Napoleon’s role in the novel “Animal Farm” by George Orwell was to reveal how a dictator or tyrant is able to gain and maintain leadership power. Napoleon uses propaganda and manipulating language to persuade the animals that he seeks social justice for them as Snowball did. Yet, Snowball questions Napoleon’s leadership tactics which brings him into direct conflict with him. However Napoleon has another role in mind for himself. When he has a necessary power and infrastructure, he proves to be a deadly dictator and tyrant who abuses his power and oppresses or destroys any rebels, Orwell’s message is that people should be vigilant of their political leaders’ policies to avoid an abuse of power and oppression.
The animals essentially trust Napoleon as a leader. “Napoleon is always right.” This is because they shared Old Major’s belief that “the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings” Yet, Napoleon was not interested in social justice, equality or power for the animals. He disagreed with Snowball who wants pigeons to tell other animals on other farms to rebel. He would not attend Snowball’s committees. Napoleon also disagreed with Snowball, who wants windmill to be built because it would lessen the hardship of animals. Napoleon wanted to exhaust the animals so that they have no energy to question his policies and they cannot rebel because of tiredness. Napoleon said they needed to increase the food production “rather than wasting time on windmill.” This issue divided the animals. As a consequence, the disagreement brought Snowball and Napoleon in direct conflict. When tyrants feel that someone is threatening them, they plan to get rid of him. Napoleon feels that Snowball is a threat. “Snowball’s eloquence had carried them away.” This conflict with Snowball was incidence that showed that Napoleon’s main role at first was to gain animals’ confidence.
Another incident that showed Napoleon’s role was changing was when he seeks to create in infrastructure that will help him to maintain his power. Initially, he separated selected porker pigs from the other animals, gave them special privileges like extra milk and apples. “When they (other animals) come back in the evening, it was noticed that milk and apples had disappeared.” He manipulated the animals and tells them the porker pigs have to be trained to do the ‘brainwork’ which required the extra food. In reality, Napoleon is having them to act as the defence force and he has taken the puppies to train them to be ‘aggressive’ and intimidating enforcers of his policies similar to the Stasi and the secret police that Joseph Stalin used in the Russian Revolution. “They had come to a time when no- one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shaking crimes.”
Another analogy with Stalin was when Napoleon appoints Squealer as a kind of propaganda minster who tells them “discipline, comrades” which was kind of brainwashing: Squealer is also used as
