book report animal farm

• Animal Farm

George Orwell

• Literature Notes
• Book Summary
• Animal Farm at a Glance
• About Animal Farm
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Character Analysis
• Character Map
• George Orwell Biography
• Critical Essays
• The Russian Revolution
• Major Themes
• Full Glossary
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major , a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals — inspired by his philosophy of Animalism — plot a rebellion against Jones. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon , prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall.

Initially, the rebellion is a success: The animals complete the harvest and meet every Sunday to debate farm policy. The pigs, because of their intelligence, become the supervisors of the farm. Napoleon, however, proves to be a power-hungry leader who steals the cows' milk and a number of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also enlists the services of Squealer , a pig with the ability to persuade the other animals that the pigs are always moral and correct in their decisions.

Later that fall, Jones and his men return to Animal Farm and attempt to retake it. Thanks to the tactics of Snowball, the animals defeat Jones in what thereafter becomes known as The Battle of the Cowshed. Winter arrives, and Mollie , a vain horse concerned only with ribbons and sugar, is lured off the farm by another human. Snowball begins drawing plans for a windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the animals more leisure time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes such a plan on the grounds that building the windmill will allow them less time for producing food. On the Sunday that the pigs offer the windmill to the animals for a vote, Napoleon summons a pack of ferocious dogs, who chase Snowball off the farm forever. Napoleon announces that there will be no further debates; he also tells them that the windmill will be built after all and lies that it was his own idea, stolen by Snowball. For the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat on whom he blames all of the animals' hardships.

Much of the next year is spent building the windmill. Boxer , an incredibly strong horse, proves himself to be the most valuable animal in this endeavor. Jones, meanwhile, forsakes the farm and moves to another part of the county. Contrary to the principles of Animalism, Napoleon hires a solicitor and begins trading with neighboring farms. When a storm topples the half-finished windmill, Napoleon predictably blames Snowball and orders the animals to begin rebuilding it.

Napoleon's lust for power increases to the point where he becomes a totalitarian dictator, forcing "confessions" from innocent animals and having the dogs kill them in front of the entire farm. He and the pigs move into Jones' house and begin sleeping in beds (which Squealer excuses with his brand of twisted logic). The animals receive less and less food, while the pigs grow fatter. After the windmill is completed in August, Napoleon sells a pile of timber to Jones ; Frederick , a neighboring farmer who pays for it with forged banknotes. Frederick and his men attack the farm and explode the windmill but are eventually defeated. As more of the Seven Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs, the language of the Commandments is revised: For example, after the pigs become drunk one night, the Commandment, "No animals shall drink alcohol" is changed to, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

Boxer again offers his strength to help build a new windmill, but when he collapses, exhausted, Napoleon sells the devoted horse to a knacker (a glue-boiler). Squealer tells the indignant animals that Boxer was actually taken to a veterinarian and died a peaceful death in a hospital — a tale the animals believe.

Years pass and Animal Farm expands its boundaries after Napoleon purchases two fields from another neighboring farmer, Pilkington . Life for all the animals (except the pigs) is harsh. Eventually, the pigs begin walking on their hind legs and take on many other qualities of their former human oppressors. The Seven Commandments are reduced to a single law: "All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others." The novel ends with Pilkington sharing drinks with the pigs in Jones' house. Napoleon changes the name of the farm back to Manor Farm and quarrels with Pilkington during a card game in which both of them try to play the ace of spades. As other animals watch the scene from outside the window, they cannot tell the pigs from the humans.

Previous Animal Farm at a Glance

Next About Animal Farm

A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s Animal Farm

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Animal Farm is, after Nineteen Eighty-Four , George Orwell’s most famous book. Published in 1945, the novella (at under 100 pages, it’s too short to be called a full-blown ‘novel’) tells the story of how a group of animals on a farm overthrow the farmer who puts them to work, and set up an equal society where all animals work and share the fruits of their labours.

However, as time goes on, it becomes clear that the society the animals have constructed is not equal at all. It’s well-known that the novella is an allegory for Communist Russia under Josef Stalin, who was leader of the Soviet Union when Orwell wrote the book. Before we dig deeper into the context and meaning of Animal Farm with some words of analysis, it might be worth refreshing our memories with a brief summary of the novella’s plot.

Animal Farm: plot summary

The novella opens with an old pig, named Major, addressing his fellow animals on Manor Farm. Major criticises Mr Jones, the farmer who owns Manor Farm, because he controls the animals, takes their produce (the hens’ eggs, the cows’ milk), but gives them little in return. Major tells the other animals that man, who walks on two feet unlike the animals who walk on four, is their enemy.

They sing a rousing song in favour of animals, ‘Beasts of England’. Old Major dies a few days later, but the other animals have been inspired by his message.

