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Animal Farm Study Guide
Animal Farm Study Guide
Contents
The plot of Animal Farm chapter by chapter 03
A Ready Reference 16
The Characters in Animal Farm 20
Themes in Animal Farm 28
Key Concepts in note form 33
Spot the speaker/s and situation/s 35
Much more than a fairy story 37
Who was George Orwell? 40
Animal Farm – Examination Practice 43
1
A Brief Summary of the
Plot
The animals draw up a set of principles which will guide their new lives:
the Seven Commandments.
Before long, the pigs emerge as leaders and start to assume minor
privileges over the other animals. The two leading pigs, Snowball and
Napoleon, quarrel and Napoleon eventually drives his rival off the farm
by force.
Despite hardships, the farm makes progress, and the animals embark on
the construction of a windmill which will supposedly ease their lives.
Napoleon assumes more and more power, and governs by fear and terror.
Opponents are killed. The pigs now enjoy a luxurious style of life, far
removed from the hardships of the other animals.
The over-worked Boxer falls ill and is treacherously shipped off to the
knacker's by Napoleon.
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Over the years, the pigs continue to benefit at the expense of the other
animals. The Commandments are changed, corrupted and perverted.
Chapter 1
The novel opens with Mr. Jones, the proprietor of Manor Farm, lurching
across his yard and going off drunk to bed. The animals, after waiting for
his light to go out, assemble in the barn to hear what Old Major, the
prize boar, has to say to them. We meet the animals on the farm as they
arrive and already know something of their characters as they settle
down to listen. Major has had a dream. He is approaching death and
wishes to communicate to the others the wisdom he has acquired during
his long, thoughtful life. This, briefly, is what he tells the animals:
(a) Animals' lives are 'miserable, laborious and short'; they live at
subsistence level while working to capacity; the moment they cease to be
useful they are cruelly killed; misery and slavery is the fate of all animals
in England.
(b) The land can support them but the produce of their labour is
stolen by Man; remove Man and the problem is solved.
(c) Man is the only creature that consumes without producing, taking
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everything from the animals except what is necessary to keep the
animals alive and working.
(d) Animals are not even allowed to live out their natural span but are
slaughtered when their usefulness is at and end.
(e) Therefore, animals must work night and day to overthrown Man.
In a single word: Rebellion!
Major sums up by telling the animals that 'All men are enemies. All
animals are comrades.' He then describes his dream of a world without
Man and teaches them a song, 'Beasts of England', that presents his
dream-world. As the animals are singing, Jones wakes up and shoots his
gun across the yard. The meeting breaks up.
This is the list of Commandments that the animals all agree to obey
when they create Animal Farm. They are based on Major's speech. They
are meant to be 'an unalterable law by which all the animals on
Animal Farm must live for ever after.'
4
Chapter 2
Three days after his inspiring speech Old Major passes away peacefully.
His ideas are taken up by the pigs - who are clever animals - a political
philosophy called Animalism is worked out. The other animals are not
very interested and the pigs have a hard time trying to educate them,
especially where the tales of Moses are concerned. Boxer and Clover are
loyal and supportive.
The rebellion takes place almost accidentally because the animals are
hungry and can stand it no longer - Jones has neglected them - so they
break out and help
themselves to food.
The pigs have taken over quite naturally as leaders and Snowball urges
them off to the hayfield to bring in the harvest while Napoleon stands
guard over the milk which the pigs have just milked from the cows.
The characters of Mollie and Boxer are also brought out clearly in this
chapter - again a strong contract being made. Mollie is interested only in
a comfortable life, in sugar and ribbons, while Boxer accepts everything
the pigs say. Mollie does not want to part with her pretty ribbons and
eventually runs away in order to keep them; Boxer throws his fine straw
hat, used to keep the flies off in summer, on the bonfire and sets about
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working himself to death.
Chapter 3
The animals have worked hard and the first harvest is a great success.
We hear how the different animals measure up as workers and Boxer
gets a special mention, having done the work of three horses. On
Sundays there is no work but a ceremony where the flag is raised
followed by a meeting where resolutions are put forward and debated. It
is always the pigs who put forward resolutions and we notice that
Snowball and Napoleon can never agree.
We hear the pigs have set aside the harness room for a study and
workshop area and that Snowball has formed many committees to
educate the animals and encourage them in their efforts and attitude. We
hear how the animals fare at reading and writing and that the principles
of Animalism are reduced to a slogan: four legs good, two legs bad, as
many of the animals cannot read very well. Snowball, however, has
developed his ideas in a complicated manner and uses long words which
the animals cannot understand (but they are impressed).
