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Animal Farm: How Does Napoleon Stay in Charge?
We often struggle to find the reasoning in what triggers one’s mind to become a dedicated and obsessed follower of a specific person. Every day, we are in danger of being absorbed and sinking further into the ideology and plastic image that is set before our eyes. The subject of committing one’s self to a person with hidden intentions, is heavily touched on in George Orwell’s well known allegorical novel, Animal Farm. We are presented with animals that stand upon one common goal, that is to rise against human oppressors and establish a farm solely based upon equality. Challenges begin to face this goal, when one pig named Napoleon, gains leadership and stirs absolute fear and respect in the animals.
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In what ways is Napoleon, a leader with selfish intentions, able to maintain power and stay in charge? The three factors that equally play a role in Napoleon maintaining power is through changing the idea of Animalism, creating fear, and using propaganda. The first way Napoleon stays in charge, is through altering and changing the commandments of Animalism.
During the course of Napoleon’s leadership, the seven commandments are changed into a single commandment in which stated, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” (Doc A) Napoleon’s action upon changing the seven commandments and essential principal of Animalism allows for him to stay in charge because in an essence, he is completely getting rid of the ideas that the animals once held on to. He is essentially converting that idea into something in which benefits him as a leader and therefore gives him more power and reason to stay in …show more content…
charge. Along with this, the creation and infliction of fear upon the animals, allows for Napoleon to remain in charge. Napoleon relies on the dogs in order to threaten anyone that speaks of disapproval against him. The dogs are trained to carry out each and every order in which includes brutal executions that leave the animals feeling helpless and silent. “When it was all over, the remaining animals, except for the pigs and dogs, crept away in a body. They were shaken and miserable…” (Doc B) Napoleon’s tactic in using powerful dogs as a threat to anyone that chose to fight against him, ensures that he could still remain in charge. Through incorporating fear into the animals’ lives, he is able to create silence and agreement upon their behalf so that he wouldn’t need to deal with resistance and rebellious acts. This in itself allows him to remain in charge without any interference due to the fear of animals in wanting to stay alive. Most importantly, Napoleon uses propaganda as a tool to brainwash animals and maintain power.
Squealer is used to spread propaganda through his eloquent and persuasive words that make Snowball appear as a scapegoat, and thus making Napoleon seem innocent and worthy in the animals’ eyes. The animals are called to listen to Squealer’s news in which he shouts out, “Comrades!” cried Squealer… “Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start! He was Jones’s secret agent all the time… Did we not see for ourselves how he attempted- fortunately without success- to get us defeated and destroyed at the Battle of the Cowshed?” (Doc D) Napoleon heavily relies on Squealer to spread propaganda filled with lies in order to enforce these ideas upon the animals in which makes him appear as a good leader in comparison to Snowball. This is a powerful tool that allows him to gain support from the rest of the animals and also creates an image of the perfect and necessary leader, which allows for him to be recognized as the only pig fit for the position as
leader. Although there were many factors that allowed for Napoleon to stay in charge, the three main tools and actions which are the altering and changing of commandments in Animalism, creation and infliction of fear, and the use of propaganda; are the most responsible in greatly impacting his ability to withhold power. The use of these powerful tools switches our perspective on the unimaginable thought of someone with bad intentions being able to come into power and even being capable of gaining the support of others.
Squealer was the propaganda department of Lenin’s government. Squealer would often times persuade the other animals that what Napoleon was doing was for the betterment of all the animals in the farm, the animals not knowing it only benefited the pigs. The propaganda department of Lenin, worked for Stalin to be able to support his image and they often times convince the people to follow the commands of Stalin. They benefited from the fact that education was controlled.
