"Animal Farm" by George Orwell. Napoleon the Dictator. "What methods does Napoleon use in order to gain absolute power and why is he successful?"
Animal Farm Assignment Essay
"What methods does Napoleon use in order to gain absolute power and why is he successful?"
In the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon uses cunning, treachery, propaganda and a number of other skills to gain, create and maintain power. His efforts to manipulate with lies and powerful vocabulary - in the form of Squealer - are successful, as they confuse the simple-minded animals. When the animals protest, Squealer's eloquence, combined with the threat of violence makes the animals stop questioning and believe in Napoleon's leadership. The loyalty and trust the animals have in Napoleon make it easy for him to take advantage of them and rise to absolute power.
One of the most important methods Napoleon uses in Animal Farm is propaganda and the spreading of lies. Because Napoleon is not a very good speaker, he uses Squealer, as well as the sheep, to manipulate and convince the other animals whenever they have doubts. With Snowball his competition as leader, Napoleon struggled to make speeches that successfully portrayed his ideas. So, Napoleon trained the sheep to break into their favourite slogan of 'four legs good, too legs bad' whenever Napoleon felt the animals needed reassurance. The sheep, however, were not enough support for Napoleon in his efforts to gain control. His main ally was fellow pig Squealer, whose eloquence and ability to 'turn black into white' proved the biggest aid in fooling the other animals. With Squealer by his side, it became easy for Napoleon to get exactly what he wanted at the expense of the other animals, who believed the entire time that everything that happened was in their best interest. For example, at the beginning of Animal Farm, the three pigs Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer start to become greedy by taking all the milk and apples for themselves and they justify this act by saying it's for the common good of the entire farm. Squealer twists the truth and uses statistics to convince the other animals that it
"What methods does Napoleon use in order to gain absolute power and why is he successful?"
In the novel Animal Farm, Napoleon uses cunning, treachery, propaganda and a number of other skills to gain, create and maintain power. His efforts to manipulate with lies and powerful vocabulary - in the form of Squealer - are successful, as they confuse the simple-minded animals. When the animals protest, Squealer's eloquence, combined with the threat of violence makes the animals stop questioning and believe in Napoleon's leadership. The loyalty and trust the animals have in Napoleon make it easy for him to take advantage of them and rise to absolute power.
One of the most important methods Napoleon uses in Animal Farm is propaganda and the spreading of lies. Because Napoleon is not a very good speaker, he uses Squealer, as well as the sheep, to manipulate and convince the other animals whenever they have doubts. With Snowball his competition as leader, Napoleon struggled to make speeches that successfully portrayed his ideas. So, Napoleon trained the sheep to break into their favourite slogan of 'four legs good, too legs bad' whenever Napoleon felt the animals needed reassurance. The sheep, however, were not enough support for Napoleon in his efforts to gain control. His main ally was fellow pig Squealer, whose eloquence and ability to 'turn black into white' proved the biggest aid in fooling the other animals. With Squealer by his side, it became easy for Napoleon to get exactly what he wanted at the expense of the other animals, who believed the entire time that everything that happened was in their best interest. For example, at the beginning of Animal Farm, the three pigs Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer start to become greedy by taking all the milk and apples for themselves and they justify this act by saying it's for the common good of the entire farm. Squealer twists the truth and uses statistics to convince the other animals that it