Napoleon in Animal Farm: Who He Is and Who He Represents
Napoleon is the main villain of Animal Farm: a large, fierce-looking Berkshire boar who quietly takes control after the animals' rebellion, drives out his rival Snowball with trained dogs and rules the farm as a dictator.
He represents Joseph Stalin, who took power in the Soviet Union after Lenin's death and pushed out his rival Leon Trotsky.
| Fact | Napoleon |
|---|---|
| Species | Berkshire boar |
| Role | Leader of the farm after the rebellion |
| Rival | Snowball |
| Enforcers | Nine dogs he raised in secret |
| Spokesman | Squealer |
| Represents | Joseph Stalin |
| Final title | President of the Animal Farm Republic |
Who is Napoleon?
Napoleon is described as the only Berkshire boar on the farm, not much of a talker but with a reputation for getting his own way. While Snowball debates, invents and gives speeches, Napoleon works in silence and builds support behind the scenes. Early on he takes the nine puppies born to the farm dogs Jessie and Bluebell, saying he will educate them himself, and keeps them hidden in a loft.
↑ Back to the topHow does Napoleon take control?
Napoleon opposes almost everything Snowball proposes, above all the plan to build a windmill. When the animals are about to vote for it, Napoleon gives a strange high-pitched whimper and the nine dogs, now grown into huge fierce animals, burst into the barn and chase Snowball off the farm. Napoleon then abolishes the Sunday debates; from now on the pigs will decide everything. A few weeks later he announces that the windmill will be built after all and that it was his idea from the start.
↑ Back to the topWhat does Napoleon do as leader?
Under Napoleon the pigs move into the farmhouse, sleep in beds, drink whisky and trade with neighboring humans, while the Commandments are secretly rewritten to allow each new privilege. He blames every setback, from the storm that wrecks the windmill to broken windows, on the absent Snowball. In a terrifying scene, animals who confess to plotting with Snowball are killed by the dogs in front of everyone.
Napoleon becomes more and more remote. He appears only rarely, surrounded by dogs and announced by a rooster, and gathers grand titles such as Father of All Animals. He sells Boxer, the farm's most loyal worker, to a horse slaughterer, and the pigs spend the money on whisky.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Napoleon at the end?
By the last chapter Napoleon walks on two legs, carries a whip and wears Mr. Jones's clothes. The farm is declared a Republic and he is its only candidate for president. He invites neighboring farmers to dinner and renames the farm Manor Farm. Watching through the window, the animals can no longer tell Napoleon from the men he once overthrew.
↑ Back to the topWhy does Napoleon represent Stalin?
Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a fable about the Soviet Union. Like Stalin, Napoleon wins power not by ideas but by control of the organization and the secret police, represented by the dogs. His feud with Snowball mirrors Stalin's struggle with Trotsky, who was exiled and later blamed for every failure. The confessions and executions echo Stalin's purges of the 1930s, and the deal with Frederick, who then attacks the farm, echoes Stalin's pact with Hitler before Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
Even the name is a hint: Napoleon Bonaparte was another leader who rose out of a revolution and ended up crowning himself emperor.
↑ Back to the topMore about Animal Farm
This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.