“The Animal Farm” despite containing animal character and being declared as a fairytale in the subtitle can be perceived as a twist of something ideal, a vision of something beautiful and positive into everything opposite.
It was written in 1944 when it was read as a critic of the Soviet Union and the October Revolution which are described her as an animal farm and rebellion.
The book can relate to the today’s world in which people still fight with injustice because there are different ideals of “free” societies” and there are different groups of people fighting the system with a blurred vision of what they want and have to do to tear down the system. Power corrupts people and every revolution ends up being what if fought against.
As in “1984” Orwell criticizes many problems of our society like greed and power thirst which are embodied in the pigs and the absolute obedience and lack of critical thinking which are embodied in the sheep. All of his critics are tightly wrapped in the pleasant animal world.
Time: unspecified, but the plot took place for a few years
Place: Manor/Animal Farm, Willingdon, England
Mister Jones, an owner of a farm, kept his hen house locked but he forgot to lock one of the doors and had another glass of beer before sleep.
As soon as the light went out, rattle began on the farm and all of the animals went to hear Old Major speak. First came three dogs and the last to arrive were the cats. The only one who missed out on it was the raven, Moses. Major, before retelling his dream, held a speech about how short his life was and that he was obliged to share his wisdom with others.
He talked about the pathetic living conditions of animals in English and the cause of that condition – the people who spent everything but produced nothing and took everything from them and that they are the ones to blame for the animals not living their entire life. His message about rebelling against people and not backing down was clear. He called the animals to unite and stand together.
The fuss began again because the dogs saw rats listening to Major and they attacked them. Major told them to calm down to call for a vote about the rats being friends or foes. The vote was almost unanimous that the rats being their friends. The only ones who disagreed were the dogs and the cats. When they calmed down the Major proceeded with his speech. His philosophy was simple: those who walk on two legs are enemies and those who walk on four or have wings are friends.
He also emphasized that while fighting aginst people they shouldn’t become like them or start adapting their behavior patterns and that they should remember all animals are the same so that no species should ever be suppressed.
Major retold his dream and sang a song and the animals joined. They have sung it five times, and then the noise woke up Jones, who was convinced there was a fox in the back yard so he took his gun and made a single shot. All of the animals ran to their places and fell asleep.
Major died three nights later, was buried in the backyard. During spring many things were happening on the farm and they were provoked by Major’s speech. The pigs were in charge of the organization and education because they were the wisest animals on the farm. The piglets who stood out were Snowball and Napoleon and the porker Squealer. They worked on Major’s lessons, and during the night they held a few lessons about the animalism. They tried to explain it the best they could to the other animals.
In the beginning, they stumbled upon a lot of apathy and stupidity and their biggest problem was Moses, Jones’s pet, who talked about a mystery land where animals went after their death. The animals hated him because he talked a lot and did little but some still believed his story and it made the job for the pigs a lot harder.
The strongest believers in Animalism were Boxer and Clover who soaked in every word, spread it around and attended every meeting.
The rebellion occurred sooner than expected. Jones was a strict but capable farmer but he was being ruined after losing in court. He started drinking and didn’t take care of his farm, his workers were lazy and disrespectful, the farm wasn’t well maintained and the animals didn’t have enough food.
Jones went to Willingdon and he got so drunk that he didn’t show up until the next day and his workers only milked the cows, went hunting for rabbits without feeding the animals. Since they were starving, one of the cows knocked down the door and the animals went to eat. In the next moment, Jones and the workers appeared with whips. The animals couldn’t stand them so they attacked. The men went running from the farm.
Jones’s wife, seeing what had happened, gathered her things and snuck out with Moses. The animals chased Jones to the street and closed the front gate while still being unaware of what had happened.
Then they went to the other border of the farm to see if there were any people left. All of the traces of Jones’s power were destroyed – they were burned or tossed into the well. After destroying everything Napoleon took them to the food depository where everyone got a meal. After that, they sang their song and went to sleep.
