“‘A bird's wing, comrades,’ he said, ‘is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation. It should therefore be regarded as a leg. The distinguishing mark of man is the HAND, the instrument with which he does all his mischief.’” 

Here, in Chapter 3, Snowball uses his intelligence and rhetorical skill to reassure the birds that they align with the maxim of “four legs good, two legs bad.” In his reference to man and mischief, Snowball is also the most closely aligned with Old Major’s ideology—in particular, with Old Major’s proclamation that it is Man that is the root of all their suffering and exploitation. Snowball, with his long-winded explanations, serves as contrast to Napoleon, whose speeches are described as short and to the point.

“The animals had never heard of anything of this kind before (for the farm was an old-fashioned one and had only the most primitive machinery), and they listened in astonishment while Snowball conjured up pictures of fantastic machines which would do their work for them while they grazed at their ease in the fields or improved their minds with reading and conversation.”

In Chapter 5, Snowball proposes the idea of the windmill. Snowball’s ingenuity and desire for technological progress on the farm stands at odds with Napoleon’s desire to industrialize and privatize resources. Snowball’s idea for the windmill would make it so that the animals might work smarter, not harder, which ideally would lead to overall improvement in the daily lives of all the animals on the farm. Of course, Napoleon rejects these ideas, as the possibility of leisure would inevitably lead to a loss of his control. 

“‘Comrades,’ he said quietly, ‘do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!’ he suddenly roared in a voice of thunder.”

In Chapter 6, tensions between Snowball and Napoleon reach their peak. Napoleon says these lines to the other animals, effectively paint Snowball as a traitor and an enemy of the farm. Similar to the way in which Stalin used Trotsky as a scapegoat for all of the failures of Soviet Russia, Snowball is ostracized and forced to occupy a similar position.

“Then Snowball (for it was Snowball who was best at writing) took a brush between the two knuckles of his trotter, painted out MANOR FARM from the top bar of the gate and in its place painted ANIMAL FARM.” 

This essential moment from Chapter 2 marks an important point in the transition from human to animal control. It is Snowball, here, who renames Manor Farm to Animal Farm and who subsequently codifies the laws of the farm into commandments. In this simple act, Snowball opens the hope for a better future. Though Napoleon and Snowball both lead the charge during the revolution, it is Snowball who does the actual work of organizing. Snowball is eventually ostracized and forgotten, and Napoleon’s later renaming of Animal Farm back to Manor Farm symbolizes the undoing of all the progress that Snowball had tried to achieve.

“Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball.”

In Chapter 7, hysteria breaks out throughout the farm over Snowball’s supposed betrayal. In an attack against his memory and reputation, Snowball is framed as a counter revolutionary and as a threat to the animals. Rumors and stories abound concerning his meddling in Animal Farm and his association with humans. The once erudite, compassionate, and strategic Snowball becomes a villain as a result of Napoleon’s machinations. Snowball emerges as a nexus point for fear and an opportunity for Napoleon to tighten his grip over the animals on the farm.

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