To what extent does George Orwell ensure that the reader views Napoleon as the true villain of Animal Farm?

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To what extent does George Orwell ensure that the reader views Napoleon as the true villain of ‘Animal Farm’?

        ‘Animal Farm’ is known for being a critique of the Russian Revolution, from which Soviet Union emerged. The story of the development of Soviet communism and Joseph Stalin’s rise to power is retold in the form of a farm, where Napoleon represents Stalin in how he is able to become the leader in a time when no one is expecting such thing to happen. We can work this out by Napoleon’s actions and attitude.

        Stalin was responsible for murdering millions of Russian citizens, either for being disrespectful to Soviet authorities, disobeying laws or simply questioning Stalin’s policies. Napoleon murdered many innocent animals who weren’t productive enough or did anything that would upset him. Boxer, a hard-working animal, was sent to be slaughtered when he was ill due to his age. Before this, he had already murdered innocent animals that had confessed to crimes they hadn’t committed. They only did this because they were afraid of Napoleon. We are told that “there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon's feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones." – this dictatorship relied on fear, which he caused amongst the rest of the animals, treating them like slaves when all animals were supposed to be equal and making them work much more for smaller rations, just like in Jones’ time.

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        Furthermore, Napoleon disobeyed and manipulated the commandments which were the base of Animalism, making them favourable to the pigs. These commandments were essential for the development and organization of Animal Farm. This may not be seen as very shocking, but it is. This is because what matters is what the commandments symbolized: justice, equality and order. Although they did not have any value materialistically, they represented Animalism and all those animals that fought for their independence. Napoleon did business with humans when it was strictly against the foundations of Animalism, and by the end started living just like them. Major, ...

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