Napolean and Snowball, Compare and Contrast

In George Orwell’s Animal Farm the author develops a plot that is a thinly-veiled allegory for the Russian Revolution. In the novel, the animals on a farm in England, Orwell’s homeland, overthrow the humans who run the farm. They set up an equalitarian self-government that is primarily administered by the pigs, and follow the seven commandments of “Animalism.” The first leader of the farm is Snowball, who is a clever pig that thinks all of the animals should be treated equally, and kindly. The next leader of the Animal Farm was Napoleon. Napoleon was more of a dictatorial leader, and did not grant many personal freedoms to the animals. Allegorically, Snowball and Napoleon represent Trotsky and Stalin respectively. Snowball and Napoleon were two very strong leaders of Animal Farm, but they had very different beliefs, goals, and personal style.

Snowball and Napoleon held very different beliefs as far as how the Animal Farm should be run. Snowball believed that all animals should do equal work. He also believed in adherence to the commandments of Animalism:

"THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3. No animal shall wear clothes.

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5. No animal shall drink alcohol.

6. No animal shall kill any other animal.

7. All animals are equal.”(Chapter 2) Snowball also spread out governance duties by setting up “committees” to make decisions on various things. Napoleon, on the other hand, thought that he and the other pigs should do no work, but still run the farm; this is clearly demonstrated when he changes the seventh commandment to: “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS”(Chapter 10).

Snowball and Napoleon also had drastically different goals, both for themselves and the farm. Snowball envisioned a farm where the animals were all equal, self-sufficient, and educated. Under Snowball, all the animals had plenty to eat, and were...