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Essay On Animal Farm And Napoleon In Animal Farm

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In the book Animal Farm, there is a character called Napoleon who is one of the main characters. This essay will be about how George Orwell portrays him as a leader and as a character. The book is an allegory for the Russian Revolution (8 Mar 1917 – 7 Nov 1917) and George Orwell created many similar characters in Animal Farm as those involved in the Russian Revolution. At the start of Napoleon’s time as leader he is shown to be encouraging to the other animals and they are taught to obey him without question. Throughout the book Napoleon is shown to be a clever conniving character but at the beginning he seems, to the animals, to be basing all his actions on the hope all the animals will be equal and safe. If ever the animals feel threatened, he will make sure he helps them to gain their trust. This is shown when the windmill is destroyed “We will teach this miserable traitor that he cannot undo our work so easily… Forward, comrades! Long live the windmill! Long live Animal Farm!”. He is quick to blame Snowball for the tragedy and exiles him; chasing him away with his army of ferocious dogs. This action is similar to that of Lenin toward Leon Trotsky, who was also a threat toward his power, in the Russian Revolution. By using the word “our” in context with “our work” Napoleon instils in the animals a further belief that he is their friend and he will work with them to promote Animalism. The audience, at this point, may be able to see that the animals are becoming entrapped even if the animals themselves do not. When Napoleon is fully accepted as leader by all the animals he becomes a little more confident and ruthless as he knows the animals dare not unite and protest. Napoleon shows his ‘true colours’ which are cruel and selfish. This is shown when the hens start to refuse to give their eggs up in rebellion. He “decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death”. He also “acted quickly and ruthlessly” which implies he does not enjoy being refused or stopped. The animals have to watch the hens starving or be put to death themselves. Napoleon wants them to be frightened and to be taught never to do anything of that intention. The verb “decreed” is a strong word used

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