Squealer.
We all know the power of having people agree with you. Squealer manages to convince nearly every animal on the farm (save Benjamin and Snowball) that he (and therefore Napoleon) is correct in everything. Whether it be why the pigs deserve milk & apples but none of the others do, why Napoleon truly agrees with building windmills (“Tactics, my friends, Tactics”) or why the food supply they have is continuing to increase and yet why they still feel so hungry, Squealer is always there to deliver an excellent and explanatory reason for why this is truly correct and in the true spirit of Animalism. I think Napoleon derives a very large amount of power simply from the stupidity of the majority of the animals and the convincing words of Squealer. If Squealer were gone, Napoleon’s control would weaken significantly, as with only the loyal servants of the dogs and the sheep, he would begin to falter. Napoleon himself is not an eloquent speaker, and this is perhaps why he is not the strongest in the debates with Snowball.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Snowball: Good or Bad?
Snowball is a very interesting character, perhaps the most complex and developed in the book. He has good qualities and bad, making him one of the most interesting characters in the book for me. He is never perfect, shortening the 7 commandments down to 1, which also ends up leading to his downfall. Also, when the issue of the milk and apples comes up, he stays on the pig’s side, refusing the equality of the same food. But he also keeps the farm from becoming oppressive (at least while he’s there) and in general, fights against the interests of Napoleon and for the interests of the other animals of the farm. So, does his reluctance to become completely equal with the other animals, but his steadfast reasonableness make him a hero, or a villain? The answer is neither. It just means that he has the intelligence to manipulate the other animals, but the belief in the standing principles of Animalism and the moral qualities to not take advantage of the other animals.
Napoleon
Why should we question our leaders? We love them! We know they will always make the best decisions for us, so why would we ever need to be distrustful?
Animal Farm is a great answer to this question. And the character Napoleon perhaps exemplifies this best of all the characters. All the animals trust him. “Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character.” They assume he has more moral and intellectual power than the rest of them, and indeed the other pigs. This is one of the things that lead to them trusting Napoleon completely. Napoleon then starts to, once granted power by the animals, wreak havoc on the non-pigs of Animal Farm. The sheep, dogs, and Boxer especially start to idolize him, believing anything he does as justifiable as “Napoleon is always right!” If the animals questioned Napoleon and their leaders in general more, the farm would have remained happier and more equal, like at the beginning of Animal Farm. What we should take from this is that our leaders are not always right, and we should continue to question them as we do usually.
Animal Farm is a great answer to this question. And the character Napoleon perhaps exemplifies this best of all the characters. All the animals trust him. “Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character.” They assume he has more moral and intellectual power than the rest of them, and indeed the other pigs. This is one of the things that lead to them trusting Napoleon completely. Napoleon then starts to, once granted power by the animals, wreak havoc on the non-pigs of Animal Farm. The sheep, dogs, and Boxer especially start to idolize him, believing anything he does as justifiable as “Napoleon is always right!” If the animals questioned Napoleon and their leaders in general more, the farm would have remained happier and more equal, like at the beginning of Animal Farm. What we should take from this is that our leaders are not always right, and we should continue to question them as we do usually.
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