The Animal Farm book report - detailed analysis, book summary, literary elements, character analysis, George Orwell biography and everything necessary for active class participation.
Analysis
The Animal Farm, despite containing animal characters and being considered a fairytale, can be perceived as not only a fairy tale but something idyllic, a vision of something beautiful and positive.
It was written in 1944 and when the novel was read, it was viewed as the critique of the Soviet Union and the October Revolution which was carefully disguised via the animals on the farm and their rebellion.
The book can relate to modern-day society, in which people still fight injustice, there are different ideas of the "free world" and the battle for these continues to various organizations and groups. These organizations continue the fight and rise against the system with a blurred vision of what they want and have to do in order to bring down the system. Power corrupts people and every revolution ends up being exactly what the uprising was fighting against.
Orwell criticizes problems in society, focusing on topics such as greed and power that are portrayed by the pigs and on the other hand the absolute obedience and lack of critical thinking which is portrayed by the sheep. All of his critics are tightly and carefully wrapped and presented by and in the animal world.
Other book reports
Literary Elements
Genre: novel
Setting: Manor/Animal Farm, Willingdon, England; the time is unspecified, but it is very well depicted that the plot took over a period of a few years
Point of view: third-person
Narrator: uninvolved third person/creature, a nonentity
Tone: silly, lighthearted, playful
Mood: bittered, optimistic, disenchanting, pessimistic
Theme: a group of barnyard animals overthrow their human masters and set up a society of their own
Summary
Mister Jones, a farm owner, kept his henhouse locked, but one night he forgot to lock one of the doors. He has yet another glass of beer and goes to sleep.
As soon as the light went out, rattle began on the farm and all of the animals went to hear Old Major speak. First to come were three dogs and the last to arrive were the cats. The only one who missed out was the raven, Moses. Major, before retelling his dream, held a speech about how short his life was and that he was obliged to share his wisdom with others.
He talked about the pathetic living conditions of animals in England and presented his theory that the reason for such poor conditions was the fact that people spent everything, and produced little to nothing whilst taking everything, which, as he explains, people are the reason that animals are not living to their life expectancy. His message about rebelling against people and not backing down was clear. He called the animals to unite and stand together.
A scuffle broke out again, again as the dogs saw the rats and attacked them. Major told them to calm down to call for a vote about the rats being friends or foes. The vote was almost unanimous, the rats being their friends. The only ones who disagreed were the dogs and the cats. When they calmed down the Major proceeded with his speech. His philosophy was simple: those who walk on two legs are enemies and those who walk on four or have wings are friends.
He also emphasized that while fighting against people they shouldn't become like them or start adapting their behavior patterns and that they should remember all animals are the same so that no species should ever be suppressed.
Major retold his dream and sang a song and the animals joined. They sang it five times, and then the noise woke up Mr. Jones, who was convinced there was a fox in the back yard so he took his gun and fired a single shot. All of the animals ran to their places and fell asleep.
Major died three nights later and was buried in the backyard. During the spring, many things were happening on the farm and they were provoked by the late Major's speech. The pigs were in charge of the organization and education because they were the wisest animals on the farm. The piglets who stood out were Snowball and Napoleon and the porker Squealer. They worked on Major's lessons, and during the night they held a few lessons on the topic of animalism. They tried to explain it the best they could to the other animals.
In the beginning, they stumbled upon a lot of apathy and stupidity and their biggest problem was Moses, Mr. Jones's pet, who talked about a mysterious land where animals went after their death. The animals hated him because he talked a lot and did little but some still believed his story and it made the job for the pigs a lot harder.
The strongest believers in Animalism were Boxer and Clover who soaked in every word, spread it around and attended every meeting.
The rebellion occurred sooner than expected. Mr. Jones was a strict but capable farmer but this was to change as he lost his court case. He started drinking and didn't take care of his farm, his workers were lazy and disrespectful, the farm wasn't well maintained and the animals didn't have enough food.
Mr. Jones went to Willingdon and got drunk, so drunk that he did not return until the next day. His workers only milked the cows and went hunting for rabbits without feeding the other animals. Since they were starving, one of the cows knocked down the door and the animals escaped looking for food. Before they knew it, Mr. Jones and the workers appeared with whips and were threatening to beat the animals, who would not stand for this and attacked them back. The men went running from the farm.