Two pigs in particular, Snowball and Napoleon, rouse the other animals to take action against Mr Jones and seize the farm for themselves. They draw up seven commandments which all animals should abide by: among other things, these commandments forbid an animal to kill another animal, and include the mantra ‘four legs good, two legs bad’, because animals (who walk on four legs) are their friends while their two-legged human overlords are evil. (We have analysed this famous slogan here .)

The animals lead a rebellion against Mr Jones, whom they drive from the farm. They rename Manor Farm ‘Animal Farm’, and set about running things themselves, along the lines laid out in their seven commandments, where every animal is equal. But before long, it becomes clear that the pigs – especially Napoleon and Snowball – consider themselves special, requiring special treatment, as the leaders of the animals.

Nevertheless, when Mr Jones and some of the other farmers lead a raid to try to reclaim the farm, the animals work together to defend the farm and see off the men. A young farmhand is knocked unconscious, and initially feared dead.

Things begin to fall apart: Napoleon’s windmill, which he has instructed the animals to build, is vandalised and he accuses Snowball of sabotaging it. Snowball is banished from the farm. During winter, many of the animals are on the brink of starvation.

Napoleon engineers it so that when Mr Whymper, a man from a neighbouring farm with whom the pigs have started to trade (so the animals can acquire the materials they need to build the windmill), visits the farm, he overhears the animals giving a positive account of life on Animal Farm.

Without consulting the hens first, Napoleon organises a deal with Mr Whymper which involves giving him many of the hens’ eggs. They rebel against him, but he starves them into submission, although not before nine hens have died. Napoleon then announces that Snowball has been visiting the farm at night and destroying things.

Napoleon also claims that Snowball has been in league with Mr Jones all the time, and that even at the Battle of the Cowshed (as the animals are now referring to the farmers’ unsuccessful raid on the farm) Snowball was trying to sabotage the fight so that Jones won.

The animals are sceptical about this, because they all saw Snowball bravely fighting alongside them. Napoleon declares he has discovered ‘secret documents’ which prove Snowball was in league with their enemy.

Life on Animal Farm becomes harder for the animals, and Boxer, while labouring hard to complete the windmill, falls and injures his lung. The pigs arrange for him to be taken away and treated, but when the van arrives and takes him away, they realise too late that the van belongs to a man who slaughters horses, and that Napoleon has arranged for Boxer to be taken away to the knacker’s yard and killed.

Squealer lies to the animals, though, and when he announces Boxer’s death two days later, he pretends that the van had been bought by a veterinary surgeon who hadn’t yet painted over the old sign on the side of the van. The pigs take to wearing green ribbons and order in another crate of whisky for them to drink; they don’t share this with the other animals.

A few years pass, and some of the animals die, Napoleon and Squealer get fatter, and none of the animals is allowed to retire, as previously promised. The farm gets bigger and richer, but the luxuries the animals had been promised never materialised: they are told that the real pleasure is derived from hard work and frugal living.

Then, one day, the animals see Squealer up on his hind legs, walking on two legs like a human instead of on four like an animal.

The other pigs follow; and Clover and Benjamin discover that the seven commandments written on the barn wall have been rubbed off, to be replace by one single commandment: ‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.’ The pigs start installing radio and a telephone in the farmhouse, and subscribe to newspapers.

Finally, the pigs invite humans into the farm to drink with them, and announce a new partnership between the pigs and humans. Napoleon announces to his human guests that the name of the farm is reverting from Animal Farm to the original name, Manor Farm.

The other animals from the farm, observing this through the window, can no longer tell which are the pigs and which are the men, because Napoleon and the other pigs are behaving so much like men now.

Things have gone full circle: the pigs are no different from Mr Jones (indeed, are worse).

Animal Farm: analysis

First, a very brief history lesson, by way of context for Animal Farm . In 1917, the Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, was overthrown by Communist revolutionaries.

These revolutionaries replaced the aristocratic rule which had been a feature of Russian society for centuries with a new political system: Communism, whereby everyone was equal. Everyone works, but everyone benefits equally from the results of that work. Josef Stalin became leader of Communist Russia, or the Soviet Union, in the early 1920s.

However, it soon became apparent that Stalin’s Communist regime wasn’t working: huge swathes of the population were working hard, but didn’t have enough food to survive. They were starving to death.

But Stalin and his politicians, who themselves were well-off, did nothing to combat this problem, and indeed actively contributed to it. But they told the people that things were much better since the Russian Revolution and the overthrow of the Tsar, than things had been before, under Nicholas II. The parallels with Orwell’s Animal Farm are crystal-clear.

Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and the formation of a Communist regime in Russia (as the Soviet Union). We offer a fuller definition of allegory in a separate post, but the key thing is that, although it was subtitled A Fairy Story , Orwell’s novella is far from being a straightforward tale for children. It’s also political allegory, and even satire.

The cleverness of Orwell’s approach is that he manages to infuse his story with this political meaning while also telling an engaging tale about greed, corruption, and ‘society’ in a more general sense.

