One day in the spring, Napoleon summons a meeting of all the animals, where he forces all those who had interrogated him to confess (like the four pigs of chapters 5 and 6 and the three hens leading the demonstration) and then has them murdered by the dogs. Many animals also confess to crimes that they believe were caused by Snowball. Eventually, singing “Beasts of England” was banned and a new song by Minimus, Napoleon`s pig poet, was introduced, although the animals did not find the song as meaningful as their previous anthem. Given the realities of agriculture – and his own lack of planning for the winter – Napoleon is forced to deal with a starving population and the potentially harmful leaks of such news to the outside world. To overcome these problems, Napoleon metaphorically assumed the role of director and staged a theatrical production. As for this metaphor, Mr. Whymper has the audience that must involve Napoleon and make believe in an illusion, sheep are actors reciting lines on increased rations, and empty grain containers filled with sand are the props (or “special effects”). Whymper is deceived into thinking that Animal Farm works well, and Napoleon once again demonstrates his reasonable use of deception. (Ironically, this deceptive theatricality is exactly what Squealer later accuses Snowball of doing with Jones in battle in the stable.) The animals are led to believe that Snowball visits the farm at night and maliciously undermines their work. He becomes a constant (and imaginary) threat to the animals` safety, and Squealer eventually tells the animals that Snowball sold himself to Frederick and that he had been in cahoots with Jones from the beginning.
As the human world watches Animal Farm and waits for the news of its failure, the animals are battling famine. Napoleon uses Mr. Whymper to spread news about the sufficiency of Animal Farm in the human world. After learning that they had to give up their eggs, the hens organized a demonstration that ended only when they could no longer live without the rations that Napoleon had refused them. Nine chickens died as a result of the protest. More deception occurs in the harmful lies spread on Snowball. Napoleon used him as a scapegoat for any agricultural misfortune, as Hitler did with European Jews when he came to power. Both leaders understand the public`s desire to blame all their problems on an external source. Squealer`s claims that the pigs found “documents” linking Snowball to Jones are a call for the animals` need for evidence — although the non-existent documents are never revealed to them on the grounds that the animals cannot read them. Like grain containers filled with sand, Snowball`s “documents” are another ruse by Napoleon to manipulate the minds of those who might end his reign. The animals refuse to believe that the thin walls of the windmill contributed to its collapse, showing how much they join the ideology of snowball bait. .