The next morning they looked around the farm, the farmer’s house in which they didn’t touch anything except for the hams. After breakfast, Snowball and Napoleon gathered the animals and said that they learned how to read and write. The title “Nobleman’s farm” was knocked down and replaced by one that said “Animal Farm”. They also made “The Seven Rules of Animalism” and Snowball read them out loud. The other animals tried to learn them by heart. After milking the cows, they had to begin reaping. They left the milk with Napoleon and by the evening in was all gone.
The harvest was big, bigger than ever before, but the animals encountered many difficulties with using the machinery because they couldn’t stand on two legs. The piglets were in charge because they had more experience than the other animals. All of the animals gathered the hay and it took them two days less than it usually took Jones and his men to do the harvesting. Their daily obligations ran smoothly during the summer, they had enough food and resolved their problems with the piglet’s wisdom and Boxer’s strength. All of them worked as much as they could and there weren’t many fights, jealousy, and reproaches.
Sundays were non-working days and the breakfast was an hour later than usual. After it, they raised the flag made by Snowball. It was green to represent the land of England and he drew a white hoof and a horn on it. They would also make meetings to discuss their plans for the upcoming week, make decisions and discuss them.
The conclusions were always presented by the pigs because the other animals only knew how to vote. Snowball and Napoleon never saw eye to eye, despite being the active ones in the discussions, and they would always be opposed to one another. The meeting would end with their song and the rest of the day was for relaxation.
The pigs were in the depository, which became their pivot, and they learned new skills from books they read. Snowball also tried to organize the animals into small committees which were often unsuccessful, and he started to give reading and writing classes thanks to which most of the animals were at least a little bit literate.
When it turned out that the less smart animals couldn’t learn the seven rules, Snowball made one simple saying: “Four legs good, two legs bad”. Napoleon thought that the upbringing of new animals was the most important thing, so he separated the puppies from the others and they almost forgot about them.
They found out where the milk disappeared. It was accidentally given to the pigs. When the apples got ripe, contrary to them being given out to all of the animals, they had to be taken to the depository to the pigs. Squealer said they needed them to keep their mind sharp because they were in charge of everything. He explained it as a precaution against Jones’s return.
By the end of summer, the news about the animals farm spread, and Snowball and Napoleon sent birds to spread the propaganda around other farms. The owners of the farm nearby were in bad relations. The Foxwood farm was big bad badly maintained and its owner, Mr. Pilkington, spent most of his time fishing or hunting.
Pinchfield farm was smaller but better and its owner was Fredrick, who was well known for his bargaining skills. The two of them couldn’t see eye to eye but they were both frightened by the occurred on the animals farm. At first, they made fun of it and spread rumors about it being in bad shape, but no one believed them.
The rumors about Animals Farm spread and by the end od the year other animals started rebelling, and they even knew the song “Beasts of England”. People were infuriated, and they whipped the animals who dared to sing the song, but they would still get scared whenever they would hear it.
After harvesting, birds came announcing that Jones and five other men broke down the front gate and were coming to the farm. The animals expected it and they were ready. Snowball studied the book about Cesar’s warfare and he was in charge of the defense. The first attack started when the people came close to the farm’s buildings and it was made by the geese and pigeons. The second one was the direct attack made by Muriel, Benjamin, the sheep, and Snowball. Since the people were stronger than them, they had to retreat.
People started celebrating but as soon as they entered the yard three horses, three cows and the rest of the pigs came from the back to stop them from running away and the third attack began. Snowball was headed for Jones and he shot him in the back while killing one sheep. Snowball ran into him and knocked the gun right out of his hand.
Boxer was hitting everyone and his first attack scared the people who, five minutes after the attack was launched, started to run away. Boxer was fearless and he almost killed one of the men who later on managed to escape while the animals were searching for the disappeared Mollie. When the men ran away, the animals celebrated their victory, buried the sheep and Snowball made a short eulogy for her. They also sang “Beasts of England”.
The animals established a military medal which was received by Boxer and Snowball and the dead sheep. After their discussion, they named the battle “Battle of the Cowshed”. After finding Jones’s gun, they placed it underneath their flag and decided to shot out of it two times a year – once to commemorate the battle and once to commemorate the beginning of their rebellion.
