ANIMAL FARM

CHAPTER 1-5

Chapter 1 - Old Major's speech --> to inspire the animals to rebel from Man, to obtain

freedom - Beasts of England song introduced--> tells animals what they're lives without

Man would be like Chapter 2 - Animals rebel against Jones --> without planning, because

they were unfed the whole day - Pigs come up with the 7 commandments based on Old

Major's speech

Chapter 3 - Pigs reserve all the milk and apples for themselves --> start of inequality soon

after the rebellion

Chapter 4 - Battle of the Cowshed --> Mr Jones comes back to reclaim his farm. This time,

due to Snowball's plans, the animals are well prepared and are victorious

Chapter 5 - Windmill idea suggested by Snowball --> symbolises development and

modernisation of the farm. Beneficial because now they can get electricity, warmth, and

storage space for their harvest - Snowball is expelled --> this is the last we see of him in the

novel. The path is clear for Napoleon to be the unchallenged leader.

CHAPTER 6-10Chapter 6 - the pigs engage in trade on behalf of the farm --> animals realise they

cannot be self-sufficient and have to depend on humans for some things --> going

against commandment - the windmill collapses due to strong wind, and the thin walls. -

pigs start living in the farmhouse and sleep on beds --> going against commandments

Chapter 7 - Hen rebellion --> Napoleon wants their eggs to trade with humans for

other items. - Execution of animals who are thought to be plotting with Snowball to

overthrow Napoleon - animals rebuild windmill

Chapter 8 - Frederick and his men attack the farm and destroy the windmill - Pigs

drink alcohol --> going against yet another commandment

Chapter 9 - animals start to rebuild the windmill - food is even more scarce but pigs

still live in luxury - sale of Boxer to horse- slaughterer - Napoleon is president and

Moses returns

Chapter 10 - the Rebellion is a distant vague memory for most animals - change in

commandments: 1. 4 legs good, 2 legs better! 2. All animals are equal but some animals

are more equal than others - ends with animals not being able to differentiate pigs from

humans

ANIMAL FARM = ALLEGORY

Animal Farm is an allegory, which is a story in which

concrete and specific characters and situations stand

for other characters and situations so as to make a

point about them. The main action of Animal Farm

stand for the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the

early years of the Soviet Union. Animalism is really

communism.

Animalism is really communism. Manor Farm is

allegorical of Russia, and the farmer Mr. Jones is the

Russian Czar. Old Major stands for either Karl Marx

or Vladimir Lenin, and the pig named Snowball

represents the intellectual revolutionary Leon

Trotsky. Napoleon stands for Stalin, while the dogs

are his secret police. The horse Boxer stands in for

the proletariat, or working class.

NAPOLEON

From the very beginning of the novel, Napoleon emerges as an utterly

corrupt. Though always present at the early meetings of the new state,

Napoleon never makes a single contribution to the revolution—not to the

formulation of its committees, the Battle of the Cowshed, or the attempts

to establish itself. He never shows interest in the strength of Animal Farm

itself, only in the strength of his power over it. Thus, the only project he

undertakes with enthusiasm is the training of a litter of puppies. He

doesn’t educate them for their own good or for the good of all, however,

but rather for his own good: they become his own private army or secret

police, a violent means by which he imposes his will on others.

SNOWBALL

Snowball emerges as a committed leader who throws

himself heart and soul into the attempt to spread

Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s

infrastructure. His idealism, however, leads to his

downfall. Relying only on the force of his own logic

and rhetorical skill to gain his influence, he proves

no match for Napoleon’s show of brute force.

BOXER

Arguably the animal that suffers the most in the novel, Boxer

represents all of the best qualities of Animal Farm. He is

dedicated, loyal, and a has huge capacity for labour. However, he

suffers from what Orwell saw as the working class’s major

weaknesses: a naïve trust in the good intention and an inability to

recognize even the most blatant forms of political corruption.

Exploited by the pigs as much or more than he had been by Mr.

Jones, Boxer’s pitiful death at a glue factory dramatically

illustrates the extent of the pigs’ betrayal.

SQUEALER

In Animal Farm, the persuasive pig Squealer abuses his skills to justify

Napoleon’s actions and policies by whatever means seem necessary. By

simplifying language—as when he teaches the sheep to bleat “Four legs

good, two legs better!”—he limits the terms of debate. By complicating

language unnecessarily, he confuses and intimidates the uneducated, as

when he explains that pigs, who are the “brainworkers” of the farm,

consume milk and apples not for pleasure, but for the good of their

comrades.

Squealer’s lack of conscience and unwavering loyalty to his leader,

alongside his rhetorical skills, make him the perfect propagandist for any

tyranny. Squealer’s name also fits him well as to squeal also means to

betray, aptly evoking Squealer’s behaviour with regard to his fellow

animals.

Old Major -  The prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia serves as the inspiration for the Rebellion. Three days after describing the vision and teaching the animals the song “Beasts of England,” Major dies, leaving Snowball and Napoleon to struggle for control of his legacy. Clover -  A good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer’s close friend. Clover often suspects the pigs of violating one or another of the Seven Commandments, but she repeatedly blames herself for misremembering the commandments. Moses -  The tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, the paradise to which animals supposedly go when they die. Moses plays only a small role in Animal Farm, but Orwell uses him to explore how communism exploits religion as something with which to pacify the oppressed.

Mollie -  The vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones’s carriage. Mollie craves the attention of human beings and loves being groomed and pampered. She has a difficult time with her new life on Animal Farm, as she misses wearing ribbons in her mane and eating sugar cubes. She represents the petit bourgeoisie that fled from Russia a few years after the Russian Revolution.