Mr. Jones's wife, seeing what had happened, gathered her things and snuck out with Moses. The animals chased Mr. Jones to the street and closed the front gate while still being unaware of what had happened.
Then they went to the other side of the farm to see if there were any people left. All of the traces of Mr. Jones's power were destroyed; they were burned or tossed into the well. After destroying everything Napoleon took them to the food depository where everyone got a meal, they ate, sang and eventually fell asleep.
The next morning they looked around the farm, the farmer's house in which they didn't touch anything except for the hams. After breakfast, Snowball and Napoleon gathered the animals and said that they learned how to read and write. The title "Nobleman's farm" was knocked down and replaced by one that said "Animal Farm". They also made "The Seven Rules of Animalism" and Snowball read them out loud. The other animals tried to learn them by heart. After milking the cows, they had to begin reaping. They left the milk with Napoleon and by the evening it was all gone.
The harvest was big, bigger than ever before, but the animals encountered many difficulties with using the machinery because they couldn't stand on two legs. The piglets were in charge because they had more experience than the other animals. All of the animals gathered the hay and it took them two days less than it usually took Mr. Jones and his men to do the harvesting. Their daily jobs, obligations and duties ran smoothly during the summer, they had enough food and resolved their problems with the piglet's wisdom and Boxer's strength. All of them worked as much as they could and there weren't many fights, jealousy, and reproaches.
Sundays were non-working days and the breakfast was an hour later than usual. After breakfast, there was the flag-raising, which was made by Snowball. It was green to represent the land of England, he drew a white hoof and horn on it also. They would also make meetings to discuss their plans for the upcoming week, make decisions and discuss them.
The conclusions were always presented by the pigs because the other animals only knew how to vote. Snowball and Napoleon never saw eye to eye, despite being the active ones in the discussions, and they would always be opposed to one another. The meeting would end with their song and the rest of the day was for relaxation.
The pigs were in the depository, which became their pivot, and they learned new skills from books they read. Snowball also tried to organize the animals into small committees which were often unsuccessful, and he started to give reading and writing classes, which made most of the animals somewhat literate.
When it is obvious that the less smart animals couldn't learn the seven rules, Snowball made one simple saying: "Four legs good, two legs bad". Napoleon thought that the upbringing of new animals was the most important thing, so he separated the puppies from the others and they almost forgot about them.
They found out where the milk disappeared. It was accidentally given to the pigs. When the apples were ripe, rather than being distributed to all the animals, they too were taken to the depository for the pigs. Squealer said they needed them to keep their mind sharp because they were in charge of everything. He explained it as a precaution against Mr. Jones's return.
By the end of summer, the news about the animal farm spread, and Snowball and Napoleon sent birds to spread the propaganda to other farms. The owner of a farm nearby was also not very fair to his animals. The Foxwood farm as it was known, was badly maintained and its owner, Mr. Pilkington spent most of his time fishing or hunting and no time caring for his animals.
The Pinchfield farm was a smaller but better run farm owned by Mr. Fredrick who was well known for his bargaining skills. Although Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Fredrick couldn't see eye to eye they were both frightened by the occurrences on the animal farms. At first, they made fun of it and spread rumors about it being in bad shape, but no one believed them.
The rumors about Animal Farm spread and by the end of the year other animals started rebelling, the famous "Beasts of England" song spread across England. People were infuriated, and they whipped the animals who dared to sing the song, but secretly, they were scared whenever they would hear the song being sung on their farm.
After harvesting, the birds came announcing that Mr. Jones and five other men broke down the front gate and were coming to the farm. The animals expected it and they were ready. Snowball studied the book about Cesar's warfare and he was in charge of the defense. The first attack started when the people came close to the farm's buildings, this attack was prepared by geese and pigeons. The second one was the direct attack made by Muriel, Benjamin (the sheep), and Snowball. Since the people were stronger than them, they had to retreat.
People started celebrating but as soon as they entered the yard three horses, three cows and the rest of the pigs came from the back to stop them from running away and the third attack began. Snowball was headed for Mr. Jones and he shot him in the back while killing one sheep. Snowball ran into him and knocked the gun right out of his hand.