Winter was coming and Mollie was getting more and more rude and unreliable. Rumors spread about her condition. Clover saw one of Pilkington’s men with her and, after having a conversation with her, she found sugar in her bed. Three days later Mollie disappeared and she was seen a few weeks later harnessed on the other part of Wellington. No one spoke of her anymore.
In January the weather was cold and the animals held many meetings. It was decided that the pigs will stay in charge of leading the farm and that the decisions will be accepted only if confirmed by the majority of the animals. The differences between Snowball and Napoleon grew by the day. Snowball would always get most of the votes but Napoleon had success amongst the sheep who would then interrupt Snowball’s speeches. He studied old magazines about farms and talked about farming. Napoleon had no plans but he always said that Snowball won’t make much of a difference. Their biggest fight was about a windmill.
Snowball said that the small hill was the best place to build a windmill to give electricity to the farm which would make their jobs easier. Since the farm didn’t have modern tools and the animals never heard of windmills, they were stunned.
In a few weeks, he finished his plans and the animals came to see them once a day, except for Napoleon, who was against it all the time. Snowball stated that it was possible to build it in a year and that it will save them a lot of time because they would only have to work three days a week after they build it. Napoleon stated that their main job should be producing more food and that, focusing on the windmill, they will starve. The animals were divided. The other question in the matter was the farm’s defense.
Napoleon wanted to acquire weapons and learn how to handle them while Snowball wanted to send the pigeons to spread the propaganda and start a bigger rebellion.
When Snowball finished his plans they made a meeting to decide whether the windmill will be built or not. He stated his arguments while constantly being interrupted by the sheep. Napoleon calmly advised everyone to vote against his proposition and Snowball, infuriated, reproached him. His vision seduced the animals and made them vote for him when Napoleon stood up and called nine dogs who attacked Snowball and chased him off of the farm.
The animals were terrified and Napoleon declared nullification of the meetings and discussion and decided that all decision will be made by a special committee of pigs which will meet and arrange everything behind closed doors. The only thing he maintained was raising the flag, handing out assignments and singing the song. A few animals fought against him but his dogs made them go quietly. Squealer explained the newly formed situation and emphasized that the things that matter are loyalty, obedience, and discipline.
When the time got better they started to till. Every Sunday, at ten, the animals would gather and arrange their assignments for the next week. Next to the mast was Major’s skull and all of the animals had to show it respect before entering the barn where they had changed their sitting positions. Napoleon, Squealer, and Minimus were in the front row on an elevated podium, the other pigs were behind them and the rest of the animals were looking at them while sitting in the middle of the barn.
Three weeks after the incident, Napoleon said that the windmill will be built and that, due to the hard work, there is a chance that their meals will be smaller and that the building will take roughly about two years. Squealer explained to the animals later that night that Napoleon was never against the windmill but that Snowball had stolen his plan and that his resistance was only a clever way to get rid of Snowball.
The animals worked like slaves but they were satisfied believing they were doing it for the better tomorrow. During spring and summer their work for 60 hours a week and the animals which wanted were able to work Sunday afternoons. The animals who didn’t want to would get smaller meals that day. Despite the hard work, their harvest was small, their winter already seemed to be hard and the building wasn’t going as smoothly as predicted. They had problems with the rocks which they had to bring to the top of the hill, only to throw them down so they would get crushed and then they had to bring them back up.
By the end of the summer, they gathered enough rocks but their efforts started to seem useless. They wouldn’t have done it without Boxer who, despite Clover’s warnings, worked more than he should. They were producing a lot but they were still lacking many things so they decided to start negotiating with the other farms in order to obtain the things they needed since building the windmill was prioritized to producing food. They decided to sell some hay, wheat and if necessary eggs. This broke one of the first decision ever made at their meetings but the sheep made the animals go quietly with their bleating. Napoleon assured the animals that no one, except for him, will be forced to communicate with people. He decided to do it over, Mr. Whymper. After singing their song, the animals left.
