what is the theme of animal farm essay

Animal Farm Themes – Meaning and Main Ideas

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Key Themes in Animal Farm – An Introduction

The novella opens on Manor Farm where animals are dutifully working for their human rulers. Considering that Animal Farm is an allegory, it is important to note that this version of the farm—Manor Farm—is meant to represent imperialist Russia ruled by aristocrats. Later, once the animals overthrow the humans in charge, the farm is renamed Animal Farm and represents Russia under communist revolution. The farm on which this story takes place is located in the English countryside which suggests that a communist revolution is not as far away as most English people wanted to believe at this time. Considering that the Russian communist revolution occurred from about 1917 into the 1940s, it can be surmised that Animal Farm likely took place sometime in this timeframe.

There are two major motifs that speak to the broader themes of this novella: songs and rituals. Songs are an important motif because they intertwine with some of the major themes of the novella seamlessly. The story starts with Old Major teaching the animals “Beasts of England” which, combined with his speech about his dream of animals working only for themselves instead of humans, sets the revolution in motion. Later, once Napoleon has turned the farm more into a dictatorship than anything else, songs and chants are made up as pieces of propaganda to encourage the farm animals’ unwavering support for Napoleon. Although the first song encouraged animals to work together for a common good, the function of songs shifts to brainwashing focused on erasing individuality.

The other major motif of the novella is rituals. They follow a similar path that songs do—starting out as a revolutionary tool to pump up the animals to work together for a common good. However, after Napoleon takes over, the way rituals occur changes. For example, rituals that originated during the days of rebellion and revolution are ended such as the democratic meetings. Replacing these types of rituals are rituals that reinforce Napoleon’s dictatorship by making the working-class animals dependent on the ruling class to tell them what to do, think, and feel.

Themes in Animal Farm by George Orwell

Here’s a list of major themes in Animal Farm .

The Corruption Of Communism.
Social Class Structure.
Forced Naivety of Working-Class Individuals.
Rhetoric as a Political Tool.

The Corruption of Communism

First, the theme is seen with the animals forming a rebellion to throw their human overseer, Mr. Jones, off the farm. The animals become completely self-sufficient with the pigs acting as leaders because of their superior intelligence. The theme is seen enforced again by the rise of two leaders—the pigs Snowball and Napoleon. When Napoleon overthrows Snowball by having his aggressive dogs chase him off the farm, we see the total rejection of any sort of democracy with Napoleon asserting himself as dictator of Animal Farm. He then uses propaganda to encourage support from the rest of the farm. The animals’ rebellion started out as a democratic move to be free of human rulership. However, this eventually gave way to corruption in their political system that represents the corruption in Stalin’s Russia.

Social Class Structure

However, as time passed, the animals inevitably slid into a social and political class system due to the pigs asserting themselves as the smartest animals and, therefore, the leaders of the farm. This is a thematic element that speaks to Orwell’s belief that humans have a tendency to slip into class stratification in which certain individuals hold more power than others, and in some cases, this can happen unintentionally or even secretly.

The novella shows that even though intentions may be good at the start of a political or social revolution, it does not mean that the ideals will actually carry forward into practice because the animals split into an intellectual/leading class and a working class—and there is no in between or crossover.

The Working Class

The Forced Naivety of Working-Class Individuals – One of the things that Orwell does skillfully in the novella is to portray the working class as clearly as he portrays the ruling class. He provides insight into both classes of animals and his portrayal of the working class is meant to show readers how gullible, hardworking, loyal, and unquestioning these individuals can be when they trust in their leaders.

This naivety paves the way for corruption to take root and grow into something dangerous before the working class can even realize what has happened. In the case of Animal Farm, the ruling class pigs know this and exploit it through propaganda.

Rhetoric as a Political Tool

For example, Napoleon begins to change the Animal Commandments to fit his liking and his spokesperson, Squealer, justifies this to the animals in way that convinces them that everything is okay. He does this either by saying that it has always been that way and that the animals are misremember or by telling the animals that what is happening is still for the common good and that the animals are being successfully led because they are still no longer working for the humans.

Furthermore, the pig Minimus writes a patriotic song called “Animal Farm, Animal Farm” that replaces Old Major’s democratic visionary anthem “Beasts of England.” This is done to minimize revolutionary thinking and is justified by Napoleon and Squealer claiming that “Beast of England” is about rebellion but there is no longer a need for rebellion so the song should be replaced. This seems harmless enough but the truth of the matter is that the working class is now being exploited so badly that they would be justified in a rebellion—and the pigs know this so they use a new hymn to minimize that threat.

Themes and Analysis

Animal farm, by george orwell.

'Animal Farm' is a political allegory based on the events of the Russian revolution and the betrayal of the cause by Joseph Stalin.

Article written by Mizpah Albert

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

The novel echoes the corrupting nature of power through the themes and symbols. It is a satire on totalitarianism and dictatorship.

Animal Farm Themes

Totalitarianism.

Orwell’s use of Totalitarianism as the theme demonstrates, without education and true empowerment of the lower classes, any revolution led would only be led into oppression and tyranny. Initially, the results of the revolution look promising, as the animals get the direct benefit of their labor. Soon, the pigs adopt human ways and make business deals with farmers that benefit them alone. But, only negative changes happen in the life of the other animals. Still, they continue to work as their leader Napoleon bid them. In the end, the revolutionary leaders become as corrupt and incompetent as the government they overthrew.

Power of Language

Language has the power to engage and disengage. In Animal form, Orwell excellently depicts the power of language through the pigs, only animals with a strong command of language. In the beginning, singing “Beasts of England,” taught by the Old Major, infuses the emotional response.

Also, Snowball compiles the philosophy of Animalism and with his eloquent speech persuades his fellow animals on the farm to follow it. Similarly, Squealer with his adept skill of oration controls the animals on the farm. At the same time, the animals’ adoption of slogans like “Napoleon is always right” or “Four legs good, two legs bad” underlines their lack of understanding and easy to be manipulated nature.

Class structures

From time immemorial class division seems to be a major issue of human society. George Orwell comments on the same through the class division in ‘ Animal Farm ‘ before and after the revolution. He ironically presents the human tendency to have class structures even though they speak of total equality. When the story begins, class division is evident with the human beings being on top of every animal as the rulers of Manor Farm.

During the revolution, they vow not to treat any animal inferior. Soon it all changes, when the pigs, so-called “brain workers”, assume the role of leader and superiors start to control other animals. Evidently, Orwell points out the threat the class division imposes on society when they aim to have democracy and freedom.

Power leading to corruption

“Power leading to corruption” is another major theme Orwell explores in ‘ Animal Farm ’. Many of the characters, predominantly the pigs after the humans demonstrate the theme in the novel. Initially, humans exploit their power over animals. Later following the revolt, the pigs start to fill in the gap created by the eviction of man. They manipulate their position of leadership to exploit other animals. Though Napoleon is presented as the villain of the novel, neither Snowball nor the Old Major is immune to corruption.

As brain workers, the pigs, including Snowball, take advantage of the animal and keeps milk and apple away for them. Even Old Major, who brings forth the idea “all animals are equal,” lecturing from a raised platform, symbolically presents an idea of him being above the other animals on the farm. Altogether, it is made clear that the desire for power, evidently corrupt people.

