The Metamorphosis Of Napoleon In George Orwell's Animal Farm

     An important way in which Napoleon obtains and maintains power is by finding and utilising the weaknesses of others. Like himself, all of the other pigs are greedy, and soon begin stealing food from all the other animals. Napoleon knows that he can use their greed, to reinforce a group of companions who will support his decisions. He sets aside material things to entice their support, such as all the milk, apples, and barley, for which to make beer. This newfound pampering appeals to the pigs and they associate the upper-class society in which they live with Napoleon. This leads them to believe that if they follow Napoleon, and support his thoughts, their lives will be considerably better, so they follow and trust Napoleon. This is what Napoleon was aiming for, and the support of the pigs helps him to obtain and maintain power.

George Orwell created and developed the complex character of Napoleon to show how easy it was to change everything in his favor to gain control. When the animals don’t like how their owner, Mr.Jones, runs things they overturn him so they could gain control, and get the treatment they thought they deserved. To run the farm however they want. However, some have different ideas of being in control. At the beginning of the story Napoleon agreed with the rulings Old Major, but his taste for power slowly drew him closer to the feeling of dictatorship.

Firstly, Napoleon uses manipulation to generate a cult of personality in the Animal Farm. Napoleon directly shows how he manipulated the animals as he believed “...[weaker] animals on Animal Farm did more work and [would] receive less food than any animals in the country” (92).Napoleon shows how he only cares about himself as he uses the animals. He would make the animals do labour to support himself and to be powerful.The animals would agree to everything that he said because they believed that Napoleon wanted the best for them. Napoleon made the animals believe that they were in better conditions even though “starvation seemed to stare them in the face.” (50). He did a great job to hid the reality from the animals. His thoughts and

Napoleon being another intelligent pig on the farm believed he could become the leader and have all the power on the farm by scaring the animals. He does so by telling the animals they will work more or there will be punishment “Throughout the spring 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” (Orwell 40). “The animals believe what the leadership tells them—that they are working for their own good now, not for Mr. Jones’s—they are eager to take on the extra labor”

From the very beginning, Napoleon and the pigs take charge and make the other animals do the work for them, while the pigs just supervise. In chapter three, when they begin working on plowing the fields, the pigs do not do anything other than tell the others what to do, “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the other” (20). The pigs, from the very start of animal farm, took charge and only directed and told others what to do. They solidified their positions as leader’s right at the beginning of the farm. Also, at the end of the book, the pigs, to show their leadership, carry whips around to make sure the work gets done, “After that it did not seem strange when next day the pigs who were supervising the work of the farm all carried whips in their trotters” (92). Since the creation of the farm the pigs started to slowly present the fact that they would take charge, and in the beginning when they were nice about it no one argued with them. By the end though, the animals finally realized what had happened, but by then it was too late for them to do anything about it. Admittedly, Napoleon and the rest of the pigs are greedy because they take all the extra food and make the others work like slaves, but that does not make them ineffective in the ways they make the animals work. Napoleon showed his effectiveness as a

When thinking about pigs, you generally associate them with being dirty, repulsive and gluttonous. Well, that's Napoleon. In the novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell Napoleon is a pig on Manor Farm who slowly exerts power over others and begins his reign as a dictator. Napoleon takes over and renames the farm Animal Farm while being completely deceptive and unfair. Napoleon is a prime example of how absolute power corrupts absolutely because he is unjust and doesn't care for the wellbeing of any of the other animals on the farm but himself.

The undeniable greed Napoleon possesses can only be fulfilled by giving the other animals the illusion of bettering themselves by not questioning his logic: “Boxer, who had now had time to think things over, voiced the general feeling by saying, ‘If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.’ And from then on he adopted the maxim, ‘Napoleon is always right,’ in addition to his private motto of ‘I will work harder’” (Orwell 60). Because Animal Farm’s audience predominantly consists of working class citizens, they begin to feel sympathy for Boxer since he cannot recognize Napoleon is exploiting him exclusively for his personal goal of becoming a puissant leader; therefore, animosity towards Napoleon develops in the audience. Considering the animals promptly welcome Napoleon’s promise of a better life, they work towards exhaustion, unknowingly fueling Napoleon’s greed: "All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings" (63). Although the animals working for Napoleon are unaware he is gradually becoming more human and willfully betraying his fellow animals for his own benefit, it is evident to the audience that Napoleon is corrupt. As Napoleon cunningly achieves power, his greed continues to grow, the same as a totalitarian leader’s:

