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• Animal Farm is a fable which means it teaches the reader a moral lesson.

• It is the story of a revolution on a farm and imagines what would happen if animals were in charge, rather than humans.

• The author, George Orwell, published Animal Farm in 1945. He was inspired by the 1917 Russian Revolution.

• Animal Farm explores themes like power, hope and lies, and shows how greed can destroy society.

Did you know?

George Orwell's real name was Eric Arthur Blair, but very few people other than his family knew this.

Watch the video below to learn about the plot, characters and themes in Animal Farm.

Mr Jones runs Manor Farm. He is cruel and neglects his animals.

A wise pig, Old Major, inspires the animals to dream of a better future. One night, the animals angrily take control of the farm and chase Mr Jones away.

The animals work together to make a better life. They create a set of rules to live by called the Seven Commandments. These rules include the idea that "All animals are equal".

Two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, compete to be in control. Napoleon trains some dogs and uses them to terrify the other animals into following him. The dogs chase Snowball away for good.

The farm animals work together to build a windmill which should mean more food and less back-breaking work for all of them. Unfortunately, the windmill is destroyed in a storm.

The animals rebuild it but it is then blown up by the neighbouring farmers who hate the idea of animals successfully running their own farm.

Boxer, a hard-working horse, collapses from exhaustion. Instead of looking after him and thanking him for his loyalty, the pigs arrange for him to be sent to a horse slaughterer. They profit from his death.

Napoleon and his loyal supporter, Squealer, make changes to the Seven Commandments. They keep the best of everything for the pigs and force the other animals to work for them.

The pigs now behave and dress just like the humans that they hated at the beginning. The dream of a fairer, happier future for the animals has failed.

Did you know?

An animated film version of Animal Farm was released in 1954.

In this version, the ending was changed and the animals manage to overthrow Napoleon.

Activity

Old Major

Old Major is a wise pig who shares his dream of a better future with the farm animals.

He dies peacefully of old age before the animals take control.

Napoleon

Napoleon is a ‘fierce-looking’ and cunning pig who competes with Snowball for control of the farm.

He turns into an even greater tyrant than Mr Jones.

Snowball

Snowball is a clever pig who draws up the plans for the windmill. He is much braver than Napoleon, but he loses the battle for power. Napoleon and the other pigs spread ugly rumours about him and he is chased from the farm.

Mr Jones

Mr Jones is a cruel and neglectful farmer. He owns Manor Farm, which the animals overthrow and rename as Animal Farm.

Themes are the main ideas that appear repeatedly in a novel. Some of the important themes in Animal Farm are:

• Hopes and dreams

• Power and control

• Lies and propaganda

Old Major dreams of a perfect farm run by animals, for animals. This vision inspires the animals to hope for a better future and to overthrow Farmer Jones.

For a short while, it seems like they have created a utopia but their hopes and dreams are shattered when the power-hungry pigs take over.

By the end, Old Major’s dream to improve the lives of all animals has turned into a nightmare. The farm becomes a dystopia and the pigs are just as cruel as Mr Jones was.

In Animal Farm, the desire for power and control leads to suffering. This can be seen through the character of Napoleon, who uses fear and violence to seize and maintain power. For example:

• Napoleon trains a group of dogs to be completely loyal to him and vicious to any animal who stands against him
• He stops feeding some hens who protest against unfair treatment, resulting in the death of nine hens
• He arranges the murder of Boxer, the hard-working horse and makes money from his death

To keep his power, Napoleon becomes more and more tyrannical.

Napoleon and the pigs get what they want by lying to the other animals.

Squealer, particularly, is so persuasive that he can "turn black into white".

He confuses the other animals by using words they do not understand, changing the meaning of words and twisting truth and lies until the other animals can’t tell which is which.

Squealer supports Napoleon using propaganda, for example, promoting the idea that:

Napoleon is always right.

Not only does this mean that the animals cannot ever criticise Napoleon, but this phrase is also repeated so often they completely believe it.

Activity

Writers choose words and phrases carefully when they write. Readers can look closely at texts to think about how and why the writer made these choices.

Orwell shows how language can be used to control others. Throughout the novel, the Seven Commandments are edited, changed or deleted by the pigs to extend their control over the other farm animals.

Structure refers to how written text is organised – the way the story is ordered and shaped.

Fable

A fable is a traditional type of story that often uses animal characters to tell a tale with a moral or message. Animal Farm is a fable with the message that power and greed can corrupt.

Allegory

Animal Farm is also an allegory because it contains a hidden political message about the 1917 Russian Revolution and the Communist dream of a better future.

Through the characters and events in Animal Farm, Orwell is criticising a leader called Stalin who brought misery to the people of Russia, just like Napoleon does to the animals of Animal Farm.

Cyclical structure

Animal Farm is a cyclical narrative. This means that the beginning and the end of the story mirror each other closely.

• At the start of the novel, the animals are being badly treated by Mr Jones.

• At the end of the novel, the animals are being badly treated by the pigs who behave and dress just like humans.

The cyclical structure shows how power over others can lead to cruelty. In the final scene, the animals can no longer tell who is a pig and who is human.

The Russian Revolution

Animal Farm reflects the events of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Before the Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia. The ruling classes had money and power, whilst most of the population were suffering and living in poverty. The Revolution aimed to overthrow the Tsar and change the balance of society to give power back to the working class.

The farm represents Russia, Mr Jones and the animals represent the Russian leaders and people of the time. Orwell is criticising the Russian leaders who he feels destroyed the hope of a better and fairer future for the ordinary Russian people.