One of the commonest techniques used in both Stalinist Russia and in Animal Farm is what’s known as ‘gaslighting’ (meaning to manipulate someone by psychological means so they begin to doubt their own sanity; the term is derived from the film adaptation of Gaslight , a play by Patrick Hamilton).

For instance, when Napoleon and the other pigs take to eating their meals and sleeping in the beds in the house at Animal Farm, Clover is convinced this goes against one of the seven commandments the animals drew up at the beginning of their revolution.

But one of the pigs has altered the commandment (‘No animal shall sleep in a bed’), adding the words ‘ with sheets ’ to the end of it. Napoleon and the other pigs have rewritten history, but they then convince Clover that she is the one who is mistaken, and that she’s misremembered what the wording of the commandment was.

Another example of this technique – which is a prominent feature of many totalitarian regimes, namely keep the masses ignorant as they’re easier to manipulate that way – is when Napoleon claims that Snowball has been in league with Mr Jones all along. When the animals question this, based on all of the evidence to the contrary, Napoleon and Squealer declare they have ‘secret documents’ which prove it.

But the other animals can’t read them, so they have to take his word for it. Squealer’s lie about the van that comes to take Boxer away (he claims it’s going to the vet, but it’s clear that Boxer is really being taken away to be slaughtered) is another such example.

Communist propaganda

Much as Stalin did in Communist Russia, Napoleon actively rewrites history , and manages to convince the animals that certain things never happened or that they are mistaken about something. This is a feature that has become more and more prominent in political society, even in non-totalitarian ones: witness our modern era of ‘fake news’ and media spin where it becomes difficult to ascertain what is true any more.

The pigs also convince the other animals that they deserve to eat the apples themselves because they work so hard to keep things running, and that they will have an extra hour in bed in the mornings. In other words, they begin to become the very thing they sought to overthrow: they become like man.

They also undo the mantra that ‘all animals are equal’, since the pigs clearly think they’re not like the other animals and deserve special treatment. Whenever the other animals question them, one question always succeeds in putting an end to further questioning: do they want to see Jones back running the farm? As the obvious answer is ‘no’, the pigs continue to get away with doing what they want.

Squealer is Napoleon’s propagandist, ensuring that the decisions Napoleon makes are ‘spun’ so that the other animals will accept them and carry on working hard.

And we can draw a pretty clear line between many of the major characters in Animal Farm and key figures of the Russian Revolution and Stalinist Russia. Napoleon, the leader of the animals, is Joseph Stalin; Old Major , whose speech rouses the animals to revolution, partly represents Vladimir Lenin, who spearheaded the Russian Revolution of 1917 (although he is also a representative of Karl Marx , whose ideas inspired the Revolution); Snowball, who falls out with Napoleon and is banished from the farm, represents Leon Trotsky, who was involved in the Revolution but later went to live in exile in Mexico.

Squealer, meanwhile, is based on Molotov (after whom the Molotov cocktail was named); Molotov was Stalin’s protégé, much as Squealer is encouraged by Napoleon to serve as Napoleon’s right-hand (or right-hoof?) man (pig).

Publication

Animal Farm very nearly didn’t make it into print at all. First, not long after Orwell completed the first draft in February 1944, his flat on Mortimer Crescent in London was bombed in June, and he feared the typescript had been destroyed. Orwell later found it in the rubble.

Then, Orwell had difficulty finding a publisher. T. S. Eliot, at Faber and Faber, rejected it because he feared that it was the wrong sort of political message for the time.

The novella was eventually published the following year, in 1945, and its relevance – as political satire, as animal fable, and as one of Orwell’s two great works of fiction – shows no signs of abating.

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Animal Farm

George orwell, everything you need for every book you read..

Manor Farm is a small farm in England run by the harsh and often drunk Mr. Jones . One night, a boar named Old Major gathers all the animals of Manor Farm together. Knowing that he will soon die, Old Major gives a speech in which he reveals to the animals that men cause all the misery that animals endure. Old Major says that all animals are equal and urges them to join together to rebel. He teaches them a revolutionary song called "Beasts of England." Old Major dies soon after, but two pigs named Snowball and Napoleon adapt his ideas into the philosophy of Animalism. They set about trying to spread Animalism’s ideals to the other animals on the farm, but this proves to be an uphill battle. The carthorses, Boxer and Clover , prove to be their best disciples, as they’re able to distill Animalism into simple arguments and share them with the other animals.

Three months later, Mr. Jones neglects to feed his animals for more than 24 hours. The animals revolt and chase Mr. Jones and the farmhands off of the farm in what ends up being an easy victory. The animals promptly burn all items that allowed Mr. Jones to maintain power, such as whips, bits, and knives. The next morning, the animals tour the farm and the pigs reveal that over the last few months, they’ve taught themselves to read. Snowball is the best at writing, and with white paint he amends the farm’s gate to read "Animal Farm." At the big barn, Snowball also writes the tenets of Animalism, which he and Napoleon distilled into Seven Commandments. The commandments state that all animals are equal, and no animal may act like a human by sleeping in a bed, walking on two legs, killing other animals, or drinking alcohol. They state that humans are the only enemy. The animals turn to the hay harvest after the pigs figure out how to milk the cows, but the milk begins to disappear.

