What Steps Did Napoleon Take in Animal Farm to Become a Leader?

After the rebellion against Mr. Jones, Snowball and Napoleon become the prominent figures in the animal kingdom. They even go to the extent of changing the name from Manor Farm to Animal Farm. Mr. Jones was breeding these two boars up for sale. While Snowball was quicker in speech, more vocal, inventive and took actions, Napoleon was shrewd. He was supposed to have depth of character. He played a very smart game in becoming the leader of the Animal Farm’. He took well-planned actions to rise to power and attain victory over Snowball.

Napoleon used Squealer, a small fat pig, with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements and a shrill voice. Squealer was a brilliant talker and by whisking his tail from side to side, he could convince the listeners to agree to his point of view. He becomes the agent and the mouthpiece of Napoleon, as Napoleon was not an efficient talker. Napoleon would change his mind and decisions abruptly without bothering to give explanations.

When someone asked what would happen to the five buckets of milk from the three cows, Napoleon shrugged it off saying harvest was more important at that moment. It was subsequently discovered that all the milk and the apples were being consumed by the pigs for their health. Hence, while trying to put up a show of compassion to fellow animals, he was actually taking advantage of the situation.

Snowball and Napoleon were always against each other. When Snowball formed committees, Napoleon countered that education of the young was more important than looking after the adults. He took away two dogs who soon gave births to nine puppies. He trained them for his convenience and support. Napoleon gradually convinced all the animals that since pigs were the most intelligent ones, they would take all the decisions.

The growing differences between Napoleon and Snowball ended when he managed to throw Snowball out of the farm. He always built up support behind the scenes. After three months, Napoleon reversed his decision in support of the windmill, saying that had merely been a game to oust Snowball. When resources ran out for the windmill, he started trading with humans in neighbouring farms using a lawyer as the mediator. He used various techniques like these to impress upon the other animals. For any disaster that struck the farm, he held Snowball responsible and used Squealer to convince the animals. He even used the dogs to enforce his decisions through terrorization. He went to the extent of declaring that Snowball had worked in connivance with Mr. Jones while he was alive.

Napoleon managed to alter all of the seven commandments gradually, to suit the pigs’ convenience. He came to be known as “Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon,” and several other flattering titles. The pigs start behaving, dressing, and eating like humans. Thus, Napoleon had all the traits of a politician and knew how to muster support.