Chapter 4
Some months have passed since the Rebellion and the news has spread
to other farms, assisted by the pigeons sent out by Snowball and
Napoleon. Jones is apparently making no effort to win back his farm. The
neighbouring farmers are too involved in their own disagreements to
unite and help him win back Manor Farm. Pilkington and Frederick,
his neighbours, scoff at the idea of a farm run by animals and spread
tales about the terrible goings-on at Animal Farm. However, they are
both frightened that their own animals might rebel and they flog any
animal heard singing Beasts of England, which is becoming very
popular. There are small rebellions on other farms but they are easily
snuffed out.
6
Snowball's character is developed in this chapter. He has planned the
battle in advance and he leads the animals to victory, fighting bravely
even when wounded. The animals obviously trust him and follow his
lead. Snowball is seen to be working continually for the well-being of the
farm and presents an attractive personality; however, we see that he is
fundamentally an intolerant revolutionary when he says 'the only good
human being is a dead one'.
Boxer and Mollie are again contrasted. Boxer fights bravely and exhibits
his great strength; Mollie hides away as soon as the battle begins,
concerned only about herself and her safety. Boxer is shown to be
tender-hearted when he shows great concern for the enemy stable boy he
thinks he has killed but who in fact has only been stunned.
Chapter 5
Mollie begins to act strangely and Clover becomes concerned about her
behaviour and takes her aside to tell her that she has seen Mollie's
activities with the neighbouring farmer - Mollie has been allowing him to
stroke her nose. Mollie denies this but Clover later finds sugar and
ribbons on her stall. Eventually Mollie defects (joins the enemy) and is
seen in Willingdon pulling a dogcart.
We hear that the pigs decide all policy matters connected with the farm
having appointed themselves the Senior Management Team.
Disagreements break out between Napoleon and Snowball, especially
over the windmill which Snowball wants to build to make the running of
the farm easier and the life of the animals more comfortable. Napoleon
argues that the immediate concern of the farm must be to produce more
food.
Eventually two factions develop under the slogans 'Vote for Snowball
and the three-day week' and 'Vote for Napoleon and the full manger'.
They also have a major disagreement over the defence of the farm;
Snowball believes that if the other farms have rebellions there would be
no need to defend the farm so the best thing would be to send out
pigeons and help these rebellions come about. Napoleon thinks it is more
important to defend their own farm, Animal Farm, and wants to get hold
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of firearms, guns and rifles.
When Snowball gets up and passionately defends his ideas, the puppies,
who have turned into savage young dogs, attacked Snowball and drive
him off the farm. Snowball just manages to escape with his life. Napoleon
has trained the dogs to act as his police and bodyguard.
This chapter is the turning point of the fable. The progress in the life of the
animals has reached its peak and the downward movement is about to
begin.
Napoleon has been biding his time. When he does make his move it is an
effective climax for we have, with the animals, been full of admiration for
Snowball and have been giving him our full attention. The careful reader
will have noticed clues and hints about Napoleon, small incidents that
have been leading up to this climax: the milk and apples, the taking
away of the puppies, his non-appearance at the Battle of the Cowshed.
As the animals are soon to learn, Napoleon is now fully in control of their
lives and destinies.
Chapter 6
The animals are working like slaves but are happy in their work because
they are working for themselves, not working to support idle and
wasteful human beings. We also learn that because of the building of the
windmill, some tasks are left undone. The windmill is difficult to build as
the animals are not physically adapted to the task but they find ways
around the difficulties. Boxer comes into the limelight again as his great
strength and persistence is an asset. He puts his all into the work, so
much so that Clover warns him not to overstrain himself.
8
Despite their efforts, the animals do not have the materials they require
and this presents another difficulty. Napoleon decides to get round this
by trading with the humans, something that upsets some of the animals
as they remembered it had been agreed never to have anything to do with
humans, the enemy. Protestors are silenced by the snarling of the dogs.
Squealer tells them later they must have been dreaming, that no such
decision was ever made. The pigs make their way into the farmhouse and
sleep in the beds; Squealer justifies this by altering the Commandment.
