In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the epilogue and analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’.

Epilogue

‘Animal Farm’ can be seen as one of Orwell’s works in which humor is particularly prominent, and it is said that his wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy, had a significant influence on this; Orwell refined the work through numerous exchanges of ideas with his wife, and as a result, he was able to write a novel that, unusually, possessed a highly accessible quality.
The farm animals, who had been neglected at Manor Farm, stage a rebellion inspired by the appeal of the boar Major. They drive out the farm owner Jones and his overseers, take over the farm themselves, and rename it “Animal Farm.” Under the leadership of the relatively intelligent pigs—Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer—all the animals strive to build a republic where all animals are equal. Led by the pigs, they hold Sunday meetings and set aside time for literacy classes; from horses to ducklings, every animal participates in running the farm with a sense of ownership, making it appear to be an ideal, egalitarian society.
However, a conflict over the construction of a windmill exposes a power struggle. The idealist Snowball is ousted by Napoleon, who then uses the cunning Squealer as his spokesperson for propaganda and agitation to persuade and manipulate the animals. Furthermore, by deploying nine dogs to instill a climate of fear, Napoleon establishes a complete dictatorship. Collective decision-making, such as the Sunday meetings, is abolished, and all decisions are made arbitrarily by Napoleon and his inner circle.
Using the construction of the windmills—which was originally Snowball’s plan—as a pretext, Napoleon suppresses the animals’ freedoms and suppresses their discontent by framing the threat of Jones’s re-invasion, branding Snowball a reactionary, and portraying these concerns as external threats. Animals who complain or protest are accused of being spies and purged, while workloads increase and food rations are cut.
Meanwhile, the pigs, who have formed the ruling class, enjoy a life of greater luxury than the humans did during the Jones era. They move into the house where Mr. and Mrs. Jones lived, drink alcohol, sleep in beds, wear clothes, build classrooms for their children, and even resume trade with humans. Ultimately, ‘Animal Farm’ reverts to the evils of human society.
The revolution, which had dreamed of an ideal society, ends in complete failure. Policies are enforced solely through threats and pretexts; the Seven Commandments are amended; and Boxer, who had worked so diligently, is sold to a human slaughterhouse. Finally, the pigs stand on two legs, wielding whips to oversee the animals, and the slogan “Four legs good, two legs bad” is changed to “Four legs good, two legs better,” while “All animals are equal” becomes “Some animals are more equal than others.”
The novel depicts how animals, who had been exploited by humans, launched a revolution under the leadership of the pigs in an attempt to build an ideal society free from exploitation; however, in the end, only the pigs enjoy privileges, and—particularly following a power struggle among the leadership—Napoleon’s dictatorship intensifies, resulting in a society of exploitation and terror even worse than that which existed before the revolution. This work is considered one of the first literary works to criticize Stalinism and continues to be regarded as one of the finest political satires ever written.

About the Work

George Orwell, known as a “conscience in action,” was a writer who sharply exposed political truths through his literature.
The saying by 19th-century British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” was once popular, but recently the concept of “soft power” has been discussed more frequently. This concept implies that the power of information and culture is stronger than military or economic power. This is because while the human body may be conquered by swords or “hard power,” it is difficult to completely dominate the human spirit.
The writer who most eloquently demonstrated the truth of these two expressions was George Orwell. Through “Animal Farm,” published toward the end of World War II, he showed that literature can reveal the true nature of society and power more powerfully than any gun or sword—and sometimes even more powerfully than an atomic bomb.
Orwell was a man of conscience who took action. After working as a colonial police officer in Burma, where he witnessed the exploitation of colonialism and was tormented by guilt, he resigned from the police force and went on to live among the socially marginalized in the slums of London and Paris. He even had the experience of nearly losing his life while fighting against a dictatorial regime in the Spanish Civil War, long before the sweetness of his honeymoon had faded.
Amid the socialist illusions held by the Soviet government—which had toppled the Russian Empire through revolution—and by some Western European intellectuals, Orwell courageously wrote ‘Animal Farm’. Although he faced numerous setbacks during the publication process, he did not yield and pressed forward with his convictions. Thus, the saying, “A conscience that does not act is on the side of evil,” is particularly fitting for Orwell.
Orwell was a figure who coldly criticized the group to which he belonged. His attitude of speaking “uncomfortable truths” without hesitation made him a great literary figure. Unlike those who cover up the truth for the sake of their own interests, he possessed moral courage.
“Animal Farm” should not be read solely as a critique of the Soviet government. If you peel back just one layer, this work addresses universal issues of life that transcend 20th-century society and appear in any era and any region. Although many years have passed since its publication, it does not feel outdated and still offers fresh insights.
As historian Sir John Acton put it, “All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In the history of literature, it is difficult to find a work that portrays the nature of power as persuasively as Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. Orwell criticized all forces that suppress individual freedom, noting that such oppression occurs not only in totalitarian societies but also in liberal democracies and capitalist societies. In that sense, Orwell’s work is also a sad self-portrait of our own society.