T

E
E
E
G
M
R
O
E
G

George Orwell

British Author & Journalis

1903-1950
Born in India
At that time India was a part of the British Empire, and
Blair's father, Richard, held a post as an agent in the
Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service.
The Blair family was not very wealthy - Orwell later
described them ironically as "lower-upper-middle class".
They owned no property, had no extensive investments;
they were like many middle-class English families of the
time, totally dependent on the British Empire for their
livelihood and prospects.

Noted as a novelist and critic, as well as a political and

cultural commentator
One of the most widely admired English-language
essayists of the 20th century
Best known for two novels critical of totalitarianism in
general, and Stalinism in particular:
Animal Farm
Nineteen Eighty-Four

Liberty is telling people what they do not want to hear.

1984
The novel, published in
1949, takes place in 1984
and presents an
imaginary future where a
totalitarian state controls
every aspect of life, even
people's thoughts. The
state is called Oceania
and is ruled by a group
known as the Party; its
leader and dictator is Big
Brother.

George Orwell and His Beliefs

Orwell was a person who had a reputation for standing apart and
even making a virtue of his detachment.
This outsider position often led him to oppose the crowd.
Orwells beliefs about politics (he was a socialist) were affected by
his experiences fighting in the Spanish Civil War he became
disillusioned with revolutionary politics after seeing the in-fighting
between people who were meant to be on the same side
He viewed socialists, communists, and fascists as repressive and
self-serving.
He was skeptical of governments and their willingness to forsake
ideas in favor of power.

Interesting Fact:
George Orwells real name was Eric Blair.

Why Animals?
In explaining how he came to write Animal
Farm, Orwell says he once saw a little boy
whipping a horse and later he wrote,
It struck me that if only such animals became
aware of their strength we should have no power
over them, and that men exploit animals in much
the same way as the rich exploit the [worker].

George Orwell in
India
He was born in India
and spent his early
years there since his
father held a post there.
He was a lonely boy who
liked to make up stories
and talk with imaginary
companions.

As an adult, he worked
for the Imperial Police in
British occupied India.

What is Animal Farm?

A masterpiece of political satire,
Animal Farm is a tale of
oppressed individuals who long
for freedom but ultimately are
corrupted by assuming the very
power that had originally
oppressed them.
The story traces the deplorable
conditions of mistreated animals
who can speak and who exhibit
many human characteristics.
After extreme negligence by
their owner, the animals revolt
and expel Mr. Jones and his wife
from the farm.
The tale of the society the
animals form into a totalitarian
regime is generally viewed as
Orwell's critique of the
communist system in the former
Interesting
Fact: Orwell initially
Soviet Union.

struggled to find a publisher for

Animal Farm.

Significance Today
But why now that Soviet
Communism has fallen and the Cold
War is over does Animal Farm
deserve our attention? The answer
lies in the power of allegory.
Allegorical fables, because they
require us to make comparisons
and connections, can be meaningful
to any reader in any historical
period. The story of Animal Farm
will always have lessons to teach us
about the ways that people abuse
power and manipulate others.
Orwell's chilling story of the
betrayal of idealism through
tyranny and corruption is as fresh
and relevant today as when it was
first published in 1945.

Childrens Book? No!

After Animal Farm was published in 1945, George
Orwell discovered with horror that booksellers were
placing his novel on childrens shelves. According to
his housekeeper, he began traveling from bookstore
to bookstore requesting that the book be shelved
with adult works. This dual identity as childrens
story and adult satire has stayed with Orwells
novel for more than fifty years.

1.

CHAPTER 1: MAJORS
DREAM

Mr Jones, the owner of Manor Farm,

tries to lock the farm up for the night
but is too drunk to do it properly. He
then goes to bed.

2.

Major, a boar who is respected by the

other farm animals, calls everyone to
the barn for a meeting.

3.

Major tells the animals about a dream

he has had of a future in which the
animals will be able to live on the farm
in freedom and peace without being
exploited by humans.