The absence of humans means that the animals are far more successful than Mr. Jones ever was. There’s enough food, and the animals take pride in being able to feed themselves with their own labor. The pigs are clever enough to figure out how to perform certain tasks without standing on two legs, while Boxer seems as strong as three horses and adopts the motto “I will work harder!” All the animals throw themselves into the running of the farm except for the vain horse Mollie , who makes lots of excuses as to why she can’t work. Benjamin the donkey seems not to care about anything and cryptically tells everyone that donkeys live a long time.

Snowball organizes committees for the animals—which are mostly unsuccessful—and more successfully teaches animals to read. The dogs , the pigs, the goat Muriel , and Benjamin are the only ones who become fully literate. Less intelligent animals, such as the sheep , only learn the letter A and cannot remember the Seven Commandments, so Snowball distills this down into the maxim “Four legs good, two legs bad.” He has to explain to the birds why this is acceptable, since they have only two legs. Napoleon, meanwhile, takes the nine new puppies to train, insisting it’s more useful to focus on educating the young. A fight for power soon develops between Snowball and Napoleon.

Snowball and Napoleon send out pigeons to neighboring farms to spread the word to other animals. The other farmers sympathize with Mr. Jones, but only want to make the situation work for them. Fortunately for the animals, their neighbors, Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood Farm and Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield Farm, hate each other, though they’re both terrified of what happened at Animal Farm. In October, Mr. Jones and some men invade the farm with a gun. The animals fight bravely and send the men racing away, though Boxer is distraught when he believes he killed a stable boy. Snowball gives a speech about the importance of dying for Animal Farm and they agree to fire Mr. Jones’s gun twice per year, on the anniversaries of the rebellion and of the Battle of the Cowshed. They also come up with military honors and confer one on Snowball.

In the winter, Mollie disappears to serve a man in town. The pigs argue over how to plan the coming season and the rivalry between Snowball and Napoleon comes to a head over Snowball's idea to build a windmill . Snowball convinces animals by insisting that a windmill would give them electricity and ensure they only have to work three days per week, while Napoleon quietly insists this is nonsense. At the final debate about the windmill, Napoleon summons the puppies, whom he secretly reared to be his own vicious servants, and has them chase Snowball from Animal Farm. Napoleon tells the other animals that Snowball was a "bad influence," eliminates the animals' right to vote, and takes "the burden" of leadership on himself. He sends around a pig named Squealer , who persuades the animals that Napoleon has their best interests at heart.

Three weeks later Napoleon decides they should build the windmill after all—the windmill, he insists, was his idea to begin with, but Snowball stole his plans. The animals set to work, with Boxer leading. Focusing on the windmill reduces the productivity of the farm, and all the animals but the pigs and the dogs get less to eat. Napoleon institutes work on Sundays that’s voluntary, but animals who don’t work will receive reduced rations. The pigs engage a solicitor named Mr. Whymper to represent them and begin to trade with other farms. They move into Mr. Jones's farmhouse and start to sleep in beds. This confuses Clover, who thought this was forbidden. When she asks Muriel to read her the Commandment about beds, it reads: "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." Squealer, accompanied by dogs, insists that if the pigs don’t get enough sleep, Mr. Jones will return.

That winter, a storm destroys the partially complete windmill. Napoleon blames the catastrophe on the "traitor" Snowball and insists that Snowball is hiding out at Foxwood. Humans insist that the windmill fell because of the weather and though the animals don’t believe it, they build the walls of the second windmill twice as thick. Napoleon covers up that the farm doesn’t have enough food, and in January, tells the hens that he’s agreed to trade 400 eggs per week for grain. The hens are distraught, as they’d all planned on hatching spring chicks, so they revolt and sacrifice their eggs. Napoleon cuts their rations and the hens give up after five days, after nine hens die. Napoleon circulates that they died of disease and catches wind that Snowball is sneaking onto Animal Farm and causing mischief, such as trampling eggs and stealing. One evening, Squealer insists that Snowball is in league with Mr. Frederick and has been on Mr. Jones’s side the whole time. Boxer is dumbfounded and notes that Snowball fought with them, but Squealer insists that according to Napoleon, Snowball is on Mr. Jones’s side.