Boxer was hitting everyone and his first attack scared the people who, five minutes after the attack was launched, started to run away. Boxer was fearless and he almost killed one of the men who later on managed to escape while the animals were searching for Mollie who disappeared. When the men ran away, the animals celebrated their victory, buried the sheep and Snowball made a short eulogy for her. They also sang "Beasts of England" in her honor and their victory.
The animals established a military medal which was received by Boxer and Snowball and the dead sheep. After their discussion, they named the battle "Battle of the Cowshed". After finding Mr. Jones's gun, they placed it underneath their flag and decided to shoot out of it two times a year; once to commemorate the battle and once to commemorate the beginning of their rebellion.
Winter was coming and Mollie was getting more and more rude and unreliable. Rumors spread about her, Clover saw one of Mr. Pilkington's men with Mollie and, after having a conversation with her, she found sugar in her bed. Three days later Mollie disappeared and she was seen a few weeks later harnessed on the other part of Wellington. No one spoke of her anymore.
In January the weather was cold and the animals held many meetings. It was decided that the pigs will stay in charge of leading the farm and that the decisions will be accepted only if confirmed by the majority of the animals. The differences between Snowball and Napoleon grew each day. Snowball would always get most of the votes but Napoleon had success amongst the sheep who would then interrupt Snowball's speeches. He studied old magazines about farms and talked about farming. Napoleon had no plans but he always said that Snowball won't make much of a difference. Their biggest fight broke out and was regarding the windmill.
Snowball said that the small hill was the best place to build a windmill which will give the farm electricity and make their jobs easier. Since the farm didn't have modern tools and the animals never heard of windmills, they were stunned.
In a few weeks, he finished his plans and the animals came to see them once a day, except for Napoleon, who was against the windmill the whole time. Snowball stated that it was possible to build it in a year and that it would save them a lot of time because they would only have to work three days when it was built and completed. Napoleon stated that their main job should be producing more food and that, focusing on the windmill, will take attention away from harvesting and that they will all starve. The animals were divided. The other question in the matter was the farm's defense.
Napoleon wanted to acquire weapons and learn how to handle them while Snowball wanted to send the pigeons to spread propaganda and start an even bigger rebellion than the ones to date.
When Snowball finished his plans, a meeting was called to decide whether the windmill will be built or not. He presented his arguments during which he was continually interrupted by the sheep. Napoleon calmly advised everyone to vote for his proposition and Snowball, infuriated, reproached him. His vision seduced the animals and made them vote for him when Napoleon stood up and called nine dogs who attacked Snowball, chased him (Snowball) off of the farm.
The animals were terrified and Napoleon declared nullification of the meetings and discussions and decided that all decisions from now on will be made by a special committee of pigs which will meet and arrange everything behind closed doors. The only thing he maintained was raising the flag, handing out assignments and singing the song. A few animals fought against him but Napoleon's dogs made them go quietly. Squealer explained the newly formed situation and emphasized that the things that matter are loyalty, obedience, and discipline.
Every Sunday, at ten, the animals would gather and arrange their assignments for the next week. Next to the mast was the Major's skull and all of the animals had to show it respect before entering the barn where they had changed their sitting positions. Napoleon, Squealer and Minimus were in the front row on an elevated podium, the other pigs were behind them and the rest of the animals were looking at them while sitting in the middle of the barn.
Three weeks after the incident, Napoleon said that the windmill will be built and that, due to the hard work, there is a chance that their meals will be smaller and that the building will take roughly two years to complete. Squealer explained to the animals later that night that Napoleon was never against the windmill but that Snowball had stolen his plan and that his resistance was only a clever way to get rid of Snowball.
The animals worked like slaves but they were satisfied believing they were doing it for the better tomorrow. During spring and summer they work for 60 hours a week and the animals who wanted to, were also able to work Sunday afternoons. The animals who didn't want to would get smaller meals that day. Despite the hard work, their harvest was small, their winter already seemed to be hard and the windmill development wasn't going as smoothly as predicted. They had problems with the rocks which they had to bring to the top of the hill, only to throw them down so they would get crushed and then they had to bring them back up.