His main way of getting people to listen to him is by using his dogs to force people to do the required task or else they will get their heads bitten off along with the sheep saying ¨four legs good, two legs better¨ (Orwell, pg. 134) to help reinforce the idea that pigs are superior to the other animals. Another way Napoleon uses fear to gain the control over the animals at the farm is he threatens them with starvation. Both of these methods used by Napoleon were also used by Joseph Stalin to gain control over the masses. If society gives in to these methods then they are just giving more power and control to the higher power. Napoleon also threatens the animals with saying jones is going to come back and that is a reference back to when Stalin told his people that if they didn’t do what he wanted the old way of living was going to come back to them. With that much power and having all those people listen your commands can make you feel like you are unstoppable and greedy.

Orwell’s Animal Farm uncovers the truth about the everyday life threats and violence that had occurred under the rule of Joseph Stalin. The fear tactics used by Stalin are shown through the dear tactics used by Napoleon. This was a way used to manipulate the people under their rule to dedicate their hard work and in some cases, their lives, to helping their ruler even if it meant making morally wrong choices. Orwell shows the evil behind Napoleon’s plan and the methods of control used in order to get what Napoleon had

In George Orwell's Animal Farm, a group of animals forms it's own government after rebelling against Jones, the farm’s is original owner. Napoleon, the novels main antagonist, helps lead the rebellion, but becomes power-hungry and takes control over the farm. Napoleon uses a many techniques in order to gain in sustain power for the pigs. The pigs use their superior intelligence to take advantage of other animals and live in luxury. One example of this is when Squealer explains, “Milk and apples (this has been proven by science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig”

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is reflective of Russia during Joseph Stalin’s tyrannical ruling. The story’s antagonist Napoleon leads the Rebellion with Snowball. Once Napoleon overthrows Snowball, he deceives and manipulates the other animals with promise of a life free of restraint and human influence. After gaining their trust, Napoleon capitalizes on the animals’ vulnerabilities and uses his power to better the circumstances of the pigs rather than all animals. Although he initially presents himself as a democratic head, his leadership tactics are that of a dictator. Through examining the syntax and diction characteristic of Orwell’s writing, one can gain a better understanding of the novel’s sociopolitical theme.

After the expulsion of Farmer Jones and Snowball, it was only expected that Napoleon would take leadership of Animal Farm and, of course, continue practicing the principles of animalism. Animalism is the belief that all animals are created equal and should be allowed and, in fact, encouraged, to speak their mind and never lie or manipulate other animals, or other comrades. However, as Napoleon's reign of dictatorship progresses, we, as the readers, see him becoming more of a tyrant than a trustworthy ruler. Napoleon has truly started developing the characteristics of a human and acting more like Mr. Jones. We see him acting like a human through his use of brutal force, fear, and slander to keep the animals in line and working to the bone; he also uses these characteristics to benefit himself.

In George Orwell’s allegory, Animal Farm, the characters portray important people from the Russian Revolution. One of the main characters, Napoleon, has become a tyrant. He suppresses all ideals as a rebellion and makes his own rules. He overthrows fellow animals to become a leader with power. Moreover, with Napoleon as a leader, he has become a unfaithful, cruel, and manipulative pig.

When the pigs come into power, they soon discover how effective the barbaric way of ruling is. Animals who confesses to defying and betraying the authorities are publicly executed through the gory means. Napoleon trains the dogs on the farm, from youth, to become callous and vicious, killing machines. Napoleon deprives the dogs from their youth to create instruments of fear. The pigs demonstrate the consequences for those who dare resist the government and impose fear on those who dare try to oppose the pigs.

In the book “Animal Farm,” by George Orwell, the quality of life on the farm slowly decreases as time goes on. It's an allegory of the communist russia as Joseph Stalin took over. The pig Napoleon is a stand-in for Joseph Stalin with his iron fist dictatorship. The revolution that happens in the book sets the stage for the pigs taking ownership of the farm. During the book, Napoleon the pig took over the farm.