Squealer walked around the farm, calming down the animals and convincing them the decision against trading goods was never suggested but that it was a Snowball’s lie. They didn’t have any written proof about it so they were satisfied with the explanation.
Wymper came to the farm every Monday and it made the animals nervous. They would avoid him and Napoleon tried to calm them down.
The people kept on hating the farm but they started to gain respect for its efficiency and started calling it Animal Farm and stopped supporting Jones. Rumors were spreading about Napoleon making a business deal with Pilkington or Fredrick but definitely not both.
The pigs moved into the house, and the animals started reminiscing again about the decisions made at the first meeting. Squealer convinced them again that the pigs had every right to move into the house because they needed more space to work and the animals started referring to Napoleon as the leader. He declared himself to be a leader. Clover thought to remember something against sleeping in beds, but Muriel read the rule about sleeping with sheets. Clover was sure it wasn’t the original rule and soon Squealer announced that the pigs will get up an hour later than everyone else.
By fall they were very tired, and they didn’t have as much food as they did before, but the windmill made up for everything. It was half way done and, when the weather would allow it, the animals worked harder and during the full moon Boxer would even work at night. The only one not being amazed by the windmill was Benjamin. One night there was a big storm and in the morning the pole of the flag was knocked down and the windmill was torn down.
Napoleon, who lead the animals, took advantage of their sadness and quietness and declared Snowball had knocked down the windmill and sentenced him to death. The animals started despising Snowball because of what he had allegedly done and they started making up plans to catch him. They found traces leading up to Foxwood’s estate. Napoleon said that they will start rebuilding the windmill immediately, regardless of the weather.
The winter was cold, but the work was going on. People faked not to believe that Snowball had destroyed the windmill. They made the walls thicker, which made them acquire more rocks. They managed to get some work done only when the weather was dry and cold and their sense of confidence was fading away. The only ones who were enthusiastic were Boxer and Clover.
They were tormented by the coldness and hunger because they ran out of food in the middle of January. They didn’t have enough wheat, their potatoes got frozen and they mostly ate only hay. They had to hid their problems because rumor had it that they were suffering famine. Napoleon, aware what will happen if the world finds out what was happening, used Whymper to spread different rumors. Some animals, an especially sheep, were instructed to speak about how much more they ate in his presence and they filled the bowls with sand and covered them with wheat to make it seem they had a lot of food.
January was coming to an end and they had to acquire wheat. Napoleon didn’t make an appearance often and Squealer was the one who gave out orders and informed the animals about everything they needed to know. One morning it was announced that the chicken will be obliged to hand over their eggs so that they would sell them and buy more wheat and the animals fussed about it.
The chicken stood against that idea. The reaction to their rebellion was harsh. They didn’t receive any food until they weren’t ready to bow down. They managed to hold their resistance for five days in which they lost nine chickens. It was said they died because of a disease. In the end, they caved in.
Snowball was nowhere to be seen and it was said he was hiding on Foxwood or Pitchfield. When Napoleon established better relationships with the nearby farm owners he tried to sell some wood they had around. He noticed that if he was near to closing a deal with Fredrick everyone started saying Snowball was hiding on Foxwod and vice versa.
In the early spring, it was discovered that Snowball came to the farm at night and everything that went wrong was attributed to him and the rats. Napoleon ordered an investigation to be made about his activities and the whole story scared the animals. Squealer gathered them and told him that he had bad news: Snowball sold himself to Fredrick from Pinchfield and was planning an attack and that he was Jones’s secret agent. He told them that during their battle with people he tired to ruining everything and that they should be on the lookout for Snowball agents amongst them. They didn’t recall Snowball trying to ruin anything, even Boxer was confused, but then Squealer told them some twisted version of events.
Four days later Napoleon gathered them in the back yard. He appeared with two medals he gave to himself and his dogs were with him. They scared all of the animals. He sent the dogs to catch four pigs who rebelled against the nullification of the meetings and they dragged them by the ears. Three dogs wanted to attack Boxer and he punched one of them into the ground which scared the other two. Napoleon ordered him to let the dog go.