4.

Major gives the animals a set of rules

for them to live by to avoid becoming
like man, their enemy

5.

Majors dream has unified the animals.

Excited by what they have heard, they
sing'Beasts of England'(p. 19), which
wakes Mr Jones.

6.

Mr Jones fires his gun and frightens the

animals, who go back to their beds.

Why is it important?
Setting the farm
Differences in
behaviour of animals
Majors speech
(Marxist argument)=
idealised vision of the
future vs return of
suffering
Capitalists (humans) vs
proletariat (animals)
Sympathy toward the
animals
Revolutionary vision
predicting animals
fate (ex; Boxers
death)

No animal in
England is free
There should be
perfect unity as
All animals are
comrades
All animals are
equal
The animals lived in
misery and
slavery
Man is the animals
only enemy as he
consumes without
producing

CHAPTER 2: THE REBELLION

1. Following Majors death, the pigs teach his ideas to the
other animals on the farm.
2. Mr Jones forgets to feed and milk the animals, who rebel
against him and drive him and his men off the farm.
3. Mrs Jones flees the farm,
followed by Moses.
4. Napoleon and Snowball (two young,
literate boars) take charge.
5. Following Majors instructions, basic
rules are established for a free and
equal society.
6. The Seven Commandments are written on
the wall for all to read but, despite
Snowballs literacy classes, few of the
animals
can read them.
7. Manor Farm is renamedAnimal Farmand
is a more efficient and happier place than
before. The animals seem to have created
a perfect society.
8. While the animals are at the harvest, unbeknown to
them, Napoleon attends to the milk. On their return,
they find that the milk has vanished.

Why is it important?
Establishes Majors
dream
Introduces Napoleon,
Squealer & Snowball
Animalism
Differences in opinion
(loyalty vs hatred
towards Jones)
Expulsion from the
farm
Sudden swift rebellion

with speechless
admiration.they
could hardly
believe that it was
all their own
Jones
unbelievable
luxury
when they came
back in the evening
it was noticed that
the milk had
disappeared

CHAPTER 3: THE PIGS TAKE

CHARGE

1. The harvest is completed in record time, as the

animals work hard under the supervision of the
pigs.
2. The animals are taught to read and write by
Snowball.
3. Napoleon takes the
puppies away to raise
them himself.
4. Squealer tells the
animals that the pigs
have taken the apples
and milk for
everyones benefit.

Why is it important?
Animals unselfish
behaviour after the
Rebellion
Liberation & euphoria
(echoing Majors speech
rhetoric)
Boxers determination vs
parasites (Mollie, the cat)
Equalitys not
straightforward
Snowball as an innovator
Conflict (Snowball vs
Napoleon)
Squealers importance to
the pigs

Nobody stole, nobody

grumbled over his rations, the
quarrelling and biting and
jealousyhad almost
disappeared.
With their superior knowledge
it was natural that they should
assume the leadership
Do you know what would
happen if we pigs failed in our
duty? Jones would come back!

almost every animal on the

farm was literate in some
degree

There is nothing worth

reading

CHAPTER 4: THE BATTLE OF

THE
COWSHED
1. News of the rebellion at Animal Farm spreads. The
animals try to promote the revolutionary ideas of
Animal Farm across the countryside.
2. The farmers of the two neighbouring farms, Mr
Frederick and
Mr Pilkington, frightened
that their own animals
will revolt, take steps to
prevent an animal uprising.
3. Mr Jones attempts to
recapture Animal Farm.
4. Snowball leads the
animals to victory in the
Battle of the Cowshed.

