Out of the disarray of the revolution surfaced ruthless tyrants who ruled through fear. Napoleon, in Animal Farm, uses the fear the animals have of him to oppress them. Napoleon eliminates all his opposition, which brings fear to the animals and no one dares to question his power. Primarily, his only opposition is Snowball. Napoleon sends Snowball into exile in order to gain full control of the farm. Napoleon has the dogs chase Snowball off the farm. “They dashed straight for Snowball, who sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws.” (p. 67) After this, Snowball is never seen or heard from again. At another point in the book, Napoleon forces many animals to admit that they broke the rules. “They were all slain on the spot. And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet.” (p. 93) In the same way, Stalin banished all of his opposition. When Lenin died, Stalin and Trotsky, the leader of the Red Army, both wanted complete power. They began feuding over authority and eventually, Stalin acquired the people’s support, so Trotsky fled to South America where he was later killed by Stalin. Stalin also sent many people, who he felt were threats, to labor camps in Siberia. During Stalin’s rule, there were many food shortages and peasants lived poorly, despite being promised a better life. In Animal Farm, Napoleon is also very cruel to the animals that do all of the work on the farm. By the end of the book, it is noticed that “the lower animals on Animal Farm did more work and received less food than any animals in the country.” (p. 136) Similarly, communist leaders unfairly restrict many things.
Communist societies, like Animal Farm, are very tightly controlled. The propaganda limits the information displayed for the public and the secret police ensure that all of the laws are followed and that all opposition is removed. In Animal Farm, Squealer, a large and clever pig, represents the propaganda. He constantly changes the laws and he is very manipulative from the start, which is what he must be in order to convince the others that his lies are the truth. “The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.” (p. 36) Each time a commandment is altered, he is able to assure the others that it is the same as it has always been. For example, the commandment that stated, “No animal shall sleep in a bed” (p. 43) was changed to require that no animal should sleep in a bed with sheets. Therefore, the pigs sleep in beds without sheets. The pigs, and ultimately Napoleon suppress all of the information the animals receive. This gives Napoleon and Squealer a chance to re-write history. Squealer claims that it was Napoleon’s idea to build the windmill, even though Napoleon was opposed to the idea when Snowball announced it. “That evening Squealer explained privately to the others that Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill”, he continues to declare that “the windmill was, in fact, Napoleon’s own creation.” (p. 71) Squealer persuades the animals that the windmill is Napoleon’s idea, and so he successfully re-writes history in order to focus more attention on Napoleon. The pigs do not want the other animals to concentrate on the lies they are told. They want them to always be thinking of Napoleon. As a result, the pigs decide to change their revolutionary song, ‘Beasts of England’, because they do not want the animals to be considering another revolution. Songs about Napoleon replace ‘Beasts of England’. In addition to this, the flag of Animal farm, which was formerly a green background with a horn and a hoof, is replaced with a plain green flag. The horn and hoof signify the working animals on the farm and Napoleon wants the animals to direct their attention on him, instead of others, so he changes the flag. During the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks had many slogans to remind the people of their goals and what they were fighting for. Stalin and Lenin also regulated the information that was given to the public and they kept many secrets. In some cases, it is very difficult to tell what the truth is. Human nature also affects how countries are run and the consequences of revolutions.
One conclusion about human nature, which can be drawn from this ending, is that humans always seem to want more. Stalin verified this with his actions in the Russian Revolution and many events in Animal Farm also prove this. One incident, which only further confirms the greed of the government, is when Napoleon uses the money he receives from selling Boxer, an extremely hard working and dedicated horse, to the slaughterhouse to buy whiskey for all of the pigs. Although the author does not clearly reveal that this is the case, it is formidably hinted at. “No one stirred in the farmhouse before noon on the following day, and word went round that from somewhere or other the pigs had acquired the money to buy themselves another case of whiskey.” (p. 126) The pigs are also selfish about Boxer’s funeral, which only the pigs are allowed to attend. It is evident that the pigs do not spend time mourning Boxer, after all they are the ones who sent him to be killed. The pigs only care about themselves and they always want more for themselves. In the Russian Revolution, Stalin always wanted more for himself as well. To start with, he sent Trotsky into exile. Then, once he had obtained full control of Russia, he began trying to make other countries become Communist. Stalin was also quite clever, and he was usually able to convince others of things that were untrue.