The Failure of Intellect

Orwell presents a sceptical view on intellect that doesn’t produce anything of importance. In the novel, the pigs, identified as the most intelligent animals, use their intelligence only to exploit other animals than making their life better. Similarly, Benjamin, who is good, acts indifferent towards using the knowledge and speaks philosophically of moral values. Also, the dogs, equally intelligent like the pigs, don’t use their knowledge except to read “the Seven Commandments”. Thus, intelligence is often being unused or ill-used.

The Exploitation of Working Class

‘ Animal Farm ‘ more than being an allegory of the ways humans exploit and oppress one another, throws light upon how they exploit and oppress animals. In the first chapter, through Old Major’s speech, we get a detailed picture of how humans exploit the animals and rob them of their productions.

Also, in the second chapter, when the animals break open the harness-room at the end of the stables, they see “the bits, the nose-rings, the dog-chains, the cruel knives” with which Mr Jones extracted cruelty on the animals. Much like this, during the conversation between Mr Pilkington and Napoleon in chapter 10, he loosely comments “If you have your lower animals to contend with […] we have our lower classes!” Ultimately, it gives a perspective that, in the views of the ruling class, animals and workers are the same.

Analysis of Key Moments in Animal Farm

Old Major shares his dream of a life without humans. He also teaches the animals “Beasts of England” a song that inspires them.
Few months after the Old Major’s death, the revolt breaks out when Mr Jones forgets to feed the animals and a fed-up cow pushes her way into the store-shed to look for food. The animals rejoice in their victory. They change the name of the farm to ‘Animal Farm’ and decide on seven commandments to live by.
The animals are happy and they work well together more efficiently than Mr Jones ever did. Boxer, the horse, puts in a huge effort, with the motto ‘I will work harder!’.
The Battle of the Cowshed establishes Snowball as a hero. He also sets up ‘committees’ focused on education, reading and writing.
Napoleon, however, thinks educating the old animals is a waste of time. He focuses on the youngsters and removes the puppies of Jessie and Bluebell, to educate himself which foreshadows his guile nature.
At one point, Napoleon drives Snowball out of the Farm with the help of the puppies, who are now grown-up dogs. But, Squealer convinces the other animals that Snowball was a traitor.
Napoleon announces himself to be the leader. And, he keeps making changes in the seven commandments. Finally, they have only one commandment that says, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Later, he announces that the farm will be trading with neighboring farms. This comes as a shock to the animals as it goes against their commandments of Animalism.
In the final image, the animals in the Farms are confused and bewildered when they realize that they cannot tell the difference between man and pig. Both have been sublimated into each other.

Style, Tone, and Figurative Language

The style and language of ‘ Animal Farm ‘ are simple as it involves Animal characters. The dialogues are delivered in short sentences, including the conclusion of the novel: “It was a pig walking on his hind legs […] He carried a whip in his trotter” (Chapter 10). Further, Orwell has written the sentences in the passive voice, emphasizing the characters (animals) lack of control over the incidents that are happening.

To speak about the tone, it is playful and lighthearted in the beginning. It opens like any other fable where the animals could speak. Also, a tint of excitement could felt, as the animals win over their human suppressers and have hope for a beautiful future of their own. Soon, the tone turns bitter and monotonous in accordance with the story unfolds.

Two of the dominant figurative language use in ‘ Animal Farm ‘ is “onomatopoeia” and “Allusion”. Orwell employs animal sounds and movements to describe the actions. For example, while “stirring” and “fluttering” speaks of their movement, “cheeping feebly” and “grunting” explains their way of communications.

‘ Animal Farm ,’ being an allegorical novel, alludes to Russian Revolution, through its settings and characters. The character of the Old Major, Snowball, and Napoleon, alludes respectively to Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Stalin. Also, the events following the revolution: Battle of the Cowshed, Snowball being chased off the Farm, and the slaughter of the hens allude to Trotsky’s exile and the Moscow trials of 1936-38. Though, the character of Napoleon is an allusion to Joseph Stalin, Russia’s totalitarian dictator, his name attributes to Napoleon Bonaparte, the French world conqueror.

Analysis of Symbols

‘ Animal Farm ’ uses symbols prevalently as it is more than a story of animals. From the Farm to the animals represent the People and events of the Russian Revolution. Unlike a narrative fiction in which the author decides on which events or characters to highlight, here he carefully standardized his plot to evoke the desired response from the readers. are not driven by the plot as in. Instead, his choices are carefully calibrated to evoke a desired response from the reader.

“Whiskey” symbolizes corruption in the novel. The changing perspective of the pigs over, consuming Whiskey delineates how steadily they fall prey to corruption. In the beginning, when Animalism is founded, one of the commandments read: ‛No animal shall drink alcohol.’ For the animals suffered in the hands of humans. But, when Napoleon and the other pigs come to enjoy whiskey, they change the commandment ‛No animal shall drink alcohol to excess’. Finally, when Napoleon uses the money received by selling Boxer, embodies his corrupted nature similar to that of human beings.

The Windmill

The windmill in the novel represents the attempt to modernize Russia. Initially, when Snowball proposes the idea of a Windmill, Napoleon protests against it. Later, he claims it as his own idea. Also, the product coming out inferior in quality refers to the general ineptitude of Stalin’s regime.

Boxer’s character in the novel symbolizes the Russian working class. With his strength, he does most of the work on the farm. Similarly, the working-class people of the Soviet Revolution were exploited for their energy. Like Boxer and the other animals betrayed by the pigs, the people were betrayed by the intellectuals. On the whole, communism was not as beneficial for the working class as it was originally intended to be.

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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.

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Animal Farm

By george orwell, animal farm themes, the soviet union under stalinism.

Animal Farm is a satire of totalitarian governments in their many guises. But Orwell composed the book for a more specific purpose: to serve as a cautionary tale about Stalinism. It was for this reason that he faced such difficulty in getting the book published; by the time Animal Farm was ready to meet its readers, the Allies were cooperating with the Soviet Union. The allegorical characters of the novel represent specific historical figures and different factions of Imperial Russian and Soviet society. These include Karl Marx (Major), Vladimir Lenin (Major), Leon Trotsky ( Snowball ), Joseph Stalin ( Napoleon ), Adolf Hitler ( Frederick ), the Allies ( Pilkington ), the peasants ( Boxer ), the elite ( Mollie ), and the church ( Moses ).

The resemblance of some of the novel’s events to events in Soviet history is indubitable. For example, Snowball’s and Napoleon’s power struggle is a direct allegory of Trotsky’s and Stalin’s. Frederick’s trade agreement with Napoleon, and his subsequent breaking of the agreement, represents the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact that preceded World War II. The following Battle of the Windmill represents World War II itself.

Despite his fairy-tale clarity in satirizing some historical events, Orwell is less specific about others. For example, the executions in Chapter VII conflate the Red Terror with the Great Purge. The executions themselves bear resemblance to both events, although their details connect them more to the Moscow Trials than to the Red Terror. Squealer ’s subsequent announcement that the executions have ended the Rebellion connects them to the period of the Red Terror, however. Orwell leaves some ambiguity in the identities of the Rebellion and the Battle of the Cowshed. These ambiguities help the reader focus on the overall satire of Stalinism and the broader warning about the evils of totalitarian government.