By distorting the truth Napoleon is able to give false records of what has happened in the past, which makes tricking the animals of the farm easier. He is also able to warp the perspectives the animals have on certain topics, mainly Snowball. When Squealer states, “Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball, with his moonshine of windmills-Snowball, who, as we now know, was no better than a criminal?” he is not only deceiving the animals but changing their views of Snowball from a hero to a “criminal”. Squealer then goes onto say that “Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start! He was Jones’s secret agent all the time. It has all been proved by documents which he left behind him and which we have only just discovered.”. This false account further twists the truth and further portrays Snowball as a villain when in reality Snowball was never in league with Jones. Later on Squealer says “And do you not remember, too, that it was just at that moment, when panic was spreading and all seemed lost, that Comrade Napoleon sprang forward with a cry of ‘Death to Humanity!’ and sank his teeth in Jones’s leg? Surely you remember that, comrades?”. By taking advantage of the animals weak memories, Squealer was able to distort the truth by rewriting history when in reality Napoleon did not attack Jones in the battle. By doing this, Squealer is able to make Napoleon look like a hero and secure Napoleon’s life of
Although Napoleon was not a strong public speaker he was very manipulative and used propaganda to persuade others to listen to him. The most obvious example of Napoleon's manipulation and use of propaganda would be through the sheep. Whenever someone questioned Napoleon the sheep on the farm would burst into a cry of “four legs good two legs bad” and everyone would forget about their speculations ( ). Since Napoleon was not a great speaker he used Squealer as his public voice. When the animals wondered where the apples and milk went Squealer was sent to give the other animals an explanation ( ). Squealer would also change the commandments whenever the pigs would break them ( ). If Napoleon got into a tough situation he would either say “you wouldn’t want Jones back,” or he would use Snowball as a scapegoat.
Later in the novel, Squealer claims that Napoleon is a suitable leader for animal farm, and explains that Snowball is a traitor. Squealer supports this idea by comparing Snowball to Napoleon. The animals were confused on why Snowball was chased off the farm. One of the animal...
Although George Orwell’s Animal Farm was created in order to mimic individuals as well as occurrences that took place during the Russian Revolution period, it is still possible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the text without a past knowledge of history through the exploitation of human nature’s imperfections. Following the publishment of his novel, Orwell confirmed that his goal in writing this fable was to expose the wrongdoing of the Soviet Union as well as the treachery of the true ideas of the Revolution. Nonetheless, there have been several other examples of events such as the French Revolution that can effortlessly be contrasted against components of the allegory. However, we need not to dig no deeper than to the fundamental faults in human nature to witness the catastrophic consequences that attributes such as hierarchy, propaganda and betrayal have on today’s society.
In today’s world, people have always strived to create a utopian society. In the novel ANIMAL FARM written by George Orwell, the animals strive to create their own utopian society based on equality and prosperity. Animalism was created to, as like the Ten Commandments, Animalism’s Seven Commandments were rules for the animals to live by. However, similar to God’s rules, Animalism was a difficult concept for all the animals to follow and live by. Secondly, the collapse of Animal Farm was due to the animal’s own intelligence and their ability to fully understand how the farm was being run. Finally, the failure of Animal Farm was due to in large part by the pigs power over the other animals and the greed and desires that the pigs wanted to achieve. Therefore, the collapse of Animal Farm had to do with Animalism itself, the animals, and the corruption of the pigs.
The history of the human race follows a plot detailing the struggles and triumphs of various individuals with the concepts of power and control. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, these elaborate concepts are further explored through various characters such as the shire boar, Napoleon. Napoleon’s ability to exercise control over the animals derives from his capability to indoctrinate them with his partial ideologies. Napoleon then further clasps his power by his avail of expert power throughout the novel. Finally, the excessive and abusive use of coercive power, secures Napoleon’s control over the animals. In George Orwell’s Animal Farm Napoleon assumes the reins of power over the animals and controls them by means of physiological manipulations.
The concept of identity is ever-changing throughout the life of a human being. This becomes especially evident when someone is put into a position of leadership and responsibility. This facet of identity is explored in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”. The purpose of this novel is, specifically, to portray the uprising and corruption of the Communist regime in Russia, but in a broader sense, it shows how even the best-intentioned people can be overwhelmed and intoxicated by the sense and want of power. This change in attitude and identity is illustrated by Orwell’s use of the motif of the word “comrade”. At the beginning of the novel, this term is used as a sign of equality and friendship. However, through the development of the novel and the eventual dictatorship run by the Berkshire pig, Napoleon, the term seems to have almost a cynical meaning. The changing meaning of the word “comrade” throughout the novel symbolises the changing values of the Animal Farm society. For example, in the first meeting of the animals on their theory of Animalism, Old Major refers to all the animals as “c...
