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Introduction of napoleon in animal farm
The theme which Napoleon as a character highlights in animal farm
Introduction of napoleon in animal farm
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"The seven commandments would be inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law by which the animals must live by forever," said Snowball. "For once Benjamin consented to break his rule, and he read out what was written on the wall-All animals are equal. Some are more equal than others." Theme 1: Animal Farm is most famous in the West as a stinging critique of the history and rhetoric of the Russian Revolution. Retelling the story of the emergence and development of Soviet communism in the form of an animal fable, Animal Farm allegorizes the rise to power of the dictator Joseph Stalin.
This, he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism.”. Throughout the book the commandments are changed to fit the pigs lifestyle. Animalism was supposed to be used to keep one animal from having more, or less power than the others. One of the commandments states that “5. No animal shall drink alcohol.”.
Four legs good two legs better! For a minute or two they stood gazing at the tarred wall with its white lettering their was nothing there now except a single commandment It ran all animals are equal but some are more equal than others. ”(Document A). The pig changed the commandments till there was only one commandment left, Napoleon bent and changed the rules at his will to stay in
The next ruler of Animal Farm is Napoleon, one of the pigs on the farm. Once he gains control of the farm, he does whatever it takes to strengthen his power. He trains a group of dogs to be his guards, frighten the other animals, and kill for him. He later becomes paranoid and forces the animals to confess to crimes they did not commit, and the, “dogs promptly tore their throats out” (93) to show his power and give an example of what happens when there are crimes committed. When the farm first became Animal Farm, there were a set of commandments set up that all animals need to follow, except for Napoleon.
In Animals Farm, there is a pig who’s name Napoleon. This character did not contributed to the society with his actions. In effect, he did not respect the concept of “Animalism” which is the equality of all the animals. He did many actions that broke this conception during the entire story. At the beginning, Napoleon, take the farm with Snowball when the farmer, Mr. Jones, left.
Furthermore, Napoleon gives the other animals the impression he was the sole leader of the rebellion on Animal farm and makes Snowball -a leader who wanted what was best for the animals- seem like an enemy who was in cahoots with Farmer Jones since long before the animals took over the farm. Napoleon and Squealer (another “fat cat” pig.) always put the blame on Snowball whenever something went wrong in the farm to avoid having the blame fall on them. Napoleon is an exemplary example of just how selfish and hypocritical people can be in furthering their own aims because he continued to subtly but purposely change the seven rules put in place as the pillars of animalism. For example, Napoleon and the other pigs move into Farmer Jones’s house and sleep in his bed after commanding “No animal shall sleep in a bed”, so he changes the commandment to read “no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”.
Whether people want or not, a leader/leaders are necessary to a society. Throughout history and around the world, there have been a number of leaders. When looking back on history, some are successful and others are total failure. However, it is not easy to divide leaders into good ones and bad ones.
1) The Seven Commandments was propaganda for animalism, which was based on equality and not being humanlike in any way. First, No animal shall wear clothes. This is because by the time the pigs adopt clothes they are so powerful, and the other animals are so fearful, that it is unnecessary; second, whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. Because once they have achieved victory, animals must not emulate Man.
They often disagreed on many issues involving the farm until Napoleon expelled Snowball from the farm. However even after the expulsion of Snowball, with the use of persuasive language the pigs still find a way to blame him for any misfortune the farm may encounter. To begin, the pigs blame Snowball for destroying the windmill in which the animals worked soo long to build. “Comrades," he said quietly, ‘do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill?
The second example is when the animals came up with the Seven Commandments to maintain order within their society. Lastly, the third example is when the pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others.
In a essence Napoleon the pig becomes the persona of “Someone to believe in,” for the animals. After Snowball was chased out, Napoleon most importantly and the pigs become the guidance for the animals lives. “Napoleon is always right”(Orwell 70), said by Boxer the horse, expresses his strong belief in his intelligence and guidance. The more and more, the story progresses, the more religion takes the role of keeping the animals organized and in harmony of the pig’s leadership and system. Although, “The Seven Commandments” start to change, the animals chose to keep following them.
Here the conditions the animals suffered are described, “Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half”(24). This quote shows how Napoleon manipulated the animals so that they were forced to either work unrealistic hours or starve. The pigs represent the Soviet ruling class because they are greedy, lazy, and manipulative. When Napoleon attacks Snowball and drives him to exile he is imitating the way Joseph Stalin drove his former friend Leon Trotsky to death.
In Animal Farm, we see the sinister theme of abuse of power and corruption displayed throughout the story. The epitome on how the pigs abused the power was how they manipulated the 7 commandments to their own benefit. The 7 commandments were inscribed on the wall and they would form “an unalterable law by which all animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after”. Ironically, the 7 commandments were changed one by one to suit the benefit of the pigs. For example, when the pigs discovered a case of whiskey and got drunk, they got attracted to the taste of alcohol.
When the men come in with whips, the animals fight back, and manage to chase all the humans away and bar the gate behind them. The newly liberated animals rename the farm Animal Farm, and paint the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the barn wall. Assuming leadership roles, the pigs Napoleon and Snowball argue and disagree on almost everything, while Squealer is used as their mouthpiece, justifying policies that provide special treatment for the
As Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin and Snowball, Leon Trotsky, it is natural that these two pigs have different personalities. Napoleon is a more fierce-looking character than Snowball, who is known to get his own way. Snowball, in the other hand, is more vivacious and talkative than Napoleon. These two pigs have different views over the Seven Commandments and how other animals should be governed and treated. Besides their differences, we can say that both Napoleon and Snowball wanted the rebellion to happen and supported the idea of Animalism and, consequently, the expurgation of humans from the power.