Four days later, Napoleon sets his dogs on four young pigs and Boxer during a meeting. Boxer paws the dogs away, but the dogs rip the pigs’ throats out after they confess to conspiring with Snowball. Other animals confess heinous crimes as well, and the dogs kill all of them. The remaining animals gather at the windmill, and Boxer suggests that this happened because they’ve done something wrong. Clover can’t formulate her thoughts into words, but she thinks that this wasn’t what she had in mind when she joined the rebellion. However, she still thinks that this is better than living under Mr. Jones and vows to accept Napoleon’s leadership. She leads the animals in a round of “Beasts of England,” but Squealer stops by and announces that the song is now banned: the revolution it speaks of has happened, so it’s no longer useful. Minimus the pig composes a new song that none of the animals like as much. A few days after the massacre, Clover remembers that the Seven Commandments stated that animals shouldn’t kill each other, but when she asks Muriel to read the Commandments on the barn, the Commandment reads that animals can’t kill each other without cause.

The animals work harder than ever, and Squealer regularly reads them figures that show the farm’s productivity is up by 200 to 500 percent. Napoleon stays inside the farmhouse most of the time, guarded by the dogs. When Minimus composes a poem in Napoleon’s honor, Napoleon has it written on the barn next to the Commandments and a portrait of himself. Napoleon negotiates with Mr. Frederick and Mr. Pilkington about timber on the property he’d like to sell, and tensions run high. They finish the windmill in the fall and soon after, Napoleon announces he sold the timber to Mr. Frederick after promising it to Mr. Pilkington. The money will buy the animals the machinery for the windmill. Mr. Whymper, however, reveals that Mr. Frederick paid for the timber with forged banknotes. Mr. Frederick and his men, many with guns, invade Animal Farm and blow up the windmill. The enraged animals chase them away but feel discouraged until Squealer points out that they achieved a great victory. The pigs discover a case of whiskey and after initially announcing that Napoleon is dying, they declare that all spare fields will be planted with barley. All of it will go to the pigs. One night, animals hear a crash and find Squealer next to the barn with a broken ladder and paint. The next morning, the Commandments read that animals shouldn’t drink to excess.

As Boxer approaches retirement, he refuses to take time to let his injuries heal. He wants to see the windmill done. When 31 piglets, all Napoleon’s children, are born in the spring, Napoleon announces that they need to build a schoolhouse and institutes a rule that all other animals must let pigs pass. Napoleon is unanimously voted to be the farm’s president when it becomes a republic. In the summer, Boxer collapses while working on the windmill, and Napoleon announces that a human vet will treat him. When the van comes to collect Boxer, however, Benjamin rouses everyone: the van reads that Boxer is going to the glue factory. They never see Boxer again, and Squealer insists that the van was recently purchased by a vet and hadn’t yet been repainted. The pigs come up with money to buy more whiskey a few days later.

Years pass. Now only a few of the remaining animals on the farm experienced the revolution. Even fewer remember its goals. They complete the first windmill and begin a second, but neither windmill will electrify the farm. The pigs teach themselves to walk on two legs, begin carrying whips, and teach the sheep to bleat “Four legs good, two legs better.” When Clover and Benjamin check the Seven Commandments, they only see the statement: "All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others." The pigs make peace with their human neighbors and have a feast, but both Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington cheat at cards and begin a fight. The other animals are shocked to discover that they can no longer tell the pigs from the humans.

Animal Farm

George orwell , russell baker  ( preface ) , c.m. woodhouse  ( introduction ).

141 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 17, 1945

About the author

George Orwell

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The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.

' That's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody's going to be against, and everybody's going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything. '

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Book Review

Book Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Title: Animal Farm

Author:  George Orwell

Publisher: Harcourt, Brace and Company

Genre: Allegory, Satire

First Publication: 1945

Language:  English

Major Characters: Snowball, Napoleon, Clover, Boxer, Old Major, Muriel, Jones, Squealer, Moses the Raven, Benjamin

Setting Place: A farm somewhere in England in the first half of the 20th century

Theme:  Revolution and Corruption, Totalitarianism, Power, Soviet Union

Narrator:  Third Person narration

Book Summary: Animal Farm by George Orwell

As ferociously fresh as it was more than a half century ago, this remarkable allegory of a downtrodden society of overworked, mistreated animals, and their quest to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality is one of the most scathing satires ever published.

As we witness the rise and bloody fall of the revolutionary animals, we begin to recognize the seeds of totalitarianism in the most idealistic organization; and in our most charismatic leaders, the souls of our cruelest oppressors.

Animal Farm by George Orwell captures the themes of oppression, rebellion and history repeating itself. Animal Farm begins like an ambitious children’s tale: After Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, falls asleep in a drunken stupor, all of his animals meet in the big barn at the request of old Major, a 12-year-old pig. Major delivers a rousing political speech about the evils inflicted upon them by their human keepers and their need to rebel against the tyranny of Man.

Shortly after, when Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall, the most important being “ All animals are created equal “, which is later changed into “ All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. ” Through the revision of the commandments, Orwell demonstrates how simply political dogma can be turned into malleable propaganda.

