Friday, May 22, 2015

Why did George Orwell choose to not kill Snowball?

Napoleon rises to power in Animal Farm after his attack dogs chase Snowball from the farm. As the new leader, Napoleon decrees that the intellectually superior pigs will make all the decisions. Napoleon may have chosen to banish Snowball instead of killing him because he is also a pig and therefore still in a higher position than the other animals. If Napoleon had killed Snowball, the other animals could have interpreted this as contrary to the pigs-are-superior law.
Napoleon also changes his mind about building the windmill, and after a storm the animals find that it has been destroyed. Napoleon claims that Snowball sabotaged the windmill; by letting Snowball live, Napoleon is able to continue turning the animals against him and remain blameless for the windmill's destruction. In addition, if Napoleon had simply killed his rival, the other animals may have idealized him.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...