Is Napoleon is a good leader in Animal Farm?

On the
surface,appears to be a good leader in . He comes to power with the other
pigs in Chapter Two, after Mr Jones is overthrown. One of his first acts as a leader is to
prioritise the "education of the young" and he puts this belief into action by taking
Bluebell and Jessie's puppies and personally overseeing their education (Chapter Three).
Napoleon also contributes to the development of Animalism through writing the Seven Commandments
and, with , he changes the name of the farm from Manor Farm to Animal Farm, to reflect the
change of ownership (Chapter Two). Along with the other pigs, Napoleon also suggests that one
paddock should be separated from the others, as to provide a retirement facility for older
animals on the farm, once they are no longer fit for work (Chapter Three).

But, scratch a little deeper, and Napoleon's true colours are soon revealed. His
education of the puppies, for example, proves to be no more than the creation of a personal
guard which he uses against(in Chapter Five) and against rebellious animals (in Chapter Seven).
He also contravenes many of the principles of Animalism and, in fact, changes some of the
commandments to suit his selfish, dictatorial needs. The rule about drinking alcohol, for
example, is changed to say that "no animal shall drink alcohol to excess" (Chapter
Eight). Similarly, the reader learns that no animal ever makes it to the retirement paddock. In
the case of , for instance, Napoleon sells him to a horse slaughterer. When the other animals
see the van, Napoleon has Squealer, his propagandist, tell the animals that the van, in fact,
belongs to the vet who has not had time to repaint the sign.

On balance,
then, Napoleon is no better at caring for the animals than Mr Jones. The only difference being
that Napoleon is far more cunning and skilful in his use of propaganda and
concealment.