By the end of the summer, they gathered enough rocks but their efforts started to seem useless. They wouldn't have done it without Boxer who, despite Clover's warnings, worked more than he should. They were producing a lot but they were still lacking many things so they decided to start negotiating with the other farms in order to obtain the things they needed since building the windmill was prioritized over food production and harvesting. They decided to sell some hay, wheat and if necessary eggs. This broke one of the first decisions ever made at their meetings but the sheep made the animals go quietly with their bleating. Napoleon assured the animals that no one, except for him, will be forced to communicate with people.
Squealer walked around the farm, calming down the animals and convincing them the decision against trading goods was never suggested but that it was a Snowball's lie. They didn't have any written proof about it so they were satisfied with the explanation.
Wymper came to the farm every Monday, his visit made the animals nervous. They would avoid him and Napoleon tried to calm them down.
The people kept on hating the farm but they started to gain respect for its efficiency and started calling it Animal Farm and stopped supporting Mr. Jones. Rumors were spreading about Napoleon making a business deal with Mr. Pilkington or Mr. Fredrick but definitely not both.
The pigs moved into the house, and the animals started reminiscing about the decisions made at the first meeting. Squealer convince them that the pigs had every right to move into the house because they needed more space to work and the animals started referring to Napoleon as the leader. He declared himself to be a leader. Clover thought to remember something against sleeping in beds, but Muriel read the rule about sleeping with sheets. Clover was sure it wasn't the original rule and soon Squealer announced that the pigs would get up an hour later than everyone else.
By fall they were very tired, and they didn't have as much food as they did before, but the windmill made up for everything. It was halfway done and, when the weather would allow it, the animals worked harder and during the full moon Boxer would even work at night. The only one not being amazed by the windmill was Benjamin. One night there was a big storm and in the morning the pole of the flag was knocked down as was the windmill.
Napoleon, who led the animals, took advantage of their sadness and quietness and declared Snowball had knocked down the windmill and sentenced him to death. The animals started despising Snowball because of what he had allegedly done and they started making up plans to catch him. They found traces leading up to Foxwood's estate. Napoleon said that they will start rebuilding the windmill immediately, regardless of the weather.
The winter was cold, but the work continued. People faked not believing that Snowball had destroyed the windmill. They made the walls thicker, which made them acquire more rocks. They managed to get some work done only when the weather was dry and cold and their sense of confidence was fading away. The only ones who were enthusiastic were Boxer and Clover.
They were tormented by the coldness and hunger because they ran out of food in the middle of January. They didn't have enough wheat, their potatoes were frozen and they mostly ate only hay. They had to hide their problems because rumor had it that they were suffering famine. Napoleon is aware of what will happen if the world finds out what was happening on his farm, so he used Mr. Whymper (his human contact) to spread different rumors. Some animals, especially the sheep, were instructed to speak about how much more they ate in his presence and they filled the bowls with sand and covered them with wheat to make it seem like they had a lot of food.
January was coming to an end and they had to acquire wheat. Napoleon didn't make an appearance often and Squealer was the one who gave out orders and informed the animals about everything they needed to know. One morning it was announced that the chicken would be obliged to hand over their eggs so that they would sell them and buy more wheat, the animals were not very happy about this.
The chicken stood against that idea. The reaction to their rebellion was harsh. They didn't receive any food until they weren't ready to bow down. They managed to hold their resistance for five days in which they lost nine chickens. In the end, they gave in.
Snowball was nowhere to be seen and it was said he was hiding on Mr. Foxwood or Mr. Pitchfield farms. When Napoleon established better relationships with the nearby farm owners he tried to sell some wood they had. He noticed that if he was near to closing a deal with Mr. Fredrick everyone started saying Snowball was hiding on Mr. Foxwod's farm and vice versa.
In the early spring, it was discovered that Snowball came to the farm at night and everything that went wrong was attributed to him and the rats. Napoleon ordered an investigation to be made about his activities and the whole story scared the animals. Squealer gathered them and told him that he had bad news: Snowball sold himself to Mr. Fredrick and that he was planning an attack and that Mr. Jones was his secret agent. Napoleon told them that during their battle with people Snowball tried to ruin everything and that they should be on the lookout for him and his agents amongst them. They didn't recall Snowball trying to ruin anything, even Boxer was confused by this statement, but Squealer told them some twisted version of events and it got the animals thinking.
