Animal Farm-George Orwell - Napoleon and Snowball are very similar in many respects, but as the story progresses, we can see they have very different ideas and attitudes.

Animal Farm-George Orwell

Napoleon and Snowball are very similar in many respects, but as the story progresses, we can see they have very different ideas and attitudes. Using the first five chapters, show how George Orwell presents and explores these similarities,

ideas and attitudes.

The whole rebellion was organised and planned by the pigs. They “were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals.” Among these animals was Snowball and Napoleon. Napoleon was a “large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar…not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way.” Snowball was the total opposite of Napoleon. Snowball was a “more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character.”

Napoleon and Snowball with the help of Squealer, who was a “small fat pig,” turned Old Major’s teachings into reality and a “complete system of thought, which they gave the name of Animalism.” They used to have secret meetings, when Mr Jones was asleep in the barn and spread the rules and teachings of Animalism. They worked as a team and tried very hard.

After the rebellion took place Snowball and Napoleon immediately became in charge of the farm and began to show their dominance. This is shown straight after they had driven Mr Jones and his men away when Napoleon, “led them back to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody, with two biscuits to each dog.” All the animals respected Snowball and Napoleon. This is clearly shown on Chapter Two when they stood outside the farmhouse, “they were frightened to go inside. After a moment, however, Snowball and Napoleon butted the door open with their shoulders and the animals entered in single file, walking with the utmost care for fear of disturbing anything.” This shows the animals’ discipline when they walk behind Snowball and Napoleon in a straight line. They congratulate the other animals for the rebellion, as if they are of a higher status and them congratulating the animals is something special.

Both Snowball and Napoleon work together. When they change the name from Manor Farm to Animal Farm, Napoleon held the paint, while Snowball wrote over the sign. Both Snowball and Napoleon made up the rules. Snowball made the one about not wearing clothes, “All animals should go naked.” They came up with seven commandments, which all the animals should obey and respect.

The first evidence that Napoleon shows that he wants Snowball out of the way was when they had milked the cows and he was standing in front of the buckets. He insisted ...

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The first evidence that Napoleon shows that he wants Snowball out of the way was when they had milked the cows and he was standing in front of the buckets. He insisted that Snowball should lead the way out, “Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall follow in a few minutes. Forward Comrades! The hay is waiting.” When the animals came back the milk had gone. The milk and also the apples were for the pigs. Napoleon sent out Squealer, the public relations officer, to explain why. He was very persuasive. He said that the whole farm depended on the pigs. He blackmailed them and said that the pigs need the apples and milk for good health, otherwise Mr Jones would come back.

The first disagreement was about Snowballs committees, “Napoleon took no interest in Snowball’s committees. He said that the education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who were already grown up.” His intention was to brainwash the young ones into thinking what he wanted them to. He demonstrates this when he takes the newborn puppies way from their mothers. He educates the puppies for his own evil purposes, while Snowball is organizing “The Egg Production Committee” for the hens and the “Clean Tails League” for the cows.

When Jones comes back with his men to try and reclaim the farm Snowball was fully prepared. He had been studying the book of Julius Caesar’s campaigns, which he had found in the farmhouse and was in charge of the defensive operations. He had given the orders to all the animals to take up their positions. Jones and his men were defeated in this battle, known as the ‘battle of the cowshed.’ Throughout this battle Napoleon and Squealer were nowhere to be seen. They only re-appeared after victory had been won.

Snowball’s intentions are for the lifestyle of all the animals to improve on the farm, not just for the pigs, as Napoleon is doing. “He talked learnedly about field-drains, silage and basic slag, and had worked out a complicated scheme for all the animals to drop their dung directly in the fields, at a different spot every-day, to save labour of cartage.” Napoleon although he didn’t have any ideas of his own he criticised all of Snowball’s ideas saying that they wouldn’t work and would come to nothing.

The biggest argument was about the windmill. Snowball worked out the plans in a only a few weeks. He said that with the windmill the farm could have electrical power to light the stalls and keep it warm in the winter. From the beginning Napoleon was against this idea. One day he came and urinated on the plans.

Another argument was about the farm’s defence system. “According to Napoleon, what the animals must do was to procure firearms and train themselves for the use of them. According to Snowball, they must send out more and more pigeons and stir up rebellion among the animals on the other farms. The one argued that if they could not defend themselves they were bound to be conquered, the other argued that if rebellions happened everywhere they would have no need to defend themselves.

The animals had a vote on whether to build the windmill or not. Snowball had persuaded the majority of the animals that this was a good idea. Suddenly Napoleon called in the dogs he had trained to chase Snowball out of the farm. He sees this as an opportunity to take charge. He thinks that Snowball is a threat to his power. He wanted to take control and do what benefited him. He uses Squealer to tell them that Snowball was a traitor and uses him as a scapegoat in his plans, and everything that comes to harm his regime will be blamed on Snowball. Some animals were in disagreement with Snowball being expelled, but accepted it when the dogs growled.

A few weeks later Squealer tells the animals that the building of the windmill will go ahead and the only reason that Napoleon was opposed to them was to get rid of Snowball. Squealer repeated a number of times, “tactics, comrades, tactics!” None of the animals knew what this word meant, but because Squealer was so persuasive they just accepted it. Napoleon was putting his plan into action and brain washing all the animals into thinking that he was always right. He already succeeded with Boxer, “If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.”