Napoleon became the leader of Animal Farm by employing sly tactics and using other animals to do his evil. From the outset, he is described as a character who wanted his own way and who seemed to be plotting something, waiting his turn. At the beginning of chapter two, he is described as follows:
Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way.
Napoleon's primary opponent for leadership was Snowball who is described as not having the 'same depth of character' as his adversary. In effect, this suggests that Napoleon seemed to be always planning and plotting but did not expose much of what he was thinking. This deviousness is illustrated at numerous moments in the novel, such as when he took Jesse and Bluebell's puppies soon after they were weaned. His actions are described in chapter three, not long after the animals had taken over the farm:
It happened that Jessie and Bluebell had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to nine sturdy puppies. 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.
Napoleon was obviously up to something and the extent of his plotting would soon become clear when the puppies made their first appearance as fierce dogs, slavishly obedient to Napoleon's command. Before this particular incident, though, he had also manipulated the sheep into disrupting Snowball's speeches when they loudly bleated whilst he was talking. We read about this in Chapter 5:
At the Meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches, but Napoleon was better at canvassing support for himself in between times. He was especially successful with the sheep. Of late the sheep had taken to bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad" both in and out of season, and they often interrupted the Meeting with this. It was noticed that they were especially liable to break into "Four legs good, two legs bad" at crucial moments in Snowball's speeches.
Napoleon realised that he would never be able to beat Snowball at rhetoric and the creation of new ideas which would benefit the farm. He was single-minded in his purpose. He wanted power and had no interest in taking care of the general good of all the animals. His actions spoke of one who was plotting something. This much became pertinently evident when Snowball delivered a most inspiring speech about the benefits of building a windmill. It was apparent that Snowball had won the animals' support and Napoleon would, for all intents and purposes, have lost the authority he so much desired.
We read about Napoleon's response in chapter five:
By the time he had finished speaking, there was no doubt as to which way the vote would go. But just at this moment Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before.
At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws...
...Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more.
This was what Napoleon had been planning all along. He had gotten rid of his fiercest opponent and could then, claim sole leadership. The animals who had been traumatised by the brutal nature of Snowball's expulsion were informed soon after, 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. These would meet in private and afterwards communicate their decisions to the others. The animals would still assemble on Sunday mornings to salute the flag, sing 'Beasts of England', and receive their orders for the week; but there would be no more debates.
And so, Napoleon's tyrannical reign began. He would, with the help of especially Squealer and his dogs, brutalise, deceive, manipulate, threaten and abuse the general animal populace, with the exception of the pigs, and become much the same as Mr Jones had been.
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