Four days later Napoleon gathered them in the backyard. He appeared with two medals he gave to himself and his dogs who were with him. They scared all of the animals. He sent the dogs to catch four pigs who rebelled against the nullification of the meetings and they dragged them by the ears. Three dogs wanted to attack Boxer and he punched one of them into the ground which scared the other two. Napoleon ordered him to let the dog go.
Four pigs were scared and Napoleon told them to confess their crimes. They said they were connected to Snowball and that they were collaborating with him on handing the farm over to Mr. Frederick and that Snowball told them he was Mr. Jones's agent. After finishing their confessions the dogs slaughtered them and Napoleon asked the animals if any of them wanted to confess something. The chickens confessed their rebellion against selling the eggs, a goose said she had some hay hidden and that she ate it on her own and other animals confessed their crimes.
When everything was done, all of the animals, except for the dogs and pigs, ran out shocked and desperate. They slept on the hill together and only the cats were missing. They disappeared a little bit before the meeting and everyone was in silence, except for Boxer who decided to stand on his feet and think. In the end, he came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with all of them and that the only response was to work more. He went to the quarry and brought some more rock to the hill and then he went to sleep.
The animals pressed themselves against Clover observing the farm. The night sky was clear and the farm seemed so beautiful. Clover's eyes were filled with tears because this wasn't what they wanted. In her vision, which seemed so distant, they were supposed to be a society without famine and violence in which they were all equals, working as much as they could, protecting the weak.
She couldn't understand how they ended up sleeping on the hill where everyone was afraid to speak their mind, with rabid dogs patrolling around and why they had to witness their friends being murdered. She didn't even think about rebelling because she knew that their situation was still better than the one they lived in while Jones was in charge. She decided to work hard, do her job and accept Napoleon's leadership.
She still pondered about things not being the way they hoped they would and she wasn't sure what they had worked so hard for and stood up to Jones for. The animals sang sadly and quietly their anthem when Squealer arrived. He said the song has been forbidden and that it will be replaced by a new song written by Minimus. The other song wasn't even a little bit similar to "Beasts of England".
In a few days the fear amongst animals calmed down and some of them remembered the sixth rule and realized that the events from earlier days were completely opposed to it. When Muriel read the rule to Clover it had two words Clover couldn't remember which were "without reason" and It became clear to her that the rule wasn't broken and that a good reason for the execution existed.
They worked, even more than previously, that year was especially hard-working as they worked on the field and on the windmill at the same time and the animals sometimes thought they were working more for less food than they were getting while Mr. Jones was in charge. Squealer denied this, reading how their production was increasing and the animals couldn't oppose it because they didn't remember the times before the rebellion. There were still days in which they wanted more food and fewer numbers.
The commands were being given by Squealer and Napoleon appeared every two weeks accompanied by a rooster who would announce his arrival. It was being said that Napoleon lived in special rooms of the house and ate alone with two dogs around him.
A new decision was made. They decided to shoot the gun on Napoleon's birthday to honor him and he was referred to as "our Leader, friend Napoleon" and the pigs loved coming up with names for him. Squealer talked convincingly about him and his kindness and all of the accomplishments were attributed to him. Minimus composed a song about him and wrote it near the commands and also there was a portrait of Napoleon.
Napoleon, with Mr. Whymper being the middleman, managed to start negotiations with Mr. Fredrick and Mr. Pilkington about selling the construction wood. There were rumors that Snowball was at Mr. Pitchfield farm and that Mr. Fredrick and his men were planning to attack their windmill. In the middle of summer, some chickens admitted to having been planning Napoleon's execution with Snowball and they were executed. Napoleon installed new safety measures. There were four dogs guarding his bed at night and young Pink Eye had to try all of his food before him in case it was poisoned.
Napoleon made an arrangement to sell the wood and made a plan about signing a trade agreement with Foxwood. The animals were more and more against Mr. Fredrick, they even had a slogan for him which stated "Death to Frederick".
By the end of summer, another of Snowball's mischiefs was discovered and the goose who took part in it killed herself before she could be sentenced. It was also clarified that Snowball never received a medal but that he was punished for his cowardice.
