The Presentation of Napoleon in Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Presentation of Napoleon in Animal Farm by George Orwell

The novel Animal Farm, by the political writer George Orwell, is a

story parallel to the events of the Russian Revolution. It features

the brutal rise to power of one history’s most notorious dictators –

Josef Stalin, who is portrayed by the tyrannical pig Napoleon. After

the animals of Manor Farm expel their human master, Napoleon

eventually manages to seize total control over every aspect of the

animals’ lives. It is Napoleon’s character that I am analysing in this

essay.

Napoleon is portrayed right from the start of the novel as a rather

sinister character. He is described as “a large, rather fierce-looking

Berkshire boar … with a reputation for getting his own way”. This

suggests that he will try to achieve his ends by foul means if fair

means do not work.

Napoleon is depicted as greedy even at the start of Animal Farm’s

independence from Jones. When the animals are discussing who should

get to drink the buckets of milk, Napoleon “places himself in front of

the buckets” and asks them to begin the harvest. When the animals came

back, “the milk had disappeared”. Napoleon used his physical presence

to distract the animals from the milk. We can assume that it was

Napoleon who had drunk the milk, henceforth breaking the seventh

commandment “All animals are equal” which had been put into place that

very day. The fact that he is greedy for food also suggests that he

may be greedy for power.

During the Battle of the Cowshed, most of the main characters are

shown to be fighting in the heat of the battle, including Snowball,

Boxer, Clover, Benjamin and Muriel; even ...

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...inting of his profile.

Furthermore, he has a pig called Pinkeye to taste all his food to

ensure it is not poisoned. Then, he names the windmill ‘Napoleon Mill’

and finally, he orders all the animals to file past him as he lies on

a heap of straw next to a pile of money. This shows that Napoleon is

vain and egotistic. His powerful image as a dictator is used as a

powerful means of controlling his subjects.

Napoleon is overall portrayed as having a cunning, vain and greedy

character. Old Major’s words clearly encouraged Napoleon not to fight

against tyranny, but to establish himself as a tyrant. His greatest

crime is his complete transformation into a ‘human’, although Napoleon

is harsher than Jones ever was. By replacing the name ‘Animal Farm’

with ‘Manor Farm’, he shows his total disregard for Old Major’s

ideals.