Leadership and Dictatorship in Animal Farm

Animal Farm Essay Throughout history, leadership plays an effective role upon millions of citizens in the world. Most societies refer to a leader as a person that attains the characteristics of goodness and virtue. However, leadership also results in negative aspects that later result in dictatorship, in which followers act destructively. Dictatorships usually rise to power in a time of social, political, and economic upheaval. In his novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell uses animal symbolism to relate the events that take place on Animal Farm with the events in the Russian Revolution through the usage of character behavior.

An ambition for superior leadership and domination leads to deceit and cruelty that then introduces an eager atmosphere among incompetent followers to feel constructive and significant explicitly depicts the downfall of freedom and equality in Animal Farm. Napoleon emerges as a corrupt opportunist who declares himself the leader of Animal Farm. As Napoleon continues to rise in power of all the animals within the farm he soon starts to treat the animals with brutality. After the animals admit they occasionally associate with the enemy of Animal Farm, Snowball, “…they were all slain on the spot.

And so the tale of confessions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet, and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown since the expulsion of Jones” (Orwell 93). Napoleon tells the animals that they live in freedom; however, Napoleon’s hunger for total leadership and power abruptly transforms into dictatorship, and the animals cease to have the right to rebel for what they believe. Thus, the animals continuously undergo mistreatment from Napoleon, in which this causes the animals to grow weak and miserable due to the fact that he has complete control over their life.

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As Napoleon continues to develop a manipulating attitude, the animals in the farm endure severe punishment if they do not meet the expectations of Napoleon’s rules, so he establishes, “…he ordered the hens’ rations to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to hen should be punished by death” (Orwell 87). Napoleon’s negative leadership results into more cruelty that leads to the downfall of freedom and equality because the animals no longer owns their own autonomy to change the aspects of Animal Farm.

Consequently, animal rights on Animal Farm quickly diminish as Napoleon gains more control and respect over the animals. As years pass Napoleon still remains in control of Animal Farm and he decides to change the name of the farm back to Manor Farm. Napoleon never asks the animals for their consent on this change, and unexpectedly the animals find out, “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (Orwell 133). As the animals examine Napoleon, they realize that he figuratively transforms into a human.

Unfortunately, the animals could no longer act against his transformation, because his change allows all the animals to view his deceitfulness and come to realization that he never actually grants them with their equality. Therefore, the animals live under the exploitation of Napoleon so intently; his control prevents them from rebelling, however, the animals remain unaware of the assistance Napoleon receives in dictating the farm. Squealer provides Napoleon with a trustworthy follower, and plays a major role in the dictatorship of Napoleon.

Squealer also acts as the propagandist of all the animals, and the pigs bestow on him the task of persuading the animals' negative opinions of Napoleon to positive. As the pigs move into the farmhouse, Squealer assures the animals that, “…it was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in” (Orwell 79). Squealer convinces the animals of Animal Farm to believe and follow Napoleon, by doing this Squealer achieves inner pride in the belief that he too prevails to seem just as productive to the rest of the animals as they view Napoleon.

Squealer incessantly makes up for Napoleon's inability to give dynamic speeches, because Napoleon’s manipulation toward the whole farm works on everyone, especially Squealer, because without the help of Squealer the animals would have no other reliable source to believe, therefore, Squealer accommodates Napoleon in the prevention of animal rights. During the cold winter, the reduction of rations starts, but Squealer assures the animals, “…that on the contrary to the principles of Animalism this was positive.

He had no difficulty in proving to the animals that they were not really short of food, no matter what the appearances may be” (Orwell 115). Squealer never fails to justify the commands of Napoleons by rationalizing them to the less intelligent animals. Without the manipulation of Squealer, the realization of the animals that Animalism no longer exists under Napoleon in doubt becomes clearer. Squealer himself remains weak in character but he assumes a sense of responsibility and power by performing the tasks for Napoleon.

Therefore, the actions of Squealer also commit to the causes of the defeat of animal freedom and equality among the farm, and the animals remain under the control of the dominant leader Napoleon, and the rest of the pigs of the farm. All types of leadership exist in the world, but great leadership determines on the actions of the person in power. Napoleon overall exhibits himself as a destructive leader that commits cruel and deceitful actions in order to prevent the animals from gaining their rightful privileges of freedom and equality.

Followers such as Squealer allow the dictatorship of Napoleon to continue, and the lives of the animals become worse than they had under the control of the humans. The animals give their freedom to Napoleon and continue to work for him, under his demanding rules and laws. Thus, the degree of leadership not only emits to the person in power, but also to the follower, for both the leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint. Works Cited Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1946.

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