The Inevitability of Totalitarianism

Orwell held the pessimistic belief that totalitarianism was inevitable, even in the West. According to Russell Baker, who wrote the preface to Animal Farm ’s 1996 Signet Classics version, Orwell’s pessimism stemmed from his having grown up in an age of dictatorship. Witnessing Hitler’s and Stalin’s movements from afar, as well as fighting totalitarianism in the Spanish Civil War, Orwell came to believe in the rise of a new species of autocrat, worse even than the tyrants of old. This cynicism is reflected in both of his highly successful novels, Animal Farm and 1984 . Orwell emphasizes the insidiousness of totalitarianism early in the novel, when the pigs take the fresh milk and apples. The pigs justify their actions on the basis of their superiority; they are smart and need more nutrition than the other animals to fuel their brainpower. There is no scientific basis for the pigs’ claim—in fact, if anyone needs more food to fuel their labor, it is the manual laborers—but they can count on the animals’ being too ignorant to realize that. In this way, Orwell makes the point that totalitarianism need not be blatant in order to be operating. It can hide under the guise of the “greater good” as it did in the Soviet Union before the totalitarianism became obvious.

Orwell uses a cyclical structure in Animal Farm , which helps advance the idea of totalitarianism’s predictability. The novel begins with Jones as autocratic tyrant and ends with Napoleon not only in Jones’s position, but in his clothes as well. Over the course of the novel, Napoleon essentially becomes Jones just as Stalin becomes an autocrat after pretending to espouse equality and freedom. Orwell cements this idea in the book’s final scene, where he writes, “Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. 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” (139). The circularity of Orwell’s story prevents the reader from imagining a better future for Animal Farm. After all, even if another Rebellion were to take place, its leaders would eventually come to emulate Napoleon.

According to Baker, technology turned out to be the force freeing people from Orwell’s age of dictators. But “technology” can be just another banner under which to rally the people. While Orwell does portray technology as a source of progress in Animal Farm , he points out that it is useless unless it is in the people’s hands. Most notably, even when the windmill is finished it is used for milling corn instead of its original purpose of supplying the animals with electricity in their stalls.

Intelligence and Education as Tools of Oppression

From the very beginning of the novel, we become aware of education’s role in stratifying Animal Farm’s population. Following Major’s death, the pigs are the ones that take on the task of organizing and mobilizing the other animals because they are “generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals” (35). At first, the pigs are loyal to their fellow animals and to the revolutionary cause. They translate Major’s vision of the future faithfully into the Seven Commandments of Animalism. However, it is not long before the pigs’ intelligence and education turn from tools of enlightenment to implements of oppression. The moment the pigs are faced with something material that they want—the fresh milk—they abandon their morals and use their superior intellect and knowledge to deceive the other animals.

The pigs also limit the other animals’ opportunities to gain intelligence and education early on. They teach themselves to read and write from a children’s book but destroy it before the other animals can have the same chance. Indeed, most of the animals never learn more than a few letters of the alphabet. Once the pigs cement their status as the educated elite, they use their mental advantage to manipulate the other animals. For example, knowing that the other animals cannot read the Seven Commandments, they revise them whenever they like. The pigs also use their literacy to learn trades from manuals, giving them an opportunity for economic specialization and advancement. Content in the role of the intelligentsia, the pigs forgo manual labor in favor of bookkeeping and organizing. This shows that the pigs have not only the advantage of opportunity, but also the opportunity to reject whatever opportunities they like. The pigs’ intelligence and education allow them to bring the other animals into submission through the use of propaganda and revisionism. At the book’s end, we witness Napoleon’s preparations to educate a new generation of pigs and indoctrinate them into the code of oppression.

Propaganda and Duplicity

Working as a propagandist during World War II, Orwell experienced firsthand both the immense power and the dishonesty of propaganda. Many types of governments make use of propaganda, not only totalitarian ones. Consider, for instance, the arguments that led many United States citizens to go along with the idea of invading Iraq after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Propaganda serves the positive task of uniting the people, sometimes at the cost of misleading them. Orwell takes a firm stance on the harmfulness of propaganda in Animal Farm while acknowledging its value for rallying a mistreated and disillusioned populace.

In Chapter IX, Orwell demonstrates the positive value of propaganda. By this point, the animals are so downtrodden that they are desperate for something in which to believe. (Note the irony, though: it is Napoleon who has robbed them of their belief in the original version of Animalism.) The falsely optimistic statistics, the songs, and especially the Spontaneous Demonstrations give the animals something to live for. This chapter is an exception in terms of portraying propaganda in a positive light. For the majority of Animal Farm , Orwell skewers propaganda and exposes its nature as deception.

Squealer represents a totalitarian government’s propaganda machine. Eloquent to a fault, he can make the animals believe almost anything. This fact is especially clear in Squealer’s interactions with Clover and Muriel . Each time Clover suspects that the Seven Commandments have been changed, Squealer manages to convince her that she is wrong. After the executions, Napoleon abolishes the singing of “Beasts of England” in favor of a new anthem, the lyrics of which contain a promise never to harm Animal Farm. In this propagandist maneuver, Napoleon replaces the revolutionary spirit of “Beasts of England” with the exact opposite, a promise not to rebel. In addition to being a source of manipulation, propaganda is an agent of fear and terror. Orwell demonstrates this quite clearly with Napoleon’s vilification of Snowball and his assurances that Snowball could attack the animals at any minute. He uses similar fear tactics regarding Frederick and Pilkington. The most egregious example of propaganda in the novel is the maxim that replaces the Seven Commandments: “All animals are equal / But some animals are more equal than others.” The idea of “more equal” is mathematically improbable and a nonsensical manipulation of language, but by this time, the animals are too brainwashed to notice.

Violence and Terror as Means of Control

In Animal Farm , Orwell criticizes the ways that dictators use violence and terror to frighten their populaces into submission. Violence is one of the yokes from which the animals wish to free themselves when they prepare for the Rebellion. Not only does Jones overwork the animals and steal the products of their labor, but he can whip or slaughter them at his discretion. Once the pigs gain control of the animals, they, like Jones, discover how useful violence and terror can be. They use this knowledge to their full advantage. The foremost example of violence and terror in the novel is the pattern of public executions. The executions can be said to represent both the Red Terror and the Great Purge, but they stand more broadly for the abuse of power. For example, they are also similar to the Taliban’s public executions in Kabul’s soccer stadium in modern Afghanistan.

Capital punishment for criminals is a hotly debated issue. Killing suspected criminals, as Napoleon does, is quite another issue. The executions perhaps best symbolize the Moscow Trials, which were show trials that Stalin arranged to instill fear in the Soviet people. To witnesses at the time, the accused traitors’ confessions seemed to be given freely. In fact, they were coerced. Napoleon likely coerces confessions from many of the animals that he executes. Orwell’s use of the allegory genre serves him well in the execution scene. Execution with weapons is a violent and horrifying act, but many people have become desensitized to it. Orwell’s allegorical executioners, the dogs that kill cruelly, portray the bloody and inescapably animalistic side of execution.

Terror comes also in threats and propaganda. Each time the animals dare to question an aspect of Napoleon’s regime, Squealer threatens them with Jones’s return. This is doubly threatening to the animals because it would mean another battle that, if lost, would result in a return to their former lifestyle of submission. Jones’s return is such a serious threat that it quashes the animals’ curiosity without fail. The other major example of fear tactics in the novel is the threat of Snowball and his collaborators. Napoleon is able to vilify Snowball in the latter’s absence and to make the animals believe that his return, like Jones’s, is imminent. Snowball is a worse threat than Jones, because Jones is at least safely out of Animal Farm. Snowball is “proved” to be not only lurking along Animal Farm’s borders but infiltrating the farm. Napoleon’s public investigation of Snowball’s whereabouts cements the animals’ fear of Snowball’s influence. In modern language, Snowball is pegged as the terrorist responsible for the infringements on the rights and liberties instigated by the pigs.