It is, of course, ironic that the animals are happy to work so hard and
for such long hours because they are working for themselves and not for
someone who is exploiting them. In fact, they are working for a far more
ruthless exploiter, Napoleon and his henchpigs, they have not yet
recognised this reality. Napoleon has declared that all work is 'strictly
voluntary', but if it is not done, there will be a fifty per cent reduction in
food ration for offenders.
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Napoleon also convinces the animals that Snowball is responsible for the
destruction of the windmill. Why do they not realise that Napoleon is
lying, we may ask, for all the facts seem to prove it?
Chapter 7
It is a bitter winter and the animals' life is hard. They are often cold and
hungry and have been depressed by the ruin of the windmill. They are
not as hopeful as before but must succeed because the rest of the
countryside is watching, ready to rejoice if they fail.
Food becomes very short and rations are reduced, the potatoes are
spoiled and starvation seems a possibility. They have to conceal this fact
from the outside world as new lies are being put about by human beings
that famine and disease are rife, that cannibalism and infanticide are
practised. Napoleon fills the food bins with sand and puts the grain on
top of it to hide the truth from Whymper, who is deceived.
Eventually it is decided that the hens must give up their eggs so that
they may be sold for grain and meal. The hens protest and smash their
own eggs but Napoleon starves them into submission. He is advised by
Whymper to sell off some timber to Pilkington or Frederick who both
want to buy it.
10
confess and are executed are those pigs who protested when the Sunday
Meetings were abolished, and again when trading with humans was
begun. (The incident has, of course, been organised and stage-managed
by Napoleon and Squealer.) The hens who had started the egg rebellion
are also eliminated.
The animals are deeply shocked and creep away confused and miserable.
When the comfort themselves by singing Beasts of England, Squealer
arrives and tells them that this song is now outlawed and they are
forbidden to sing it. A new song is composed which they must sing at
Sunday meetings.
We, the readers, are roused to anger and left with a feeling almost of
despair when Squealer arrives to announce that the song which has
carried them through so much and which represents the spirit of the
animals is forbidden. Napoleon is going to crunch even this. It is not
enough for him to control their actions and direct their thoughts;
Napoleon intends to become 'an engineer of the soul' - songs that express
that he wishes the animals to feel will replace those that express what
they actually do feel.
Chapter 8
We hear that they now have to work very hard indeed, even harder than
when Jones was in charge, and food is still very short. However, as they
can no longer remember these times very clearly, Squealer has no
difficulty in persuading them that they are wrong.
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by Frederick are heard and about the cruelty he inflicts on his own
animals and feelings against him run high. The windmill is eventually
finished and is to be called Napoleon Mill.
Napoleon amazes the animals by telling them that he has sold the timber
to their greatest enemy, Frederick, and that the rumours about him were
the work of Snowball who has been on Pilkington's farm all the while.
Napoleon claims that he pretended friendship with Pilkington to get
Frederick to raise the offer for the timber.
However, the banknotes with which Frederick paid Napoleon are useless
forgeries and Frederick then attacks Animal Farm with guns and blows
up the windmill. Eventually he and his men are repulsed by the animals
who suffer great losses in the Battle of the Windmill but Napoleon
declares it has been a great victory and orders celebrations. The pigs
discovery whisky and get drunk, later pretending that they were ill.
Snowball is caught altering the Commandment but the animals are too
bewildered, confused and stupid to realise what he is doing.
Just how stupid are these animals? we begin to ask ourselves. Have they
been so morally corrupted by Napoleon that they can no longer recognise
evil when they see it? Thought-control is one of Napoleon's crimes but
the animals are not entirely innocent either. Look at these animals being
duped, tricked, says Orwell, and ask yourself if you too could be so
easily deceived in similar circumstances. And if you are, shouldn't you be
doing something about it?
12
We should also ask ourselves why the Battle of the Windmill is much
more ferocious than the Battle of the Cowshed .
In the second battle, the animals are fighting for their farm, or so they
think. In reality, they are fighting for Napoleon who appeals to their
patriotism to sacrifice their lives if necessary. It is one more way of getting
people to do what we want by appealing to their better instincts for the
wrong reasons.
Chapter 9
Boxer is growing old and his wounds from the battle heal slowly. Clover
and Benjamin urge him not to overwork himself but he continues with
the rebuilding of the windmill. He will soon be of retiring age and we hear
that there is a rumour that a new place will soon be designated for
retired animals mow that he original meadow has been used to grow
barley.