Why is it important?
Remembering the
animals are fighting
against humans
Suppressing rebellion in
neighbouring farms
Boxers compassion vs
pigs terror as a weapon
Developing hierarchy
(Napoleon & Snowball vs
the others)
Snowball Trotsky,
ruthless & capable leader

The only good

human being is a
dead one

But the most

terrifying spectacle
of all was Boxer,
rearing up on his
hind legs and
striking out with his
great iron-shod
hoofs

CHAPTER 5: SNOWBALL
FLEES FOR HIS LIFE
1. Mollie vanishes and is rumoured to be happy in
servitude under Mr Pilkington.
2. The conflict between Napoleon and Snowball
increases as their disagreements become more
serious.
3. Snowball suggests building a windmill, which brings
the farms divisions out into
the open.
4. Napoleons dogs attack
Snowball and he is forced
to flee for his life.
5. Once he has seized power,
Napoleon abolishes the
Sunday debates.
6. Squealer tells the animals
that the windmill will be
built and that it was
Napoleons idea all along.

Why is it important?
Pigs control the farm
Plans for windmill
reduced to slogans
rather than speeches
Trotsky vs Stalins
socialism totalitarian
farm
Contempt for free
speech
Use of violence to
control
Orders given on
Sunday
Bleak end

Snowball & Napoleon

disagreed at every
point where
disagreement was
possible
It had come to be
accepted that the
pigs, who were
manifestly cleverer
than the other
animals, should
decide all questions
of farm policy.

CHAPTER 6: LABOUR AND

HUNGER
1.The animals continue their hard labour, working a
sixty-hour week and Sunday afternoons as well.
2.The building of the windmill runs into difficulties.
3.The harvest is poorer than the previous year.
4.Napoleon tells the animals that he has decided to
trade with the neighbouring farmers.
5.The pigs move into the farmhouse and break the
Fourth Commandment by sleeping in beds. This is
explained away by Squealer as necessary for the
defence of the farm. An alteration to this
Commandment is painted onto the wall.
6.A storm destroys the windmill but Napoleon
declares that it was sabotaged by Snowball and
passes the death sentence upon him.
7.Life for the animals continues to be hard as they
try to rebuild the windmill

Why is it important?
Language makes
suffering acceptable
Formal trading with
other farms
Suffering
Hardship vs luxury
enjoyed by corrupt

Whatever goes up
on four legs, or has
wings, is a friend
vs Four legs good,
two legs bad
A bed merely
means a place to
sleep in The rule
was against sheets,
which are a human
invention.

CHAPTER 7: NAPOLEONS
REIGN OF TERROR
1. The animals face starvation.
2. The windmill is rebuilt
(with thicker walls) but
work is slow.
3. Napoleon takes Mr Whymper,
his solicitor, around the farm
and tricks him into thinking
that the rumours of famine
are untrue.
4. The hens, angry that their eggs are being sold to
Whymper, rebel.
5. Napoleon decides to sell some timber and conducts
separate negotiations with Mr Pilkington and Mr
Frederick.
6. Four pigs and three hens, among others, are executed
in front of the other terrified animals.

Why is it important?
Harsh realities due to
weather
Napoleon tricks farmers
to think theyre happy
& food is plentiful
First internal challenge
(hens eggs)
Negotiations with
Pilkington & Frederick
but never at the same
time
Rewriting history
Napoleons brutal
violence (Stalin)

Starvation seemed to
stare them in the face
Whenever anything
went wrong it became
usual to attribute it to
Snowball.
They had come to a
mind when no one dared
speak his mind, when
fierce growling dogs
roams everywhere, and
when you had to watch
your comrades torn to
pieces after confessing
to shocking crimes

Truly, I live in dark times!

An artless word is foolish. A smooth forehead
Points to insensitivity. He who laughs
Has not yet received
The terrible news.

What times are these, in which

A conversation about trees is almost a crime
For in doing so we maintain our silence
about so much wrongdoing!
And he who walks quietly across the street,
Passes out of the reach of his friends
Who are in danger?
It is true: I work for a living
But, believe me, that is a coincidence. Nothing
That I do gives me the right to eat my fill.
By chance I have been spared. (If my luck does not hold,
I am lost.)
They tell me: eat and drink. Be glad to be among the haves!
But how can I eat and drink
When I take what I eat from the starving
And those who thirst do not have my glass of water?
And yet I eat and drink.

