Type of Work Animal Farm is a novel that mocks Stalinist Communism and other despotic systems of government.

The book contains characteristics of the following genres: Satire, which ridicules injustice, stupidity, tyranny, depravity, and/or other human flaws. east tale, which casts animals in human roles. !llegory, which ascribes secondary or symbolic meanings to characters, events, objects, and ideas. "ublication #ates The $ondon firm of Secker % &arburg published the novel as Animal Farm: a Fairy Story on !ugust '(, ')*+. The ,ew -ork firm of .arcourt, race and Company published the first !merican edition of the novel /but without the subtitle, a Fairy Story0 on !ugust 12, ')*2. Setting. The action takes place on an 3nglish farm on the outskirts of the fictional town of &illingdon. !t the beginning of the novel, the farm resembles an oppressed human society. The animals then rebel against its owner and form their own communal society. .owever, a power4hungry pig, ,apoleon, sei5es control and operates the farm like a Communist police state. Characters Old Major: #ying pig who inspires animals on a farm to plot a rebellion against the cruel owner of the farm. Mr. Jones: The owner of the farm. The animals overthrow him and take over the farm. Mrs. Jones: &ife of 6r. 7ones. Napoleon: 8uthless, power4hungry pig. !fter the animals overthrow 7ones and establish their own society and their own form of government, called animalism, ,apoleon eventually sei5es control of the farm and abolishes the animals9 idealistic rules of government. Snowball: :ntelligent pig who helps establish animalism and becomes ,apoleon9s rival for power. ,apoleon9s attack dogs drive him out of !nimal ;arm. Sq ealer: ,apoleon9s clever propagandist. .e becomes so fat living off the plenty produced by the hard4working animals that he can hardly see out of his eyes. Mini! s: "oet pig who writes propagandistic poems and songs for ,apoleon. .e composes two versions of national anthems for !nimal ;arm after the pigs reject a rallying song written by <ld 6ajor. Mr. "rederick, Mr. #ilkington: <wners of the neighboring farms. They worry that the rebellion at !nimal ;arm will inspire animals on their farms to rebel. The narrator says they had =given out that the animals >at !nimal ;arm? practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red4hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was what came of rebelling against the laws of ,ature.= ;rederick attacks !nimal farm with armed men but is repulsed. "ilkington later becomes friendly with ,apoleon and the other pigs. $o%er: .ard4working cart horse of advanced age who becomes ill with a lung ailment. Clo&er: 6are who looks after o@er, as well as other animals. $enja!in: Smart old donkey who is a cynic. .e is a survivor who believes life will go on no matter who controls the farm. enjamin comforts o@er during his illness. #igeons: 6essengers sent out to inform animals at other farms of the rebellion at !nimal ;arm. $lackbirds: irds that whistle the tune of = easts of 3ngland,= the rallying song of !nimal ;arm, on other farms. Mollie: Self4seeking mare who enjoyed the attentions of human beings and leaves the farm. She became a cart horse for a man whom the pigeons saw =stroking her nose and feeding her with sugar.= M riel: :ntelligent old goat capable of reading. &hen she learns that the pigs are changing the rules of government, she informs Clover. #inkeye: "ig who tastes food prepared for ,apoleon. :f "inkeye becomes ill or dies, ,apoleon will know that an enemy has poisoned the food. Moses: 8aven /crow0 that visits !nimal ;arm and tells its inhabitants about a place called Sugarcandy 6ountain, where animals that have led a good and productive life will go after they die. Mr. Why!per: roker whom ,apoleon hires to maintain relations with humans and to obtain products the farm needs. &hymper also provides alcoholic beverages for ,apoleon and other pigs. $l ebell' Jessie: #ogs that together give birth to nine puppies. ,apoleon takes the puppies from them, saying he intends to educate them. #incher: !nother dog. .e is the father of the puppies. (ttack )ogs: $arge, fierce dogs that act as ,apoleon9s private bodyguard and police force. They were the puppies of luebell and 7essie. ,apoleon had reared them in secret, training them to do his bidding. *ander: Aoose that the pig government forces to commit suicide by eating nightshade berries. Sheep: !nimals easily manipulated by ,apoleon to support his policies. Cat: !nimal that always disappears when there is work to be done but reappears at mealtime. +ens: ,apoleon orders them to lay eggs and give them up. The hens resist. ut after ,apoleon denies them corn rations, they yield. ,apoleon sells the eggs through 6r. &hymper for the means to purchase grain and meal. Cockerels: -oung roosters that awaken hard4working o@er in the morning. :n effect, they act as alarm clocks. ,apoleon uses a cockerel to march in front of him and act =as a kind of trumpeter= to alert the animals that ,apoleon is about to speak. "o r "ar!hands: 3mployees of 6r. 7ones. (r!ed Men: 6ore than a do5en men, half of whom have guns, who attack !nimal ;arm with 6r. ;rederick. (lfred Si!!onds: .orse slaughterer and glue boiler to whom ,apoleon sells o@er. ,an +orses: Two horses that pull the van carrying o@er to the glue factory. Cows' ) cks' -ats' -abbits' $irds