Life on the farm is getting harder and harder and rations are drastically
reduced. Squealer, with is statistics, argues the opposite, presenting the
facts and figures in a distorted and misleading way. The animals are
ready to believe, as usual, that things are not so bad as they were before
the rebellion. Their morale is kept up by the 'Spontaneous
Demonstrations' that Napoleon organises and by the tales of Moses who
has been allowed back on the farm by the pigs.
Boxer works so hard that he strains himself and falls ill. His popularity is
shown by the fact that half the farmyard rush to where he lies. Squealer
says that it has been decided to send him to hospital and a van arrives
one day to take him away. Benjamin rushes out to tell the animals and
to tell them what is written on the van. They are sending Boxer to the
knacker's!
They shout to Boxer and try to rouse him to break out of the van but
Boxer has no strength left to save himself. The pigs deny this has
happened and explain the mistaken rumours by saying the van changed
hands. It now belongs to the vet but he has not had time yet to the paint
out the name on the side of the van - the name of the local Horse
Slaughterer. The animals are so cowed and beaten that we are told they
are 'glad to believe' this lie.
13
The pigs promise to hold a memorial feast for Boxer but instead they
drink a case of whisky which has obviously been paid for by the sale of
Boxer to the Knackery.
When the animals are 'enormously relieved' to hear what Napoleon has to
tell them, we are reminded of the swift way they accommodated to the
confessions and executions - because they wanted to! This is a very
important point that Orwell is making. We do not feel that the animals
have once more been deceived by the lies of the pigs so much as feel that
they are to blame for being so ready to be deceived.
Chapter 10
Years pass - 'the seasons came and went, the short animal lives fled by -
until there is no one left on the farm who remembers when it was owned
by Jones, except Clover, Benjamin, Moses and some of the pigs.
We hear that no animal has ever retired. The farm has become
prosperous and been enlarged, and the windmill has been built.
However, the prosperity is not used to improve the life of the animals but
to mill corn for profit.
The pigs and dogs have increased in number and consume a large
proportion of the farm's produce without themselves producing anything.
They are too busy with essential paperwork, Squealer tells the animals.
Despite their very hard life, the animals feel privileged to belong to
Animal Farm for it is still the only farm in England owned and run by
animals. There are still celebrations which make the animals feel proud.
One day Squealer takes away the sheep to teach them a new song and,
on their return, Squealer is seen walking on his hind legs. Napoleon
follows, also walking upright, and carrying a whip in his hands.
Immediately the sheep begin to bleat in unison, 'Four legs good, two legs
better!'
Clover has noticed some change on the wall of the barn and Benjamin
consents to read what is written there. He reads: All animals are equal
14
but some animals are more equal than others. This justifies all the
existing privileges and all the new ones the pigs give themselves.
Napoleon declares that 'Comrade' will no longer be used and that the
name of the farm will be changed back to Manor Farm.
15
16
A READY REFERENCE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
- Major dies.
- Pigs begin to organise rebellion.
- Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer begin to preach
Animalism at secret meetings.
- Mr. Jones forgets to feed the animals. They help
themselves to food.
- Jones and his man are driven out of the farm when
they try to whip the animals.
- All traces of Jones' control over the animals
are destroyed.
- Mollie is rebuked for still wanting ribbons.
- Seven Commandments are written on the barn wall.
- The milk disappears.
Chapter 3
17
- Snowball invents slogan: 'Four legs good, two legs bad’.
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
- Mollie disappears.
- Snowball wants the animals to build a windmill so that
they would only have to work for three days a week.
Napoleon disagrees and says that food production must
be the first priority.
- Napoleon wants firearms for defence: Snowball wants to
send out pigeons to spread the word of rebellion
to other farms.
- Napoleon gets his dogs to chase Snowball off the farm.
- Napoleon clamps down and abolishes Sunday meetings.
- Napoleon decides to build the windmill claiming that
Snowball had stolen the plans from him.
Chapter 6
18
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
19
animals who believe in Animalism without really
understanding it.
- The farm is better off and the windmill is at last completed.
- Animals work harder than ever but the pigs and dogs
deal with the paperwork and spend lives of leisure.
- Pigs walk on two legs and behave increasingly like
humans.
- Pigs hold party and invite their human neighbours.
- The other animals look through the window and are
amazed: they cannot tell which is man and which is pig.
20
THE CHARACTERS IN 'ANIMAL FARM'
OLD MAJOR
Although Old Major appears only in the first chapter of the novel, he is
very important because it is his ideas which spark off the rebellion.