Bertolt Brecht,An die Nachgeborenenfirst

published inSvendborger Gedichte(1939)
in:Gesammelte Werke, vol. 4, pp. 722-25 (1967)
(S.H. transl.)

CHAPTER 8: THE BATTLE OF

THE WINDMILL
1. It is clear that the Seven Commandments are being altered.
2. The animals are working even harder and eating less than
under Mr Jones.
3. The windmill is finished.
4. Napoleon finally sells the timber to Frederick, who pays with
forged notes. When he
realises that Frederick
has tricked him, Napoleon
passes the death sentence
on the farmer.
5. Frederick then invades the
farm and destroys the
windmill. The Battle of the
Windmill is won by the
animals but only just.
6. The pigs find a crate of whisky.

Why is it important?
Blatant abuse of power
Animals lives are
worsening
Dogs presence increases
Napoleon lives in greater
comfort
Animals are left
demoralised by the futile
building of the windmill
Squealers statistics - lies

Squealers accident is a
strange incident which
hardly anyone was able to
understand.
Even Napoleon who was
directing operations from
the rear, had the tip of his
tail chipped by a pellet.
All orders were now issued
through Squealer or one of
the other pigs.

It had become usual to

give Napoleon the credit
for every successful
achievement and every
stroke of good fortune.

CHAPTER 9: BOXERS
DEATH
1. Boxers hoof takes a long time to heal but he
refuses to do less work.
2. Life on the farm is
very hard: the animals
are starving as rations
have been reduced
even further.
3. The young pigs are to be
educated in a separate
schoolroom.
4. Moses returns to the farm.
5. Boxer collapses in the
quarry and is sold by the pigs to the knackers
yard.
6. The pigs use the money they have been paid for
Boxers corpse to buy another crate of whisky and
have a memorial banquet for the horse.

Why is it important?
Rumours on pasture area
= animals rely on
rumours now
inequality (starving
animals, fat pigs)
Moses returns to give
hope and let them escape
everyday life realities
Boxers sacrifice to the
revolution
Fulfilling of Majors
prophecy for Boxers end

When animals
rations were
reduces Squealer
referred to it as a
readjustment,
never as a
reduction .
from somewhere
or other the pigs
had acquired the
money to buy
themselves another
case of whisky.

1.

2.
3.

4.

5.
6.
7.
8.

CHAPTER 10: THE DREAM

BETRAYED
Many years have passed.

Few of the old animals

still survive; the
younger ones dont
understand Animalism.
The windmill has been
restored and another one
is being built.
Although the farm is richer,
the animals work harder
than ever. Napoleon now
has complete control over the
other animals.
Clover is horrified to see the
pigs walking on their hind legs.
Other pigs emerge from the farmhouse including Napoleon, who is
carrying a whip.
The Commandments have been erased from the barn wall and
replaced by a single slogan (seeKey Quote).
The pigs wear clothes, smoke and read newspapers.
The pigs invite the farmers to dinner.
The animals are appalled that they can no longer distinguish
between the faces of the humans and the pigs. The pigs
transformation is complete.

Why is it important?
Pigs are the only ones profiting
Animals still hope for freedom
Removal of Commandments
and imposition of single slogan
= corrupted revolution

Majors hopes were just a

dream

Napoleons whip = oppression,

violent future ahead
Revolution brought the
animals back to where they
started only with changed
masters

Four legs good. Two

legs better.
ALL ANIMALS ARE
EQUAL BUT SOME
ANIMALS ARE MORE
EQUAL THAN OTHERS
If you have your
lower animals to
contend with.we
have our lower
classes.

