In this blog post, we’ll explore an overview, plot summary, characters, and analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’.
Overview of the Work
George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, a novel that sharply satirizes dictators and the problems of socialism, was published in 1945. Although it was completed in 1944, it faced a period of rejection because it was seen as a fierce attack on Soviet totalitarianism under Stalin’s dictatorship. Since the Soviet Union was an ally of Great Britain during World War II, there were difficulties in getting the book published.
The work, which gained immense popularity immediately upon its release, bears the subtitle “A Fable” and depicts the process of dictatorship and the totalitarianization of power at Manor Farm. It presents a vivid fictional world through its fresh writing style, seamless structure, and satire that sparkles throughout. Among the characters, Old Major is commonly likened to Marx, Napoleon to Stalin, and Snowball to Trotsky.
‘Animal Farm’ serves as a warning against the corruption of power, not only in the former Soviet Union but throughout the world. It sharply critiques the violence of totalitarianism by depicting how, when power is monopolized by a single individual, the privileged class becomes corrupt and the people are gradually rendered weak and foolish through the dictator’s schemes.
Inspired by the speeches of Old Major, an elderly boar, the animals at Manor Farm drive out their owner, Mr. Jones, and take over the farm. The clever pigs assume leadership roles, guiding the other animals toward the goal of a free and happy life for all.
Thanks to the animals’ voluntary and diligent work, crop yields increase and they gain more leisure time. However, as the conflict between the idealist Snowball and the cunning realist Napoleon intensifies, a power struggle ensues. After Napoleon emerges victorious and expels Snowball, a dictatorship begins. Ironclad discipline and excessive labor are enforced, and animals deemed disloyal are branded as Snowball’s henchmen and executed.
The animals’ freedom is increasingly suppressed, and Napoleon is given the title “Leader.” Although the animals become aware of their plight, they are unable to mount a proper resistance due to fear, ignorance, and weakness. Napoleon and the other privileged pigs become corrupt, eventually taking up whips, walking on two legs, and behaving like humans. The story ends with the fate of Animal Farm reverting to what it was during the days of Manor Farm.
Old Major is an elderly boar respected by the farm animals; he provides the spark for the rebellion with a speech asserting that the animals themselves—not the owner—are the ones being exploited, but he passes away before the rebellion begins.
Napoleon is a cunning, realist boar who, after the success of the rebellion, ousts Snowball and seizes power. Using all manner of schemes to sow confusion among the animals, he consolidates his rule and eventually becomes a greedy dictator who mimics human behavior.
Snowball is a brave and intelligent boar who led the fight during the rebellion; he dreams of a better life by building a windmill but is driven from the farm by Napoleon’s schemes.
Squealer was a pig raised by Mr. Jones and is Napoleon’s closest confidant, as well as an outstanding orator. Whenever a problem arises, he covers it up with plausible excuses, and as the dictatorship takes hold, he employs cunning tactics to subtly alter the Seven Commandments.
Boxer is a large, strong stallion who, though not particularly intelligent, is respected for his diligence and tremendous work ethic. Guided by the belief that “Comrade Napoleon is always right,” he works himself to the bone until he ultimately meets a tragic end: he is sold to the slaughterhouse as a spent horse.
Benjamin is the oldest and most cantankerous donkey among the farm animals. Although he sees right through everything, he tends to be a bystander who neither takes the lead nor acts proactively; only when Boxer is dragged off to the slaughterhouse does he stamp his feet in frustration, berating the animals for their foolishness.
Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, drinks heavily and neglects the farm’s management, leading to a rebellion by the animals that results in him losing the farm and being exiled. He eventually moves elsewhere and dies in an alcohol rehabilitation center in his later years.
Frederick is the owner of the nearby Pinchfield Farm. His relationship with Animal Farm is at times hostile and at times one of mutual interest; he even raids Animal Farm and destroys the windmill.
Pilkington is the owner of Foxwood Farm and, like Frederick, displays either a hostile or friendly attitude depending on his needs. Toward the end of the novel, he is invited to Animal Farm, where he enjoys a banquet and delivers a speech praising Napoleon.
Molly is a pretty mare who used to pull Mr. Jones’s cart; obsessed with her appearance and sugar, she grows weary of farm life after the rebellion and leaves the farm in search of a life cared for by humans.
