Animal Farm is a satirical novela (fable) set on Manor Farm, a typical English farm. The book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II. Orwel was critic of this regime. This farm is owned and operated by Mr. Jones.
THE PLOT:
Old Major, an old prize- winning boar, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs—Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer—formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal and adopting as a personal maxim the affirmation “I will work harder”.
At first, Animal Farm prospers. However, as time passes, Napoleon and Snowball increasingly wordplay over the future of the farm, and they begin to struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals. Snowball suggests to build an electricity-generating windmill, but Napoleon solidly opposes the plan. After one meeting, when Snowball is fired from the farm, Napoleon asserts, the pigs alone will make all of the decisions—for the good of every animal.
Napoleon now quickly changes his mind about the windmill, and the animals, especially Boxer, devote their efforts to completing it. One day, after a storm, the animals find the windmill toppled. Napoleon begins expanding his powers, and rewrites history. Napoleon also begins to act more and more like a human being—sleeping in a bed, drinking whisky, and engaging in trade with neighboring farmers. The original Animalist principles strictly forbade such activities, but Squealer, Napoleon’s propagandist, justifies every action to the other animals, convincing them that Napoleon is a great leader and makes things better for everyone—despite the fact that the common animals are cold, hungry, and overworked.
Mr. Frederick, a neighboring farmer, cheats Napoleon in the purchase of some timber and then attacks the farm and dynamites the windmill, which had been rebuilt. Years pass on Animal Farm, and the pigs become more and more like human beings—walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. Eventually, the seven principles of Animalism, known as the Seven Commandments and inscribed on the side of the barn, become reduced to a single principle: “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. Napoleon entertains a human farmer named Mr. Pilkington at a dinner and declares his intent to ally himself with the human farmers against the laboring classes of both the human and animal communities. He also changes the name of Animal Farm back to the Manor Farm, claiming that this title is the “correct” one. Looking in at the party of elites through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer tell which are the pigs and which are the human beings.