In every novel there is a message or theme. In George Orwell's novel Animal Farm the theme is that those in power sometimes try to revise history to fit a current political need. In this novel, the character, Napoleon proves that this theme is true in many ways. During his reign Napoleon changed the history of Animal Farm to fit his political goals.
One of the first things that Napoleon had done to revise history is when he changed the Seven Commandments. In the beginning of the novel Snowball and Napoleon had written the Seven Commandments which were the laws the animals had to follow. While Napoleon was in power he did things that broke the laws. For example Napoleon had killed animals which broke the rule of "No animal shall kill any other animal." Realizing that he had broken the rule he sent his trustworthy companion Squealer to change the rule to "No animal shall kill and other animal without cause" (88). Napoleon had changed this rule so the other animals would not know that he had broken a rule. This way he would appear honest and continue to be the role model for animals like Boxer. Not only did Napoleon break and change this law but he did this to all the laws until there was only one left, which was "All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others" (123). Napoleon had changed this rule because he knew that the other animals would soon start questioning if they were equal with the pigs. Napoleon did not want the other animals to think that something is fishy. For if the animals had found that Napoleon changed the laws he would lose his power on Animal Farm. This helped his political needs because his political need was to gain more power that would make him equal with humans. By changing this laws he was allowed to sleep on beds, drink beer, where clothes, and walk on two legs which are all things that led Napoleon closer to becoming more like a human. .
Another truth that Napoleon changed to meet his political goals is when he changed the role of Snowball in the Battle of Cowshed.