Napoleon (Animal Farm)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Napoleon is a fictional character in George Orwell's Animal Farm. While he is at first a common farm pig, he takes advantage of the animals' uprising against their masters to eventually become the tyrannical "President of Animal Farm," which he turns into a dictatorship.
[edit] Napoleon in the Novel
Napoleon struggled with Snowball, a fellow pig, for power after the animals took control of Manor Farm. To secure his power, Napoleon drove Snowball off of the farm. With the help of Squealer, he managed to convince the other animals that Snowball was a traitor, and throughout the book, he blames several misfortunes, such as the collapsing of the windmill, on Snowball. Also, through Squealer, he continues to defame Snowball, by convincing them that, for example, Snowball actively fought on the side of the enemies at the Battle of Cowshed.
Instead of acting for the good of his fellow animals, Napoleon only acted for himself and eventually acted just like the humans he originally claimed to have despised. Increasingly reclusive himself, Napoleon used the persuasive Squealer to act as a propaganda machine, and also had Squealer alter the Seven Commandments. Eventually, he betrays everything that the revolution fought for at the beginning.
[edit] Napoleon in the Allegory
Napoleon was based on Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union for nearly 30 years. However, his name comes from the French general Napoleon Bonaparte. In the French language version of the book, he was renamed César (Caesar).
Napoleon fought along with Snowball to free the farm from human control, only to turn on his former comrade and seize control of the farm; this mirrors the relationship between Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Trotsky supported Permanent Revolution (just as Snowball advocated overthrowing other farm owners), while Stalin supported Socialism in One Country (similar to Napoleon's idea of teaching the animals to use firearms).
Later on, after ostracizing Snowball as Stalin did by placing Trotsky in exile, Napoleon ordered the construction of a windmill, which had been designed by Snowball and which he had opposed vigorously. When the primitive windmill collapses due to Napoleon's poor planning, a reference to Stalin's backward approach to the Five-Year-Plans, he blames Snowball and starts a wave of terror. During this period he orders the execution of several of the animals after coercing their confessions of wrongdoing. He then ordered the destruction of the the windmill to keep the animals busy and stop any thought of rebellion. (He also changed Seven Commandments' prohibition against killing.) He then commands the building of a second, stronger windmill while severely cutting rations to all of the animals — except the pigs and dogs.
Then he makes a deal with Frederick (similar to Russia's pact with Germany during World War II), but Frederick tricks Napoleon by paying him with counterfeit money and then invading the farm. (Germany broke its pact with Russia and invaded Russia, in order to seize its minerals and fuel.) During the Battle of the Windmill, the windmill is destroyed, but the animals win, although they pay a high price. Napoleon attempts to cover the losses by stating it was a grand victory for the animals.
While Napoleon exhorts the other animals to fight and die for the good of the farm, he himself is a coward, in contrast to Snowball. Nonetheless, Napoleon's historical revisionism rewrites himself as a hero, claiming responsibility for the animal's victory during the Battle of the Cowshed when in reality it was Snowball who had performed heroic acts in this battle.
| Animal Farm | |
|---|---|
| By George Orwell | |
| Main Characters | Old Major | Napoleon | Snowball | Squealer |
| Secondary Characters |
Frederick | Pilkington | Jones | Boxer | Benjamin |
| Battles | The Revolution | Battle of the Cowshed | Battle of the Windmill |
| Songs | Beasts of England | Comrade Napoleon |
| Miscellaneous | Animalism | Seven Commandments |