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

Animal Farm by George Orwell maybe not really children’s book material! There’s some heavy stuff. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. He believed, the Soviet Union had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror.

“I meant the moral to be that revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job. The turning-point of the story was supposed to be when the pigs kept the milk and apples for themselves.” – George Orwell on Animal Farm

In his essay  Why I Write  (1946), he wrote that Animal Farm was the first book in which he tried, with full consciousness of what he was doing, “ to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole “. In my humble opinion, he mastered that with flying colors.

The revolt of the animals against Farmer Jones is Orwell’s analogy with the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution . The Battle of the Cowshed has been said to represent the allied invasion of Soviet Russia in 1918. The pigs’ rise to pre-eminence mirrors the rise of a Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR, just as Napoleon’s emergence as the farm’s sole leader reflects Stalin’s emergence. The pigs’ appropriation of milk and apples for their own use stands as an analogy for the crushing of the left-wing 1921 Kronstadt revolt against the Bolsheviks, and the difficult efforts of the animals to build the windmill suggest the various Five Year Plans.

“The only good human being is a dead one.”

I am not a history buff and I wasn’t acquainted with all of the historic events mirrored in Animal Farm, nonetheless, Orwell’s narrative remained accessible, since it can not only be coined to the Russian Revolution but to revolutions and change in leadership in general. Animal Farm by George Orwell details the history of humankind on this planet. History repeating itself. People being driven by money and profit.

Animal Farm by George Orwell closes with the pigs and men in a kind of rapprochement, reflected Orwell’s view of the 1943 Teheran Conference that seemed to display the establishment of “ the best possible relations between the USSR and the West “—but in reality were destined, as Orwell presciently predicted, to continue to unravel. The disagreement between the allies and the start of the Cold War is suggested when Napoleon and Pilkington, both suspicious, “ played an ace of spades simultaneously “. Of course, only one of the two is technically cheating, but Orwell does not indicate which one because such a fact is unimportant.

Another theme of Animal Farm by George Orwell that also strikes a satiric note is the idea of religion being the “ opium of the people ” (as Karl Marx famously wrote). Moses the raven’s talk of Sugarcandy Mountain originally annoys many of the animals, since Moses, known as a “teller of tales,” seems an unreliable source. At this point, the animals are still hopeful for a better future and therefore dismiss Moses’ stories of a paradise elsewhere. As their lives worsen, however, the animals begin to believe him, because “ Their lives now, they reasoned, were hungry and laborious; Was it not right and just that a better world should exist somewhere else? ”

“Man serves the interests of no creature except himself.”

Here, Orwell mocks the futile dreaming of a better place that clearly does not exist. The pigs allow Moses to stay on the farm — and even encourage his presence by rewarding him with beer — because they know that his stories of Sugarcandy Mountain will keep the animals docile: As long as there is some better world somewhere — even after death — the animals will trudge through this one. Thus Orwell implies that religious devotion — viewed by many as a noble character trait — can actually distort the ways in which one thinks of his or her life on earth.

In conclusion, Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novel that completely shook me. A novel that will haunt and accompany for the rest of my life, and that I will continue to dread and look forward to picking up again and again and again.

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Animal Farm by George Orwell - review

‘This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now and the pigs start a revolution’

This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that...

Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power.

He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Snowball was also popular because of his role in the revolution. He and Boxer (a hardworking horse) were the bravest. So this selfish pig, Napoleon, destroyed what the animals built (the windmill) and blamed Snowball who escaped the farm. Then Napoleon made the animals work harder and harder, making the animals very weak and even die. If any of the animals were clever like Napoleon, he would just order an execution to get rid of them.

My favourite character is Boxer the horse, who would work the hardest of the animals but never give up no matter how much it hurt, or how old he gets. He never complained to Napoleon, instead saying, “Napoleon is always right”. This book made me think of another newer book, Mockingjay (Part Two of The Hunger Games films) because President Snow is like the humans and President Alma Coin is like Napoleon. President Alma Coin defeats President Snow, but then becomes corrupt and maybe worse.

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Animal Farm by George Orwell

• Publication Date: June 1, 1996
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Plume
• ISBN-10: 0452277507
• ISBN-13: 9780452277502
• About the Book
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George Orwell

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• Birthday: June 25, 1903

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Book review: “Animal Farm” by George Orwell

“Oh, I read that — in high school, I think,” the waitress said as she saw me with George Orwell’s 1945 novel Animal Farm .

“Yeah, I might have even read it in grade school,” I said.  “It’s different reading it now.  Back then, it was all about Communism.  Now, it’s about….well, everything.”

Animal Farm was less than two decades old when I read it sometime in the early 1960s, but it was already a classic.  That was, in part, because it was heavily promoted by our elders as a total indictment of the Soviet Union and its totalitarian form of Communism. 