.ntrod ction to the Story Animal Farm can be read on three different levels. <n its first level, it is an entertaining story about farm animals ruled first by cruel human overseers and later by ruthless animal overseers. Bery young children can understand and enjoy the story at this level. <n its second level, it is an allegory representing the Communist takeover of 8ussia in ')'( and the subseCuent perversion of the idealistic goals of the revolutionaries. <n its third level, Animal Farm is a satire ridiculing any movement44and the persons in that movement44that goes awry because of the corrupting lure of power. <n the second and third levels, the novel develops the thesis of ritish historian and philosopher $ord 7ohn 3merich !cton /'DE*4')F10, who observed, ="ower tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.= #lot S !!ary y 6ichael 7. Cummings... 1FFE !t 6anor ;arm in 3ngland, ;armer 7ones swills whiskey and abuses his animals44including pigs, chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, horses, and dogs. <ne evening, <ld 6ajor, a wise pig who is dying, sows the seeds of revolution. .e tells his barnyard comrades that they can enjoy peace and prosperity, every animal sharing eCually in the benefits of the farm, if they overthrow 7ones and run the farm themselves. The old pig even teaches them a rallying song: easts of 3ngland, beasts of :reland, easts of every land and clime, .earken to my joyful tidings <f the golden future time. Soon or late the day is coming, Tyrant 6an shall be o9erthrown, !nd the fruitful fields of 3ngland Shall be trod by beasts alone. #ays later, after <ld 6ajor dies, the animals plot the rebellion, led by the most intelligent among them, the pigs44in particular, Snowball, ,apoleon, and SCuealer. The government system they design is called =animalism.= &hile the planning continues, ;armer 7ones goes on a drunken binge and neglects to feed the animals. <n the second day of his drinking bout, they break into the feed stores and attack and drive off 7ones, his wife, and his workers. !t the entrance of the farm, they put up a new sign. :n bold letters, it says =!nimal ;arm.= The revolution has succeeded. ! new day has dawned. ,apoleon and Snowball then present the seven commandments that make up their constitution: &hatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. &hatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. ,o animal shall wear clothes. ,o animal shall sleep in a bed. ,o animal shall drink alcohol. ,o animal shall kill another animal. !ll animals are created eCual. !ll goes well. <nly enjamin, a donkey, and 6ollie, a mare, seem dissatisfied. enjamin, an old cynic, believes nothing will really change. 6ollie, a mare who pulled 6r. 7ones9s buggy, yearns for the attention44and the sugar cubes44she received from human beings. <ne day, she leaves !nimal ;arm to work for a man who feeds her sugar to pull his cart. The rest of the animals enthusiastically embrace the new order. o@er, a cart horse, adopts a slogan: =: will work harder.= Special committees44including The 3gg "roduction Committee for Chickens and The Clean Tails $eague for Cows44form to improve the animals9 way of life. The animals also design and raise their own flag and take the time to e@plain and simplify the rules for animals with low intelligence, such as the sheep. !nimals at other farms hear about !nimal ;arm and are heartened. !fter a time, the pigs reserve the apple crop and the cows9 milk for themselves, claiming they need the provisions to replenish the enormous energy they e@pend in setting policy and managing the day4to4day operation of the farm. &hen ;armer 7ones attempt to reclaim the farm with the help of men from neighboring farms, the animals drive him off in the attle of the Cowshed. o@er and Snowball earn medals of valor. 7ust when the animals think nothing can go wrong, ,apoleon and Snowball Cuarrel over policy, including Snowball9s proposal to construct a windmill to provide energy.