Four pigs were scared and Napoleon told them to confess their crimes. They said they were connected to Snowball and that they were collaborating with him on handing the farm over to Frederick and that Snowball told them he was Jones’s agent. After finishing their confessions the dogs slaughtered them and Napoleon asked the animals if any of them wanted to confess something. The chickens confessed about their rebellion against selling the eggs, a goose said she had some hay hidden and that she ate it on her own and other animals confessed their crimes.
When everything was done, all of the animals, except for the dogs and pigs, ran out shocked and desperate. They slept on the hill together and only the cats were missing. They disappeared a little bit before the meeting and everyone was in silence, except for Boxer who decided to stand on his feet and think. In the end, he came to the conclusion there was something wrong with all of them and that the only response was to work more. He went to the quarry and brought some more rock to the hill and then he went to sleep.
The animals pressed themselves against Clover observing the farm. The night sky was clear and the farm seemed so beautiful. Clover’s eyes were filled with tears because this wasn’t what they wanted. In her vision, which seemed so distant, they were supposed to be a society without famine and violence in which they were all equals, worked as much as they can, protecting the weak. She couldn’t understand how they ended up sleeping on the hill where everyone was afraid to speak their mind, with rabid dogs patrolling around and why they had to witness their friends being murdered. She didn’t even think about rebelling because she knew that their situation was still better than the one they lived in while Jones was in charge. She decided to work hard, do her job and accept Napoleon’s leadership.
She still pondered about things not being the way they hoped they would and she wasn’t sure what they had worked so hard for and stood up to Jones for. The animals sang sadly and quietly their anthem when Squealer arrived. He said the song has been forbidden and that it will be replaced by a new song written by Minimus. The other song wasn’t even a little bit similar to “Beasts of England”.
In a few days the fear amongst animals calmed down and some of them remembered the sixth rule and realized that the events from earlier days were completely opposed to it. When Muriel read the rule to Clover it had two words Clover couldn’t remember which were “without reason” and It became clear to her that the rule wasn’t broken and that a good reason for the execution existed.
They worked, even more, that year and it was hard working on the field and on the windmill at the same time and the animals sometimes thought they were working more for less food than they were getting while Jones was in charge. Squealer denied their opinion reading how their production was increasing and the animals couldn’t oppose because they didn’t remember the times before the rebellion. There were still days in which they wanted more food and fewer numbers.
The commands were being given by Squealer and Napoleon appeared every two weeks accompanied by a rooster who would announce his arrival. It was being said that Napoleon lived in special rooms of the house and ate alone with two dogs around him.
A new decision was made. They decided to shot the gun on Napoleon’s birthday to honor him and he was referred to as “our Leader, friend NApoleon” and the pigs loved coming up with names for him. Squealer talked convincingly about him and his kindness and all of the accomplishments were attributed to him. Minimus composed a song about him and wrote it near the commands and also there was a portrait of Napoleon there.
Napoleon, with Whymper being the middleman, managed to start negotiations with Fredrick and Pilkington about selling the construction wood and there were also rumors being spread that Snowball was at Pitchfield and that Fredrick and his men were planning to attack their windmill. In the middle of summer, some chickens admitted to having been planning Napoleon’s execution with Snowball and they were executed. Napoleon installed new safety measures. There were four dogs guarding his bed at night and young Pinkeye had to try all of his food before him in case it was poisoned.
Napoleon made an arrangement to sell the wood with Pilkington and he made a plan about signing a trade agreement with Foxwood. The animals were more and more against Fredrick. They even had a slogan for him which stated “Death to Fredrick”.
By the end of summer, another of Snowball’s mischiefs was discovered and the goose who took part of it killed itself before it was sentenced. It was also clarified that Snowball never received a medal but that he was punished for his cowardice.
The windmill was finished in the fall and Napoleon came to see it proclaiming it to be “Napoleon’s windmill”. The wood was sold to Fredrick, which surprised all of the animals but it was said that the rumors about him were false and that Snowball was actually living at Foxwood. Napoleon’s wittiness stunned the animals and he showed his superiority by asking Fredrick to pay him in bills which Napoleon, later on, showed to the animals.