Exploitation and the Need for Human Rights

Exploitation is the issue around which the animals unite. Initially, the animals do not realize Jones is exploiting them. For this reason, Old Major ’s speech is a revelation of momentous proportions. Major explains to the animals that they are enslaved and exploited and that Man is to blame. He teaches them not only what exploitation means, but also the fact that it is not inevitable. Orwell suggests that exploitation is, in fact, bound to happen when one class of society has an advantage over another. The opposite of exploitation, according to Major, is the state of being “rich and free.” Major’s ideas about animal rights symbolize the importance—and scarcity—of human rights in an oppressive regime. Gaining freedom does not necessarily lead people also to become rich, but it is better to be poor and free than poor and exploited.

All the animals on Animal Farm are exploited under Napoleon’s control, save the pigs. Even the dogs, which work closely with the pigs, are exploited. The dogs face perhaps even a worse form of exploitation than the other animals, because they are made into agents of intimidation and death. Whereas Napoleon exploits the other animals’ physical strength and their ignorance, he exploits the dogs’ viciousness and turns them into villains against their parents’ wishes.

Boxer’s life is a particularly sad example of exploitation because he exploits himself, believing wholeheartedly in Napoleon’s goodness. In the end, Napoleon turns the tables and exploits Boxer, having him slaughtered for profit. By the end of the novel, we see clearly how the animals participate in their own exploitation. They are beginning to build a schoolhouse for the thirty-one young pigs Napoleon has fathered (perhaps an oblique reference to the “Thirty Tyrants” of ancient Greece). That schoolhouse will never benefit the animals that build it; rather, it will be used to educate the pigs and indoctrinate them into the cycle of exploiting others. Throughout the novel, Orwell shows us how the lack of human rights results in total helplessness. However, though it underscores the need for human rights, the novel does not suggest how to achieve them. After all, once the animals expel Jones and gain rights for themselves, the pigs take those rights away and the cycle of exploitation continues with new players.

Apathy and Acceptance

In the beginning of Animal Farm , the idea of freedom rouses the animals as if from a long slumber. Immediately following Major’s death, the animals begin preparing themselves for the Rebellion; just the idea of revolution is enough to motivate them, since they do not expect it to happen in their lifetimes. By the book’s end, the animals have become as apathetic as Benjamin always was. Despite the many hardships and injustices they face, the animals’ pride as well as Napoleon’s propaganda keep them invested in the “greater good” and the illusion of freedom. If Benjamin is the harbinger of apathy, Boxer is its antithesis. Strong not only in body but also in spirit, Boxer will make any sacrifice for the benefit of Animal Farm. With Boxer’s eventual betrayal by the leaders he served so unconditionally, Orwell lays bare another type of apathy—theirs. Far from truly considering Boxer a loyal comrade, the pigs treat him as apathetically as they would a mere object. Symbolically, they even make a profit by having him turned into literal objects—glue and bone meal.

Boxer’s enthusiasm does not give him an advantage, but the other animals’ eventual apathy gives them a defense mechanism against the painful reality of their lives. It is no coincidence that Animal Farm’s most apathetic and cynical animal, Benjamin, is one of those that survives the longest. Benjamin’s emotional detachment from situations, whether they are good or bad, keeps him from being disappointed. In his apathy and cynicism, Benjamin represents the stereotypical “gloomy” Russian and also the perennially pessimistic Orwell himself.

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Animal Farm Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Animal Farm is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The skin I’m in

Maleeka is teased because her skin is too dark. Miss Saunder's gets made fun of because she has a rare skin disease. Maleeka is ashamed of her skin, and Miss Saunders is proud of her own.

Animal Farm contains mainly extremely effective scenes. Some are humorous or witty, others bitterly ironic or pessimistic . Which scene did you find most effective and memorable? why?

A seen that sticks with me is a terrifying one: I suppose that is why it has stayed with me for so long. The scene is when Boxer the horse. One afternoon, a van comes to take Boxer away. It has “lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in...

What is the relationship between Snowball and Napoleon?

Both Snowball and Napoleon are leaders. They see leadership in each other. Napoleon sees Snowball's loyalty to the animals as a threat to his dictatorship. While Snowball works for the good of the farm, Napoleon works only for his own interests.

Study Guide for Animal Farm

Animal Farm study guide contains a biography of George Orwell, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Animal Farm
Animal Farm Summary
Animal Farm Video
Character List

Essays for Animal Farm

Animal Farm essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Animal Farm by George Orwell.

Bit and Spur Shall Rust Forever: Hollow Symbols in George Orwell's Animal Farm
Consent to Destruction: the Phases of Fraternity and Separation in Animal Farm
Character Textual Response - Benjamin
Non vi, sed verbo (Not by force, but by the word)
Comparison of Values: Animal Farm and V for Vendetta

Lesson Plan for Animal Farm

About the Author
Study Objectives
Common Core Standards
Introduction to Animal Farm
Relationship to Other Books
Bringing in Technology
Notes to the Teacher
Related Links
Animal Farm Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Animal Farm

Introduction

Animal Farm

Animal Farm, by English author George Orwell, is a fable that uses a barnyard setting to represent the Russian Revolution and explores themes of class and power. Read the overview below to gain an understanding of the work and explore the previews of analysis and criticism that invite further interpretation.

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Animal farm topic overview.

"Animal Farm: An Overview." Gale Essential Overviews: Scholarly, Gale, 2015.

In his short novel Animal Farm (1945), English author George Orwell (1903–50) allegorizes the Russian Revolution of 1917, when the tsarist autocracy was pushed out and the Bolsheviks came into power, and the revolution's incremental betrayal of its supporters under dictator Joseph Stalin (1879–1953). Drawing on fable conventions, Orwell tells a farmyard story, casting revolutionary leaders Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leon Trotsky (1879–1940), and Stalin as pigs, which—along with other common farm animals such as horses and hens—rebel against the tyranny of tsar-like farmer Mr. Jones. Set on a small English farm, the novel follows a collective of working animals that, as the pigs exploit them anew, toil pathetically day after day in the belief that they are remaking the farm as a republic.

Orwell wrote Animal Farm toward the end of World War II (1939–45), when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was being hailed by the Allied forces (including the British) for its decisive victories over Nazi Germany at Stalingrad (1942–43) and Kursk (1943). As such, he had difficulty finding a publisher prepared to offend Russian sensibilities. Gollancz and Faber and Faber, among other publishing houses, rejected the book outright. London publisher Jonathan Cape came close to printing it but was persuaded to reject the work by a Ministry of Information official later presumed to have been a Soviet spy. In spite of this reluctance, when it was finally released in England by Secker and Warburg in 1945, the novel was a runaway success, as it was the following year in the United States—no doubt helped by the dissolution of wartime alliances and the first rumblings of the Cold War. Regarded by many as Orwell's finest work, and certainly his first truly popular one, Animal Farm has long been ranked as among the best books of the twentieth century.

