Napoleon and Stalin (Q2: 13)

Quote: "In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a committee of pigs, presided over by himself. These would meet in private and afterwards communicate their decision to the others." (58)

This quote is about the new policies that were to be instated at Animal Farm after Napoleon's coup

I chose this quote because this is where Napoleon's relationship to Joseph Stalin is made clear. The clearly fascist policy described in the quote is akin to the kind of policies that Stalin enjoyed to employ in his reign.

Analysis: Napoleon is a symbol for Joseph Stalin in Animal Farm and his reign is analogous to the Soviet Union. Stalin was a leader in the Russian Revolution, but he came to full power with his control of the secret police that would later become the KGB. This is the same as Napoleon's rise on the backs of his dogs. Also, Napoleon took control of the animals' personal production, such as eggs and milk, much like Stalin took over all of the privately owned farms of the Soviet Union and consolidated them. In both cases this led to the subjects to be hungrier, sadder, and poorer. Later in the book, Napoleon becomes paranoid that Snowball is influencing the animals of the farm and driving them to assassinate him. In retaliation, Napoleon holds regular executions. This is similar to Stalin, who was infamously paranoid, and would hold purges where he murdered people in the millions based on fleeting suspi