals he sees as threats. For example, in chapter 7 when the 4 pigs confessed to opposing Napoleon he sent the dogs to attack them as readers are told that“The pigs’ ears were bleeding, the dogs had tasted blood, and for a few moments they appeared to go quite mad.”(Orwell 66). 

Additionally ,  Napoleon exploited his relationship with Boxer by manipulating him as he had no real respect for Boxer and his hard work.  Boxer’s motto was “Napoleon is always right” and that just shows his loyalty. Boxer throughout the whole story continues to be completely oblivious to Napoleon’s desire to be the only one on top. While the dogs are attacking the animals for going against Napoleon, they also attack Boxer who is able to defend himself. “Boxer looked at Napoleon to know whether he should crush the dog to death or let it go. Napoleon appeared to change countenance, and sharply ordered Boxer to let the dog go, whereat Boxer lifted his hoof, and the dog slunk away, bruised and howling”(Orwell 66). This quote shows that though  Napoleon sent the dogs to attack Boxer he remains oblivious  e and still follows Napoleon’s orders. Overall, Napoleon abuses his power and knowledge, and uses his personal relationships to help himself be the most powerful. 

Even though it may be hard to believe, Walter White and Breaking Bad are extremely similar to Napoleon and Animal Farm. From the beginning of the show, Walter White’s unreal intelligence is on display, and how it was clearly much higher than everyone else’s. Not only was he a chemistry teacher, but he also co-founded a company with other characters Gretchen and Elliot. Not only does this prove he was extremely smart, but it also helps us realize how much smarter he is than most other characters in the show. A lot of the people Walter  exploited, such as Jesse Pinkman and his wife Skyler White, just were not as smart as he was. Walt used this to his advantage plenty of times. Walter, just like Napoleon did, takes advantage of people’s loyalty. Walt got Skyler involved in things with the money, and made Jesse do a lot of things he knew were wrong, but gave him no choice. These two people ultimately believed at one point that Walt knew best, so they would do what he says, just like some of the animals did  with Napoleon. 

Walter shows how power can  cause selfishness over the course of the show as well.  Like Napoleon, Walter did not want to share his power. Jesse and Walter would eventually start working with and for other people, like Mike Ehrmantraut a former cop, who knew the criminal world better than Walt. Mike realized some of the things that Walt was doing to Jesse were wrong. Mike starts to treat Jesse like a person and doesn’t insult Jesse like Walt does so Jesse starts to like Mike. Walter is not a fan of this and eventually starts to dislike and oppose what Mike says, and brings Jesse with him. Walt tells Jesse that Mike will replace him eventually and the only person who won’t is Walt. All of this leads to Walter eventually killing Mike and truly showing his real selfishness. Mikereally highlights Walter’s ego and selfish desire for  power when he says, “

We had a good thing, you stupid son of a bitch. We had Fring. We had a lab. We had everything we needed and it all ran like clockwork. You could’ve shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you ever needed. It was perfect. But no. You just had to blow it up. You. And your pride and your ego. You just had to be the man. If you’d done your job, known your place, we’d all be fine right now(Gilligan S5 E7). 

This quote clearly showcases how Walter wanted to be the guy in power and didn’t want to give it up for anyone, just like Napoleon. Walter shows us how he uses his knowledge to override a lot of Jesse’s decisions. Jesse didn’t want to expand and make big deals, while Walter wanted to make an empire. Ultimately, it did not matter what Jesse wanted. Since Walter educated Jesse in a lot of the chemistry and made him make a lot more money, he stays loyal to Walter even at the cost of his own benefit, just like Napoleon and Boxer.

 An extremely clear example of this is in season 3, when Jesse kills Gale Boetticher. Gale was brought in to replace Walter because Walter was starting to become a problem and wanted to do his own thing, while Jesse and Gale didn’t make any problems and knew Walt’s formulas just as well as he did. Gale and Jesse got along, and cooked together for a little. When Walter realized he was getting replaced, he knew he wouldn’t get back in that situation and would possibly be killed. It would have been the end for him, but realistically, Jesse may have thrived. He would have been without Walt and the power he held over him. But, as usual Walter somehow convinced Jesse that he would be replaced just like he was and he would be killed, unless they killed Gale. Jesse felt like he needed to stay loyal to him because he taught him everything he knew, so he followed Walt’s orders. Jesse went to Gale’s apartment and shot him, forcing Jesse to go back to cooking with Walter (Gilligan S3 E13).  Walter showed this trait of selfishness the whole show.

Napoleon and Walter definitely taught me some real world lessons throughout both of their stories. They both show how even though you may know someone is very smart and may know more than you, you can’t always trust them. I am not saying don’t trust people with knowledge, but you should be aware of working with someone and being mistreated. I also believe Walter and Napoleon are examples of not treating people in a workplace properly. Even though Walter’s line of work isn’t the same as anyone else, or Napoleon’s, he shows examples of people mistreating someone who is new to a line of work, instead of teaching them or guiding them. He does teach Jesse his recipe, but not for Jesse’s own good but for Walt’s own. He never truly compliments Jesse on his work, just scolds him for not being smart enough or not making enough. Napoleon is similar, he doesn’t believe teaching any of the animals how to read or write is worth it. I think this relates to the real world, especially with younger people. I believe if you want something to work at its maximum potential and keep it going for a long period of time, you have to treat everyone with respect, and that could be lacking sometimes when a younger person joins any line of work. Some people don’t take the younger person seriously and believe helping them isn’t worth their time, just like Walter and Napoleon did. “Young, college-educated employees are particularly likely to endorse being respected as important because they have high skill levels and strong self-esteem”(Ng). This quote shows how younger people value respect so much, and Walter and Napoleon lacked that, connecting to a real world scenario.

Even though Animal Farm and Breaking Bad could be considered the exact opposite of each other in terms of main ideas, they do share some key similarities and teach very similar lessons. Napoleon and Walter are both examples of power and knowledge taking over and making them care about themselves, and them only. 

Overall, I enjoyed comparing these two stories. When this assignment was first introduced, I did not know what I was going to compare Animal Farm to. I wanted to pick something I enjoyed so I could have fun with it. When I realized the connection between my favorite show, Breaking Bad and Animal Farm, I was excited because I knew I would be able to write a lot about it. I think the coolest thing about it was being able to connect two things that are practically the opposite. I also really enjoyed the fact that we had to point out a real world connection. It made me look at both stories in a different, more in depth way which I really enjoyed doing for Breaking Bad. I have watched the show around 6 times, so to look at it in a way to try and point out a problem and a connection to a book, was really interesting and a fun challenge.

Work Cited

“Breaking Bad – Jesse Kills Gale.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-4-47jPFak.

NG, THOMAS W. H. “Embedding Employees Early On: The Importance of Workplace Respect.” Personnel Psychology, vol. 69, no. 3, 13 Nov. 2015, pp. 599–633, https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12117.

Not playboi carti. “We Had a Good Thing You Stupid Son of a Bitch. Mike and Walter __ Short Version.” YouTube, 6 Oct. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKnK-hkL_DA. Accessed 12 May 2026.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. 17 Aug. 1945.