Animal Farm

In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the pig Napoleon uses specific tactics to gain power and control over the animal farm. Some of these techniques include controlling information through education, scapegoating, use of fear, swaying public opinion and blind obedience.

Throughout the novel, the most prominent way that Napoleon gained power was through controlling the education that the animals received. In the beginning of the novel, Snowball believes in educating all of the animals on Animal Farm, young and old, by trying to organize committees and instituting classes devoted to reading and writing (page 39). However, Napoleon openly states that educating the young is more important that the old. When Jessie and Bluebell have puppies, Napoleon takes them away and secludes them from the rest of Animal Farm to teach them on his own (41). Throughout the novel, after Snowball's removal, education becomes less and less important, and pigs and dogs are the only animals really being taught anything. This comes in handy for Napoleon as he begins to make "adjustments" to the rules that Animal Farm is based upon, such as drinking alcohol, sleeping in beds, and walking on two legs. The fact that the animals can't do math is an advantage as well when Squealer starts reeling off facts and figures about rations and death rates and other nonsense (105).

Another technique Napoleon takes advantage of is scapegoating and uses Snowball as the scapegoat. Throughout the novel he blames Snowball for mischievous crimes such as knocking down the windmill (72), hiding in another farm, either Pinchfield or Pilkington (77), and smaller crimes by night like gnawing the bark off trees, upsetting milk-pails, and stole corn (78). Every single thing that goes wrong on the farm is immediately deemed as being Snowball's doing.

The use of fear is another tactic practiced by Napoleon and his followers. When Napoleon orders that the milk and apples be used only for pigs, the first excuse is that the pigs need it to fulfill their duties as leaders, and added to the end is "Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! ...Surely... there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?" (42). Again when Snowball is driven out, Napoleon uses public executions to show the other animals what will happen if they make contact with Snowball (82).

Blind obedience plays a