One of the first characters introduced in the novel is a large, berkshire boar named Napoleon. Napoleon is intimidating however failed to garner support against Snowball as he was a weak speaker. Instead, Napoleon utilised a smaller pig named Squealer to speak for him and sway the animal’s opinion towards him. The comparison begins within the first two chapters as Joseph Stalin was also a weak public speaker and instead took control of the “Pravda,” an old Russian newspaper, to persuade the people to support him. As Napoleon was a poor speaker, he needed other ways of overcoming Snowball. Napoleon and squealer began censoring any animals in support of Snowball, “I believe the time will come when we shall find that Snowball's part in it was much exaggerated,” was said by Squealer to mask Snowballs heroism and bravery, in …show more content…
The “All-Union Radio,” is a great example of censorship, it was established on the basis of Lenin’s ideas, but was used by Stalin to broadcast what he wants the people to hear and to discredit anything else. Through censorship and propaganda the comparison between Napoleon and Joseph Stalin is clear, however one final comparison can be made. While Joseph Stalin reigned in Russia, he demanded farmers hand over their land to the state, as that was communism, and as the farmers refused he executed them and stole their land. Within the novel, Napoleon demaded eggs from the hens for Mr. Whymper, a neighbouring farmer, the hens refused and “Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He ordered the hens' rations to be stopped….” The hens gave out after five days, but nine of them had died. Through the novel’s plot Napoleon creates an intimidating presence and unease on the farm just as Joseph Stalin did to Russia and the surrounding
Earlier in the book, Old Major, a boar who died in his sleep, had a speech in which he complained about the humans focusing on the cruelty of egg selling. After that day, they stopped the selling of eggs until now. The hens thought that Napoleon was not following the rules of a leader, so they rebelled. When they were to lay eggs, they laid them in the rafters in order to smash the eggs on the floor. Napoleon made a rule that said if any animal were to be seen feeding the hens, they would be killed. As a result, nine hens died and the five day strike came to an end. This event is an allegory to when Stalin asked farmers for some crops because they were running out of it. The farmers declined, and Stalin did the same as Napoleon and told everyone to not feed them. Nine farmers died during the protest, and soon enough, the strike ended. In this allegory, the hens were being deceived because Napoleon took their eggs, and the farmers were being deceived because Stalin was taking their crops. Although this seemed as if this was the last animal killing event on the farm, the animals did not know what hit them after many
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...
Napoleon has an obvious relationship with the famous Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union who was known from the mid 1920’s to 1953. Just like Napoleon, he was a cold, heartless dictator who would kill anyone who did not agree with what he had, to say just like Napoleon in the book Animal Farm. Napoleon used lots of violence in order to keep and maintain his leading position in Animal Farm. An example of this can be seen when Napoleon is training the puppies, but he is not doing it not for their own education, but instead so that they could protect him and eliminate anyone who stands in his way.
passes, however, Napoleon and Snowball are increasingly at odds, and struggle for power and influence among the other animals. Snowball concocts a scheme to build...
We got to put a stop to this immediately. We got to bring Snowball back.” All the animals had agreed upon what Clover had said. Secretly the animals would have meetings now and then when Napoleon and the others were not around. “I have found a way to get rid of that obnoxious pig, Napoleon, but I am going to need your help and Snowball is willing to help us”, Clover said to the animals at one of their planned meetings....
There is a substantial amount of conflicts that occur in this satirical story. Often these conflicts are between the pigs and the rest of the animals. Only a minute portion of the animals didn’t really have some sort of conflict with Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, or the rest of the dominating pigs. Overall, Snowball was a better leader than Napoleon, yet the animals reacted differently to Napoleon than to Snowball.
In the book Napoleon began his leadership role quite well, with his ideas being fair and with a positive meaning. As the story continues he becomes more corrupt, and his ideas turn into a dictatorship. “Napoleon lead the animals back to the store-shed and served out a double portion of corn to everyone, with two biscuits for each dog.” As time went on his true nature, of a power crazy character begins to surface, he becomes more selfish and the principle idea of equality no longer exists. The farm is run on terror, and no animal dare speak out against him, for fear of death. “The news leaked out that every pig was receiving a ration of a pint of bear daily, with half a gallon for Napoleon.”
By first using propaganda to persuade the animals that Snowball was an enemy, Napoleon’s rise to power began. Snowball was Napoleon’s only real threat to assuming leadership. In the story, the two pigs always disagreed with each other. The other animals were divided equally in supporting either Snowball or Napoleon. By spreading the rumor that Snowball was a traitor, Napoleon was able to drive Snowball from the farm and become the leader of Animal Farm with no one to oppose him. Napoleon, with the help of Squealer, turned all the animals against Snowball. Squealer, who was a masterful manipulator, played an important part in convincing the animals that Snowball was an enemy. Naming Snowball as a “traitor”, Squealer played on the animals’ fear of humans and told them that Snowball had been a spy for the humans. The animals believed Squealer and thought that Snowball was only trouble on the farm. They later suspected that S...
...evolt and, in real life, it is estimated that somewhere between 4 and 10 million Ukrainian peasants were starved to death by Stalin. In the book, the hens smashed their own eggs to protest Napoleon’s action; in real life, the Ukrainian farmers slaughtered their own livestock before joining a collective as a form of protest. The problem got so out of hand that Stalin eventually executed any farmer found guilty of engaging in the practice.
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.
The relationship surrounding Snowball and Napoleon in George Orwell's Animal Farm tends to be on rocky grounds. Snowball, a clever pig, tends to be loyal, brave, and outgoing. These are just a few excellent qualities of a leader. Napoleon, a boar, on the other hand, is quite frankly rude, wretched, and full of greed. Both have had their share of leadership on the farm, yet both have had their share of conflict as well.
Moreover, the Battle of Cowshed is completely rewritten with Napoleon as the hero and Snowball the traitor, the other animals believe this, and other propaganda since the pigs are the only ones with a high level of literacy and ability to remember and confirm facts with the exception of Benjamin who does not involve himself in these matters. Propaganda is related to Napoleon’s reign of fear because of the constant threats regarding Mr Jones’ return and Snowball’s murderous
Squealer convinces the animals into believing that Snowball was always working for the humans and that Snowball being wounded was apart of the arrangement, he tells Boxer that he would show him a document written by
“The work of teaching and organizing…fell naturally upon the pigs who were generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals” (Orwell,9) , two of them being Napoleon and Snowball. But who posed to be the most prominent leader in Animal Farm? Was it Napoleon who was a large fierce-looking Berkshire boar, or Snowball who was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon and quick with his speech? With both wanting to gain power, Napoleon and Snowball used similar tactics to persuade their comrades in Animal Farm, but Snowball was a better and worthier leader than Napoleon.
The corrupting influence of power on Animal Farm creates two very different characters, Snowball and Napoleon. Even though Snowball, who is the lively and friendly pig, and Napoleon who is the fierce, cruel boar, they have their similarities. They want to become the leaders of Animal Farm, they agree on the seven commandments and Animalism, and they are masters of convincing and persuasion. Although most characters are not perfectly similar or polar opposites, it is important to know that the end of Animal Farm may have been quite similar if it had ended with Snowball as the leader.