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Animal Farm is a satirical novel by George Orwell, ostensibly about a group of animals who oust the humans from the farm they live on and endeavour to run it themselves, only to have it corrupted into a brutal tyranny on its own. It was written during World War II and published in 1945, although it was not widely recognized until the late 1950s.Animal Farm is a thinly veiled critique on the Russian Revolution and analysis of the corruption of Communism under Stalin. (See below.)
1 Plot
After a revolution on Manor Farm (duly renamed Animal Farm), the pigs, who have developed the doctrine of Animalism and lead the revolution, gradually take over. The two boars, Napoleon and Snowball, engage in a power struggle culminating in the expulsion of Snowball by force. Life on the farm becomes harder and harder for the rest of the animals. The pigs impose more and more controls on them while reserving privileges for themselves, based on the 'first amendment' to the Principles of Animalism: All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others, all of which is justified by the pig Squealer, effectively the farm's propaganda minister. With a pack of vicious dogs as enforcers, Napoleon conducts show trialThe term show trial is most commonly used to describe a type of public trial in which the guilt of an accused has already been decided, and the only goal of the trial is to present the accusation and the verdict to the public. Show trials have often beens and executionExecution is a synonym for the actioning of something, of putting something into effect. the execution of a contract or a financial trade is the point at which it becomes binding. Execution is the act of putting a person to death, according to judicial prs, grants himself glorious titles, and progressively annuls all the Principles of Animalism. The pigs finally take to walking on two legs and carrying whips, treating the other animals more or less as they were treated when humans had dominionThis is a page about Dominions of the British Empire/Commonwealth. For other meanings, please see Dominion (disambiguation). A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularl. In the last scene of the book, the animals observe the pigs and men talking together but can see no difference between them.
2 Characters
The events and characters in Animal Farm are all carefully drawn to represent the history of the Soviet Union and Orwell makes this explicit in the case of Napoleon who he directly connects to Stalin in one of his letters. The other characters have their analogies in the real world but care should be taken with these comparisons as they do not always match history exactly and often simply represent generalised concepts.
- NapoleonNapoleon is a fictional pig from George Orwell's Animal Farm''. With events on Animal Farm mirroring those in the Soviet Union, Napoleon is based on the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Napoleon struggled with Snowball, a fellow pig, for power after the ani - the corrupt pig who becomes leader of the farm. Based on Joseph StalinIosif (Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin ( Russian: Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin , original name Ioseb Jughashvili ( Georgian: Russian: Iosif Dzhugashvili see Other names section ( December 21 [ December 9, Old Style], 1879 1 March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik rev.
- SnowballSnowball is a fictional pig in the book Animal Farm written by George Orwell. Together with the pig Napoleon, he leads the animals' revolt against the human farmer, but is driven away from the farm by Napoleon in the later part of the story. He bears a re - the military leader of the animal revolt who challenges Napoleon's power. Based on Leon TrotskyLeon Davidovich Trotsky ( Russian: ; also transliterated Trotskii Trotski Trotzky ( October 26 ( O. November 7 ( N. 1879 August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein , was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist intellectual. He was an influential politi.
- Boxer - hardworking horse. The farm's most loyal worker. Represents the spirit of the workers.
- Squealer - Napoleon's " propaganda minister". Justifies Napoleon's actions. Based on Russia's propaganda towards the people.
- Old Major - the old boar who tells his dream of an animal-controlled society. Based on Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
- Clover - Boxer's close friend. Blames herself for forgetting the complete seven commandments when Squealer revises them. Represents the common people who acquiesce to the subversion of principles by the powerful.
- Moses - tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain, the "animal heaven". Represents how tsarism and later communism exploited religion, could represent Rasputin, the "Mad Monk".
- Mollie - horse who likes wearing ribbons (ribbons represent luxury) and being pampered by humans. Represents people who fled from the U.S.S.R after the Russian Revolution.
- Benjamin - a donkey who is cynical about the revolution. Said to be inspired by Orwell himself.
- Muriel - goat who reads the commandments.
- Mr. Jones - original owner of Manor Farm. Based on Tsar Nicholas II.
- Mr. Frederick - tough owner of Pinchfield, a well kept neighboring farm. Based on Germany/ Adolf Hitler.
- Mr. Pilkington - easy-going but crafty owner of Foxwood, a neighboring farm. Represents Britain/ Winston Churchill.
- Mr. Whymper - human whom Napoleon hires to represent Animal Farm in human society. Based in part on George Bernard Shaw.
- Jesse and Bluebell - two dogs who give birth in Chapter III. Their puppies are nurtured by Napoleon to inspire fear, representing formation of the NKVD.
- Minimus - poet pig who writes a song about Napoleon, representing admirers of Stalin both inside and outside of U.S.S.R.
