George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, is a timeless political satire of the Soviet Union.
In the book, Napoleon, the leader of the animals on the farm, represents Joseph Stalin.
Orwell does an excellent job criticizing Stalin and his regime by using Napoleon’s quotes throughout the novel. Here are some of my favorite Napoleon quotes from Animal Farm:
Animal Farm Quotes With Page Numbers
Napoleon Animal Farm Characteristics
In the book Animal Farm, Napoleon is a cruel, oppressive, hypocritical, deceptive, and tyrannical dictator driven by his unquenchable thirst for power.
He is a remorseless and psychopathic sadist who abuses his power and manipulates the other animals to achieve his selfish goals.
Napoleon is a hedonistic and parsimonious alcoholic who also puts on a façade of self-effacing modesty to appear as a compassionate leader.
He is also an elitist who orders that many poems and songs be written about himself, presenting himself as the savior of Animal Farm.
He is extremely opprobrious, vituperative, persuasive, and deceitful, having used cruelty and cunning to fight his way to power.
His selfishness and ambition define Napoleon’s character; he will do anything to remain in power.
Animal Farm Characters And Who They Represent
Direct Napoleon Quotes From Animal Farm With Page Numbers
“The Seven Commandments:
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 2, Pages 24, 25
“Never mind the milk, comrades!” cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. “That will be attended to. The harvest is more important. Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall follow in a few minutes. Forward, comrades! The hay is waiting.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 2, Page 26
“Comrades,” he said quietly, “do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 6, Page 69-70
“Animal Farm, Animal Farm,
Never through me shalt thou come to harm!”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 7, Pages 88-89
“The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally.”
― George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 10, Page 129
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 10, Page 134
“Between pigs and human beings there was not and there need not be any clash of interest whatever.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 10, Page 138
Napoleon Quotes Animal Farm Chapter 2
“The Seven Commandments:
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 2, Pages 24, 25
“Never mind the milk, comrades!” cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. “That will be attended to. The harvest is more important. Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall follow in a few minutes. Forward, comrades! The hay is waiting.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 2, Page 26
Animal Farm Quotes About Napoleon
“As soon as they were weaned, Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for their education. He took them up into a loft which could only be reached by a ladder from the harness-room, and there kept them in such seclusion that the rest of the farm soon forgot their existence.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, About Napoleon, (The narrator), Chapter 3, Pages 34-35
“All of them came to look at Snowball’s drawings at least once a day. Even the hens and ducks came, and were at pains not to tread on the chalk marks. Only Napoleon held aloof. He had declared himself against the windmill from the start. One day, however, he arrived unexpectedly to examine the plans. He walked heavily round the shed, looked closely at every detail of the plans and snuffed at them once or twice, then stood for a little while contemplating them out of the corner of his eye; then suddenly he lifted his leg, urinated over the plans, and walked out without uttering a word.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Napoleon) Chapter 5, Pages 49, 50
“Napoleon, on the other hand, argued that the great need of the moment was to increase food production, and that if they wasted time on the windmill they would all starve to death. The animals formed themselves into two factions under the slogan, “Vote for Snowball and the three-day week” and “Vote for Napoleon and the full manger.” Benjamin was the only animal who did not side with either faction. He refused to believe either that food would become
more plentiful or that the windmill would save work. Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on-that is, badly.”~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Napoleon) Chapter 5, Page 50
“He announced that from now on the Sunday-morning Meetings would come to an end. They were unnecessary, he said, and wasted time. In future all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a special committee of pigs, presided over by himself.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Napoleon), Chapter 5, Page 54
“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, About Napoleon, (Character: Squealar), Chapter 5, Page 55
“I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon himself. Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure! On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, about Napoleon, (Character: Squealar), Chapter 5, Page 55
“Surely, comrades, you don’t want Jones back?”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Napoleon), Chapter 5, Page 56
“Napoleon is always right.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Boxer’s maxim), Chapter 5, Page 56
“This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Napoleon), Chapter 6, Page 59
“Frequently he did not even appear on Sunday mornings, but issued his orders through one of the other pigs, usually Squealer.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, About Napoleon (Character: the narrator), Chapter 7, Page 76
“And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon’s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Napoleon), Chapter 7, Page 84
“Napoleon was now never spoken of simply as “Napoleon.” He was always referred to in formal style as “our Leader, Comrade Napoleon,” and this pigs liked to invent for him such titles as Father of All Animals, Terror of Mankind, Protector of the Sheep-fold, Ducklings’ Friend, and the like.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator about Napoleon, Chapter 8, Page 93
“It had become usual to give Napoleon the Credit for every Successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, “Under the guidance of our leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days” or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would exclaim,
“thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this water tastes!”…”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator, the chickens and the cows about Napoleon), Chapter 8, Page 93
“Friend of fatherless!