Three days after, the bills turned out to be fake and Fredrick was sentenced to death. They had bad blood with Pitchfield and they tried to mend their relationship with Foxwood.
The next morning an attack was being launched under Fredrick’s leadership. Since they were armed, the animals couldn’t confront them and they started to retreat while some got injured. Napoleon hoped Foxwood would help but they declined their request. Frederick and his men destroyed the windmill and it made the animals get vengeful. Despite the weapons they attacked. Many of the animals and men were injured. One cow, three sheep, two geese were dead. The people ran away when the dogs attacked. The animals didn’t celebrate after seeing their dead friends and the empty place in which the windmill used to be.
They heard gunshots and Squealer came saying they were celebrating their victory. They didn’t know what victory he was referring to since their friends were dead and the windmill was destroyed once more. Squealer said they were celebrating the fact that they chased their enemies away. The animals limped to the backyard. Boxer thought about working on a new windmill, but the fact that he was too old for such work didn’t even cross his mind.
They came to the flag and another gunshot was fired after which Napoleon gave his speech. He made it seem to the animals that they actually won that day. The battle was called “Battle of the Windmill” and the celebration lasted for two days. The animals had a big funeral for their fallen friends and Napoleon declared a new medal nad gave it to himself.
A few days later the pigs found whiskey and got drunk. The next morning Squealer declared that Napoleon was on the verge of death and drinking was forbidden. Soon he started to recover and Whymper gave him some tips about making beer. A week later it was ordered that the little meadow reserved for animals which were unable to work anymore transforms into another field.
Something strange and unexplainable happened. One night, around midnight, a strong noise was heard in the backyard. There was a broken latter and Squealer was unconscious next to them. There was also a bucket of paint, brush and a light. The dogs chaperoned him to he house.
No one could conclude what had happened, except for Benjamin. A few days later Muriel, reading the rules, found two new words on the fifth rule.
Boxer was in terrible shape and, despite Clover’s and Benjamin’s warnings, he didn’t stop working. They started talking about retirement after the meadow was declared to become a field.
The windmill was being rebuilt and Boxer’s desire to see it finished was bigger than his inability to work. The winter was cold and they were running out of food fast. Squealer had trouble convincing the animals they had enough food. He showed them numbers which were supposed to make them believe that the living standard, a quantity of food and water were better than in Jones’s time. They believed him because they barely remembered what it was like to live with Jones but they were sure that their condition was worst then.
It was declared that they will build a school, next to the house, for the piglets and that Napoleon will be their teacher. They were taught not to become friends with other animals.
The new rule also stated that all of the animals had to move to the other side if they saw a pig walking their way. Despite the year being a success, the animals were running out of money and they started selling more hay, wheat, and eggs. The chickens barely managed to have enough little chicks to keep the income of eggs coming. The meals were getting smaller in December and February and it was also forbidden to use lights in the barn.
One afternoon in February a strong, delicious smell spread around the meadow and the animals thought it was cooked barley. There was no food for them but they found out next Sunday that the barley was only intended for the pigs who also got a beer every day.
Despite the hard life, there were more songs, celebrations, and speeches which made life seem more decent. They also started making manifestations once a week to remind the animals they were their own masters. In April the farm was declared a Republic and its president was Napoleon. New documents about Snowball’s collaboration with Jones were found. In the middle of summer, Moses came back with his same old story and many animals still believed him, even thought the pigs called him a liar. They still let him stay on the farm.
Boxer was getting better and he started working more than ever, just like all of the other animals because despite working on the field and the windmill, they had to build the school. No one could see the years leaving any trace on his body but by the end of summer, Boxer collapsed. The pigeons told it to the pigs and to Clover. Squealer said that Napoleon was very worried about him and that he was doing everything to get him to the hospital in Willingdon. The animals didn’t like that but Squealer tried to convince them it was the best for Boxer.