CHARACTE
RS

Tells of a dream that leads to

rebellion

Inspire
s

BOXER
kills

Inspire
s
Leads the
battle that
drives out

Is devoted
to
Works
for

SQUEAL
Propaganda
ER
minister

NAPOLEON
chea
ts

SNOWBA
LL

Claims to
admire
dislikes PILKINGTO
N

FREDERI
Unscrupulous
farmer
CK

dislik
es

JONES

BENJAMI
N
Cynical
donkey

Preaches about
sugarcandy
mountain

Vain horse who

is more
worried about
ribbons than
revolution

Silently
questions
Napoelons
decisions
JESSIE
BLUEBEL
L
PINCHER
Guard dogs
raised by
Napoleon

Characterization in fables
We already know that a fable is a narration intended to
enforce a useful truth. Fables have two important
characteristics.
1.First, they teach a moral or lesson. In Animal Farm, the
moral involves Orwells views about Soviet politics.
2.Second, the characters are most frequently animals. These
animal characters often function as a satiric device to point
out the follies of humankind.
Though Old Major, Snowball, and Napoleon may represent
Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin, many of the story
characters are much more general. Some animals are
grouped together as a single characterthe sheep, the
hens, and the dogs. Orwell also capitalizes on the traits
generally associated with particular animals, such as sheep
as followers and dogs as loyal.

The farms
intellectual & he
rivals Napoleon
for leadership of
Animal Farm
Is brave, a
brilliant
strategist &
mastermind
behind the
windmill
Promotes the
revolution &
teaches
animals new
skills
Supports
Napoleons
seizure of the
apples

Who is Snowball?
Associated with;
Leon Trotsky

A pure communist
leader who was
influenced by the
teachings of Karl
Marx.
He wanted to
improve life for
people in Russia, but
was driven away by
Lenins KGB.

Doesnt notice
Napoleons
steady climb to
power/ use of
the dogs
Is nearly killed
by Napoleons
dogs & flees
the farm

QUOTES
Snowball was.quicker in speech
and more inventive

Snowball is seen as charismatic & a

brilliant thinker & communicator
He formed the Egg Production
Committee, the Clean Tails League,
the Wild Comrades
Re-education Committee

Snowball is dedicated to spreading

Majors revolutionary ideas & teaching
the animals to run the farm themselves
but the comic nature of his committees
suggests that his approach is
theoretical & impractical - & likely to
fail.

Four legs good, two legs bad

Snowball is the first to

simplify
language on
Animal Farm
The only good human
being is a dead one

Snowballs ruthlessness
makes us wonder how
different the revolution would
have been under him

The pig who

seizes control of
the farm after Mr
Jones

Who is
Napoleon?

Removes the
puppies &
expels Snowball

Like Stalin,
destroys all the
Majors ideals &
becomes like Mr
Jones a typical
dictator

Doesnt
participate in the
battle of the
Cowshed but
portrays himself
as a heroic leader

Takes control of
the food supply
to get the
animals
support

Uses squealer to
pacify animals &
disguise his rise
to power

Treats
Boxer
cruelly

Becomes selfish
& blames
Snowball for his
own mistakes

QUOTES
He is a fierce-looking
board with a reputation
for getting his own way.

He is ambitious. This quote

also foreshadows the brutal
way he will seize power
Napoleon acted
swiftly and
ruthlessly

Napoleon had denounced

such ideas as contrary to the
spirit of Animalism. The truest
happiness, he said, lay in
working hard and living
frugally. Contrary to Majors spirt of
equality, Napoleon has
separated himself from the
other animals, sleeps in the
farmhouse (breaking another
of Majors rules) & resorts to
intimidation

Napoleon has become a

dictator, breaking Majors
instructions that no animal
must ever tyrannize over
his own kind & No animal
must ever kill any other
animal.
His rise to power is Napoleon seemed to
be biding his time.
premeditated

