In Animal Farm, if Napoleon teaches us that power corrupts, what does Snowball teach?

When
one reviews 's activities and what he said, it becomes evident that he had all the animals'
interests at heart. He selflessly and tirelessly dedicated himself to their cause, which was to
ensure a better life for all animals, free from bondage, abuse and exploitation. This aspect is
clearly illustrated when he gets involved in the education of the animals, especially the less
intelligent ones, his indefatigable work with his committees to ensure that the farm is run
better and that everyone is involved, and his plans to build a windmill which would be used to
generate electricity and make life much more comfortable and easier for everyone on the
farm.

There is no evidence that Snowball bore any malice. He is depicted as
good and is the perfect foil for , who only had his own interests at heart. Although he occupied
a position of authority, Snowball did not abuse his power to manipulate and exploit the other
animals, whereas Napoleon did. In spite of benefiting from the windfall apples and the milk
which disappeared, just as the other pigs did, Snowball never sought greater privilege or
comfort for himself. He clearly wanted all the animals to, on the whole, benefit
equally.

However, Snowball's kindness and hard work all came to nothing for
he stood in the way of Napoleon's ambition. Napoleon wanted sole power and would ruthlessly
pursue his goal. He was sly and carefully planned his ascension to become a dictator. He chose
an opportune moment to ruthlessly get rid of Snowball by setting his dogs on him and chase him
off the farm. He then demonized him and eventually turned the animals against him so that he was
despised and seen as a traitor who was intent on destroying everything the animals hoped to
achieve.

Napoleon used propaganda, manipulation, ruthless violence and
threats to assert his authority and soon the animals found themselves even worse off than they
had been under Jones and his men.

I believe that the lesson to
be learnt from Snowball is that good can be overwhelmed by evil if those who do good are not
wary of the malevolence lurking within their very midst. Snowball believed in
himself and never guarded or acted against Napoleon. He was quite naive and never questioned
Napoleon's motives. Although they disagreed most vehemently during meetings, Snowball never
challenged Napoleon about his motives like, for example, about his purpose with the nine puppies
that he had removed from their mothers once they were weaned.

The dogs became
Napoleon's trump card and he used them to serve his insidious purpose. One can be sure that if
Snowball had insisted that they be raised by their mothers and socialize with the general
populace, the outcome would have been quite different. Bluebell and Jessie would definitely have
supported him in this regard. His innate goodness did not allow him to suspect any malice on
Napoleon's part and that was his greatest flaw.