,apoleon then unleashes on Snowball a pack of nine vicious dogs44the offspring of two other dogs, luebell and 7essie44 which he trained from puppyhood. They chase Snowball off the farm, leaving ,apoleon in control, with SCuealer as his fawning propagandist. ! pig named 6inimus composes propagandistic rallying songs and poems. Thereafter, ,apoleon keeps the attack dogs at his side to intimidate malcontents and keep order. ,apoleon then dissolves the animal committees, saying the pigs will do all the thinking. Surprisingly, he decides to go ahead with the windmill project that Snowball had proposed. .e also engages a human, 6r. &hymper, to obtain nails and other human4made products that the animals need to carry out projects and maintain the farm. &hen a storm topples the windmill, ,apoleon blames Snowball, saying he had sneaked back onto the farm and sabotaged it. .e sets a bounty for his capture and e@ecutes animals accused of conspiring with Snowball. Gnder ,apoleon, hours are long and hard and work becomes drudgery. The pigs move into 7ones9s house, altering the fourth commandment of the constitution to say that =,o animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.= They drink beer and whiskey and conduct trade with humans. SCuealer justifies these and other forbidden activities by amending the constitution again and again. ! poem e@tolling ,apoleon appears on the side of the barn. &hile the pigs live in lu@ury, the other animals work their paws and hoofs to the bone as they till the fields and rebuild the windmill, all the while barely getting enough to eat. To raise capital, ,apoleon sells timber to the operator of the neighboring "inchfield ;arm, 6r. ;rederick, who pays with counterfeit bank notes. &hen ,apoleon reali5es he has been duped, he pronounces a death sentence on ;rederick. ;rederick then attacks the farm, blowing up the second windmill, but the animals repel his forces in a fierce battle in which o@er suffers debilitating injuries. !fter his health declines and he falls on the job, o@er disappears from the farm. SCuealer says he died in peace in a hospital, a true and loyal animalist to the end. :n truth, ,apoleon sold o@er to a glue factory for money to buy whiskey. :n time, the pigs become more and more like the humans they overthrew, walking upright on two legs, wearing clothes, and even entertaining humans at dinners. 3ventually, the seven commandment44=!ll animals are created eCual=44 becomes =!ll animals are created eCual, but some animals are more eCual.= ,apoleon declares that 6anor ;arm should be the proper name for the business enterprise after all, then replaces the !nimal ;arm sign with a 6anor ;arm sign. $ife goes on, with the =human= pigs in full control. Sy!bols/ Characters' #laces' and Things In Alphabetical Order (ni!al "ar!: Gnion of Soviet Socialist 8epublics, or Soviet Gnion. (ttack )ogs: ,apoleon9s private bodyguard and police force represent the secret police of totalitarian societies, such as the Soviet Gnion9s Homitet Aosudarstvennoj e5opasnosti /Committee of State Security, known by the abbreviation HA 0 and ,a5i Aermany9s Aeheime Staats "oli5ei /Secret State "olice, known by the acronym Gestapo0. $enja!in: <ld donkey who appears to represent realists aware that the 8ussian 8evolution will not change anything. $o%er: .ard4working cart horse who represents the common people oppressed and manipulated by 7oseph Stalin /'D()4 ')+E0 and his Communist henchmen. Manor "ar!: C5arist 8ussia /8ussia before the ')'( revolution0. Mr. "rederick: The operator of "inchfield farm, who attacks !nimal ;arm but is repulsed, appears to represent !dolf .itler, whose forces attacked the Soviet Gnion in &orld &ar :: but were defeated. Mr. Jones: ! cruel and neglectful farmer, 7ones represents ,icholas :: /'D2D4')'D0, the c5ar who ruled 8ussia before the ')'( revolution. .is autocratic rule was in part responsible for provoking the revolution. Mr. Why!per: Capitalist who profits from trade with Communists. Mollie: 6ollie, a mare who enjoys the attentions of human beings, appears to represent the manipulated masses that are easily satisfied with small rewards that keep them satisfied. She also may represent 8ussians who opposed the revolution, preferring c5arist rule. Napoleon: 8uthless, power4hungry pig who represents the Soviet dictator 7oseph Stalin. Stalin succeeded $enin and ruled with an iron fist. ,apoleon also represents any tyrant of any age, such as ,ero /8oman emperor0, ,apoleon onaparte /;rench emperor0, !dolf .itler /Aerman dictator0, :di !min /Ggandan dictator0, or "ol "ot /Cambodian dictator0. Old Major: #ying pig who represents Bladimir :lich $enin. $enin founded the 8ussian Communist "arty and led the ')'( 8ussian 8evolution. Snowball: :ntelligent pig who represents $eon Trotsky, the Communist theorist who helped bring about the ')'( 8ussian 8evolution but was later e@pelled by Stalin. Sq ealer: ,apoleon9s clever propagandist. .e represents anyone who distorts the truth or tells outright lies to promote a cause. "aul 7oseph Aoebbels /'D)(4')*+0, director of propaganda under !dolf .itler in ,a5i Aermany, was a real4life counterpart of SCuealer. S garcandy Mo ntain: .eaven, the afterlife. Harl 6ar@ /'D'D4'DDE0, who co4authored the Communist 6anifesto with ;riedrich 3ngels /'D1F4'D)+0 as a founding document of Communism, believed that religion was the =opium of the people.= ,apoleon does not discourage the animals9 belief in Sugarcandy 6ountain, for it keeps their minds occupied. Ti!ber (gree!ent: ,apoleon9s agreement to sell timber to "ilkington represents the nonagression treaty between the Soviet Gnion and Aermany. Aermany later violated the agreement. Wind!ill: Stalin9s failed projects to improve life in the Soviet Gnion. Conflict The conflict first centers on the struggle between the farm animals and their human oppressor, 6r. 7ones. !fter the animals overthrow 7ones, the conflict centers on the struggle between the rank4and4file animals and the power4hungry animals that control the government and become the new oppressors. .

