Whether one is leading a real or imaginary domain, all leaders need some means of maintaining authority. Some of these leaders choose a path of virtue with the goals of the commoners in mind, while others act in a Machiavellian manner out of self-interest alone. In George Owrell’s satire Animal Farm, several different leadership philosophies are presented. The main ruling philosophies depicted in Animal Farm are Mr. Jones’ neglectful ruling, Old Major’s idealistic belief in equality and liberty, Snowball’s actions based on future benefits, and Napoleon’s totalitarian dominance. Although they are the most corrupt, Napoleon’s methods of maintaining leadership are by far the most effective. Napoleon’s power greatly surpasses that of the other
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After Napoleon’s dogs expel Snowball from Animal Farm, “Four young porkers…uttered shrill squeals of disapproval…but…the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent” (B4). Napoleon’s dogs quickly force obedience upon even the other ruling pigs, proving that the dogs have already established a reputation as creatures to be feared. An important effect of the pigs’ silence is that it prevents a powerful display of dissent that might have destroyed Napoleon’s government. By censoring the other pigs, Napoleon leaves no chance of protest available, and discourages any vocalizations of dissent. Later on, the hens of Animal Farm revolt against Napoleon after he creates a high egg production quota. When he hears of the rebellion, Napoleon quickly stops the hens’ food rations, with his vicious dogs enforcing his decree. At this point, many animals realize Napoleon has few or no limits to his use of his nine dogs and will use them in any way possible to gain power. This on its own creates fear, but a true demonstration of Napoleon’s wrath scares the animals into total submission. After several animals give false confessions, “the dogs promptly tore their [the confessors’] throats out” (B6). An important piece of this quote is that the animals’ throats, which generate speech, are torn out. Along with the dead, the living animals are muted by their fear of the dogs as if their throats had been torn out as well. A lack of dissent during these troublesome events prevents rebellion, which could easily destabilize or perhaps destroy Napoleon 's regime in a time of such high tension. It is important to note that this type of fear is different than the fear the animals experience when Squealer mentions Mr. Jones’ return. Fear of Mr. Jones causes the animals to trust and follow Napoleon, while the fear of
After Napoleon’s dogs expel Snowball from Animal Farm, “Four young porkers…uttered shrill squeals of disapproval…but…the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent” (B4). Napoleon’s dogs quickly force obedience upon even the other ruling pigs, proving that the dogs have already established a reputation as creatures to be feared. An important effect of the pigs’ silence is that it prevents a powerful display of dissent that might have destroyed Napoleon’s government. By censoring the other pigs, Napoleon leaves no chance of protest available, and discourages any vocalizations of dissent. Later on, the hens of Animal Farm revolt against Napoleon after he creates a high egg production quota. When he hears of the rebellion, Napoleon quickly stops the hens’ food rations, with his vicious dogs enforcing his decree. At this point, many animals realize Napoleon has few or no limits to his use of his nine dogs and will use them in any way possible to gain power. This on its own creates fear, but a true demonstration of Napoleon’s wrath scares the animals into total submission. After several animals give false confessions, “the dogs promptly tore their [the confessors’] throats out” (B6). An important piece of this quote is that the animals’ throats, which generate speech, are torn out. Along with the dead, the living animals are muted by their fear of the dogs as if their throats had been torn out as well. A lack of dissent during these troublesome events prevents rebellion, which could easily destabilize or perhaps destroy Napoleon 's regime in a time of such high tension. It is important to note that this type of fear is different than the fear the animals experience when Squealer mentions Mr. Jones’ return. Fear of Mr. Jones causes the animals to trust and follow Napoleon, while the fear of