How is Napoleon Able to Maintain Power?

One of the reasons of why Napoleon can maintain power is by using Squealer to convince the other animals about the newly changed commandments. For example, when Napoleon changed the commandments, Squealer was able to convince the other animals that the resolution which they thought had existed to have been as the newly changed resolution. This is demonstrated when it says, “No animal shall kill another animal without cause, somehow or another, the last two words had slipped the minds of the animals.” This suggests that Napoleon gets Squealer to change the commandments to justify his actions. This is to avoid rebellion amongst the animals as if the animals learned that the leaders have been violating the rules set by Old Major then there’d be an uproar as they’d be angry about being lied to. Squealer uses a wide range of linguistic features. One of the most prominent is how he exaggerates things I’m his propaganda. For example, when Napoleon was hung over, Squealer overly exaggerated the event stating that he would die. This type of exaggeration techniques can be seen in modern politics as currently, during the migrant crisis, politicians are exaggerating the event and sometimes goes as far to demonise them.

Another reason for how Napoleon is able to keep power is via political oppression. Napoleon relies on the belief that pigs superior to other animals however other pigs existed too on the farm as well. Napoleon knew that the other pigs were a threat to his power as they were smart as well, so they would be able to figure out that Napoleon was violating the rules set by Napoleon and that Napoleon attacked Snowball’s credibility. Because of the pigs superior intellect, Napoleon had them killed in order to avoid the spread of the truth. This is evident when it says, “the dogs tore their throats out.” This suggests that Napoleon is willing to use fatal force towards any opposition as he had the pig’s throats who had opposed him torn out. An example of this in the real world is Stalin’s Russia. Stalin used to ruthlessly silence any opposition as he had Trotsky and numerous other opposition killed. This was because power was held very tightly and any internal power struggle or disagreement would make the entire Dictatorship of the Proletariat regime collapse. This internal struggle is evident between Napoleon and Snowball as Napoleon saw the obvious threat of Snowball so he had him deposed of.

Another reason for how Napoleon is able to maintain his power is via propaganda. Napoleon himself is not a good builder but his loyal follower Squealer is so he uses Squealer in order to convince the animals of his new commandments. Napoleon does this as one crack in power or realisation of the truth would cause a second revolution to depose of the pig’s regime. Although Napoleon is hinted to have been overthrown at the end of the book, Squealer has been able to quell and please the public for a few years until the animals realise that the pigs have become like the humans. This is evident when the commandments were changed and Squealer says, “Have you not heard? Us pigs have taken up residence in the farmhouse and sleep in beds.” To this the animals might feel somewhat suspicious because they remembered a commandment stating to never sleep in a bed however Squealer is able to convince them otherwise. This ties into the real world as even though the USSR was a country based on Communism and Karl Marx’s ideas, Stalin would betray the ideas set forward by Lenin. Lenin and Karl Marx believed in a classless society however Stalin would go forward and make an elite society for him and high government officials. This is represented in Animal Farm as Napoleon has been breaking, bending and changing Old Major’s ideas.

Another big reason for why Napoleon is able to maintain power is via the dogs. Dogs uses the dogs in order to spread fear amongst the public so people won’t oppose him. Napoleon used the dogs in order to kill animals in order to spread fear as he lied about Snowball breaking into the farm. Napoleon said that Snowball broke into the farm a few days before the massacre so the animals would become paranoid, and if they were paranoid it’s more likely that they would’ve seen Snowball. Napoleon uses this situation to his advantage in order to kill the animals in order to assert dominance and to show that if anyone were to oppose him they’d need to deal with the dogs. Napoleon also used the dogs in order to threaten other animals, as is evident when it says, “The pigs protested but the dogs showed their teeth and growled and they fell silent.” This suggests that the dogs are used as a way to intimidate the other animals. An example of this in the real world is Stalin’s Secret Police which were used during the purges. Stalin would use the secret police in order to round up people to be executed so he would be able to maintain his power.

Orwell’s message in the book ‘Animal Farm: A Fairy Tale’ is clear. In the book he attacks totalitarianism and the ideals of the Soviet Union. Totalitarianism in the book is represented by the main villain, Napoleon. Napoleon could be seen as the allegory of Stalin as both used ruthless tactics in order to maintain power. Orwell represents Napoleon in in a negative way which would suggest that he is directly attacking totalitarianism. Orwell was for democracy and forward thinking as would have been seen in his character Snowball. Snowball was presented in good light as he wanted open debates which showed how Orwell was vowing for democracy but again, Snowball was silenced by Napoleon. This may also suggest that Orwell is attacking censorship. Overall Orwell was attacking the ideas of totalitarianism, such as censorship and fear. Orwell has done a good job on creating a very advanced and interesting allegorical book.

If Orwell was alive today I think that he would modern day politics would be comparable to the book. This is because politicians are willing to use underhanded tactics in order to stay in power. For example the conservative party attacked the labour party as they made an advert attacking labour undermining their ideas and demonising them. On a related note if Orwell was alive today, he would probably address the contemporary public by telling them to be cynical about the politicians and people in power. This is because they will not always tell the truth and they do not uphold their promises. Politicians also usually only want to remain in power and do not care much for the public, which is how the two party majority system evolved as most people strategically vote as their party doesn’t have a chance of winning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13194723 – Paragraph 1, lying.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31669061 Paragraph 2, political oppression.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3222318/They-said-grab-head-pull-cut-neck-Boy-14-featured-ISIS-propaganda-video-reveals-sick-indoctrination-daring-escape.html Paragraph 3, propaganda.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NKVD Paragraph 4, Secret Police
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia Paragraph 5, totalitarianism, lack of real democracy, propaganda, limited free press.