Animal Farm(by What Method’s Does Napoleon Consolidate His Personal Power? How Does This Relate to Stalin?)

By what method’s does Napoleon consolidate his personal power? How does this relate to Stalin?

Napoleon consolidate his personal power through propaganda, private army, and religion. Stalin which is a big figure of Russian Revolution centralized his authority in the same ways. George Orwell is trying to warn readers against abusing of propaganda, secret police or army, and religion in Russian Revolution by expressing Napoleon’s abuse in Animal Farm as a symbol of Stalin’s.
George Orwell is cautioning readers about possibility of misapplication of religion in order to manipulate nations by stating examples in Animal Farm. When reading Animal Farm, readers will find the clever misdeed of belief to manipulate animals to work hard even though there are hardships by cause of food’s shortage and sever work. In Animal Farm, Moses who was utilized by Napoleon had stated, “up there, just on the other side of that dark cloud that you can see – there it lies, Sugarcandy Mountain, that happy country where we poor animals shall rest for ever from our labors!”(117). Sugarcandy Mountain is a metaphor of heaven in religion. This means Napoleon was trying to manipulate other animals by religion to work hard for his purpose without thinking about their poor condition of living. According to Dennis J. Dunn, exactly same thing had happened in past Soviet Union. As Dennis J. Dunn said, ‘he (Stalin) used religion to wage a “holy war” to reassimilate the people in Nazi-occupied Soviet west to strengthen his head against western groups and institutions,’(154-155). This means both of Napoleon and Stalin were appropriating religion to manipulate nations for their purpose. Through describing Napoleon’s prostitution of religion, George Orwell is warning reader the chance of bad use of religion as Stalin did.
Secret police is blamed by George Orwell with example of bad use of Napoleon’s private army in Animal Farm. In the story of Animal Farm, Napoleon uses nine faithful dogs as a private army so that other animals obey to him. Napoleon used this private army not only for threating animals, but also for execution of animals which are not suitable for his ideal society such as Snowball. Snowball is expelled by Napoleon’s dogs, since Snowball was an obstacle to Napoleon’s ideal governing of Animal Farm. In the story of Animal Farm, ‘The animals formed themselves into two factions under the slogans, “vote for Snowball and the three-day week” and “vote for Napoleon and the full manger.”’(50) This passage shows the collision between Snowball and Napoleon. In the past Soviet Union, Stalin and Trotsky was in the similar collision during Russian Revolution. “The great ideological controversy in the Bloshevik party after Lenin centered on the doctrinal opposition between two theories: Trotsky’s permanent revolution and Stalin’s socialism in a single country.”(“Trotsky, Leon” par.9). Napoleon made other animals to confess if they had relationship with Snowball for conspiracy and killed them with his private dogs. Napoleon overused his private army for his purpose to create his ideal world by expelling and killing animals which have possibility of plotting treason against Napoleon. In past Soviet Union, the same correspondence was taken by Stalin. Secret police killed people who did not support Stalin. Even though someone criticizes Stalin as a joke, that person was killed by secret police. George Orwell is blaming misuse of secret police by Stalin in Animal Farm.
George Orwell is criticizing abuse of Propaganda by Stalin through writing Animal Farm which is a symbol of Russian Revolution. Readers easily find a lot of propagandas while reading and analyzing it. Napoleon used Squealer as a propaganda machine. In real Soviet Union, Stalin used newspapers which called Pravda(this names means ‘truth’ in Russian) and posters as propaganda media in common. As an example of propaganda in story, Squealer used propaganda to threat animals on Animal Farm with the word ‘Jones’ several time, In Animal Farm, Squealer stated, ”One false step, and our enemies would be upon us. Surely, comrades, you do not want Jones back?”(56). This magic word was used by Squealer a lot when he want to animals to be silent and no refutation since all animals had afraid for old Manor Farm and old master Mr. Jones. This propaganda strategy forced animals to work harder without complaint. Also, Squealer used propaganda to gain foods and wealth for pigs. In the story of Animal Farm, when animals except pigs were considering about unequal distribution of milk and apples, Squealer said:
Comrades!” “you do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. – It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades!(36)
From this statement, readers can assume that pigs including Napoleon and Squealer are trying to gain more food and wealth than other animals by cheating animals with untruth and fear of Jones’s back and forced animals to be corporate for avoiding independence from Animal Farm. In addition, Squealer used propaganda for mudsling of Snowball in order to respect only Napoleon. In the story of Animal Farm, “it was given out that fresh documents had been discovered which revealed further details about Snowball’s complicity with Jones.”(117). This statement shows that Squealer forged that document in order to corrupt Snowball’s authority and respect Just Stalin did for Trotsky. Misuse of propaganda was blasted by George Orwell with his literature.
Both of Napoleon and Stalin developed their personal power in the same way. This is why George Orwell symbolized Stalin by Napoleon in Animal Farm. Through using this symbol, misconduct of belief, army, and propaganda was castigated by George Orwell.

Works Cited
Orwell George. Animal Farm. New York: Signet(1946,1996). Print.
Miner Merrit Steven. Stalins’s Holy War: Religion, Nationalism, and Alliance Politics, 1941-1945. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Print.
“Trotsky Leon” International Encyclopedia of the Socio Sciences. 1968. Web. 15 May. 2013.

Cited: Orwell George. Animal Farm. New York: Signet(1946,1996). Print. Miner Merrit Steven. Stalins’s Holy War: Religion, Nationalism, and Alliance Politics, 1941-1945. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Print. “Trotsky Leon” International Encyclopedia of the Socio Sciences. 1968. Web. 15 May. 2013.