Post-rebellion outlook is such that if the animals were to let the slightest thing slip then Mr. Jones would return with his evil, subjective regime. ‘Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?’ The repetition of using the humans as scapegoats in order to win the argument, shows that fear is brought into play by the pigs whenever dissent is shown. Even though the animals may not necessarily concur with the pigs, the fear of the humans returning is enough to keep them silent. Snowball and Napoleon are constantly in conflict with each other until the dispute over the windmill. Napoleon uses fear and fright through the dogs to chase Snowball away. This event represents the first form of animal fighting animal, which leaves the rest of the animals ‘silent and terrified.’ A physical form of fear now enters Animal Farm as Napoleon’s new regime of dictatorship is established. The dogs enable coup d’etai to take place, as Napoleon employs them as instruments of fear and intimidation. With their huge snarls, terrifying growls and only one loyalty, they spread fear into the animals just as Jones used to do.
It is clearly signalled out through Squealer that ‘bravery is not enough, and that loyalty and obedience are more important.’ The animals fail to protest because of the fear of what happened to the pigs when they remonstrated. As Napoleon’s regime progresses, he engages in trade with humans, causing a ‘vague of uneasiness’ amongst the animals. They watched Mr. Whimper with ‘a kind of dread, avoiding him as much as possible’; it was clear that the animals still feared the humans. The hens ‘raised a terrible outcry’ when they heard the pigs had decided to sell their eggs. They attempted to thwart Napoleon’s wishes by smashing their eggs to pieces. However, Napoleon reinserted his control over the farm once again by declaring that all the hen’s rations were to be stopped and any animal seen giving as little as a grain to them would be punished by death. Once more, Napoleon uses fear through the dogs to ensure these order are carried out. Therefore, the hen’s attempted rebellion was quashed by the threat of death, which left the animals ‘thoroughly frightened.’ Squealer continued to use his rhetoric techniques and the fear of humans returning to exploit the animals.
Napoleon awards himself the title of ‘Animal Hero, First and Second Class’ after the discovery of Snowball’s secret documents. With his nine dogs by his side, constantly ‘sending shivers down all the animals’ spines’, Napoleon suddenly utters a high-pitched whimper in which the dogs respond by seizing four of the pigs by the ear. They squealed with ‘pain and terror’, and were made to confess their crimes; after which a series of blood taking took place, as the dogs ‘promptly tore their throats out.’ At this point, the fear was so great that nobody dared to confess anything to Napoleon but rather ‘huddled together for warmth.’ Clover was filled with tears after witnessing this horrific act of slaughtering; silently expressing her fear and dislike of the actions which had just occurred. The attack of the enemy brought the destruction of the windmill, which ‘terrified the animals’. However, the animals were eventually successful in driving out the humans but were left with several casualties and the animals were distraught. They truly felt that they had not achieved a victory but just won back what they originally owned. Even though this may have been true, Napoleon’s great speech congratulating them on their conduct and Squealer’s propaganda techniques made them believe that indeed they had achieved a victory.
Even at the fear of Boxer’s death, there is ‘a cry of horror’ from the animals. However, Squealer uses propaganda and a tissue of lies which drives away fear and re-establishes control. The end of the play sees the fear of Napoleon on his hind legs and a whip in his hand, which resembles the rule of Jones eventually, turn to a rebellion. The fear engendered by Napoleon has an effect on the animals, as this fear turns to rebellion. Although, the use of fear keeps control, the method of propaganda and the sheep constantly bleeping out ‘four legs good, two legs bad’, at crucial moments in Napoleon’s speeches are also effective. The pigs use their cleverness to forecast any argument against Napoleon’s ideas, and by using the sheep, they interrupt any possible disagreement another animal may have in opposition to Napoleon. The spirit of the animals is crushed and repressed by the use of fear. Such is the supremacy of Napoleon’s regime, that there is no need for exceptional fear; it has become incorporated in the animals’ life.
