Orwell wrote Animal Farm
as an allegory, a symbolic representation of real events. Many characters and events in the novel symbolize people in the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union. Here are some of the animals who symbolize individuals or groups in Soviet society: Mr. Jones
(Russian Tsar and the aristocratic order); Old Major
(Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin); Napoleon
(the press); the pigs (ruling bureaucrats); and Moses
the Raven (organized religion). Nearly all of the other animals represent the working class and Soviet peasants. For a more complete list, see the "Character" section.