He spent the next day in the barn talking to Clover while Benjamin was protecting him from the flies. He was sorry about everything that had happened and thought he could live three more years if he recovers and he looked forward to his retirement. They could be with him until they had to go and work. A truck came for Boxer and Benjamin called the other animals to see him being taken away. He got angry with the others when they were taking Boxer away and he pushed away Muriel who started reading the title of the truck. It was from a slaughter house. The animals started running after it and asked him to get out of it but he was too weak to break down the doors.
Three days later Squealer announced to the other animals that Boxer died in the hospital. He also clarified the situation with the slaughter house. Squealer explained to the animals that the vet bought the truck from the slaughter house and that he didn’t have time to change the title. The animals were relieved and he proceeded with his speech.
The next Sunday Napoleon came to the meeting and held a speech about Boxer and reminded them about some of his favorite sayings. On the day of his funeral, a big wooden box was delivered to the farm and that night the animals heard a lot of noise. They heard the pigs had bought another box of whiskey.
Years passed by an no one, except for Clover, Benjamin and Moses didn’t remember the time before the rebellion. Muriel, Bluebell, Jessie, Pincher, and Jones were dead and Snowball and Boxer were being forgotten. The pigs were getting fat. Benjamin was the only one left unchanged. There were more animals on the farm and the rebellion became a mouth to mouth story. There were three other horses next to Clover who respected her as if she was their mother.
The farm was successful and well organized. The windmill was done and they acquired new machinery and build new buildings. Snowball’s vision wasn’t mentioned anymore and Napoleon declared it to be everything opposite of animalism. The farm was becoming richer but only the pigs and dogs felt it because, as Squealer put it, they worked endlessly on an organization and did everything to make the farm an even bigger success. The life of other animals didn’t change: they were experiencing famine, slept on hay, worked the field, put up with coldness in the winter and flies in the summer. Some of the older animals tried to remember how the things were during Jones’s reign but they couldn’t. They had nothing to what compare their current life situation. Benjamin stated he remembered everything and that life remained unchanged.
Despite everything, they felt honored to live on Animals Farm and the animals from other farms admired them and the history of the Farm and Major’s visions were often retold. All of the animals, despite it being forbidden, knew the words to “Beasts of England”.
In the beginning of summer, Squealer took the sheep to the other side of the farm and they were there for a week learning a new song. One night, when the working hours were over, they heard Clover and saw her and Squealer walking out on their back legs. Soon other pigs followed. Napoleon, came out last, carrying a whip in his hands. When the first impact passed the animals had a chance to reproach his behavior but then the sheep started singing and the pigs went back inside.
Clover took Benjamin behind the barn where the rules were. She asked him to read them to her because her eye sight was bad. There was only one rule, and not seven. “All animals are equal, but some are equal than others”. It stopped being strange for them that the pigs looked more like people, carrying whips and wearing clothes.
One afternoon, some farmers came to look around the farm. The pigs showed them every corner of the farm, and they admired it. The animals didn’t know whether to fear the people or the pigs. That night the animals heard noise from the house, and they went to see what was going on. They saw the pigs and the people around the table, eating and drinking. They were playing cards and drinking beet. Pilkington held a speech. He was glad that the relationship between the farms was better and that fight between them was over. He also talked about the wrong beliefs they had about the Animal Farm and said that, after visiting it, he only thought the best of it.
The animals worked more for less food that the other animals in the county received. He congratulated them on their success and then Napoleon made a smaller speech. He declared some changes: he will forbid bowing down to Major’s skull and change the flag. He also renamed the farm to “Manor Farm”. It was the name which the farm had during Jones’s time.
The animals observed without making a sound and they thought that the pigs completely changed their appearance. They started going back to the farm but the noise was still spreading around the farm. They couldn’t see in the crowd who was the pig and who was the human.
Characters: Jones, Major, Boxer, Benjamin, Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer, Mollie…
Mister Jones was the owner of Manor Farm. He was a strict, yet capable farmer who started ruining himself after losing a lot of money in court. He started drinking and neglecting the animals. After the rebellion, he spent most of his time at a tap house retelling the occurred. He also tried and failed to take over his farm. With time he lost people’s support and moved away.
