Animal Farm is a satirical novel (which can also be understood as a modern fable or allegory) by George Orwell, ostensibly about a group of animals who oust the humans from the farm they live on and run it themselves, only to have it corrupted into a brutal tyranny of its own.
Animal Farm is a thinly veiled critique and satire of Communist totalitarianism. Many events in the book are based on things that happened in the Soviet Union during the Stalin era.
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Read the synopsis of the story and answer some comprehension questions. Then read about the characters in the story, and answer the questions about them. If you wish, you can read the full text of the book online, formatted to be easy on the eyes when reading from a computer screen. You can also find out more about George Orwell. Finally, do some writing yourself.
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The local prize-winning pig, Old Major, calls a meeting of all the animals of Manor Farm. He tells them that he has had a dream where mankind is gone, and animals are free to live in peace and harmony. He then proceeds to teach them a revolutionary song, 'Beasts of England'. The other animals begin to hope for the revolution of such a day. When Old Major dies a mere three days later, three pigs – Snowball (who teaches the animals to read, though how he learned to read is not clear), Napoleon, and Squealer – assume command, and turn his dream into a full-fledged philosophy. The philosophy of Animalism has Seven Commandments, the first of which is that 'all animals are equal', and these are written on the wall of a barn for all to see. One night, the starved animals suddenly revolt, and drive Mr Jones his wife and his pet raven off the farm, and take control. The farm is renamed 'Animal Farm' as the animals work towards a future utopia, towards which the workhorse Boxer, does more than his fair share and adopts a maxim of his own – 'I will work harder.'
It seems, at first, that Animal Farm is off to a great start. Snowball is teaching all of the animals to read and write, food is plentiful owing to a good harvest, and the entire Farm was organised and running smoothly. Even when Mr Jones tries his last-ditch effort to retake control of the farm, the animals are easily able to defeat him at what is later called 'Battle of the Cowshed'. Soon, however, things begin to unravel as Napoleon and Snowball begin an epic power struggle over the farm. When Snowball announces his idea for a windmill, Napoleon quickly opposes it. A meeting is held, and when Snowball makes his passionate and articulate speech in favour of the windmill, Napoleon only makes a brief retort and then a strange noise (like a whistle). This noise signals the arrival of the nine puppies Napoleon had 'educated', who had grown into vicious attack dogs. They burst in and chase Snowball off of the farm. In his absence, Napoleon declares himself the leader of the farm and makes instant changes. He announces that meetings will no longer be held as before, and a committee of pigs alone will decide what happens with the farm.
Napoleon changes his mind about the windmill, claiming (through Squealer) that Snowball had stolen the idea, and the animals begin to work. After a violent storm, the animals wake to find the fruit of their labour utterly annihilated. Though neighbouring farmers scoff at the thin walls, Napoleon and Squealer convince everyone that Snowball destroyed it. Napoleon begins to purge the farm, killing many animals accused of consorting with Snowball. In the meantime, Boxer has taken a second mantra, 'Napoleon is always right.'
Napoleon begins to abuse his powers even more and life on the farm becomes harder and harder for the rest of the animals. The pigs impose more and more controls on them while reserving privileges for themselves. History is rewritten to villainise Snowball and glorify Napoleon even further. Each step of this development is justified by the pig Squealer, who on several occasions alters the Seven Commandments on the barn in the dead of night to justify the deeds. The song 'Beasts of England' is banned as inappropriate now that the dream of Animal Farm has been realised, and is replaced by an anthem glorifying Napoleon who begins to live more and more like a human. The animals, though cold, starving and overworked, remain convinced that they are still better off than when they were ruled by Jones.
Mr Frederick, one of the two neighbouring farmers, swindles Napoleon by paying with forged banknotes (counterfeits), and then attacks the farm and uses dynamite to blow up the recently restored windmill. Though the animals of Animal Farm eventually win the battle, it is at a great cost, as many of the animals, including Boxer, are wounded. However, Boxer continues to work harder and harder, until he finally collapses while working on the windmill. Napoleon sends for a van to come and take Boxer to the veterinarian, but as Boxer is loaded up and the van drives away, the animals read what is written on the side of the van: 'Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler.' Squealer quickly reports that the van with the old writing had been purchased by the hospital, and that Boxer died in the hospital, in spite of the best medical care.
Many years pass, and the pigs have learned to walk upright, carry whips and wear clothes. The Seven Commandments have been reduced to a single phrase: 'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.' Napoleon holds a dinner party for the pigs, and the humans of the area (in the adjacent Foxwood Farm run by Mr Pilkington). He announces his alliance with the humans against the labouring classes of both worlds.
The animals discover this by overhearing Napoleon's conversations and finally realize that a change has come over the ruling pigs. An argument breaks out between Napoleon and Mr Pilkington over the simultaneous play of an Ace of Spades, and the animals realise that they cannot tell the difference between the pigs and the humans.
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Napoleon - The pig who becomes the leader of Animal Farm after the Rebellion. He uses his military force (of nine attack dogs) to cement his power through fear. Napoleon craftily dispatches his opponent, Snowball.
Snowball - The pig who fights Napoleon for control post-Rebellion. He is a passionate intellectual and is far more open about his motives than Napoleon. Snowball easily wins the loyalty of most of the animals.
Squealer - The pig who serves as public speaker. He twists and abuses the language to excuse, justify and extol Napoleon's actions, no matter how egregious. Squealer limits the debate by complicating it, and he confuses and disorientates, making claims that in order to function properly the pigs need the extra luxury they are taking in order to function properly.
Minimus - A poet pig who writes a song about Napoleon.
Old Major - Major is the inspiration that fuels the rest of the book. Though it is a positive image, he does have some flaws, such as the way that during his complaints about the abuse of animals he admits that he has been largely free from those terrors.
Mr Jones - The original owner of Manor Farm.
Mr Frederick- The tough owner of Pinchfield, a well-kept neighbouring farm.
Mr Pilkington - The easy-going but crafty owner of Foxwood, a neighbouring farm.
Mr Whymper - A human whom Napoleon hires to represent Animal Farm in human society.
Boxer - Possibly one of the more popular characters, Boxer is the avatar of the working class: loyal, dedicated and strong. His major flaw, however, is his blind trust of the leaders and his inability to see corruption. He is used and abused by the pigs as much or more than he was by Jones. His death serves to show just how far the pigs are willing to go. It is worth noting that prior to his death Boxer played a huge part in keeping the Farm together.
Clover - Boxer's close friend. She blames herself for forgetting the complete Seven Commandments when Squealer revises them.
Mollie - A horse who likes wearing ribbons (which represent luxury) and being pampered by humans. She leaves the farm in the hope of recapturing that.
Benjamin - A donkey who is cynical about the revolution.
Moses - A tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, the 'animal heaven'. These beliefs are denounced by the pigs.
Muriel - A goat who reads the edited commandments.
Jesse and Bluebell - Two dogs who give birth in Chapter 3. Their puppies are raised by Napoleon to inspire fear.
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