Commentary on the Work
George Orwell (1903–1950), revered as one of the most important novelists, critics, and political commentators in the English-speaking world of the 20th century, outlined four motivations for writing—beyond mere livelihood—in “Why I Write”: pure selfishness, aesthetic passion, historical impulse, and political purpose.
Orwell describes the first motive—pure selfishness—as “the desire to appear clever, to be talked about, and to be remembered after one’s death,” and interprets the second—aesthetic passion—as “the joy derived from the beauty of the external world, the beauty of language, or the skillful arrangement of words.” He states that the third motive, the historical impulse, is “the desire to see things as they are, to record the truth, and to preserve it for future generations,” while the fourth, the political purpose, is “the desire to push the world in the direction one believes to be right.”
Orwell’s primary motivation for writing ‘Animal Farm’ was a political purpose. Having participated in the Spanish Civil War and experienced Stalin and the Soviet totalitarian regime firsthand, he wrote this work with a clear political purpose and believed that “speaking the truth in an age of universal deceit is, in itself, a revolutionary act.”
Although ‘Animal Farm’ is short in length, it is a work that defies easy categorization. When it was first published, Orwell gave it the subtitle “A Fairy Tale,” and it belongs to the tradition of animal fables that use anthropomorphized animals to indirectly critique human society.
Tracing the origins of animal fables leads back to the tradition of Aesop, but Orwell’s work is not a collection of individual short fables; rather, it follows a coherent plot to depict conflict and the corruption of power. In particular, scenes in which animals brutally execute their fellow animals are particularly effective in revealing the violence and totalitarian cruelty of communists.
Genre-wise, ‘Animal Farm’ is also a political allegory. An allegory is a literary form that conveys figurative meaning beyond the surface, literal meaning; in this work, the characters and events are structured to correspond one-to-one with actual historical events. While fables emphasize moral lessons, allegories are characterized by their strong focus on conveying religious and political messages.
Inspired by Old Major’s speeches and revolutionary theories, the animals at Manor Farm—which had been run by Jones—stage a rebellion. After driving out the humans, they establish “Animal Farm,” a society governed by the animals themselves. The most intelligent pigs become leaders and rule the farm, initially operating under the principle that “all animals are equal.”
However, during the construction of the windmill, Napoleon brands Snowball a traitor and, with Squealer at his side, begins to dominate and exploit the other animals. Animals who voice dissent or refuse to cooperate are executed without due process, while Napoleon consolidates his power and enjoys an increasingly luxurious lifestyle. He is also deceived by Frederick’s trickery during trade with the humans.
The loyal Boxer is sold off as a spent horse and killed as he grows old, and even the animals who led the rebellion begin to disappear one by one. Eventually, the younger animals continue to work diligently to sustain the Animal Republic, but the pigs throw parties with the neighboring farm owners and behave just like humans. Dressed in human clothes and walking on two legs, the pigs become nearly indistinguishable from the humans at Manor Farm.
Through this work, Orwell urges readers to look beyond the surface events to the allegorical meaning hidden beneath. Viewed as an allegory, the novel directly reflects the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin’s rise to power and nationalization, Stalin’s seizure of power and Trotsky’s exile following Lenin’s death, the Five-Year Plans and purges, the spread of the cult of personality, and the lack of change in the people’s lives.
However, limiting the work’s criticism to the Soviet Union alone would be a narrow interpretation. Orwell stated that he had never visited Russia in person and relied on facts he learned from books and newspapers; the universal lesson of the work is aimed at all forms of totalitarianism.
Ultimately, what Orwell seeks to convey in this work is a critique of all forms of totalitarianism. Whether communist, socialist, or fascist, any political system that treats the masses as a means to an end is, without exception, subject to criticism. Even liberal democracy cannot be entirely exempt.
Orwell also addresses the nature of utopia. A utopia refers to an ideal society that does not exist in reality, and Orwell’s view is that the classless society Lenin sought to build based on the theories of Marx and Engels was nothing more than an illusion impossible to realize in reality. He demonstrates a realistic understanding that even if class barriers are torn down, other forms of barriers will inevitably arise in their place.
The nature and dangers of power are also central themes of this work. As the British historian Lord John Acton famously stated, “All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”; power has a tendency to corrupt, and absolute power inevitably leads to corruption. Orwell illustrates the corruption of power through the process by which Napoleon, after ousting Snowball, comes to hold political power alone.
