Old Major, a prize-winning boar, has a dream of a farm run by animals without human control. He inspires the animals to rebel against their farmer, Mr. Jones. The animals successfully drive Mr. Jones off the farm and establish their own society under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball. However, Napoleon later turns on Snowball and takes control, establishing a tyrannical leadership similar to the human farmers the animals had rebelled against.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
A group of animals live on the Manor Farm of Mr. Jones. One
day Old Major, a prize-winning boar gathers all the
animals in the barn. He reveals to them a dream he has
had the night before in which animals live alone on the
farm and aren’t under the control of human beings. He
declares that a rebellion should one day come and
teaches the animals a song called “Beasts of England”.
The day of the rebellion comes and all animals
successfully force Mr. Jones to leave the Farm. The pigs
Napoleon and Snowball become leaders of the animals.
They manage to create their own society with rules,
inscribed on the barn wall, and establish a principle called
Animalism. Boxer, a cart-horse, is the strongest and the
most hard-working animal on the farm who has a maxim of
his own – I will work harder. Mr. Jones makes an attempt
to recapture the farm but the animals win the so-called
“Battle of the cowshed”. Then Snowball decides that
animals should build a Windmill. Napoleon opposes the
idea at first but then his dogs attack Snowball and it turns
out that the idea had actually been his own. The Windmill
is build and rebuilt many times until it is finally dynamited
by the humans in a battle with the animals. Suddenly
animals start having contacts with humans and other
farms. They gradually become similar to human beings. In
the end the other animals can’t tell pigs from humans.
3. MAIN CHARACTERS
Napoleon - The pig who emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the Rebellion.
Snowball - The pig who challenges Napoleon for control of Animal Farm after the
Rebellion.
Boxer - The cart-horse whose incredible strength, dedication, and loyalty play a key role
in the early prosperity of Animal Farm and the later completion of the windmill
Squealer - The pig who spreads Napoleon’s propaganda among the other animals.
Old Major - The prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia serves as the
inspiration for the Rebellion.
4. THEMES AND MOTIFS
The book is popularly known as a
critique of the history of the
Russian Revolution. Animal
Farm allegorizes the rise to
power of Joseph Stalin. The
struggle for preeminence
between Leon Trotsky and
Stalin emerges in the rivalry
between the pigs and Snowball.
Animal farm is filled with songs,
poems and slogans. They serve
as a propaganda, one of the
major conduits of social control.
5. CONFLICTS
The main conflict in the book is
between the free animal society
and the tyrannical human
beings. There is also an internal
conflict between the animals.
Some of them protest against
being classified as a working
class creatures and the pigs
being called “brainworkers”.
Despite this the pigs
successfully manage to impose
the power of their clever
speeches.
6. SYMBOLS
Animal Farm stands for human society- no matter whether it’s communistic,
democratic or socialistic. It possesses the internal structure of a nation, with a
government (the pigs), a police force or army (the dogs), a working class (the
other animals), and state holidays and rituals. The Barn is a symbol of the
collective memory of a modern nation. The great windmill symbolizes the pigs’
manipulation of the other animals for their own gain
7. PERSONAL REVIEW
When I first saw the title of this book I expected that it would something like
a fable or even a parable which would describe a human society where
people acted like beasts. After I have read the first chapter of the book I
was a little bit… let’s say shocked. Talking animals – that seemed
absolutely peculiar to me. Of course I have read many ‘childish’ books
about talking animals. Thinking for a moment that I couldn’t have
started to read a book similar to those I’ve read in my childhood I read
the rest of the book. I quickly followed the author’s thoughts and
managed to catch his main idea. The telltale thing in it was the book
cover on which was written the year of writing that book. I assume the
current economical and political situation in Bulgaria is the same as that
in the Soviet Union during Stalin’s rule. That’s why there are many
people protesting on the streets of Bulgaria nowadays. But as far as I’m
concerned that doesn’t have to bother me.
