Student Essay on Symbolism of Snowball and Napolean in "Animal Farm"

Symbolism of Snowball and Napolean in "Animal Farm"

Summary:   In "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, Snowball and Napolean's struggle for leadership was meant as an analogy to Stalin and Trotsky's struggle for power during the events of the Russian Revolution.

In the classic novel, Animal Farm, George Orwell describes the many comparisons between the life and events of the animals on the farm, and the people and events of the Russian Revolution. Stalin and Trotsky's struggle for power is very similar to Snowball and Napoleon's struggle for leadership. The way Stalin and Napoleon execute their follower for their wrong confessions is also similar. The raven that flies about on Animal Farm represents religion from Russia.

In the Russian Revolution, Stalin and Trotsky fight for dictatorship, similar to how Napoleon and Snowball battle for leadership of the farm. After Lenin's death For the first time in its history [Russia] had to select a new leader and this led to a struggle for power... The first and most important of the losers was Trotsky, whose defeat was sealed by 1925. After several more rounds, Stalin emerges as the winner by 1929 (Kort 104).

Stalin, who turned his back on Lenin, disapproves of Trotsky, because Joseph Stalin wants all the power to himself. Trotsky makes that very difficult for Stalin, by competing with him for power. As a result, Stalin cruelly drives Trotsky out of Russia, and has people kill Trotsky for him. Joseph Stalin then became dictator of Russia, with no competition on his hands. On the farm, Snowball led the animals in the Battle of Cowshed. Snowball believes that all animals should be equal, no animal should act as a human in any way, and he believes in Old Major's dream of a farm run by animals. Although another pig, Napoleon, who lives on the farm, desires all of the power as well. Napoleon has four fierce dogs as his protective army by his side at all times. When he feels Snowball is too much of a threat, and would get in the way of his gaining all the power, Napoleon uses his best weapon. He sends his army of dogs out who chases Snowball out of the farm. Napoleon convinces all the animals that Snowball is a traitor, and a secret spy for Farmer Jones. Once all the animals hear this news, most of them believe Napoleon. Without Snowball, Napoleon can lead the animals all by himself, with no interference. He keeps control by using Squealer, another evil pig on the farm, to convince the animals that the pigs needed to run the farm. Squealer tells the animals, [Napoleon] would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be? Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball, with his moonshine of windmills- Snowball, who as we now know, was no better than a criminal? (Orwell 69)

Both Russia and Animal Farm declines when Napoleon and Stalin abuse their power by getting rid of their opponent. Although, another similarity remains, Stalin and Napoleon both beat the truth out of everyone who admitted to committing a bad crime.

In Animal Farm, Napoleon controls the poor, scared animals. He frightens them, and demands they confess how they have helped Snowball in any way. First, only a few animals admit, "The four pigs waited, trembling, with guilt written on every line of their countenances. Napoleon now called upon them to confess their crimes" (Orwell 92). The pigs admit to helping Snowball destroy the windmill, and that they plan on helping Snowball hand Animal Farm over to Mr. Frederick. The dogs murder the pigs by ripping out their throats.

The three hens who had been ringleaders in the attempted rebellion over the eggs now came forward and stated that Snowball had appeared to them in a dream and incited them to disobey Napoleon's orders. They too were slaughtered (Orwell 93).

More and more admitted to their crimes, even after Napoleon killed a few animals. A goose confesses that she stole corn in the middle of the night, a sheep came forward and says how he urinated in the animal's drinking pool because Snowball told him to, and more sheep announce they killed a devoted follower of Leader Napoleon by chasing him around a bonfire when he was sick (Orwell 93). Napoleon grows angry, and has the dogs kill each and every one of those animals. In Russia, Joseph Stalin forces confessions out of people who have committed crimes. "It was impossible to know who would be arrested, since the 'crimes' people were accused of were concocted by Stalin's secret police" (Kort 108). Then Stalin makes sure they were all killed or at least tortured. " 'Confessions' were beaten and extorted out of people, as were accusations against other innocent victims, who in turn were arrested and tortured" (Kort 109). Napoleon, the evil pig, and Joseph Stalin, the killing dictator of Russia, are clearly similar in their ways of ruling.

On Animal Farm, the raven, Moses shows the ways and occurrences of religion during the Russian Revolution. Stalin dislikes unified religion because he believes the Church has too much power. On the farm, there is a lazy unhelpful raven, who flies about, named Moses. On Animal Farm, Moses, who represents religion "is afforded special treatment not available to other animals" (Telgen, Hile 7). Moses is hated by most of the animals because the pigs pay special attention to him. They let him drink beer, which no other animal is privileged to, and he doesn't have to do all the duties that the animals perform. "For example, he is the only animal not present at the meeting called by Old Major as the book opens" (Telgen + Hile 7). Moses leaves the farm at the beginning of the book, representing the disappearance of religion in Russia.

In the middle of the summer Moses the raven suddenly reappeared on the farm, after an absence of several years. He was quite unchanged, still did no work, and talked in the same strain as ever about Sugarcandy Mountain (Orwell 119).

Moses explains to all of the amazed animals, that Sugarcandy Mountain is a "happy country where [the] poor animals shall rest for ever from [their] labours" (Orwell 119)! Moses even tells the animals that he visited Sugarcandy Mountain once, "and to have seen the everlasting fields of clover and linseed cake and lump sugar growing on the hedges. Many of the animals believed him" (Orwell 119). Sugar Candy Mountain represents Heaven, where all people who die supposedly go to, to spend their afterlife.

In Russia, after many years of outlawed religion, The clergy is presented as a privileged class tolerated by those in power because of their ability to placate the masses with promises of rewards in the afterlife for suffering endured on Earth. (Telgen + Hile 7).

Yet the thing that was difficult to determine was the attitude of the pigs towards Moses. They all declared contemptuously that his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain were lies, and yet they allowed him to remain on the farm" (Orwell 119).

In Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, many comparisons lie between the life and events of the animals living and rebelling on the farm, to the events and people occurring in the Russian Revolution. The struggle of Trotsky and Stalin's fight for dictatorship compares to Snowball and Napoleon's fight for leadership among the animals on the farm. The act of Stalin executing many guilty and innocent people, instead of arresting them for their confessions, is similar to the way Napoleon kills all the animals that announce they helped Snowball. Religion in Russia represents Moses, a raven who lives on the farm, and receives special treatment