Animal Farm is an allegorical tale of dictatorships and human nature in the twentieth century. Manor Farm, a run-down
Farm in rural England, is owned by Mr. Jones, a drunken and brutal man.
Old Major, an old boar of great wisdom, calls a meeting of the farm
animals at which he presents his vision of an animal utopia. It is a simplistic view: Man is bad, and animals are good. Shortly thereafter, when some hungry animals break into the storage shed to find food to eat, the Rebellion begins. Jones and his men try to stop the hungry animals but are forced off the farm. Animal Farm is established. The Seven Commandments, proposed by Old Major, become the rules of life for the farm. Essentially, these rules call for the animals to
work together harmoniously, with the phrase, "Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad," as the basis for all actions taken.
In the beginning, a communal attitude toward decision making is adopted. Animals like Boxer, a hardworking and loyal draft horse, are the very backbone of the
new society. The slogan "All Animals Are Equal" is to be the motto of Animal Farm. Despite the slogan, the
pigs gradually develop into a new ruling class, as their abilities of organizing and controlling are recognized as superior by the others. With the death of Old Major, the leaders of this rebellion are the idealistic Snowball and the pragmatic Napoleon. Before Snowball can become too successful, the cynical Napoleon eliminates him as an opponent.
Napoleon uses his personal bodyguard of nine vicious dogs to attack Snowball, and Snowball barely escapes from Animal Farm with his life. Napoleon then adopts Snowball’s ideas, calling them his own. Through distortion and propaganda, Snowball becomes the enemy. Napoleon becomes the dictator of Animal Farm. Under Napoleon, the commune is no longer permitted to discuss or to debate; it must simply follow orders. Squealer, the propagandist, constantly rewrites history to reflect new realities. The dogs enforce the orders of the pig ruling class, which increasingly takes on the characteristics of the humans whom the animals have overthrown.
Many of the animals, especially Boxer, continue to work hard; but it becomes more difficult to accept the new regime. The all-powerful Napoleon carries a whip, the symbol of human oppression, as his badge of authority. Propaganda also makes Napoleon into the only hope for the animals in their fight against human outsiders. Indeed, after the Battle of the Windmill, in which Animal Farm is attacked by humans who are driven off by the courage of the animals, Napoleon is made to appear as the primary reason for the victory.
Little goes well for the masses. The animals work more for less, and the pigs enjoy the fruits of the labors. Animal Farm becomes Manor Farm with merely a new name and new masters. When the hardest-working animal, Boxer, can no longer perform, he is sold to the glue factory. The animals have been deceived, but because of their naivete, they have accepted their status. By the end of
Animal Farm, the pigs walk upright and are indistinguishable from humans. When neighboring farmers visit Animal Farm to see the prosperity, they are amazed at the success. Sadly, only the pigs are prosperous, and their prosperity has come at the expense of the other animals. The revised slogan reflects this reality: "All Animals Are Equal, but Some Animals Are More Equal than Others."
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