Historical and literary context

Following the revolution, the Russian Communist Party recast the former empire as a federation of republics with governments informed by the socialist principles of German philosopher Karl Marx (1818–83). Initially under the leadership of Lenin, Soviet Russia then entered an era of reconstruction, during which it privatized all aspects of the economy and attempted to control any forms of dissent to its Marxist-Leninist goals. After Lenin's death, Stalin effected a coup from within the Communist Party, and, although making a dogma of Marxist-Leninism, he turned the party into a properly totalitarian apparatus. During what is referred to as the Great Purge, millions of enemies of the state were executed or sent to forced-labor camps. Meanwhile, hasty attempts to modernize the peasant agriculture brought on deathly famines. Animal Farm retells this history metaphorically—in the sly maneuverings of the boar, Napoleon, to oust his rivals and take control of the farm; in his forcing the animals to build an electricity-generating windmill, which leaves no time for food production; and in his purges of alleged traitors to the animals' revolution against Mr. Jones.

The novel begins with Lenin (some say Marx or a Lenin-Marx composite), Trotsky, and Stalin figured in the characters of Old Major, Snowball, and Napoleon, respectively—pigs on a farm where animals are bred to produce (like the hens), to labor (like the cart horses), and to be fattened for slaughter (like the pigs). Old Major rouses the animals to rebel against the “tyranny of man,” and the Russian Revolution is satirized as a scrap between Mr. Jones and his animals. The animals, victorious, take over, and with a newfound sense of dignity set about everyday tasks such as harvesting hay. However, the pigs have only just posted the “seven commandments of Animalism,” including the tenet that “all animals are equal,” when they opt out of the hard labor and appropriate exclusively for themselves the comforts of the farmhouse. Here, what culminates in Napoleon's dictatorship tragically inflects the lives of the common animals, who continue to toil in the belief that they are forging Old Major's republic.

Bunt (1924) by Polish novelist Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont (1867–1925) bears a remarkable resemblance to Animal Farm , although it is not clear whether Orwell knew of the work. The novel allegorizes the same revolution with a story of farmyard animals rebelling against their human masters in a struggle for equality that ends in terror and oppression. Orwell's next novel after Animal Farm , Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), offers a comparably symbolic—if more realistic—vision of everyday life impoverished culturally and politically by a Stalinesque regime. The fearful preoccupation with Stalinism also informs Orwell's Homage to Catalonia (1938), a nonfiction account of his experience in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) fighting for a leftist militia.

In addition to pleasing popular audiences, Animal Farm appealed to political conservatives who recognized its value as a propaganda tool for discouraging socialist affiliations. Thus the Central Intelligence Agency clandestinely funded the 1954 animated film adaptation by John Halas (1912–95) and Joy Batchelor (1914–91), which was also the first feature-length animated film in English cinema history. Critics in the early twenty-first century have been just as attentive to Orwell's politics, yet there has been a greater tendency to acknowledge the novel as a work of politically informed art rather than of mere propaganda.

Themes and style

The grand theme of Animal Farm has to do with the capacity for ordinary individuals to continue to believe in a revolution that has been utterly betrayed. Orwell attempts to reveal how those in power—Napoleon and his fellow pigs—pervert the democratic promise of the revolution. The emotional force of the novel comes from the author's depictions of those ordinary animals who unthinkingly give themselves in good faith to working for the very system by which they are ruthlessly exploited. A case in point is Boxer, one of two cart horses among the pigs' “most faithful disciples.” The horses “had great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, but having once accepted the pigs as their teachers, they absorbed everything that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals.” Whether harvesting hay or fetching stones from the quarry, Boxer works harder than any other animal, yet still he adopts the motto “I will work harder.” So selfless is he in his service, in fact, that he works himself close to death. At this point Napoleon, while purporting to send him to the hospital, sells him to the slaughterhouse, then spends the money from his corpse on whiskey for the pigs.

The novel develops according to a recognizable dramatic pattern that underscores the tragedy of what it means to never lose faith in a betrayed revolution. For example, when the animals participate in the so-called Battle of the Cowshed, they witness Snowball decorated as “Animal Hero, First Class” for distinguishing himself in battle against Jones. Napoleon later revises the history with contradictory details—announcing that Snowball actually fought alongside Jones against the animals. When the animals resist the new story, the pig Squealer (a master deceiver) convinces them that their memories are faulty. This pattern of firsthand experience superseded by revisionist propaganda underscores the tragedy, as Orwell sees it, of ordinary individuals who forego their better judgment in letting a totalitarian regime dictate a false reality.

Orwell chose a difficult genre—the fable, often equated with children's literature—to offer a complex critique of one of the most problematic regimes in modern history. He succeeds by capturing both realistically and amusingly the characteristics of many of the animals and by convincing the reader that these characteristics lend themselves, at least metaphorically, to understanding human life in the totalitarian context. Rather than simply mocking his subjects, Orwell suggests that there is indeed something beastly about them: that there is something sheep-like about those who learn dogma by rote (who bleat “two legs bad, four legs good!” or “four legs good, two legs better!” interchangeably), something dog-like about secret police trained to attack on command, and something horse-like about those who unthinkingly give themselves body and soul to the bankrupt cause.

Critical discussion

Animal Farm was released to critical acclaim. Writing for the New York Times , historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. hailed it as “a simple story perhaps, but a story of deadly simplicity … [a] superbly controlled and brilliantly sustained satire.” Not everyone agreed with Schlesinger, however. Writer and critic W. J. Turner, for instance, thought the novel was marred by “pessimism” and accused Orwell of being “grossly unfair to Stalin in his account of him as ‘Napoleon.’” Still, the fact that the novel has been a staple in classrooms for generations suggests that critics like Turner did not have the last say.

Writing in 1989, activist-scholar John Molyneux (1948–) summed up Animal Farm as “probably the most popular and influential piece of literary propaganda produced in English, perhaps in any language, this century.” Molyneux claimed it was “likely that far more people have learned what they know of the fate of the Russian Revolution from here than from any other source.” In his introduction to a 2003 edition of the novel (with Nineteen Eighty-Four ), essayist and critic Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) confirmed Animal Farm 's distinction as “the twentieth century's most successful satire.” As Hitchens and Molyneux both make clear, although the novel has long appealed to younger readers with scant knowledge of Soviet history, the book's legacy rests on its political force.

Indeed, Orwell scholars continue to read the novel for its political insights. Discussing The Rule of the Pigs , Oleg Minich's 2005 cartoon adaptation of Animal Farm , Olena Nikolayenko insisted in her 2007 essay in PS: Political Science and Politics that the book speaks profoundly to contemporary crises in and for democracy—in Minich's case, in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus. Other twenty-first-century scholars similarly return to Animal Farm to think through enduring political issues. David Dwan, for instance, in an ELH ( English Literary History ) article, considered Orwell's treatment of equality as a means of probing contemporary practices under Western democracy that do not always live up to prevailing ideals. Meanwhile, scholars such as Paul Kirschner have tried to reclaim the text as not only a political but also a literary work, reminding readers of Orwell's own declared intention “to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole.”

