| “ | All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. | „ |
| ~ Napoleon's ideals. |
Napoleon is the main antagonist of the George Orwell story Animal Farm. He is a Berkshire pig who helps the animals lead a revolt against the farm's sadistic owner, Mr. Jones, but then betrays the ideals of the revolution to secure power for himself, becoming a tyrant.
He was voiced by the late Maurice Denham in the 1954 animated film and by Patrick Stewart in the 1999 film.
What Makes Him a Hate Sink?[]
- Although he initially appeared loyal to Old Major, it is later clear he is just a power-hungry individual and doesn't care about his fellow animals.
- Contrasting Old Major's ideals and the other animals' hopes, he starts hoarding more and more of the best food for himself and the other pigs, while leaving other animals with poor quantities.
- He takes Jessie's puppies away from her and raises them to become sadistic attack dogs loyal to him alone.
- He betrays his ally Snowball, having him attacked and exiled from the farm. The 1954 film has the dogs kill him, as shown by one of the dogs exchanging nods with Napoleon. He then announces that all decisions will now be made by the pigs with the other animals getting no vote.
- He leads the pigs in oppressing the other animals and forcing them to work, enacting dictatorial policies that are no different from how Jones ran the farm, and falsely blames Snowball for anything that goes wrong.
- He engages in trade with other farms for his own gain, which goes against Old Major's teachings. He also forces the hens to sacrifice their eggs.
- He conducts show trials and brutally executes any who defy his regime, which even includes other pigs.
- He has his right-hand man Squealer alter the Commandments as he sees fit to justify his atrocities.
- In the 1954 film, he cowardly hides in the farmhouse during an attack, remaining inside while many animals are killed by the humans.
- He coldly sells the loyal horse Boxer to the glue factory when he was unable to work and spent the money on liquor.
- In the novel, the ending has Napoleon and the other pigs walking together on two legs, and drinking with other humans. The Commandments are changed to "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL. BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS", proving how his rule made him even worse than Farmer Jones. He ends up completely unpunished and is free to continue ruling the other animals with an iron fist, making him a Karma Houdini.
Trivia[]
- His character was written to represent Joseph Stalin, mirroring Stalin's betrayal of the Soviet Revolution by backstabbing fellow Bolsheviks like Trotsky and consolidating power into his personal dictatorship.