Human nature reveals that others easily manipulate us. Squealer, like the media, is incredibly scheming. He is able to convince most of the animals that Boxer was taken to the hospital for medical care, not the slaughterhouse to be killed. Benjamin alerts the others that the van, which drove Boxer away, belongs to a slaughterhouse. Nevertheless, when Squealer finds out that the others believe that Boxer was taken to the slaughterhouse, he quickly informs them that it is not true, and they believe him. “It had come to his knowledge, he said, that a foolish and wicked rumor had been circulated at the time of Boxer’s removal.” He continues to manipulate the animals by saying, “but the explanation is really very simple. The van had previously been the property of the knacker, and had been bought by a veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted the old name out.” (p. 125) Boxer is especially easily manipulated because he is such a strong believer in Animalism. One of his personal mottos is “Napoleon is always right” (p. 75). He rarely questions something the pigs say, which makes it much more distressing that he is the one who is betrayed by the pigs. The pigs do not even appreciate that he supports them so strongly. To the same extent, Stalin did not value the support of the members of the working class in Russia.
As the novel comes to an end, we are presented with many events that show honesty, dishonestly, loyalty and betrayal. In Animal Farm, Boxer, who denotes the hard working laborers, is very dedicated and hard working. He is also devoted to Animalism, and the only time he questions the authority is when Squealer suggests that Snowball deceived the others at the Battle of the Cowshed. Boxer will not admit this because he remembers Snowball fighting bravely. “I do not believe that” he states, “Snowball fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed. I saw him myself. Did we not give him ‘Animal Hero, First Class’ immediately afterwards?” (p. 90) In the end though, Boxer gives in and accepts Squealer’s lie as the truth. Boxer tries to be honest with himself, unfortunately it is very difficult for him to doubt Squealer because he has so much faith in Animalism. Squealer and Napoleon are involved in many dishonest events. They change the seven commandments, lie about Boxer’s death and they blame everything on Snowball, even they know their problems are not his fault. They are simply unwilling to admit that they do anything wrong. Another example of deceitfulness is when Frederick cheats Napoleon into selling him the timber for nothing. “The bank-notes were forgeries! Frederick had got the timber for nothing.” (p. 104) Although this is not a member of Animal farm who is dishonest, it still exhibits human characteristics. Many others, like Frederick, who stands for countries who traded with Russia, were also insincere. In Animal Farm, Squealer and Napoleon not only lie, but they also betray their supporters. For instance, Boxer, one of their most faithful supporters, is sent to the slaughterhouse when he gets too old. On the other hand, there are many loyal characters throughout the story. Boxer and Clover are both exceedingly trusting and dependable. “Their most faithful disciplines were the two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover.” (p. 37) Boxer even developed two personal slogans for himself, which represent his reliability. “His two slogans, “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right,” seemed to him a sufficient answer to all problems.” (p. 75) Benjamin, a cynical donkey, is also loyal, although in a different way. Instead of being devoted to Animalism, Napoleon, or working, Benjamin admires Boxer. “Without openly admitting it he was loyal to Boxer” (p. 27) Throughout the Russian Revolution, there were people who demonstrated a range of human characteristics, both good and bad. It is during difficult times, like a revolution, when we become aware of true human nature.
The only way that change can be successful is with selfless leadership and lasting cooperation. It is vastly difficult to achieve change without any problems or without losing anything that wasn’t meant to be lost. The governing system in Animal Farm, the pigs, begin by living up to their dreams for freedom and equality. After some time, they become greedy and corrupt and constantly want more for themselves. They give up trying to help everyone have a better life. With change, like a revolution, come dramatic changes in politics and leadership. As well as this, the actual characteristics of humans are revealed. The best of some people are exposed and the worst of others. By the end of the novel, Animal Farm, the pigs are just the same as humans and the animals could no longer tell the difference. So, although people may try to change for the better, we do not always achieve what we hope for and sometimes we end up making things worse, instead of better. Animal Farm, in the end was no different from before the revolution because few things improved for the animals. The lower class of animals received less food than any other animals on the farm, yet they worked the hardest. There are many ways that the animals are mistreated even before the pigs begin using whips. Moreover, by the end, Animal Farm is renamed Manor Farm, which only further proves how little change there has been. Manor Farm was the original name of the farm when Mr. Jones controlled it, before the revolution. Even though people start a revolution with many hopes of improving their lives and changing everything they disagree with, it seems inevitable to end up without many of the same problems of before the revolution.