Major dies before the Rebellion, but he is clearly the 'Father of the
Revolution', whose ideas and vision of a better, more just society awaken
the desire to rebel in the minds of others.
NAPOLEON
Napoleon may have taken part in the rebellion for genuine reasons at
first, but within a few days of the expulsion of Jones, he begins to show
his true colours.
He (and Snowball) quickly assert the pigs' superiority over the other
animals and undertake to dispose of the cows' milk (to their own benefit,
of course).
Before long, Napoleon becomes the powerful and ruthless tyrant that he
remains for the rest of the novel. He is shrewd, cunning and practical;
these qualities prompt him to train his own 'police force' of fierce dogs
21
which he sets loose on Snowball when the time is ripe.
He deals with revolts (or supposed revolts) by harshly putting down those
he claims to be the ringleaders. He is adept at making an example of a
few victims, for example the hens, in order to terrorize the other animals.
Napoleon is vivid proof of the saying that 'power corrupts, and absolute
power corrupts absolutely.'
SNOWBALL
22
Although Snowball's interest in bettering the education of the other
animals is genuine, his ideas are often impractical and fail for that
reason. For instance, he organizes several useless Committees such as
the Egg Production Committee and the Clean Tail League.
Snowball's other great dream is, of course, the windmill: “in glowing
sentences, he painted a picture of Animal Farm as it might be when
sordid labour was lifted from the animals' backs.”
Snowball can be easily identified with the historical figure of Leon Trotsky,
one of the early leaders of the Russian Revolution. Like Snowball, Trotsky
was an intellectual and a clever military tactician. And like Snowball,
Trotsky was exiled from his country by a ruthless rival (Stalin) and later
used as a scapegoat. Trotsky was eventually murdered on Stalin's orders
in 1946.
Snowball wins support by his ability to arouse enthusiasm for his ideas
and projects; Napoleon has to resort to deception, lies and force,
23
expelling Snowball with the dogs after Snowball has won the argument
over the windmill.
Napoleon is so utterly corrupt with no motive other than his desire for
absolute power that Orwell's main theme - power corrupts - is
presented in clear and stark terms. We do not need to question why
Napoleon acted as he did. In the fable he represents the ruthlessness,
violence, treachery and self-interest of men such as Hitler and Stalin.
Napoleon displays not a single redeeming virtue because he has none.
BOXER
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themselves to be used and exploited by those in power.
Ultimately, Boxer is too loyal and trusting for his own good.
Boxer is the animal that most readers remember best along with
Napoleon and he forms another of the important character contrasts with
Napoleon.
The way we view Boxer is essential to the way we view Napoleon. Boxer is
presented simply and sympathetically to reinforce our hatred of all that
Napoleon represents. Through Boxer we come to see Napoleon as
ruthless, exploitative, and power-hungry, and we loathe him for the way
he treats Boxer.
The fact that Boxer himself cannot hate Napoleon because he is duped,
tricked and deceived by him throughout the story makes us despise
Napoleon even more.
25
Napoleon is motivated by greed and selfishness;
Many more contrasts could be listed, but we can already see quite clearly
Orwell's intention in his characterization of this hard-working, devoted
and betrayed horse.
SQUEALER
Squealer is a “small fat pig with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes,
nimble movements, and a shrill voice.”
His persuasive nature makes him ideal for the job of propaganda agent
for the pigs and for Napoleon in particular.
Like all pompous cowards, Squealer is also rather ridiculous (e.g. falling
off the ladder while altering the Commandments). By the end of the novel
Squealer has become extremely fat, lazy and more pompous than ever.
MINOR CHARACTERS
26
There are many minor characters in Animal Farm but they are all
memorable, and they all have some importance in getting across the total
message of the novel.
Benjamin
Benjamin, the donkey, is the oldest animal on the farm and may also be
the wisest. He sees through the pigs' exploitation of the other animals
but his cynical, pessimistic nature prevents him from doing anything
about it. He represents the disillusioned people who realize that all
revolutions are probably pointless and merely lead to new forms of
tyranny. Benjamin represents those people who believe that there is
something fundamentally wrong, fundamentally corrupt with human
nature itself.
Moses
Moses represents religion and the idea that we should accept the misery
and despair of human existence because after we die we will all go to a
Heaven where we will be happy forever. He represents those who want to
use religion as a way of keeping the mass of the people content with their
miserable existence so that they will not object to the fortunate few who
grab everything they can in this life.