There’s no question that Orwell, who died in 1950, patterned the events in his short novel on the Russian Revolution and on the resulting government that evolved into a top-heavy, brutal regime based on lying and terror.  It seemed made-to-order for the rabid anti-Reds in America in that era, and Orwell’s fable-like simplicity in telling the story meant it was assigned to an entire generation to preteens and teens. 

I suspect, however, that, had he lived longer, Orwell would have been chagrined at how his novel had been pigeon-holed as an anti-Communist tract — because it isn’t.

How power corrupts

Orwell’s simplicity of language isn’t a dumbing down of the story to make it palatable for children.  There is genius in the way he walks the reader through the tale, and, if it seems easy to read, that, I’m sure, is because Orwell wanted everyone, including adults, regardless of their education, to be able to take it in. 

It is a modern fable, a parable, a story to teach a lesson.  And the lesson is about more than Russian Communists.

It’s a lesson about how power corrupts, no matter the situation. 

In the novel, the animals on Manor Farm revolt against Farmer Jones and win possession and control of the farm.  And, the next day, they gather on a knoll from which they can see their shared domain:

Yes, it was theirs — everything that they could see was theirs! In the ecstasy of that thought they gamboled round and round, they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement.  They rolled in the dew, they cropped mouthfuls of the sweet summer grass, they kicked up clods of the black earth and snuffed its rich scent.

Echoes any revolution

Over the next hundred pages, the pigs who led the revolt — Napoleon and Snowball, and their spokesman Squealer — gather more and more power unto themselves.  The two leaders have a falling out, and Snowball is chased away, lucky to survive with his life.  The Seven Commandments that were promulgated in the aftermath of the rebellion are increasingly adjusted to the benefit of Napoleon and the other pigs, and their dog allies. 

One of the most shocking developments is the line of animals who are forced to confess to crimes against the farm and are immediately executed.  Then, Boxer, the steadfast, salt-of-the-earth workhorse, breaks down with age and overwork and is sent off to the knacker’s to be killed and turned into glue.

The story fits the first half century of the Soviet Union, but it also echoes what happens in any rebellion, whether the French Revolution or the American Revolution or ones still to come.

The idealism at the beginning of a revolt has to do with equality, but that equality will soon fade away as those with power use their power.   As Napoleon eventually tells the other animals in the form of a new commandment that replaces the earlier ones:

“ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.”

As Animal Farm details, those in power keep control by using their power for that purpose.  They also use propaganda and terror and statistics and high ideals and outright lies.

Orwell’s novel is not just a fable.  It is also a warning to the multitudes of any nation that those in power will do whatever they can get away with in order to stay in charge.

Oh, you may say, it hasn’t happened here in the United States in the way Orwell as written.  It won’t happen here.  It can’t happen here.

Of course, it has been happening, as anyone paying attention can attest to.

One last note:  There’s no happy ending to Animal Farm .

Patrick T. Reardon

Written by : Patrick T. Reardon

For more than three decades Patrick T. Reardon was an urban affairs writer, a feature writer, a columnist, and an editor for the Chicago Tribune. In 2000 he was one of a team of 50 staff members who won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Now a freelance writer and poet, he has contributed chapters to several books and is the author of Faith Stripped to Its Essence. His website is https://patricktreardon.com/.

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Animal Farm

By george orwell.

George Orwell’s novel ‘Animal Farm’ opens with Old Major’s dream for a free world of animals. He shares his dream with the animals on the farm.

About the Book

Written by Mizpah Albert

M.A. in English Literature and a Ph.D. in English Language Teaching.

The first glimpse of the novel undoubtedly pictures how the animals on the farm are fed up with their master, Farmer Jones . Following the motivation received from Old Major, the animals kick him out of the farm and take control of it.

George Orwell through the novel makes his opinions on Russian leaders explicitly heard through the revolt and the incidents that follow in the Manor Farm. He has clearly pictured the animals to cleverly represent the characters of Russian politicians, voters, and workers.

Following the revolt, the animals work hard on the farm with the vision of a prosperous future. On the other hand, missing milk and Napoleon’s choice for training the puppies himself foreshadows what could be expected as a turn of events. Unexpectedly, at the right chance using the dogs, Napoleon, chases Snowball away, and assumes himself as the leader of the farm.

Soon, a lot many things happen and in no time, Napoleon becomes the superpower of the farm. Still, the situation of the working class animals hasn’t changed. While the pigs enjoy good food and comfort, the animals toil in the field.

In the end, the pigs behave like animals taking total control over the farm . This shows how a totalitarian government takes ultimate control over ordinary people. This is what happened in Russia. The revolution which was supposed to bring happiness and freedom for the working-class people, turned out to be the opposite, making their life worse under the leadership of Stalin. Altogether, ‘ Animal Farm ’ is a well-thought representation of failed socialism.

