Why can Napoleon maintain his power in Animal Farm?

Power is kept by Napoleon through a number of methods. The most important from my perspective are his dogs, this is because they add an intimidation factor to his repertoire. This is on display when Napoleon sends the dogs after Boxer and the Pigs. “But just as this moment Napoleon stood up and casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered high pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before. At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball.”This quote emphasises the authority of the dogs and the effect they have within an instance of their arrival. On the other hand it might create the image of abusive of his authority power, this is because there probably was no need to implement dogs into the farm. However a conspiracy theory could be that Napoleon felt very insecure about his leadership position and therefore brought fierce dogs to make sure if anyone dared to contend for Napoleons spot there throats would be ripped out.

Napoleon keeps his power through the factor of intimidation. Napoleon was an aggressive leader and used all of his resources to his pleasure. This is shown when Napoleon ordered the animal residents to confess. “They added that Snowball had privately admitted to being Mr Jones’s secret agent for years past. When they had finished their confession the dogs promptly tore their throats out.” This suggests that Napoleons intimidation is built up by the dogs. This makes the animals feel a constant pressure to make Napoleons commands into a reality. On the other hand it could cause an uproar or kick-start a rebellion. We can relate to this in the modern world when Hitler took control of Germany .Hitler’s  reputation was built upon his intimidating personality.

Another important factor is the ability for Napoleon to read and write. This is a huge advantage for the pigs, this meant they could establish rules and be able to write and preach them.”As for the pigs they could already read and write perfectly.” This quote hundred percent backs up my view as it say that they can read write better than any other species. This meant that they could lie about something but couldn’t be challenged as they were either not literate or just could read or write to the bare minimum. This was exploited in the story where Snowball was under the cosh and the conspiracy theories went out the window, one of them was that there was written documents on Snowball planning to screw Animal Farm over. Many of the animals believed it due to their incapabilities.

Another factor is the messenger of Napoleon Squealer. Squealer preached whatever Napoleon spoke of, it was as if he was a slave of his but a bit more higher ranked. Squealer was one of the most intelligent animals on the farm, he could talk from sunset to sunrise. This got him out of sticky situations , and personally i believe that Napoleon would not be the leader he was without this trusty companion pig.”Comrades, a most terrible thing has been discovered, Snowball has been plotting against us from Pitch Field Farm” This seeded doubt into the animals minds and made him look like a traitor , and even worse made Napoleon look like a great triumphant leader. This is all due to the handiwork of Squealer.

The Final deciding factor is how George Orwell wanted Napoleon to be a courageous leader, since he created the book his imagination would be the reason why Napoleon would be the eventual leader.”Napoleon was a fierce looking boar with a reputation of getting his way.” At the beginning of the story Napoleon was a quiet sinister character. But as the story progressed Napoleons character grew in posture and leadership. He took the position of leader by the scruff of the neck, he also eliminated Snowball another contending Boar. This was all apart of Napoleons plan to build his empire at Animal Farm. Overall I believe that Napoleons legacy/reputation was helped to be built by Squealer, his negotiating skills and debating skills was an ultimate factor in what was the Napoleon movement.