Mollie
Mollie is the silly and vain white mare. She has no liking for the hard life
after the Rebellion and quickly returns to the world of men, servitude,
and physical comfort.
The Cat
The cat is lazy and independent. She avoids work whenever possible,
often with some plausible excuse. She represents those people in society
who adapt to whatever the conditions are, but who never accept any
responsibility or make any commitments. The cat wants to take what she
can get from the community without contributing anything towards it.
Minimus
27
Minimum, the pig, is a kind of official poet and song-writer, composing
second-rate poetry to praise Napoleon and Animal Farm. Minimus
represents the kind of artists who 'sell-out' to the leaders of the
Revolution and who prostitute their art by producing what the leaders
want to hear and see rather than pointing towards the truth, which is
the first function of all Art.
Clover
The Sheep
The sheep are the stupidest animals on the farm. They can be easily
convinced of anything by the sharp-witted pigs and can even change
their views completely with a little prompting.
The Dogs
The dogs have been raised and trained by Napoleon to be vicious and
blindly obedient to their master.
The Humans
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THEMES IN ANIMAL FARM
GEORGE ORWELL felt very strongly about political leaders who try to
gain absolute power and who will not allow other people or other
politicians a fair share in the running of the country. He, therefore,
decided to write a story warning of the dangers of trusting political
leaders who on the one hand promise a better and more equal society
but on other hand never let ordinary people share in making the
decisions which affect their lives.
Fairy stories are not always as simple and innocent as they seem. They
first began to be told among the poorer sections of society many
hundreds of years ago. They were not only for children; in fact many of
them had deeper meanings that were for adult ears only.
The parables told by Jesus worked in a similar way: they seemed like
ordinary accounts of everyday life but they always had a deeper meaning.
It is the same with Animal Farm. On the surface it is an interesting story
about farmyard animals; beneath the surface it is about how humans
organize and govern themselves in different kinds of society.
We can call these deeper questions, the THEMES of the novel, the ideas
which Orwell is trying to make us think about. George Orwell cared
passionately about the beliefs he leads us to think about in the novel; he
was prepared to fight and risk his life for what he believed in and to try
to put these beliefs in the form of a book which is accessible to as many
people as care to read and understand it.
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produced the greatest horrors of the 20th century: Hitler's Germany,
Stalin's Russia, and the China of Mao Tse Tung.
In a totalitarian society the rulers have absolute power over the property
and lives of every person who lives in that society. They make the laws
and the administer the laws. No one is allowed to question these laws
and those who do are severely punished, often executed without even the
pretence of a trial.
We can break down Orwell's overall theme into four main elements:
2 Propaganda
Power Corrupts
There is no doubt that all the animals took part in the revolution with
the genuine intention of bringing Old Major's noble ideals to reality.
However, almost immediately after the rebellion, the thrill of power is felt
by the pigs who are more natural leaders than the other animals. Even
Snowball, who seems to be more high-minded than the rest, gives into
the temptation of the milk and apples. Orwell seems to hint that
Snowball would also have developed into a tyrant.
The pigs' degeneration is rapid; once they realize what power they have,
they soon grow to love it and will stop at nothing to increase it and hang
on to it.
Propaganda
30
want them to believe.
When wars are being fought it becomes essential to keep up the spirits
and morale of your own side/country and at the same time persuade the
enemy that they are fighting a lost cause without any hope of victory.
31
will do their thinking for them.
SQUEALER'S SPEECH
Squealer uses many of the techniques of propaganda listed here. Go through the speech in
fine detail and write out the bits which match the appropriate headings in the boxes
above. Here, Squealer is justifying the pigs keeping the milk and apples for themselves.
“Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk
and apples (and this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain
substances absolutely necessary to the well being of a pig.
“We pigs are brain workers. 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.
“Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones
would come back! Yes, Jones would come back!
What angered Orwell was when those ideals were perverted and
corrupted by those who gained power under such a system. He is
savagely critical of those countries, e.g. Communist Russia and
Communist China which claim to be socialist but are in reality
totalitarian states.
32
The Dangers of the Revolution
In the case of Animal Farm, the animals are better off for a short time
after they get rid of Jones. However, he is soon replaced as their master
by Napoleon and the other pigs. Under this new leadership the animals
are ultimately no better off than they were before, and probably even
worse off.
Orwell's message is again quite clear: that a popular revolution may well
backfire on those who support it if every member of the community is not
vigilant in ensuring that democratic rights and freedoms, so hard-won,
are not preserved, protected and practised.
