There were marked differences between Snowball and Napoleon in their roles of leadership. An initial description of the two reads 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. Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character.
The contrasts between the two are quite clear. One can immediately gauge that Napoleon had a more dominant physical presence, which this early suggests that he will use force to achieve what he desires. He comes across as intimidating. The fact that he is not 'much of a talker but with a reputation for getting his own way' also alludes to his using his strong physical presence to get what he wants. It also implies that he is not a good orator and that he probably lacks the intellect to express himself well. Snowball, conversely, is much more lively and a good speaker.
The fact that Snowball is described as 'inventive' intimates that he is creative and is a natural planner. That he does not have the same 'depth of character' as Napoleon, seems to suggest that Napoleon appeared to be a deeper thinker, since he hardly expressed himself whilst Snowball came across as somewhat shallow.
Their styles of leadership were also quite different:
Soon after the Rebellion Snowball formed a variety of committees on which he worked very hard in order to educate and better the lot of all the animals. All of these were, however, a failure. It was also he who had shortened the seven commandments to one maxim: 'Four legs good, two legs bad,' so that the animals would understand the basic principles of Animalism better. It was clear from his actions that he had the interests of all the animals at heart.
Napoleon, on the other hand, took no interest in these committees and stated that the education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who had already grown up. It is in terms of this approach that he removed Jessie and Bluebell's nine puppies soon after they were weaned and kept them in a hayloft under such secrecy that the farm animals soon forgot about them. It would later become apparent what a devious move this action had actually been.
Napoleon and Snowball could never agree, and in meetings they were constantly at loggerheads with each other. This lead to much confusion among the animals for whenever they were asked to vote since they would sway from one proposal to the other. it appeared that the two agreed to disagree. Snowball came up with numerous suggestions.
Napoleon produced no schemes of his own, but said quietly that Snowball’s would come to nothing, and seemed to be biding his time. But of all their controversies, none was so bitter as the one that took place over the windmill.
In his final meeting, Snowball achieved great support for his plan to build a windmill. His arguments were very persuasive. Napoleon realized that he was going to lose the vote and thus played his trump card.
On a signal from him, nine huge dogs came bounding in and headed straight for Snowball. He just about avoided their snapping jaws and they chased him off the farm, never to be seen again. This signified a dramatic turning point. Once Snowball was gone, Napoleon had sole leadership and his rule would go unchallenged. He started changing the commandments to favor himself and the pigs. Eventually, he was nothing better than Mr Jones had been. The animals on the farm were brutally slaughtered or punished when they opposed him. Snowball was demonized and anything that went wrong on the farm was blamed on him.
Napoleon had deviously plotted his ascension and became a dictator who practiced tyranny on his own kind.
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