Dwan, David. “Orwell's Paradox: Equality in ‘ Animal Farm .’” ELH: English Literary History 79.3 (2012): 655–83.
Kirschner, Paul. “The Dual Purpose of ‘ Animal Farm .’” Review of English Studies 55.222 (2004): 759–86.
Molyneux, John. “ Animal Farm Revisited.” International Socialism Journal 2.44 (1989): 99–112. Print.
Nikolayenko, Olena. “Web Cartoons in a Closed Society: Animal Farm as an Allegory of Post-Communist Belarus.” PS: Political Science and Politics 40.2 (2007): 307–10.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm and 1984. Introduction by Christopher Hitchens. New York: Harcourt, 2003. Print.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. “Mr. Orwell and the Communists: His ‘ Animal Farm ’ Is a Compassionate and Illuminating Fable for Our Times.” New York Times 25 Aug. 1946: 124+.
Turner, W. J. “How It Happened.” Rev. of Animal Farm , by George Orwell. Spectator 17 Aug. 1945: 156–57.

Orwellian Comedy

This article examines the role of humor in George Orwell's work. The discussion of Animal Farm touches on Orwell's use of allegory and considers tension between light comedy and politcal satire reflected in the text.

Appreciating Animal Farm in the New Millennium

This article explores the history of Animal Farm's publication and initial reception, as well as the literary tropes at work in George Orwell's famous political satire; and considers how contemporary film adaptation has helped twenty-first-century readers gain a new understanding of the text.

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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' Themes and Symbols

Political allegory, totalitarianism, corruption of ideals, power of language.

B.A., English, Rutgers University

George Orwell's Animal Farm is a political allegory about revolution and power. Through the tale of a group of farm animals who overthrow the owner of the farm, Animal Farm explores themes of totalitarianism, the corruption of ideals, and the power of language.

Orwell frames his story as a political allegory; every character represents a figure from the Russian Revolution. Mr. Jones, the original human owner of the farm, represents the ineffective and incompetent Czar Nicholas II. The pigs represent key members of Bolshevik leadership: Napoleon represents Joseph Stalin, Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, and Squealer represents Vyacheslav Molotov. Other animals represent the working classes of Russia: initially passionate about revolution eventually manipulated into supporting a regime that was just as incompetent and arguably more brutal than the previous one.

Orwell argues that any revolution led by a small, conspiratorial group can only degenerate into oppression and tyranny. He makes this argument through the main Animal Farm allegory—that of the farm. The revolution begins with firm principles of equality and justice, and initially, the results are positive, as the animals get to labor for their own direct benefit. However, as Orwell demonstrates, revolutionary leaders can become as corrupt and incompetent as the government they overthrew.

The pigs adopt the human ways they once fiercely opposed (drinking whiskey, sleeping in beds), and they make business deals with farmers that benefit them alone. Meanwhile, the other animals see only negative changes in their lives. They continue to support Napoleon and work harder than ever despite the decline in quality of living. Eventually, the promises of heated stalls and electric light—what they've been working for all along—become fantasy.

Animal Farm suggests that totalitarianism and hypocrisy are endemic to the human condition. Without education and true empowerment of the lower classes, Orwell argues, society will always default to tyranny.

The pigs’ descent into corruption is a key element of the novel. Orwell, a socialist, believed the Russian Revolution had been corrupted by power-seekers like Stalin from the start.

The animals' revolution is initially led by Snowball, the key architect of Animalism; at first, Napoleon is a secondary player, much like Stalin. However, Napoleon plots in secret to seize power and drive Snowball away, undermining Snowball's policies and training the dogs to be his enforcers. The principles of equality and solidarity that inspired the animals become mere tools for Napoleon to seize power. The gradual erosion of these values reflects Orwell’s criticism of Stalin as nothing more than a tyrant hanging onto power through the fiction of a communist revolution.

Orwell doesn’t reserve his vitriol for the leaders, however. The animals representing the people of Russia are depicted as complicit in this corruption through inaction, fear, and ignorance. Their dedication to Napoleon and the imaginary benefits of his leadership enable the pigs to maintain their hold on power, and the ability of the pigs to convince the other animals that their lives were better even as their lives become demonstrably worse is Orwell’s condemnation of the choice to submit to propaganda and magical thinking.

Animal Farm explores how propaganda can be used to control people. From the start of the novel, Orwell depicts the animals being manipulated by common propaganda techniques, including songs, slogans, and ever-changing information. Singing "Beasts of England" evokes an emotional response that reinforces the animals' loyalty to both Animalism and the pigs. The adoption of slogans like Napoleon is always right or four legs good, two legs bad demonstrates their unfamiliarity with the complex philosophical and political concepts underlying the revolution. The constant alteration of the Seven Commandments of Animalism demonstrates how those in control of information can manipulate the rest of a population.

The pigs, who serve as the leaders of the farm, are the only animals with a strong command of language. Snowball is an eloquent speaker who composes the philosophy of Animalism and persuades his fellow beasts with the power of his oratory. Squealer is adept at lying and spinning stories to maintain control. (For example, when the other animals are upset about Boxer’s cruel fate, Squealer quickly composes a fiction to defuse their anger and confuse the issue.) Napoleon, while not as smart or as eloquent as Snowball, is skilled at imposing his own false view on everyone around him, as when he falsely inserts himself into the historical record of the Battle of the Cowshed.

As an allegorical novel, Animal Farm is rife with symbolism. Just as the animals represent individuals or groups from Russian history, the farm itself represents Russia, and the surrounding farms represent the European powers that witnessed the Russian Revolution. Orwell’s choices about which objects, events, or concepts to highlight are not driven by plot as in narrative fiction. Instead, his choices are carefully calibrated to evoke a desired response from the reader.

Whiskey represents corruption. When Animalism is founded, one of the commandments is ‛No animal shall drink alcohol.’ Slowly, however, Napoleon and the other pigs come to enjoy whiskey and its effects. The commandment is changed to ‛No animal shall drink alcohol to excess’ after Napoleon experiences his first hangover and learns how to moderate his whiskey consumption. When Boxer is sold to the Knacker, Napoleon uses the money to purchase whiskey. With this act, Napoleon fully embodies the human qualities against which the animals once revolted.

The Windmill

The windmill represents the attempt to modernize Russia and the general incompetence of Stalin’s regime. Snowball initially proposes the Windmill as a way of improving the farm’s living conditions; when Snowball is driven off, Napoleon claims it as his own idea, but his mismanagement of the project and the attacks from other landowners mean the project takes far longer to complete than expected. The final product is of inferior quality, much like many of the projects undertaken by the Soviets post-revolution. In the end the Windmill is used to enrich Napoleon and the other pigs at the expense of the other animals.

The Commandments

The Seven Commandments of Animalism, written on the barn wall for all to see, represent the power of propaganda and the malleable nature of history and information when the people are ignorant of the facts. The commandments are altered throughout the novel; each time they are changed indicates that the animals have moved even further away from their original principles.

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Animal Farm by George Orwell: Literary Analysis Essay

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The Significance of the Novel’s Title

The major themes emerging from the novel, important passages and their significance, the setting of the novel and its effects on the plot, the main characters and their motivations, important relationships among characters in the novel, the narrator of the story and impact of his perspective on the narration, the ending of the novel, recommendation of the novel, works cited.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is often discussed as an allegorical story having the features of the fable and satire. The significance of the novella’s title is in its satirical nature. An animal farm is traditionally discussed as a place where animals are bred by humans. The farms are usually named after the owner. However, Animal Farm is rather different. It is a place where animals are owners of the properties (Orwell 6). While referring to the meaning and significance of the phrase which is used for the title of the novella, it is important to emphasize the opposition between animals and humans as well as their differences.