The windmill was finished in the fall and Napoleon came to see it proclaiming it to be "Napoleon's windmill". The wood was sold to Mr. Fredrick, which surprised all of the animals but it was said that the rumors about him were false and that Snowball was actually living at Foxwood farm. Napoleon's wittiness stunned the animals and he showed his superiority by asking Mr. Fredrick to pay him in bills which Napoleon, later on, showed to the animals.
Three days later, the bills turned out to be fake and Mr. Fredrick was sentenced to death. They had bad blood with Mr. Pitchfield and they tried to mend their relationship with Mr. Foxwood.
The next morning an attack was being launched under Mr. Fredrick's leadership. Since they were armed, the animals couldn't confront them and they started to retreat while some got injured. Napoleon hoped Mr. Foxwood would help but he declined their request. Mr. Frederick and his men destroyed the windmill and it made the animals vengeful. Many of the animals and men were injured, one cow, three sheep, two geese were dead. The people ran away when the dogs attacked. The animals didn't celebrate after seeing their dead friends and the empty place in which the windmill used to be.
They heard gunshots and Squealer came saying they were celebrating their victory. They didn't know what victory he was referring to since their friends were dead and the windmill was destroyed once more. Squealer said they were celebrating the fact that they chased their enemies away. The animals limped to the backyard. Boxer thought about working on a new windmill, but the fact that he was too old for such work didn't even cross his mind.
They came to the flag-raising ceremony and another gunshot was fired after which occurred after Napoleon gave his speech. He made it seem to the animals that they actually won that day. The battle was called "Battle of the Windmill" and the celebration lasted for two days. The animals had a big funeral for their fallen friends and Napoleon declared a new medal and gave it to himself.
A few days later the pigs found whiskey and got drunk. The next morning Squealer declared that Napoleon was on the verge of death and drinking was forbidden. Soon he started to recover and Whymper gave him some tips about making beer. A week later it was ordered that the little meadow reserved for animals that were unable to work anymore transforms into another field.
Something strange and unexplainable happened. One night, around midnight, a loud noise was heard in the backyard. Squealer was unconscious next to them, there was also a bucket of paint, brush and a light. The dogs chaperoned him to the house.
No one could conclude what had happened, except for Benjamin. A few days later Muriel, reading the rules, found two new words on the fifth rule.
Boxer was in terrible shape and despite Clover's and Benjamin's warnings, he didn't stop working. They started talking about retirement after the meadow was declared to become a field.
The windmill was being rebuilt and Boxer's desire to see it finished was bigger than his inability to work. The winter was cold and they were running out of food fast. Squealers had trouble convincing the animals they had enough food. He showed them numbers which were supposed to make them believe that the living standard, a quantity of food and water were better than in Mr. Jones's time. They believed him because they barely remembered what it was like to live with Jones but they were sure that their condition was worse then.
It was declared that they will build a school, next to the house, for the piglets and that Napoleon will be their teacher. They were taught not to become friends with other animals.
The new rule also stated that all of the animals had to move to the other side if they saw a pig walking their way. Despite the year being a success, the animals were running out of money and they started selling more hay, wheat and eggs. The chickens barely managed to have enough little chicks to keep the income of eggs coming. The meals were getting smaller in December, by February it was also forbidden to use lights in the barn.
One afternoon in February a strong, delicious smell spread around the meadow and the animals thought it was cooked barley. There was no food for them but they found out next Sunday that the barley was only intended for the pigs who also got a beer every day.
Despite the hard life, there were more songs, celebrations, and speeches which made life seem more decent. They also started making manifestations once a week to remind the animals they were their own masters. In April the farm was declared a Republic and its president was Napoleon. New documents about Snowball's collaboration with Mr. Jones were found. In the middle of summer, Moses came back with his same old story and many animals still believed him, even though the pigs called him a liar. They still let him stay on the farm.
Boxer was getting better and he started working more than ever, just like all of the other animals because despite working on the field and the windmill, they had to build the school. No one could see the years leaving any trace on his body but by the end of summer, Boxer collapsed. The pigeons told it to the pigs and to Clover. Squealer said that Napoleon was very worried about him and that he was doing everything to get him to the hospital in Willingdon. The animals didn't like that but Squealer tried to convince them it was the best for Boxer.
