Napoleon A Good Leader In Animal Farm By George Orwell

Would you rather have a smart and cunning leader, or an uneducated and gullible leader? The answer may seem clear; a smart and cunning leader beats dumb in every aspect, but in the case of the animals on Animal Farm, an uneducated leader may be what they need most. Throughout George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, it is obvious that Napoleon feels threatened by Boxer, who is described to be “not of first-rate intelligence” (26) when the novel begins to introduce characters. He is said to have a stupid appearance as well. Napoleon, on the other hand, is described to be “a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way” (35). He’s smart, he’s cunning,

Orwell also emphasizes how hard of a worker Boxer is, which is positively a character trait that all good leaders must have. Clearly, Napoleon does not have any work ethic, for throughout the book, he sends Squealer out to do all his dirty work, but Boxer on the other hand is the complete opposite. His personal motto is “I will work harder!” (47), plainly showing that he is a determined worker. Connecting back to Boxer as a respectable and inspirational animal, Boxer even inspired other animals by his work ethic, more so than squealer could have ever hoped to inspire in the animals, on page 46 it says that “Boxer was the admiration of everybody. He had been a hard worker even in Jones’s time; now he seemed more like three horses than one; there were days when the entire work of the farm depended on his shoulders” (46), further proving how much of a hard worker Boxer is. In order to run a farm, the leader must be willing to work, for running a farm requires tremendous amounts of work. The only animal on the farm that is quite dedicated enough, and strong enough to handle to workload would be Boxer. His dedication to the farm shows when on two separate occasions, Boxer arranges with the cockerels to wake him up earlier than the rest of the farm. The second time he asks to be woken earlier, it is because many animals had been traitor to Animal Farm, and henceforth were executed publicly on behalf of Napoleon’s orders; Boxer blames himself and is utterly confused when he says “I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder. From now onwards I shall get up a full hour earlier in the mornings” (94). This quotation justifies Boxer’s dedication to the farm, not only for himself but