The name “Animal Farm” is chosen by the characters in order to accentuate the meaning of this specific place where animals can rule instead of humans and without being exploited by them. However, the ownership of the farm by animals is a rather provocative idea. While focusing on the fact that the purpose of the novella is to present the political regime in the Soviet Union before World War II, it is possible to state that the title is significant because it stresses on the inhuman nature of Joseph Stalin’s regime.

Providing the title for the work, Orwell seems to ask the questions about the differences in the regime of the Soviet Union and irrational rule of animals at the farm. The satirical title is significant because the reader also starts asking questions about the political and social meaning of the work’s message and ideas. Using the metaphor in the title, Orwell draws the readers’ attention to the Animal Revolution as his allegory to demonstrate the results of the Russian Revolution of 1917. That is why, the title is significant to represent the double meaning of the story and stimulate the readers’ interpretation of the literal and allegorical aspects of the title’s meaning.

The major themes represented in the novella are the leadership and power in the Soviet Union, corruption, inequality, the role of an individual in the society, exploitation, and control. In his novella, Orwell discusses the power in the Soviet Union as unlimited and focused in the hands of the elite, as it is typical for the totalitarian governments. These leaders are allegorically described in the characters of pigs which are powerful, but selfish, brutal, and vicious.

The theme of corruption is discussed with the help of stating that the absolute power makes people corrupted or depraved because of receiving the unlimited resources. Thus, those pigs which were the leaders of the Animal Revolution betrayed their ideals and principles and chose to live in Manor’s house because of the convenience and extreme desire to satisfy their needs while ignoring the needs of the other working animals.

These animals chose to follow the principle “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” (Orwell 112). Thus, Orwell also discusses the themes of inequality and the role of an individual in the society. In spite of the fact that the Animal Revolution was declared to be organized for the welfare of all animals, only the leaders received the real benefits. The same situation was observed in the Soviet Union. The social stratification and the division into rich and poor were not overcome, but these problems were hidden now.

The other significant themes discussed in the fable are exploitation and control supported by the leaders of the revolution. The pigs were satisfied with the work of hard-working animals, but any differences in the views could result in violent punishment. This allegory represents how Stalin chose to resolve the problems with dissenters. Thus, the institution of control in the Soviet Union was People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, and the guarantee of the pig’s control was dogs which were used to persecute dissenters.

The first passage that attracts the reader’s attention is Major’s speech about the role of a man in the world. Thus, Major states in his speech, “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing…Yet he is lord of all the animals” ( Orwell 6 ). Major notes that a man makes animals work, but he does not care about them and only “prevent them from starving” ( Orwell 6). Major persuades the animals that they are better than men, and they have to rebel while focusing on the threats of exploitation. This statement reflects the Socialists’ arguments declared during the Revolution period. However, the significance of the passage is in the fact that the pigs forget about their statements and ideals while receiving some power, and they begin to exploit the others.

In Chapter 3, the principles of the Socialists’ attitude to work and the belief of the poor men in the better future are reflected. The horse Boxer becomes the inspiration for each animal at the farm because he follows the principle “I will work harder!” (Orwell 25). This principle is actively followed by lower class animals, but it is also used by the pigs to exploit workers. The ideology prevents these animals from seeing the real situation at Animal Farm.

The expulsion of Snowball with the help of dogs can be discussed as the important allegorical description of the struggle between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky observed in the Soviet Union. Napoleon used any means to realize his goals. Thus, he even used dogs to fear Snowball and other animals, “there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws” (Orwell 48). Napoleon could not support his leadership with the other resources, and he used violence to state his high social position. This moment is symbolic to represent the deterioration of any Socialist principles declared at Animal Farm.

The next significant passage is about judging Snowball as a scapegoat. This moment is important to describe the reality of Animal Farm and make the reader think about the Soviet Union. Snowball was accused of any crime at the farm only because he did not support Napoleon. Thus, “If a window was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say that Snowball had come in the night and done it” (Orwell 66). This situation is the first step in persecution of ‘suspicious’ animals who were killed because of possible relations with Snowball. Thus, the authorities used all the cruel methods to justify and support their regime while violating the basic principles of their ideologies.

The setting of the novella is imaginary Manor Farm located in England. This place becomes the communal territories owned by the animals after the Animal Revolution. The time period associated with the described events is not stated clearly. Animal Farm becomes the place where animals live according to the principles of Animalism and equality of all the animals. These equal animals have the only enemy in men who previously exploited them (Orwell 4).

Concentrating on the allegorical meaning of the novella, it is possible to note that the setting of the story is the Soviet Union after the period of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and during the rule of Joseph Stalin. The setting can be considered as affecting the plot significantly because all the described events occur at Animal Farm where animals try to develop the communal way of life. This farm becomes the place where the pigs win the people and receive the power.

It is possible to state that the story could be told in a different setting, but the features of the fable can be lost because the main distinctive feature of the novella is its allegorical character. While putting the characters of the novella in the real-life setting, it is possible to discuss the moments from the history of the Soviet Union without using any allegories and metaphors in order to accentuate the dramatic features of the regime. That is why, this story about the corrupted leaders and exploited workers presented in a different setting can be discussed as ineffective to reveal the author’s main idea.

The main characters of the novella are Napoleon, Snowball, Boxer, Squealer, and Old Major. The character of Napoleon is based on the personality of Joseph Stalin. This ambitious pig tries to become a leader at Animal Farm after the death of Old Major. Napoleon uses all the means to achieve the goal, and these means are mostly persuasive speeches and unlimited violence. As a result, Napoleon can be described as a political tyrant.

The character of Snowball is based on the personality of Leon Trotsky, the main rival of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. Snowball is an idealist, and he also wants to become a leader at Animal Farm, but he fails because of avoiding the use of extremely violent means and because of basing only on clear reasoning. That is why, Napoleon makes Snowball to become a scapegoat in order to receive the opportunity to cope with the smart competitor.

Boxer is a cart-horse who represents the working class at Animal Farm. Boxer works hard in order to contribute to the farm’s intensive development. He is loyal, strong, naïve, and dedicated to the ideals of Animalism. Boxer can be discussed as motivated by the belief in the better future and achievements of the working animals.

Squealer is a pig who develops the active propaganda at Animal Farm in order to support Napoleon’s ideas and personality (Orwell 20). This pig speaks in a language that is understandable for other animals, and he is motivated by possible Napoleon’s appraisal.

Old Major is an old pig whose character is written basing on the personalities of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Old Major is rather wise, and he is focused on finding better ways for living at farm while avoiding the exploitation of the animals as the lower class (Orwell 3-4).

The character to whom it is possible to relate oneself is Boxer. This cart-horse is the appropriate choice because he discusses the hard work as the only way to build the better future, and he tries to inspire the others to do their best to create something good.

The novella is based on the description of the problematic relationships between Napoleon and Snowball. These pigs are rivals in their fight for leadership at Animal Farm. In spite of the fact that both Napoleon and Snowball orient to receiving the unlimited leadership and influence, the methods which they use to complete the goals are different. That is why, Napoleon who uses violence and fear becomes more powerful than Snowball who uses reasoning. Although Napoleon and Snowball start applying the ideals of Animalism to the regime at Animal Farm as a team, they need more leadership after the death of Old Major. These relations are typical for the ruling class where the fight for power is not only extreme but also prolonged.

