Many great works have been inspired by events in history. George Orwell's Animal Farm provides an unusual outlook on the Russian Revolution and its leaders by using animals to represent their human actions. Orwell attacks communist society and points out weaknesses in its government officials. He calls for a close examination of the treatment of Russian citizens and questions whether they have any rights at all. Orwell was careful in his use of animals in Animal Farm.
Animal Farm uses the perfect combination of animal symbolism to relate the occurrences on Manor Farm to actual historical events of the Russian Revolution through the use of such characters as Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer, and Boxer.
Napoleon is undoubtedly the most corrupt character in the novel. His brutal methods of ruling the farm draw strange but clear comparison to his human character Joseph Stalin. Napoleon is described as "a large, rather fierce-looking boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way". He dominates the political scene on Manor Farm, controls the education of the youth, and is a brilliant strategist when it comes to rallying support for his cause.
Napoleon, throughout the novel, fails to present an idea that is original, but tends to take credit for the ideas of others. Like Stalin, Napoleon is not a good speaker and is certainly not as clever as his political opponent. However, he makes good use of his resident "smooth-talker," Squealer, to insure that his subjects see the purpose of his evil and demented ideas, while those who oppose him are merely torn apart by dogs that Napoleon accumulated to protect him and distribute justice as he sees fit in much the same way that Stalin used the KGB.
Napoleon relies on flashy displays of power like the firing of the shotgun or fancy titles such as "Terror of Mankind," "Protector of the Sheepfold. Another interesting part of the story is animal farm commandments.