Napoleon rarely
appeared in public,
but spent all his
timing the farmhouse,
which was guarded at
each door by fierceNapoleon
lookinginverts
dogs the true
meaning of Animalism. He is
a hypocrite, claiming
animals should live frugally

Who is Squealer?
Responsible for
the devious
changes to the
Commandments

Confuses the
animals &
makes the
doubt their
own memories
Uses statistics to
convince the
animals that
theyre better
under Napoleon

Napoleons
propagandist

Grows fatter
along the story
& benefits from
working for
Napoleon

QUOTES
We are told that he is a
brilliant talker who can
turn black into white
He dishonestly defends the
pigs actions in brilliant
pieces of rhetoric, which are
often underlined by the
threat of Jones return. The
animals therefore have little
option but to agree to the
pigs actions.
He is unaccountably
absent from the fighting
This quote implies that
Squealer is a coward

No one believes more firmly

than Comrade Napoleon that
all animals are equalBut
sometimes you might make
the wrong decisions,
comrades, and then where
would we be?
He convinces the animals that
Napoleon is acting in their
best interests despite the fact
that Napoleon is doing the
very opposite

he cast a very
Squealers role as
ugly look at
eliminator of opposition
Boxer

Squealer temporarily
stunned, was sprawling
beside it, and near at
hand there lay a lantern,
a paint-brush and an
overturned pot of white
Squealer
has been caught altering
paint.
the Commandments on the wall to
fit the pigs actions as he has
done throughout the story. He has
fallen off his ladder & Orwell

an enormous
beast

The revolutions
most loyal disciple
whos prepared to
make huge
sacrifices for the
farms success
Represents the
proletariat &
believes in happy
retirement
Passes on the
pigs
teachings to
the other
animals

Who is
Boxer?

Gives up the hat

he uses to
protect himself
from flies
unlike Mollie
His strength &
commitment are
vital to the farms
success &
revolution

Defends
Snowball

Insists on
working until
the windmills
rebuilt

QUOTES
His two slogans, I will
work harder and
Napoleon is always right,
seemed to him a sufficient
answer to all problems.

Boxers unquestioning faith

in the pigs enables them to
literally get away with
murder
It must be due to some
fault in ourselves

You, Boxer, the very day that

those great muscles of your lose
their power, Jones will send you
to the knacker, who will cut your
throat and boil you down for the
fox-hounds.
Majors words prove prophetic
for Boxer though the irony is
that this happens under
Napoleon rather than Mr Jones.
Even when he is being driven to
the knackers yard, Boxer had to
be told what is happening to him

I have no wish to take

life, not even human
life, repeated Boxer,
Boxer doesnt blame
and his eyes were full of
the pigs for the
tears.
For
all
his
fighting
during
the
Battle of the Cowshed,
events on the farm
Boxers compassion & humility are also apparent. He is
& his inability to
recognise corruption devastated when he thinks he has killed the stable-lad a
leads to Napoleons he does not want to kill even his enemy. His brave -

Also represents
the proletariat

Loyal to the
revolution till the
end & criticises
Mollie for her
betrayal
The only
character whose
thoughts are
given in detail
Not as strong
as Boxer but
slightly more
intelligent

Who is
Clover?

Checks the
Commandments as
the pigs take
control of the farm
but never acts upon
her doubts
Trusts the pigs &
doubts her own
memory

Her obedience is
exploited by
Squealer

Sees the pigs

walking on their
hind legs & the
farmers playing
cards with
Napoleon

QUOTES
There was no thought of
rebellion or disobedience in
her mind.

Clover made a sort of wall

around them with her great
foreleg, and the ducklings
nestled down inside it, and
promptly fell asleep.

Clovers limited intelligence

& her reluctance to confront
her doubts prevent her from
rebelling or challenging the
pigs rule. Even after the
executions she still feels
loyal to the pigs
She cares tenderly for Boxer when he
splits his hoof & pleads with him not to
overwork. She also cares for him when
he collapses. Clover demonstrates the
tenderness that is destroyed by the pigs

Clover is kind & protective a

maternal presence. At the
opening of the book she shelters
the ducklings which had lost
their mother; & in the same
way, after the executions, The
animals huddled about Clover.

