Napoleon is the main antagonist of Animal Farm and both of its film adaptations. He is a ruthless Berkshire pig who appears as Squealer's boss and later becomes the leader of the Animal Farm after ousting his political rival Snowball by pretending to propose Snowball's windmill. Once he takes over animal farm, he makes life a misery for all the other animals and hypocritically alters the commandments to suit his own needs. He is based on Joseph Stalin, the real-life dictator of the early years of the Soviet Union.
History[]
Napoleon grew up as a pig on Mr.Jones's farm and, like the other animals at the time, was mistreated by the farmer Mr.Jones, an alcoholic who constantly neglected the farm and eventually lead it to ruin. Upset with the injustices of how the farm was being run, Napoleon, Snowball and the other animals decide to hold an emergency meeting with old major in the barn. There, old major decides on teaching the animals about the principles of animalism and addresses the injustices of the farm, such as the animals not being able to keep what they produce. Old major essentially advocates for the animals to rise up against farmer Jones and take over the farm for themselves.