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Animal Farm
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell was first published in England on 17 August 1945 by Secker and Warburg. The novella reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, a period when Russia lived under the communist ideology of Joseph Stalin. Orwell, a democratic socialist, was critical of Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, which influenced his writing of “Animal Farm” during the wartime alliance between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany.
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell is an allegorical novella about a group of farm animals who take over their farm in 1940s England. The story begins with Old Major, a prize-winning boar, gathering the animals of Manor Farm for a meeting. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm.
After Major’s death, three younger pigs— Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer —formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal.
As time passes, however, Napoleon and Snowball increasingly quibble over the future of the farm. They begin to struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals. Snowball concocts a scheme to build an electricity-generating windmill, but Napoleon solidly opposes the plan. At the meeting to vote on whether to take up the project, Snowball gives a passionate speech. Although Napoleon gives only a brief retort, he then makes a strange noise, and nine attack dogs burst into the barn and chase Snowball from the farm.
Napoleon assumes leadership of Animal Farm and declares that there will be no more meetings. From that point on, he asserts, the pigs alone will make all of the decisions—for the good of every animal. Napoleon now quickly changes his mind about the windmill, and the animals, especially Boxer, devote their efforts to completing it. One day, after a storm, the animals find the windmill toppled. The human farmers in the area declare smugly that the animals made the walls too thin, but Napoleon claims that Snowball returned to the farm to sabotage the windmill.
He stages a great purge, during which various animals who have allegedly participated in Snowball’s great conspiracy meet instant death at the teeth of the attack dogs. With his leadership unquestioned (Boxer has taken up a second maxim, “Napoleon is always right”), Napoleon begins expanding his powers. The animals continue to work hard on the windmill throughout the year, despite the scarcity of food. One day, Boxer’s strength fails; he collapses while pulling stone for the windmill. The other animals rush to tell Squealer, while Benjamin and Clover stay near their friend.
The pigs announce that they will arrange to bring Boxer to a human hospital to recuperate. But when the cart arrives, Benjamin reads the writing on the cart’s sideboards and announces that Boxer is being sent to a glue maker to be slaughtered. The animals panic and begin crying out to Boxer that he must escape. They hear him kicking feebly inside the cart, but he is unable to get out. The cart drives away, and Boxer is never seen again.
To placate the animals, Squealer tells them that Boxer was not taken to a knacker but that the veterinarian had bought the knacker’s truck and had not yet repainted the words on its side. The animals are relieved when they hear this. The chapter ends with a grocer’s van delivering a crate of whisky to the pigs, who drink it all and do not arise until after noon the following day.
In the novel’s final scene, a deputation of neighboring farmers are given a tour of the farm, after which they meet in the dining-room of the farmhouse with Napoleon and the other pigs. Mr. Pilkington makes a toast to Animal Farm and its efficiency. Napoleon then offers a speech in which he outlines his new policies. His greatest policy change, however, is his announcement that Animal Farm will again be called Manor Farm. Soon after Napoleon’s speech, the men and pigs begin playing cards, but a loud quarrel erupts when both Napoleon and Pilkington each try to play the ace of spades. As Clover and the other animals watch the arguments through the dining-room window, they are unable to discriminate between the humans and the pigs.