...on of the seven commandments and the '"'Beasts of England'"', Napoleon becomes more of a dictator.
The novel, Animal Farm, is a well-known allegory written by George Orwell. As a satire of the Russian Revolution, Orwell portrays the rise of a cruel dictatorship and the mistreatment of the general population under it. Like the Communist government in Russia, the government in Animal Farm employs the use of many manipulative tools, especially propaganda. Propaganda was used by the pigs throughout the book, deceiving many of the animals. As this story shows, propaganda can enable governments to bend people to any purpose. By spreading positive messages about Napoleon, persuading the animals that Snowball is an enemy, and convincing the animals that they can’t survive without the pigs, propaganda helped give rise to a vindictive and selfish totalitarian government.
First of all, Napoleon is a huge Berkshire boar and he clearly is the most powerful of all the animals. He was able to take complete leadership of the farm because he secretly trained the dogs to attack Snowball. George Orwell writes, “ ‘Never mind the milk, comrades!’ cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. ‘That will be attended to, the harvest is more important’ (817). Napoleon is quite demanding none of the animal’s even question his authority because they know that he has more control than any other animal. Throughout the novel Orwell has many quotes that describe Napoleon as a leader, “ ‘long live Comrade Napoleon’ ” (846). All the animals on the farm (no matter what Napoleon did to them) would treat him as a powerful leader and whatever he said they would do. Often Orwell stirs up controversy about the rebellion, “ ‘forward in the name of the rebellion. ‘Long live Animal farm!’ ‘Long live Comrade Napoleon!’ ‘Napoleon is always right.’ Those were his very last words, comrades’ ” (849). Squealer’s letting everyone know that no matter what happens to Animal Farm, just remember that Napoleon was an outstanding leader most of the time. Napoleon was an outstanding leader and contributor to Animal Farm without his power the farm would have collapsed earlier.
Animal Farm is an allegoric moral satire by George Orwell that depicts the struggles and conflicts of the Russian revolution. The novel can be said to be an intriguing child’s book in which animals could talk and express their opinions. It can likewise be said to be an evaluation of the communist regime, which took place in Russia under the rule of Joseph Stalin. The reader comes across a plethora of interesting characters from whichever perspective it is looked at from, especially the pigs who possess the traits of human behavior. In this essay, I intend to look at how Orwell depicts Napoleon, one of the major characters.
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a political satire of a totalitarian society ruled by a mighty dictatorship, in all probability a fable for the events surrounding the Russian Revolution of 1917. The animals of “Manor Farm” overthrow their human master after a long history of mistreatment. Led by the pigs, the farm animals continue to do their work, only with more pride, knowing that they are working for themselves, as opposed to working for humans. Little by little, the pigs become dominant, gaining more power and advantage over the other animals, so much so that they become as corrupt and power-hungry as their predecessors, the humans.
Napoleon was a leader who led with an iron fist. A fist he used to secretly abuse his fellow animal. He began by raising several ferocious dogs to aid him in enforcing his rules, laws, and expectations. Using them, he abruptly ended Snowballs reign by using the dogs to exile him from the farm. Shortly after, he halted the construction of the windmill. More often than not he would cleverly work his way around the seven commandments by altering them to his pleasure. For example, 'Now animal shall drink alcohol to excess.'; Or 'No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.'; Napoleon grounded the rations of each and every animal. The farm slowly fell into a dark abyss with every wretched move Napoleon made.
Napoleon uses propaganda to persuade the animals in his favor and to change history. He is able to use propaganda effectively because he has the brains to do so and has the power to make the other animals believe it. He knows that the other animals are not as