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NAPOLEON - Key Concepts
34
10 Boxer is too loyal and trusting
for his own good.
35
SPOT THE SPEAKER/S AND THE SITUATION/S
This is not only an excellent way to testing and revising your knowledge about the
characters and events in the novel but also provides a number of quotations, some of
which you might find useful to include in your examination essay.
It is likely that you will be able to take a copy of the novel into the examination and it
will be a great help if you have in your mind a number of quotations which may prove
useful.
You may like to challenge a partner, taking it in turns to identify the speaker and the
situation.
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10. Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen
a dead donkey.
11. War is war. The only good human being is a dead one.
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ANIMAL FARM Much More Than A 'FAIRY STORY'
You probably realised very quickly when you began to read Animal Farm that it is much
more than the 'fairy story' which Orwell used as a sub-title for his book.
A more accurate description than 'fairy story' would be 'a fable' which is a story which
uses animal characters to tell us something about human nature and institutions.
In a fable the characters are often representative types, not fully rounded characters such
as we would expect to find in a novel: the fox will always be crafty, the sheep will always
be stupid, the pigs will always be lazy and selfish.
Orwell does present his characters as types with easily-distinguished qualities - the pigs
are exploiters, the horses are labourers, the sheep are easily led, the dogs are trained to be
vicious - but at the same time he gives the most important characters their own particular
personalities which makes them much more memorable and moving.
Allegory
Animal Farm is an allegory. That is, the characters and events in the book all stand for
something else. In fact, we can clearly see three levels of meaning in the novel:
General A general criticism of how political hopes and ideals can be betrayed.
Satire
Orwell uses satire to criticise what he saw as the failure of Communism in Russia. The
satire in Animal Farm is very obvious because real historical figures such as Stalin are
portrayed as animals (Napoleon), most of them in an uncomplimentary way.
For many years Animal Farm was banned in Russia because the authorities there were so
sensitive about its critical content.
However, you do not have to know anything about the connection between the novel and
Stalin's Russia to appreciate and enjoy Animal Farm. The novel does a wonderful job in
satirising any group of people who try to take over a country or an organisation and begin
to run it for themselves without taking into account the rights of other people who belong
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to that country or institution.
Language
As we can tell from the novel, Orwell was against the use of fancy, complicated, high-
flown language which is used to conceal the truth rather than reveal it. It is worth noting
that Orwell is critical of the wordy language and jargon used by Snowball and Squealer
in the novel.
The presentation of the story as a kind of fable demands simple, direct language, but
Orwell made it clear in his other works that be believed writing should be kept as simple
and natural as possible. Much younger readers can enjoy Animal Farm as a fable without
having to understand and appreciate its deeper levels of meaning.
5 Never use the passive where you can use the active
6 Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous
Irony
Irony is hard to define precisely and there are different types of irony. Generally, irony
exists when the readers are aware of something which the characters are not aware and
which changes the reader's perspective on the situation.
Perhaps the greatest irony in Animal Farm is at the end when the pigs become so like
their human masters that the other animals cannot tell the difference. The pigs themselves
are unaware of what has happened to them, and the irony is that they have become what
they hated and feared most at the start of the novel.
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When something is the story seems to be the case and we, because we have been given a
privileged view of the events, know it is not the case (and very often the precise opposite
of the case), irony is at work.
For example, there is strong irony when Boxer asks Napoleon for permission to release
the dog which has attacked him (Chapter 7). We readers realise what Boxer does not -
that it was Napoleon who had ordered the dogs to attack him in the first place.
There are many examples of irony in Animal Farm. Take a closer look at these and
discuss what is so ironical about the incidents:
Humour
In many ways Animal Farm is a very grim novel giving a very dark and pessimistic view
of human nature, but there is also a great deal of humour in the tale. For it is part of the
human condition that men (and women) are often able to find humour in the grimmest of
situations.
Some of the humour is created by the idea of animals thinking and acting like humans,
but that is humour at a low level.
The real humour is when the reader of Animal Farm discovers so much that it comic and
amusing about human beings themselves, especially when the reader discovers something
of himself in the characters of the novel. We all have a Boxer within us, a Snowball, a
Squealer, and Mollie, too.
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GEORGE ORWELL 1903-1950
Orwell's early school days were spent in a private boarding school, called
St Cyprians, which he hated. He hated the snobbery, the dictatorial
regime, the extremely Spartan conditions, the terrible food and the
frequent bullying.