The other type of relationships is described with references to workers Boxer and Benjamin. Orwell describes these animals’ relations the following way, “the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking” (Orwell 4). The horse and the donkey represent different visions and attitudes to the world and situation, but they live to support each other. Boxer can be described as more enthusiastic and positive while discussing the ideals of Animalism. Benjamin is more passive in spite of the fact that he understands the real situation at Animal Farm. Benjamin chooses not to do anything to fight cruelty of Napoleon’s regime. Thus, this character represents the visions of the majority in the Soviet Union.

The narrative point used in Animal Farm is third-person, and this point of view can be discussed as impersonal and omniscient because Orwell is not presented as a character in the work. First, it seems that the narrator’s perspective is limited, but then it can be found that readers know more than animals which are discussed in the story. Thus, the anonymous narrator not only retells the actions of the animals, but he also presents the motives and thoughts of such characters as Napoleon, Squealer, Boxer, and Benjamin (Orwell 3-14). As a result, this perspective can affect the way according to which the story is told and understood by the reader. The used approach helps accentuate the differences observed in the pigs’ words and their actions toward horses and other animals who work hard to support the commune.

The narrator can also be described as detached, and there are more opportunities for the author to present and develop the allegorical meaning of the novella while focusing on the real motivation of such characters as Napoleon and Squealer while comparing their words, thoughts, and actions with the activities of the other animals at the farm (Orwell 58-64). This point of view is effective to be used in the allegorical novella because the reader can understand all the hidden meanings of the described activities and words while referring to the narrator’s ironical remarks and hints. That is why, the choice of the perspective is rather appropriate to address the idea or message of this satirical story.

The ending of the novella can be discussed as appropriate to represent the result of corruption of the ideals and principles developed at Animal Farm. Thus, animals betrayed their ideals because of the benefits of working with their human enemies. However, the last scene demonstrates that animals and men have many features in common because of their focus on cheating, exploiting, and expanding only their own properties. The quarrel between animals’ leaders and people observed by the other animals through windows of the house reveals that “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” (Orwell 118). Thus, Orwell effectively stresses on how tyrants can use the ideals against the lower classes and support their power with the methods used by the previous leaders.

Animal Farm should be recommended for reading to others because this allegorical novella is helpful to understand the nature of the totalitarian regimes which can be based on the effective ideals. Furthermore, the novella is interesting to help readers become detached from the historical reality associated with the Russian Revolution and look at the events from the other perspective. The satirical anti-utopian story makes the reader think about the true nature of many things observed in different types of the society. In his work, Orwell effectively discussed the threats of the totalitarian regimes which can be corrupted because of the aspects of the human nature. That is why, the novella can be actively recommended to the readers to look at the political events from the perspective of the satirical fable.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1990. Print.

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Animal Farm

George orwell.

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Theme Analysis

Animal Farm depicts a revolution in progress. Like all popular revolutions, the uprising in Animal Farm develops out of a hope for a better future, in which farm animals can enjoy the fruits of their own labor without the overbearing rule of humans. At the time of the revolution, all of the animals on Mr. Jones ’s farm, even the pigs, are committed to the idea of universal equality—but these high ideals that fueled the revolution in the first place gradually give way to individual and class-based self-interest. Animal Farm thus illustrates how a revolution can be corrupted into a totalitarian regime through slow, gradual changes.

At first, the revolution creates the sense that there could be a bright future in store for Animal Farm. Old Major makes a number of objectively true points in his speech to the animals, such as that Mr. Jones is a cruel and unfeeling master who cares little or not at all for their wellbeing, and that humans themselves don’t produce anything (like eggs or milk). The Seven Commandments that Snowball and Napoleon come up with in the months after are similarly idealistic, and, in theory, lay the groundwork for a revolution that truly will elevate individual workers above horrible, totalitarian leaders like Mr. Jones. Indeed, when the rebellion surprisingly happens, things initially seem as if they’re going to go in a positive direction for everyone: there are debates among the animals, animals have the ability to propose items for discussion, and every animal participates in the working of the farm. Best of all, the animals pull in the best and fastest hay harvest that the farm has ever seen, suggesting that their revolution has benefits in addition to freeing them from a cruel situation under Mr. Jones. It seems possible that they’ll truly be able to make self-government work.

However, the novel also offers early clues that corruption begins to take hold on Animal Farm long before Napoleon takes drastic steps to turn it into a totalitarian state, even when by most metrics, things seem to be going smoothly and fairly. For instance, it’s not an accident that only the pigs and the dogs are the ones who become fully literate. While to a degree, this becomes a chicken and egg question (in terms of which came first: literacy or corrupt power), the fact remains that the only literate creatures are the ones who ultimately seize control. Further, even idealistic Snowball insists to the other animals that because the literate pigs are “mindworkers” engaged in figuring out how exactly to run the farm, they need the entire crop of apples and all the cows’ milk. This power shift takes place during that first exceptional hay harvest, making it clear that things aren’t as rosy as the hay yield, and the increased productivity it suggests, might lead one to believe.

The corruption doesn’t end with the theft of milk and apples; by the end of the novel, the pigs sleep in the farmhouse, have a school for their pig children, drink alcohol, and consume sugar off of the Jones’s set of fine china—all things initially forbidden in some form in the original Seven Commandments. However, one of the most corrupt things that the pigs do is to modify the Seven Commandments to effectively legalize whatever it is they decide they want to do, from drinking alcohol to sleeping in beds. This corruption is something that most animals don’t notice, while those that do are either cowed into pretending that they don’t notice or executed for expressing concern. This combination of fear and unthinking trust in leaders, the novel suggests, is one of the most important elements that allows corruption to flourish.

Though the animals’ rebellion began as one against humans and everything they stand for in the animals’ eyes—greed, alcoholism, decadence, and cruelty, among other vices—it’s telling that the novel ends when animals, led by Clover , cannot tell Napoleon and his pig cronies apart from the human farmers who came for a tour and dinner. With this, the novel proposes that revolution is something cyclical that repeats throughout time. Because of corruption, those individuals who are powerful to begin with or who overthrow cruel and heartless leaders will inevitably come to resemble those former leaders, once they understand what it’s like to occupy such a position of power. In this sense, Orwell paints a grim view of revolution as a whole, as Animal Farm demonstrates clearly that even when the ideals of a revolution may be good, it’s all too easy to twist those ideals, fall prey to corruption, and poison the movement, harming countless powerless individuals in the process.

Revolution and Corruption ThemeTracker

Revolution and Corruption Quotes in Animal Farm

“Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings.”

“Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever. Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.”

“Remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.”

“Comrades!” he cried. “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organization of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples.”

“I have no wish to take life, not even human life,” repeated Boxer, and his eyes were full of tears.

At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws.

“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?”

“Napoleon is always right.”

“Comrades, do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!”

If a window was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say that Snowball had come in the night and done it, and when the key of the store-shed was lost, the whole farm was convinced that Snowball had thrown it down the well. Curiously enough, they went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal.

If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak [...] Instead - she did not know why - they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes.

At the foot of the end wall of the big barn, where the Seven Commandments were written, there lay a ladder broken in two pieces. Squealer, temporarily stunned, was sprawling beside it, and near at hand there lay a lantern, a paint-brush, and an overturned pot of white paint. [...] None of the animals could form any idea as to what this meant, except old Benjamin, who nodded his muzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing.

Besides, in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, as Squealer did not fail to point out.

Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer—except, of course, for the pigs and the dogs.

“Four legs good, two legs better !”

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

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.

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