Clover treated the hoof

with poultices of herbs
which she prepared by
chewing them, and both
she and Benjamin urged
Boxer to work less hard.

His speech
prophesises much
of what will
happen on the
farm in many ways
ironically under
Napoleon
His revolutionary
speech is a mix
of Marxism &
Leninism
Majors ideas
are perverted
by the pigs just
as Stalin did
with Lenins
doctrines
A highly
regarded pig
who is a natural
leader

Who is
Major?
Associated with;
Karl Marx
The inventor of
communism
Wants to unite the
working class to
overthrow the
government.
Dies before the
Russian Revolution

Who is
the oldest animal
on the farm, and the Benjamin?
worst tempered
shows what
happens to those
who see wrongdoing
but do nothing to
stop it
Questions
whether the
animals really
will be better
off

Repeatedly
refused to read the
Commandments

Refuses to
interfere when
he sees the pigs
wrongdoing

Owns Manor Farm

but is incapable of
running it

Represents the
Tsar & how
capitalism
exploits the
working classes

the foolish pretty

white mare
represents the
White Russians
who were
privileged under
the Tsar
She is workshy
& envies human
luxuries

Represents the
Russian Orthodox
Church

Convinces the
animals that there
is a better life on
Sugarcandy
Mountain & thus
these animals
accept their
sufferings

The counterpart of
Stalins secret
police loyal
animals closely
linked to the pigs
Rewarded for
dealing ruthlessly
with any objectors
& murdering
Napoleons
opposition

Represent the most

stupid elements of
society, the mob

Mindlessly bleat
the slogan Four
legs good, two legs
bad INDOCTRINATION

The only group

showing resistance
to Napoleon

They retaliate by
smashing their
eggs like the
kulaks destroyed
their own farms
rather than let
Stalin take over
them

The most intelligent

& capable creatures
they understand
Animalism &
translate it into
simple slogans for
other animals
Become decision
makers & an elite
class & exploit the
rest of the animals

Represents the
forces of selfinterest &
hypocrisy

Doesnt want
anything to do
with the revolution
but wants to enjoy
its benefits

In the allegory
stands for Britain
under Churchill

Like Napoleon, Mr
Pilkington is keen to
exploit his own
workers

Runs his farm

better than
Pilkington but
hes cruel

Frederick tricks
Napoleon in the
same way that
Hitler broke the onaggression pact
with Stalin

In the allegory
stands for Britain
under Churchill

Like Napoleon, Mr
Pilkington is keen to
exploit his own
workers

Runs his farm

better than
Pilkington but
hes cruel

Frederick tricks
Napoleon in the
same way that
Hitler broke the onaggression pact
with Stalin

MRS Jones mentioned very little & in unfavourable light

MR Whymper a sly-looking little man who profits from the animals
misery & suffering

The 1954 cartoon version of

Animal Farm was funded by
Americas CIA as anti-communist
propaganda hence the happy
ending

Karl Marx & Communism

Marx; in a capitalist society workers were
exploited by the people they worked for workers
were paid a wage to produce goods that were
then sold at a higher price than they cost to make
This thus created a struggle between classes &
said that the workers would eventually rebel
against the capitalists
Das Kapital society should be free & equal
Communist Manifesto called for workers to unite
Lenin took Marxs ideas & adapted them to form
his own brand of Communism

The Struggle for power

1928 Stalin
became a dictator

Lenin dies 1924

Used a lot of
propaganda

Trotsky (believed the

revolution had to spread
worldwide to protect
USSR)
vs
Stalin (believed in
building defences)

Frequently
reinvented history
Presented past
enemies as allies &
exiled opposition
(purges)
Exiled Trotsky in
1929 & blamed him
for the countrys
problems