He spent the next day in the barn talking to Clover while Benjamin was protecting him from the flies. He was sorry about everything that had happened and thought he could live three more years if he recovered and he looked forward to his retirement. They could be with him until they had to go and work. A truck came for Boxer and Benjamin called the other animals to see him being taken away. He got angry with the others when they were taking Boxer away and he pushed away Muriel who started reading the title of the truck. It was from a slaughterhouse. The animals started running after it and asked him to get out of it but he was too weak to break down the doors.
Three days later Squealer announced to the other animals that Boxer died in the hospital. He also clarified the situation with the slaughterhouse. Squealer explained to the animals that the vet bought the truck from the slaughterhouse and that he didn't have time to change the title. The animals were relieved and he proceeded with his speech.
The next Sunday Napoleon came to the meeting and held a speech about Boxer and reminded them about some of his favorite sayings. On the day of his funeral, a big wooden box was delivered to the farm and that night the animals heard a lot of noise. They heard the pigs had bought another box of whiskey.
Years passed by no one, except for Clover, Benjamin and Moses remember the time before the rebellion. Muriel, Bluebell, Jessie, Pincher, Mr. Jones were dead, Snowball and Boxer were being forgotten. The pigs were getting fat. Benjamin was the only one left unchanged. There were more animals on the farm and the rebellion became a mouth-to-mouth story.
There were three other horses next to Clover who respected her as if she was their mother.
The farm was successful and well organized. The windmill was done and they acquired new machinery and built new buildings. Snowball's vision wasn't mentioned anymore and Napoleon declared it to be everything opposite of animalism. The farm was becoming richer but only the pigs and dogs felt it because, as Squealer put it, they worked endlessly on an organization and did everything to make the farm an even bigger success.
The life of other animals didn't change: they were experiencing famine, slept on hay, worked the field, put up with the cold in the winter and flew in the summer. Some of the older animals tried to remember how things were during Mr. Jones's reign but they couldn't. They had nothing to compare their current life situation to. Benjamin stated he remembered everything and that life remained unchanged.
Despite everything, they felt honored to live on Animal Farm and the animals from other farms admired them and the history of the Farm and Major's visions were often retold. All of the animals, despite it being forbidden, knew the words to "Beasts of England".
At the beginning of summer, Squealer took the sheep to the other side of the farm and they were there for a week learning a new song. One night, when the working hours were over, they heard Clover and saw her and Squealer walking out on their back legs. Soon other pigs followed. Napoleon came out last, carrying a whip in his hands. When the first impact passed the animals had a chance to reproach his behavior but then the sheep started singing and the pigs went back inside.
Clover took Benjamin behind the barn where the rules were. She asked him to read them to her because her eyesight was bad. There was only one rule, and not seven. "All animals are equal, but some are equal than others". It stopped being strange for them that the pigs looked more like people, carrying whips and wearing clothes.
One afternoon, some farmers came to look around the farm. The pigs showed them every corner of the farm, and they admired it. The animals didn't know whether to fear the people or the pigs. That night the animals heard noise from the house, and they went to see what was going on. They saw the pigs and the people around the table eating and drinking. They were playing cards and drinking beer. Mr. Pilkington held a speech, saying that he was glad that the relationship between the farms was better and that the fight between them was over. He also talked about the wrong beliefs they had about the Animal Farm and said that, after visiting it, he only thought the best of it.
The animals worked more for less food than the other animals in the county received. He congratulated them on their success and then Napoleon made a smaller speech. He declared some changes: he will forbid bowing down to Major's skull and change the flag. He also renamed the farm "Manor Farm". It was the name that the farm had during Mr. Jones's time.
The animals observed without making a sound and they thought that the pigs completely changed their appearance. They started going back to the farm but the noise was still spreading around the farm. They couldn't see in the crowd who was the pig and who was the human.
Characters
Characters: Jones, Major, Boxer, Benjamin, Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer, Mollie...
Mr. Jones - the owner of Manor Farm. He was a strict, yet capable farmer who started ruining himself after losing a lot of money in court. He started drinking and neglecting the animals. After the rebellion, he spent most of his time at a tap house retelling the incident. He also tried and failed to take over his farm. With time he lost people's support and moved away.