Napoleon was in constant confrontation with Snowball and he stood against every one of his ideas. He banished Snowball and took over the farm. Napoleon started trading with people over Whymper, he had surrounded himself with nine dogs and rarely left the house. He also gave himself two medals.
Snowball had a character which was weaker than Napoleons. He was involved in organizing and education of the animals and he was also in charge of defending the farm from people. Snowball wanted to improve the living conditions on the farm but his propositions were often nullified by Napoleon. He also got a medal after being hurt in a battle. He was banished, declared Jones’s ally and a traitor.
Squealer was a chubby pig. He was an excellent spokesman always in charge of delivering bad news and Napoleon’s orders.
Moses was a tamed raven and Jones’s pet. He was the carrier of the propaganda from the other farms. He disappeared after the rebellion and came back after a few years.
Boxer was a horse. He was hard-working and it leads him to his death. His answer to every problem was to work harder than before. He was also honored for his accomplishment during the battles. Boxer never listened to Clover and Benjamin who tried to stop him and make him rest. He wasn’t ready to take anyone’s life, even human’s, and after Napoleon’s rise to power his moto became: “Napoleon is always right”. After collapsing one summer night, he was taken to a slaughter house.
Mollie was vain and spoiled, but very frightful. She escaped to Foxwood.
Benjamin was a donkey and he didn’t change much after the rebellion. He never slacked but he didn’t work with much pleasure. Despite knowing how to read he didn’t do it often. He broke his non-reading rule for Clover when she needed him to read a rule for him. After Boxer’s death, he became even more introverted than before.
Minimus was a pig with a musical talent. He composed the song which replaced “Beasts of England”.
Whymper was a notary from Willingdon and he was the middleman between the farm and the people. He visited the farm every Monday to get instructions and advise Napoleon. He was clever enough to realize the farm will be needing a middleman sooner or later and he took advantage of it.
George Orwell Biography
George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25th, 1903 in Mothari, India and was educated in England at Eton College.
Orwell’s father, Richard worked for the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service and his mother grew up in Burma due to her father’s business ventures.
When Orwell was just a year old, his mother brought two of her children back home to England and settled in Oxfordshire. Orwell was brought up by his mother and did not see his father again until the age of nine. While in secondary school, Orwell began writing and wrote two poems that were published in the local paper.
After school, however, Orwell decided to join the Imperial Police (the Indian Police Service) and he moved to Burma and served with the police there from 1922 to 1927. After which he returned to England and decided to follow his dream of becoming a writer.
For many years he struggled to get published and lived in poverty and poor health in England and in Paris, France. Out of this experience cane his first book, ‘Down And Out in Paris and London’, a memoir which was published in 1933.
Around this time, Orwell began a teaching career at a small school in Hayes, West London but shortly became disillusioned with the job and began working for a bookseller in Hampstead, London.
In 1935, Orwell met his first wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy at a party thrown by his landlady and the two married a year later on June 9th, 1936.
Orwell’s second non-fiction work, “Burmese Days” about the sordid conditions of the homeless in Burma was published in 1935 and Eric Arthur Blair officially changed his name to George Orwell.
In 1936, Orwell investigated the social divisions in the then severely economically depressed north of England and wrote what became his third book, “The Road To Wigan Pier” which was published later that year.
Also that year, Orwell joined the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. The description of his experiences, in “Homage to Catalonia” (1938) forms one of the most moving accounts of this war ever written.
After his time in the war, Orwell’s political convictions underwent a profound change. His condemnation of totalitarian society is expressed in the brilliantly witty allegorical fable, ‘Animal Farm’ published in 1945.
That year, Orwell’s wife Eileen underwent a hysterectomy complication and passed away at her sister-in-laws country home in County Durham. After his wife’s untimely death, Orwell began writing more and published 130 articles and essays.
It was during this time that he wrote his most critically acclaimed and famous novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1949).
Orwell remarried in 1949 to Sonia Brownell who nursed him in the final months of his life. Orwell began experiencing trouble with his lungs and he passed away suddenly on January 21st , 1950.
According to his wishes, Orwell was buried in the graveyard of the closest church to where he died in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire where his grave is still standing today.