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How do Napoleon and the pigs gain power?

In Animal Farm, Napoleon and the other pigs begin to take power long before the Rebellion against Mr Jones takes place. Once Old Major dies, at the beginning of Chapter Two, for example, the pigs start organising for the Rebellion, though they have no idea when it might happen, because they feel that it is their "duty." Part of the reason for this lies in their perceived intelligence:



The work of teaching and organising fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals.



Whether they really are the most intelligent animals on the farm is not important. What is important, however, is that the pigs play to this stereotype so that the other animals trust and respect them.


The pigs also take power through their development of Old Major's teachings into the system known as Animalism. They conduct secret meetings at night, for instance, in which they teach these principles to other animals. The other animals do not seem to truly grasp the meaning of Animalism, as we learn in the text:



At the beginning they met with much stupidity and apathy.



This stupidity enables the pigs to gain ideological control of the Revolution and manipulate its aims and objectives to suit their own agenda. Once the Rebellion takes place and Mr Jones is overthrown, the pigs quickly create the Seven Commandments, which establishes the new regime on the farm.


By acting quickly and by taking ideological control of the Rebellion, then, the pigs become the 'natural' leaders of this new regime and their ascent to power is a foregone conclusion.

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