Oppression of the Working Class

Both in the story of ‘ Animal Farm ‘ and in the Russian Revolution the obvious sufferers were the working-class people. In ‘ Animal Farm ’, the animals suffer under Mr Jones’s before the revolution and after the revolution, they suffer under the Pigs, especially, Napoleon. Their hope for a better future with one of their animals leading them is shattered when he comes to power. Similarly, in the Russian Revolution, the working class people suffered under the rule of the Tsar. At the time, they felt the Soviet Union a promising source for a better future. But, the days that followed denoted no promising future for the working-class people.

 Not just in the ‘ Animal Farm ’ and in ‘Soviet Government’ throughout history and across the globe, whenever something goes wrong, it first affects the working class or the ordinary people. Willingly or unwillingly as Benjamin indicates in the novel the working class has to keep working. The suffering of the working class people never seems to cease.

Through the novel, Orwell quotes two major things as a cause of their suffering in spite of who their ruler is. The first is their lack of intelligence and knowledge. As one sees in the novel, except the pigs, no animals on the farm seem to curious about learning, including the smart animals like the dongs and donkey. The second is the ignorance of their strength. Comparatively, there are many powerful and strong animals on the farm, but they seem to be accustomed to go by the rules bestowed upon them than to question against them.

An Anti-Utopian Fiction

‘ Animal Farm ’ set in an imaginary world of animals. The novel portrays a world where the characters seek to create a utopian society as Old major has dreamed of. Sadly, they end up in a society where their situation turns worse than the world they wanted to change.

Old Major, shares his dream for a world where the animals will be free without any man to control and kindles the fire for it. He observed that the main source of all their problems is the man and that they must remove the man from their midst in order to create a world Utopia as he had dreamt. Likewise, the animals’ revolt against Mr Jones , under the guidance and Snowball and napoleon.   

Little by little, the pigs assume more power for themselves under the pretext of doing for the welfare of all animals and to keep Mr Jones from returning to the farm. Soon, they become dominant, corrupt, and power-hungry like their predecessors, the humans. Particularly, Napoleon, like a dictator, with the brute power of the dogs, treats the other animals in the same way as humans.

Thus, the original purpose of creating a world of utopia goes the opposite way, as the animals yield to greed and power. As obvious as one can see, the constant desire for power and control, ruined the Utopian ideals, making the novel an anti-utopian fiction.

The Conclusion

The conclusion of ‘ Animal Farm ‘ is not a happy ending as expected at the beginning of the novel. The animals haven’t formed a socialist government as the old major dreamt of. As the reader reaches the concluding pages of the novel, they get to see how the animals act more human than animals. The pigs, who are on the leading now treat their fellow animals worse than their human masters. The ultimate atrocity of the pigs is revealed in the concluding chapter where they revise the 7th commandment as “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” from the initial ideology “All animals are equal.” In the end, the pigs walk in two legs, which metaphorically denotes the dictatorship they have formed, which is even more oppressive and heartless than that of their former human masters.

Animal Farm Review: A Socio-Political Work

• Writing Style
• Lasting Impact on Reader

George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, in a broader sense is the socio-political work of all time. Still, it can be read as a simple story of animals. The novel (novella) highlights the human weaknesses jealousy, greed, laziness, and cruelty through different animal characters present in it. It depicts failed communism/socialism at its peak. As one reads the novel, they can draw parallels to the historical figures Lenin, Marx, Trotsky, or Stalin. On the whole, this short, simple, and moving story is a warning from history to history to come. It is not only criticism of the Russian Revolution but also of any totalitarian government that treats its people like animals.

• A simple plot with a deeper meaning
• Vivid characterization make the characters seem more humane than animals
• Simple and Elegant use of diction
• Snowball’s unknown status 
• An indefinite conclusion which requires the reader’s  smartness

About Mizpah Albert

Mizpah Albert is an experienced educator and literature analyst. Building on years of teaching experience in India, she has contributed to the literary world with published analysis articles and evocative poems.

Hi, I’m a student and I read Animal Farm quite fast, because it doesn’t have many pages. The language wasn’t as difficult as I expected it to be, but I later noticed I chose the version with modern language. It would be interesting to read in original language too. Although the book was published 1945, the themes seem to be so relavant lately, and for me it was very interesting to read. I personally think everyone should read or at least know about the book, because the meaning behind the animal farm (connection to communism in soviet union and dictatorship in general) is an important part of history and the consequences are still relevant today. However also people with less historical interests will probably like the book and will read it fast:)

Thanks for your comment, Emilia.

You’re right about the timeless relevance of ‘ Animal Farm .’ Reading it in its original language can offer even deeper insights. Its themes of power and dictatorship are crucial for understanding history and its impact on today. A must-read for everyone, indeed.

George Orwell

George Orwell is remembered today for his social criticism, controversial beliefs, and his novels ' Animal Farm ' and '1984'.

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Cite This Page

Albert, Mizpah " Animal Farm Review ⭐ " Book Analysis , https://bookanalysis.com/george-orwell/animal-farm/review/ . Accessed 31 March 2024.

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