Napoleon - in constant confrontation with Snowball and he stood against every one of his ideas. He banished Snowball and took over the farm. Napoleon started trading with people via Mr. Whymper, he had surrounded himself with dogs and rarely left the house. He also gave himself two medals.
Snowball - had a character who was weaker than Napoleon's. He was involved in organizing and educating the animals and he was also in charge of defending the farm from people. Snowball wanted to improve the living conditions on the farm but his propositions were often nullified by Napoleon. He also got a medal after being hurt in a battle. He was banished, declared Mr. Jones's ally and a traitor.
Squealer - a chubby pig. He was an excellent spokesman, always in charge of delivering bad news and Napoleon's orders.
Moses - a tamed raven and Mr. Jones's pet. He was the carrier of the propaganda from the other farms. He disappeared after the rebellion and came back after a few years.
Boxer - a horse. He was hard-working and it led him to his death. His answer to every problem was to work harder than before. He was also honored for his accomplishments during the battles. Boxer never listened to Clover and Benjamin who tried to stop him and make him rest. He wasn't ready to take anyone's life, even humans, and after Napoleon's rise to power his motto became: "Napoleon is always right". After collapsing one summer night, he was taken to a slaughterhouse.
Mollie - vain and spoiled, but very frightful. She escaped to the Foxwood farm.
Benjamin was a donkey and he didn't change much after the rebellion. He never slacked but he didn't work with much pleasure. Despite knowing how to read he didn't do it often. He broke his non-reading rule for Clover when she needed him to read a rule for him. After Boxer's death, he became even more introverted than before.
Minimus - a pig with musical talent. He composed the song which replaced "Beasts of England".
Mr. Whymper - a notary from Willingdon and he was the middleman between the farm and the people. He visited the farm every Monday to get instructions and advice from Napoleon. He was clever enough to realize the farm would be needing a middleman sooner or later and he took advantage of it.
Biography
George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25th, 1903 in Motihari, India and was educated in England at Eton College.
Orwell's father, Richard worked for the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service and his mother grew up in Burma due to her own father's business ventures.
When Orwell was just a year old, his mother brought two of her children back home to England and settled in Oxfordshire. Orwell was brought up by his mother and did not see his father again until the age of nine. While in secondary school, Orwell began writing and wrote two poems that were published in the local paper.
After school, however, Orwell decided to join the Imperial Police (the Indian Police Service) and he moved to Burma and served with the police there from 1922 to 1927. After which he returned to England and decided to follow his dream of becoming a writer.
For many years he struggled to get published and lived in poverty and poor health in England and Paris. Out of this experience came his first book, ‘Down And Out in Paris and London', a memoir which was published in 1933.
Around this time, Orwell began a teaching career at a small school in Hayes, West London but shortly became disillusioned with the job and began working for a bookseller in Hampstead, London.
In 1935, Orwell met his first wife, Eileen O'Shaughnessy at a party thrown by his landlady and the two married a year later on June 9th, 1936.
Orwell's second non-fiction work, "Burmese Days" about the sordid conditions of the homeless in Burma was published in 1935 and Eric Arthur Blair officially changed his name to George Orwell.
In 1936, Orwell investigated the social divisions in the then severely economically depressed north of England and wrote what became his third book, "The Road To Wigan Pier" which was published later that year.
Also that year, Orwell joined the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. The description of his experiences, in "Homage to Catalonia" (1938) forms one of the most moving accounts of this war ever written.
After his time in the war, Orwell's political convictions underwent a profound change. His condemnation of totalitarian society is expressed in the brilliantly witty allegorical fable, ‘Animal Farm' which was published in 1945.
That year, Orwell's wife Eileen underwent a hysterectomy complication and passed away at her sister-in-law's country home in County Durham. After his wife's untimely death, Orwell began writing more and published 130 articles and essays.
It was during this time that he wrote his most critically acclaimed and famous novel, "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (1949).
Orwell remarried in 1949 to Sonia Brownell who nursed him in the final months of his life. Orwell began experiencing trouble with his lungs and he passed away suddenly on January 21st, 1950.
According to his wishes, Orwell was buried in the graveyard of the closest church to where he died in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire where his grave is still standing today.
Leave a Reply