THE
M

Power corrupts (Snowball

v Napoelon - Russian Revolution)
Knowledge is power (education)
Language & power (manipulation)
Propaganda (Squealer can turn black into white
Moses tells of a fictitious place)
Meaning and control
(All animals are equal
but some animals are
more equal than
others disguise of
inequality)

ES

S
F
I
T
O
M

Songs (Beasts of England)

State ritual (military awards,
parade)

S
L
O
B
M
Y
S

Manor farm = microcosm

of Russia
The Barn = collective
memory of a modern
nation
The Windmill =

LANGUAGE & STRUCTURE

Rhetorical questions
Do you know what would
happen if we pigs failed in our
duty? Jones would come back!

Simplification
Whatever comes upon two
legs, is an enemy. Whatever
goes upon
Four legs, or has wings, is a
friend
Is reduced to

Statistics
Squealer tells the animals that
that they eat more & work less:
The opposite of the truth

Subversion

Language
The pigs completely change the
used
meaning of words some animals
by the pigs are more equal than others
Obfuscation

The pigs mislead the animals by

Four legs good, two
legs
Distortion
using words they find confusing
bad
Squealer always spoke of it as a
Nonsensical language Animalism
readjustment, never as a reduction

Animal
Stereotypes
the unthinking
sheep, the
cynical donkey

The pigs dignitys

shown through
songs, pride in
their
work, Orwell
ridicules political
leaders
Fables teach a moral or lesson.
Firstly,
in Animal Farm, the moral
involves
Orwells views about Soviet
politics.

Political allegory
the farm =
Russia, Napoleon
= Stalin

Second, the characters are most

frequently animals. These animal
characters often function as a
satiric device (comedy) to point out
the follies of humankind. however
the ending to Animal Farm
is ambiguous regards whats
going to happen

 Fairytale paraphrasing

ST
YLE

Simple language as in a fairytale

Phrases like As soon as the light in the
bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering
all through the farm buildings make us think its a
traditional childrens story
The animals are introduced in a list way
The narrator acts as a traditional storyteller

Getting the point

across

Economy short paragraphs to emphasize points It was a pig walking

on his hind legs
Repetition some simple phrases are repeated; the weather is harsh,
the animals work like slaves or are hungry, to show the suffering &
result of the pigs actions
Descriptive language few figurative language, becomes rather
descriptive after the revolution & execution whilst controlled at the
same time ex; the animals kick up clods of the black earth and

NARRATOR

THE

Third Person Omniscent Narrator a god-like omnipotent figure who sees

everything that happens in the story & can tell us what each characters
thinking
Most fairy stories have a third person narrator
Orwell uses this technique for purposes of;
Detachment Detached & distanced account of events yet the
readers not left in
doubt of whats happening; there is however a
shift in tone at the
end of the novel to the tone of a dream or
vision of utopia
EX; when Squealers found at the bottom of the ladder
in the middle of the night, it is described as
a strange incident which hardly anyone was
able to understand

Studying Animal Farm Top

Tips

Essay Questions
1. 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.
Trace the key episodes in the novel that lead to this
final outcome and discuss the extent to which the
revolution was successful.
2. The first time I read Animal Farm, I truly rejoiced
for their success in overthrowing man and hoped
they would indeed be free and happy. Discuss the
animals ideals and their hope for a better life in
Animal Farm.

1. Compare and contrast Napoleon and

Snowball.
2. Animal Farm was inspired by events in the
Soviet Union dating back to the early 20th
century. To what extent is Animal Farm still
relevant today?
3. 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. Discuss the
significance of this statement for the novel
and how it reflects the betrayal of Majors
dream.

6. Once Napoleon seizes power he

secures his rule through an unpleasant
mix of lies, distortion, hypocrisy and
fear which together with the
ignorance of the other animals give
him absolute power. Discuss this
statement with close reference to the
character of Napoleon in Animal Farm.