An antagonist is an adversary or enemy, one who undermines the cause of good. If the good in this story is represented by the ideals of Animalism, then the chief antagonist is Napoleon.
Napoleon pretends at first to uphold the ideals of Animalism, but, like Josef Stalin, on whom he is based, he cares only about his own power. He drives Snowball away by saying, falsely, that Snowball is a traitor. In fact, Snowball is one of the farm's greatest assets. Napoleon then violates all the tenets of Animalism to amass power and comforts for himself. For example, he uses his guard dogs to kill animals who oppose him, he drinks alcohol, and he has dealings with humans. Under his reign, the lives of the animals become harsher, not better. Perhaps his hard-heartedness is best revealed when he has the loyal and hardworking Boxer sold to the glue factory rather than allow him his promised retirement.
One might think that Farmer Jones would be the greatest antagonist to Animal Farm, but Orwell shows the chief danger to an idealistic movement comes from within.
In Animal Farm, the main antagonist is Napoleon. This becomes clear in Chapter Five when Napoleon forces Snowball to leave the farm as a result of their disagreements over the building of a windmill.
Once Snowball is gone, Napoleon begins the process of consolidating his power base. To do this, he uses Squealer's power of speech and his pack of guard dogs to ensure that the other animals obey his commands and do not attempt to speak out against him.
In Chapter Seven, the full force of Napoleon's power is apparent when he carries out a number of executions. This bloody act demonstrates the strength of his authority on the farm and the true horror of his reign.
By the end of the novel, his tyranny is made clear when the reader sees him walking on two legs and wearing human clothes. Napoleon has become the very evil that he helped to overthrow.
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