Animal Farm: Napoleon's greed and conflict with Snowball

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Initially, conflict arises within the novella between Napoleon and Snowball because of Napoleon’s greed. Napoleon volunteers to dispose of the cow’s milk stating:

‘ “Never mind the milk Comrades” cried Napoleon … when they came back in the evening it was noticed the milk had disappeared.’

The reader can infer from this first instance of greed that Napoleon has taken the milk for himself in a greedy and selfish act. The euphemism ‘disappeared’ allows the reader to understand that Napoleon is willing to forgo Animalism which will result in conflict with Snowball. During the rising action, Napoleon’s greed is first intimated when it is implied that he drinks the cow’s milk. Moreover, during the rising action Napoleon’s greed is further explored when he separates the dogs from their mothers to train them. Napoleon secludes the dogs straight from their birth when ‘Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying he would make himself responsible’. The reader presumes that Napoleon’s motives are to use the dogs in order to further his own success. This act of greed foreshadows the use of the dogs to uphold and instate Napoleon’s leadership in a brutal act of violence.