Benjamin -  The long-lived donkey who refuses to feel inspired by the Rebellion. Benjamin firmly believes that life will remain unpleasant no matter who is in charge. Of all of the animals on the farm, he alone comprehends the changes that take place, but he seems either unwilling or unable to oppose the pigs.

Muriel -  The white goat who reads the Seven Commandments to Clover whenever Clover suspects the pigs of violating their prohibitions.

Jessie and Bluebell -  Two dogs, each of whom gives birth early in the novel. Napoleon takes the puppies in order to “educate” them.

Mr. Jones -  The often drunk farmer who runs the Manor Farm before the animals stage their Rebellion and establish Animal Farm. Mr. Jones is an unkind master who indulges himself while his animals lack food; he thus represents Tsar Nicholas II, whom the Russian Revolution ousted.

Mr. Frederick -  The tough, shrewd operator of Pinchfield, a neighboring farm. Based on Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, Mr. Frederick proves an untrustworthy neighbour.

Mr. Pilkington -  The easygoing gentleman farmer who runs Foxwood, a neighbouring farm. Mr. Frederick’s bitter enemy, Mr. Pilkington represents the capitalist governments of England and the United States.

Mr. Whymper -  The human solicitor whom Napoleon hires to represent Animal Farm in human society. Mr. Whymper’s entry into the Animal Farm community initiates contact between Animal Farm and human society, alarming the common animals.

Why didn’t Animal Farm work? Who is at fault? Paragraph 1:Topic: NapoleonExample: His is the leader and he only wanted powerEvidence: The nine puppies, did not fight in the Battle of the Cowshed, broke the 7 commandants and replaced Mr Jones. Paragraph 2:Topic: SquealerExample: Uses his power/skill of persuasion to convince, lie and trick all the animals.Evidence: Lied to the animals about Boxer, the windmill, Snowball and whenever something went right it was thanks to Napoleon. Paragraph 3: Topic: BoxerExample: If more animals were like him it would have worked but he had no power. He believed in Animalism but was betrayed by his leaders.Evidence: ‘I will work harder’ and ‘Napoleon is always right’ = He is willing to die for Animal Farm.

QUOTES: CHAPTER 1

Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the

scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished

for ever.

Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have

a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the

prosperity of the others. It is all lies

All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.

Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No

animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.

QUOTES: CHAPTER 2

"Comrade," said Snowball, "those ribbons that you are so devoted to are

the badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more

than ribbons?"

The Seven Commandments:

1.Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2.Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3.No animal shall wear clothes.

4.No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5.No animal shall drink alcohol.

6.No animal shall kill any other animal.

7.All animals are equal.

QUOTES: CHAPTER 3

Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead

donkey

We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and

organisation 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.

The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too

obvious. So it was agreed without further argument that the milk

and the windfall apples (and also the main crop of apples when

they ripened) should be reserved for the pigs alone.

QUOTES: CHAPTER 4

War is war. The only good human being is a dead

one.

No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?

QUOTES: CHAPTER 5

QUOTES: CHAPTER 6

All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their

work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that they

did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come

after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings.

Afterwards Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals' minds at

rest. He assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using

money had never been passed, or even suggested. It was pure imagination,

probably traceable in the beginning to lies circulated by Snowball.

Comrades, do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy

who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!

QUOTES: CHAPTER 7

Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball. If a window

was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say that Snowball had come

in the night and done it, and when the key of the store-shed was lost, the whole farm was

convinced that Snowball had thrown it down the well.

If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right.

They were shaken and miserable. They did not know which was more shocking--the

treachery of the animals who had leagued themselves with Snowball, or the cruel

retribution they had just witnessed.

As Clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. If she could have spoken her

thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they

had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race. These scenes of

terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old

Major first stirred them to rebellion.

Whatever happened she would remain faithful, work hard, carry out the orders that were

given to her, and accept the leadership of Napoleon. But still, it was not for this that she

and all the other animals had hoped and toiled.

QUOTES: CHAPTER 8

"No animal shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE." Somehow or other, the last two words had

slipped out of the animals' memory.

Squealer would talk with the tears rolling down his cheeks of Napoleon's wisdom the goodness of his

heart, and the deep love he bore to all animals everywhere, even and especially the unhappy animals

who still lived in ignorance and slavery on other farms. It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit

for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune.

Squealer, temporarily stunned, was sprawling beside it, and near at hand there lay a lantern, a paint-

brush, and an overturned pot of white paint. The dogs immediately made a ring round Squealer, and

escorted him back to the farmhouse as soon as he was able to walk. None of the animals could form

any idea as to what this meant, except old Benjamin, who nodded his muzzle with a knowing air, and

seemed to understand, but would say nothing.

But a few days later Muriel, reading over the Seven Commandments to herself, noticed that there was

yet another of them which the animals had remembered wrong. They had thought the Fifth

Commandment was "No animal shall drink alcohol," but there were two words that they had forgotten.

Actually the Commandment read: "No animal shall drink alcohol TO EXCESS."

QUOTES: CHAPTER 9

For the time being, certainly, it had been found necessary to make a

readjustment of rations (Squealer always spoke of it as a "readjustment," never

as a "reduction"), but in comparison with the days of Jones, the improvement

was enormous.

The animals believed every word of it. Truth to tell, Jones and all he stood for

had almost faded out of their memories. They knew that life nowadays was

harsh and bare, that they were often hungry and often cold, and that they were

usually working when they were not asleep. But doubtless it had been worse in

the old days. They were glad to believe so. Besides, in those days they had been

slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, as Squealer

did not fail to point out.

QUOTES: CHAPTER 10

Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without

making the animals themselves any richer — except, of course, for

the pigs and the dogs.

Four legs good, two legs better!

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL

BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to

pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to

say which was which.