The!es . Theme ' . Communism under 7oseph Stalin betrayed the ideals of the ')'( 8ussian revolutionaries who overthrew the old government. ,apoleon the pig, the Stalin figure in the novel, abandons the ideals that the oppressed animals worked for and becomes a ruthless dictator, as Stalin did. Stalin /'D()4')+E0 was secretary4general of the Soviet Communist "arty between ')11 and ')+E and premier of the Soviet Gnion from ')*' to ')+E. Stalin was a ruthless dictator who used secret police /symboli5ed by the attack dogs in Animal Farm0 and control of the press through propaganda /symboli5ed by the activities of SCuealer in the novel0 to maintain an ironclad hold on power. . Theme 1 . $ord !cton9s thesis: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely . <rwell is warning his readers that any political enterprise44no matter how worthy44is doomed to failure if its leaders sniff too often from the bouCuet of power. . Theme E . $ies can be dressed up in the clothing of truth. ,apoleon9s propagandist, SCuealer, amends the seven commandments of animalism again and again44turning them into lies that benefit the pigs but making them look like other versions of the truth. . Theme * . GnCuestioning allegiance to authority invites abuse of power. !fter overthrowing 6r. 7ones and establishing their new government, the animals blindly follow ,apoleon, failing to Cuestion his revisionist policies. Their submissiveness serves only to invite further abuses of power... Cli!a% The clima@ of a narrative work can be defined as /'0 the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as /10 the final and most e@citing event in a series of events. The clima@ of Animal Farm occurs, according to the first definition, when ,apoleon sei5es control of the farm. !ccording to the second definition, the clima@ occurs when the ruling pigs begin imitating human behavior and the government reverts to its pre4revolutionary status. Style Animal Farm is a straightforward and easy4to4understand novel with an engrossing, fast4moving plot and interjections of wit. !s a satire, it uses hyperbole and irony often, and as an allegory it freCuently employs symbolism and allusion. ;or e@ample, ,apoleon the pig symboli5es the Communist dictator 7oseph StalinI his name is an allusion to the ;rench general and emperor ,apoleon onaparte /'(2)4'D1'0. Snobbish college professors sometimes critici5e <rwell9s style for its simplicity, but that is the very Cuality that makes Animal Farm a great work. ( thor .nfor!ation Aeorge <rwell /')FE4')+F0 was the pseudonym of 3ric !rthur lair. <rwell, a ritish citi5en, was born in 6otihari, :ndia, in ')FE, and attended school in 3ngland. etween ')11 and ')1(, he served the ritish government in urma as an officer of the :ndian :mperial "olice. !fter becoming disenchanted with ritish treatment of the native urmese, he left the police service, traveled in 3urope, and in ')E* published his first novel, urmese #ays, which impugned ritish imperialism. .e also wrote several fine short stories, including =Shooting an 3lephant,= which are based on his e@periences in urma. .is most famous works, both of which warn of the dangers of totalitarianism, are his novels Animal Farm and 198 . Study Juestions and 3ssay Topics :f ;armer 7ones had treated the animals well, would they have revoltedK &hat events in Aeorge9s <rwell9s life helped inspire him to write Animal FarmK .ow do you feel about laboratory e@periments on animals to test the efficacy of medicine that may benefit humansK ,apoleon the pig apparently represents the Soviet dictator 7oseph Stalin /'D()4')+E0. 8esearch the life of Stalin, then write an essay detailing the atrocities he committed. SCuealer is a propagandist. &hat is a propagandistK &hat techniCues does a propagandist useK :dentify e@amples of propaganda in !merican commercial and political advertising. &hich world leaders today most closely resemble the pig ,apoleonK &hich is the most admirable animal character in the novelK &hich is the smartest animal characterK The attack dogs represent the police force. &hat were the names of the secret police in the Soviet Gnion and ,a5i AermanyK &hat powers did they haveK