Animal Farm Final Word Response

In any sociopolitical system there is a leader, and Napoleon, a character from George Orwell's, "Animal Farm" is depicted as the dictator of the farm. He is deceiving and uses his power for the benefit of the pigs, not the other animals. Napoleon is a factor in the inequality of the farm and how it has strayed away from the original future that Old Major had for the animals. Specifically to the Russian Revolution, Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin due to both ruling as dictators.

He is displayed as gaining his power and superiority through deceiving the animals with lies, and Squealer helping him every time he goes against the Seven Commandments. Napoleon starts showing his superiority in chapter seven: "When he did emerge, it was a ceremonial manner, with an escort of six dogs who closely surrounded him and growled if anyone came too near issued his orders through one of the other pigs, usually Squealer (Orwell, 75-76). He separates himself from the other animals and has the dogs escort him to show his importance and signify his dominance. Napoleon uses Squealer to create lies if an animal starts questioning the situations on the farm, and to also ensure they believe Napoleon is almighty and brilliant. He also resembles a dictator for the reason that he does not follow the Seven Commandments even though the animals are expected to follow them. When the animals question the pigs about sleeping in the farmhouse, Napoleon manages to convince them that the pigs are excluded from that commandment: "It was more suited to the dignity of the Leader (for of late he had taken to speaking of Napoleon under the title of 'Leader') to live in a house than in a mere sty (Orwell, 66).

The farm has started addressing Napoleon as "Leader which shows how Napoleon has grown entitled and wants dominance over every animal. He breaks the Seven Commandments even though he was the one who created them and told the animals to follow them. Orwell conveys that Napoleon is above the law and rules absolutely. All of these situations have lead Animal Farm far from the dream that Old Major had for the animals. With Napoleon in power, the farm has become a totalitarian government.
Although Napoleon contributed to the current state of affairs on the farm, other animals such as Benjamin and Squealer are to blame as well. Christina points out how Benjamin, one of the animals who is not a pig, is intelligent enough to realize the reality of the farm's situation. With his cynical attitude, Benjamin does not care about the farm nor does he care about the animals' well beings. He is aware of Napoleon's manipulativeness but chooses to keep quiet and allows the less comprehensive animals to fall under the pigs' powers. This shows how Benjamin represents the people who do not vote and think their voices do not matter. He was cynical since the start of the revolution and does not try to stop Napoleon and his tactics. Hanh states that Squealer is another character who caused the farm to be in the state that it is in. Throughout the entire book, Squealer instills fear among the animals by saying that Mr. Jones will return if the animals do not follow Napoleon. He creates lies to support all the scenarios where the pigs do questionable things.

I agree with both Christina and Hanh about Benjamin and Squealer also being responsible for the state of the farm because I, too, noticed how Benjamin is educated but keeps to himself instead of revealing the truth to the animals, and Squealer is clever enough to easily fool them. If Benjamin used his voice to tell the animals the truth, and if Squealer did not lie, the farm would not have become corrupted. Not only did Napoleon play a role in the corruption of the farm, but Benjamin and Squealer also heavily influenced the outcome of their government.

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