Essay

On a perfectly fine farm in rainy England lays a young, intuitive boar by the name of Snowball. He is determined to make the animal’s lives better, and he knows he can do it, he just needs a push. After the death of Old Major, Snowball’s character comes in to play. “Animal Farm” by George Orwell describes Snowball’s heroic acts of selflessness and equality. Snowball is vital to the book’s story, as he helps me understand the plot more, by being a generally liked character. Snowball has always shown bravery in the face of danger, hope in the face of despair, and determination for the advancement of Animal Farm. The book would not have worked without his character and I’ll be happy to tell you why.

As mentioned above, Snowball has displayed courage all through the book, especially during the Battle of the Cowshed. Snowball’s bravery inspired the animals, and me. He lead to animals in war, at the front line, constantly encouraging them and leading them towards a better future. During the battle, Snowball made right at Mr Jones, getting shot in the process, but not faltering once. This shows he is willingness to sacrifice his own life for the outcome of animal farm. Because of Snowball, Animal Farm was able to thrive and develop. Even after the battle, Snowball gave a fallen sheep a proper burial and awarded her with Animal Hero, Second Class, while Snowball get Animal Hero, First Class. This shows his respectfulness towards the other animals. It’s no shock the animals respect him, and admire him. This is further supported by a quote from the novel, on page 26, chapter 4, “The animals decided unanimously to create a military decoration, “Animal Hero, First Class’, which was conferred there and then on Snowball…”. This quote shows the animals are together in their decision to award Snowball. When faced with such a dangerous attack you are bound to be scared, but with someone who is brave, you, too, are willing to fight. Snowball’s courage and bravery to fight for something he believes in causes us to believe in it too. His passion is contagious, and he inspires others around him, even you, the myself. Just by being so willing to fight helps the animals break out of the shells. Snowball tugs on the my emotions by making them hopeful for the outcome of Animal Farm as well.

Furthermore, Snowball cared for the animals. Never once did he cause unnecessary damage to the animals. He spent time trying to educate the animals on English, he interpreted Old Major’s speech to make the 7 Commandments, and he taught the “Two legs bad, four legs good” chant for those who couldn’t understand the commandments. He even tried to spread animalism to other farms, to increase the chances of success. This isn’t saying he wasn’t necessarily good either. He, along with the other pigs, stole from the animals, in the forms of apples and milk. This isn’t truthful, but it isn’t to the extent of the slaughter of animals who didn’t agree with him. Snowball was by far, a much better leader than Napoleon, as he was less self-serving, and more willing to help the animals understand, instead of being manipulative with a superiority complex. Snowball, being a decently good person makes the me believe in him more, and distrust Napoleon, especially after his banishment. Likable characters generally make a story more enjoyable and the me happy. A caring leader is usually well liked, and respected. Most people would’ve lost someone good in their life, whether it be through death or drifting apart, so readers will be able to relate to how the animals felt after Snowball’s banishment. He tried to do good and barely only escaped with his life, and influence’s mine and any reader’s emotions. Snowball being caring to the animals, and always having new and intuitive ideas makes his eradication even more saddening, and heart breaking.

Lastly, Snowball was the only person who could opposes Napoleon and his terrible ideas. After Snowball’s banishment, Napoleon was free the control the farm however he liked. George Orwell shoes how powerful Napoleon can be without someone to oppose him. With Snowball gone, it shows how important he was to farm. He lead the farm to success and life, while Napoleon lead the farm lead the farm to death and destruction. During the rest of the book, Napoleon’s actions shift the my feelings to side more with Snowball. Even though he wasn’t the greatest, he was a thousand times better leader than Napoleon. Napoleon kicking our such a brave leader shows Napoleon’s true cruelty towards his fellow animals. The author George Orwell, clearly wants to show the two leader’s difference, but also similarities. Each of the pigs have their own interpretation of Old Major’s speech, which eventually evolve into different sayings. Snowball’s is “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.”. Napoleon’s is “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Snowball’s quote encourages power in unity, while Napoleon’s is about special treatment, directed at him and the other pigs. The difference is quite clear, from just their quotes. His purpose was to illustrate the fine line between leader, and dictator. If this is what Orwell was trying to get across, he succeeded, at least with me.

To conclude, Snowball’s character is one of the more liked characters in the novel. He shows bravery, kindness and was able to oppose Napoleon. His existence helps illustrate government corruption and cruelty, but also how bravery can inspire others to follow. Snowball helps me understand the story of Animal Farm, by being a fair leader, but daresay his character can help any reader.