There can be little doubt that Orwell based some of his descriptions in
Animal Farm on his miserable life at St. Cyprians where he stayed until
he was nearly fourteen. Perhaps it was here that he first learned to hate
injustice and unchecked power.
When he left Eton, Orwell followed the family tradition by joining the
Indian Imperial Police. He served in Burma where he observed the
workings of imperialism at close quarters. He knew it was an unjust
system and gradually came to despise the way in which it exploited and
oppressed the poor and the hungry.
After working in Burma for five years, Orwell resigned from the Police
Force and returned to England to try his hand at becoming a writer.
To gather material for a book he decided to take to the road and learn
about people who had fallen on hard times: tramps, beggars, prostitutes
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and criminals. He explored the worst areas of London and Paris doing
casual work and sleeping rough. He was determined to find out at first
hand what it was like to live at the bottom of society.
In 1933, at the age of thirty, Orwell published his first book, called Down
and Out in Paris and London. It was the first time he used the name of
George Orwell. He probably took the surname from the River Orwell
which ran close to his parents' home in Suffolk.
A socialist believes that all people in any society are of equal worth and
value because we are all human beings. Therefore, a socialist believes
that everybody in any society should be given equal opportunities and
that society has a duty and a responsibility to make sure that all its
members have reasonable standards of care and help throughout their
lives. A socialist believes that every member of society is ultimately
responsible for every other member of society.
In 1936 Orwell was asked by his publisher to write a book about the
poor and unemployed in the north of England, especially the mining
community. It was a time of mass unemployment and great hardship for
working people.
Orwell was very moved by what he saw and his anger at the injustices he
witnessed helped to make him into a committed socialist. The book in
which he described his experiences is called The Road to Wigan Pier.
Orwell's life was dramatically changed by the Spanish Civil War which
broke out in 1936. He and Eileen went out to join the Republican forces
in their struggle against the fascists led by General Franco. Writers,
intellectuals and trade unionists from all over Europe, many of them
from Britain, flocked to join the International Brigade.
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The Communist Party, backed Stalin, was also fighting against Franco's
fascists. At first they worked together with the International Brigade but
gradually the Communists turned against them and began persecuting
Spanish socialists because Stalin did not want to see them really
changing society and winning real freedom.
Orwell saw that the Communism preached by Stalin was really another
form of fascism, another form of rule over the very many by the very few,
just another form of totalitarianism.
Orwell was badly wounded in the neck while he was fighting in Spain.
When he returned to England, he began to plan some kind of attack on
al forms of totalitarianism. Animal Farm was the result.
In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, he published Animal Farm
which became an enormous success.
Shortly afterwards his wife died and Orwell brought up their adopted son
on his own. In 1948 he published his most famous book, 1984, in which
he imagined what Britain would be like under a totalitarian dictatorship.
George Orwell remained a firm socialist until his death in 1950 at the age
of 47.
George Orwell was once asked where he had got the idea for Animal
Farm. He replied:
“...the actual details of the story did not come to me for some time until
one day (I was then living in a small village) I saw a little boy, perhaps
ten years old, driving a huge cart horse along a narrow path, whipping it
whenever it tried to turn. 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
proletariat.”
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ANIMAL FARM - Examination Practice
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Except through Whymper there was as yet no contact between
Animal Farm and the outside world, but there were constant rumours
that Napoleon was about to enter into a definite business agreement
either with Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood or with Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield
- but never, it was noticed, with both simultaneously.
It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the
farmhouse and took up their residence there. Again the animals seemed
to remember that a resolution against this had been passed in the early
days, and again Squealer was able to convince them that this was not
the case. It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were
the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in. It was also
more suited to the dignity of the Leader (for of late he had taken to
speaking of Napoleon under the title of 'Leader') to live in a house than a
mere sty.
Nevertheless some of the animals were disturbed when they heard
that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the
drawing-room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds.
Boxed passed it off as usual with 'Napoleon is always right!', but
Clover, who thought she remembered a definite ruling against beds, went
to the end of the barn and tried to puzzle out the Seven Commandments
which were inscribed there. Finding herself unable to read more than
individual letters, she fetched Muriel.
'Muriel,' she said, 'read me the Fourth Commandment. Does it not
say something about never sleeping in a bed?'
With some difficulty Muriel spelt it out.
It says, “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets”' she
announced finally.
QUESTIONS
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