Fountain of happiness!
Lord of the swill-bucket! Oh, how my soul is on
Fire when I gaze at thy
Calm and commanding eye.
Like the sun in the sky,
Comrade Napoleon!Thou are the giver of
All thy creatures love,
Full belly twice a day, clean straw to roll upon;
Every beast great or small,
Sleeps at peace in his stall,
Thou watchest over all,
Comrade Napoleon!Had I a sucking-pig,
Ere he had grown as big
Even as a pint bottle or a a rolling-pin
He should have learned to be
Faithful and true to thee,
Yes, his first squeak should be
Comrade Napoleon!”~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (Character: Minimus’s poem about Napoleon), Chapter 8, Pages 94, 95
“…out from the door of the farmhouse came a long file of pigs, all walking on their hind legs…out came Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling round him.
He carried a whip in his trotter.
There was a deadly silence. Amazed, terrified, huddling together, the animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. It was as though the world had turned upside-down. Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened-they might have uttered some word of protest. But just at that moment, as though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of-
“Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better!”
It went on for five minutes without stopping. And by the time the sheep had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed, for the pigs had marched back into the farmhouse.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, (The narrator and the sheep about Napoleon), Chapter 10, Page 133
Napoleon Blaming Snowball Quotes
“Comrades,” he said quietly, “do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!” he suddenly roared in a voice of thunder. “Snowball has done this thing! In sheer malignity, thinking to set back our plans and avenge himself for his ignominious expulsion, this traitor has crept here under cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year. Comrades, here and now I pronounce the death sentence upon Snowball. ‘Animal Hero, Second Class,’ and half a bushel of apples to any animal who brings him to justice. A full bushel to anyone who captures him alive!”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, Napoleon, Chapter 6, Page 69-70
What are some of Napoleon’s quotes in Animal Farm?
Some of Napoleon’s quotes in Animal Farm include:
“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?”; “Napoleon is always right.” and “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
What is Napoleon’s speech in Animal Farm?
“Comrades,” he said quietly, “do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!” he suddenly roared in a voice of thunder. “Snowball has done this thing! In sheer malignity, thinking to set back our plans and avenge himself for his ignominious expulsion, this traitor has crept here under cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year. Comrades, here and now I pronounce the death sentence upon Snowball. ‘Animal Hero, Second Class,’ and half a bushel of apples to any animal who brings him to justice. A full bushel to anyone who captures him alive!”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, Napoleon, Chapter 6, Page 69-70
What is a quote about Napoleon in Animal Farm in Chapter 7?
“Ah, that is different!” said Boxer. “If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.”
~George Orwell, Animal Farm, Boxer, Chapter 7, Page 82
Why is Napoleon a liar in Animal Farm?
Napoleon is a liar in Animal Farm because he presents false modesty to the other animals to manipulate them into following him, and he often claims the ideas of others as his own to stay in power.
He is also deceitful and bitter, using cruelty and cunning to secure his position as the leader of Animal Farm.
Who is the main villain in Animal Farm?
Napoleon is the main villain in George Orwell’s 1945 novel Animal Farm. He’s a ruthless Berkshire boar of the Manor Farm who overthrew Mr. Jones and became the leader of Animal Farm, where he maintained his tyrannical rule and altered the Seven Commandments to suit his own needs.
How is Napoleon abusive in Animal Farm?
Napoleon is incredibly abusive in Animal Farm, using his power to manipulate and control the other animals to further his selfish goals. He also shows no remorse for his actions and is willing to resort to cruel tactics such as public humiliation, propaganda, and physical force to maintain his oppressive reign.
Who does Napoleon symbolize in Animal Farm?
In Animal Farm, Napoleon symbolizes Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. Squealer’s insistence that it is more dignified for Napoleon to live in a house than the farm animals symbolizes the luxury and privilege of the ruling class compared to the subjugated proletariat.
Why does Napoleon hate Snowball?
Napoleon hates Snowball because he symbolizes rebellion and a threat to his power. And because Snowball was associated with Mr. Jones, who Napoleon was determined to overthrow.
Napoleon also believed that Snowball was responsible for the windmill’s destruction and used this as an excuse to execute any animals loyal to Snowball.
How did Napoleon manipulate the animals in Animal Farm?
Napoleon manipulated the animals in Animal Farm by using fear and terror, spreading false confessions and lies, and exploiting Boxer’s loyalty and goodness. He also employed Squealer to manipulate the other animals through propaganda and threats to maintain his dictatorship.
Sources: