NOTES ON ANIMAL FARM (George Orwell)

 By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang

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ANIMAL FARM COMMENTARY

Characters in the Novel

a)    The Animals

Old Major: An old boar (pig) whose speech about the evils perpetrated by humans incites the animals into rebellion. His philosophy concerning the tyranny of Man is named Animalism by his followers. He also teaches the song "Beasts of England" to the animals.

Snowball: A boar who becomes one of the rebellion's most valuable leaders. After drawing complicated plans for the construction of a windmill, he is chased off of the farm forever by Napoleon's dogs and thereafter used as a scapegoat for the animals' troubles.

Napoleon: A boar (pig) who, with Snowball, leads the rebellion against Jones. After the rebellion's success, he systematically begins to control all aspects of the farm until he turned out into an undisputed tyrant.

Squealer: A consummate liar and a pig who becomes Napoleon's mouthpiece. Throughout the novel, he displays his ability to manipulate the animals' thoughts through the use of heavy yet convincing rhetoric and lies.

Boxer: A dedicated but dimwitted horse who aids in the building of the windmill but is sold to a glue-boiler after collapsing from exhaustion. Best known for his adage “Napoleon is always right”.

Mollie: Self-centered and a vain horse who prefers ribbons and sugar over ideas and rebellion. She is eventually lured off the farm with promises of a comfortable life.

Clover: A motherly horse who silently questions some of Napoleon's decisions and tries to help Boxer after his collapse.

Benjamin: A cynical, pessimistic donkey who continually undercuts the animals' enthusiasm with his cryptic remark, "Donkeys live a long time." Never inspired by the rebellion.

Moses: A tame raven and sometimes pet of Jones who tells the animals stories about a paradise called Sugar candy Mountain. He is alluded to the biblical Moses.

Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher Three dogs. The nine puppies born between Jessie and Bluebell are taken by Napoleon and raised to be his guard dogs.

b)    The Humans

Mr. Jones The often-drunk owner of Manor Farm, later expelled from his land by his own animals. He dies after abandoning his hopes to reclaim his farm by excessively intoxicating himself.

Mrs. Jones:  Jones' wife, who flees from the farm when the animals rebel.

Mr. Whymper: A solicitor hired by Napoleon to act as an intermediary in Animal Farm's trading with neighboring farms.

Mr. Pilkington: The owner of Foxwood, a neighboring and neglected farm. He eventually sells some of his land to Napoleon and, in the novel's final scene, toasts to Napoleon's success.

Mr. Frederick: An enemy of Pilkington and owner of Pinch field, another neighboring farm. Known for "driving hard bargains," Frederick swindles Napoleon by buying timber from him with counterfeit money. He later tries to attack and seize Animal Farm but is defeated.

THE SETTING OF THE NOVEL ANIMAL FARM

Animal Farm is a satirical novel by George Orwell written in metaphorical language to demonstrate the political upheavals during the years of Russian Revolution. However, the story itself doesn't take place during a specific period, but it is meant to parallel the years of the Russian Revolution. As a satire, the novel addresses that Revolution, and thus mimics those events which took place between the years of 1917 to 1945.

The novel is set on an imaginary

Manor Farm somewhere in the country of England. The Manor Farm, later called Animal Farm, is a small, independent farm positioned in the English countryside. The name “Manor Farm” tells us that it was once owned by a local aristocrat, the lord of the manor. However, the farm has since come into the hands of Mr. Jones, an unsuccessful, lazy, drunken farmer who after the rebellion of the animals, has been banished on account of cruelty and incompetence. After expelling Mr. Jones, the animals renames the farm to the celebrated Animal Farm.

The aspirations of the animals are high; they write seven commandments on the wall of the barn, including “All animals are created equal,” and “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy,” and thus execute their claim. They build a windmill, an object of much contention that is rebuilt several times after being destroyed by a storm and then by a band of farmers with dynamite.

Originally, the animals pledge to preserve the manor house, the former habitat of Mr. Jones-their enemy number one as a museum, but as the power structure becomes more unbalanced, the pigs move into the house, which becomes their domain. The farmhouse symbolizes the new totalitarian rule of the pigs and is indeed symptomatic of the “revised” commandment: “All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others.”

Although the actual, physical setting of Animal Farm is somewhere in rural England, the metaphorical setting could be any repressive government in any part of the world. The Animal Farm setting consequently could apply anywhere and universally where propaganda and oppression occur. Therefore, Animal farm somewhere in England can be animal farm everywhere because Animal Farm describes the potential harm that can occur under any repressive government in any part of the world.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL

One dark and fateful night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, an elderly pig, who had wanted to pass on to them words of wisdom concerning animal life but more importantly, he had had a dream and wishes to communicate it it on to the other animals on account of his short life period left. After some few words of wisdom concerning the nature of animal life, He proceeds to describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters.

As he had said before that he would not live longer, coincidentally, Old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals inspired by his philosophy of Animalism plot a rebellion against Jones. Out of their cleverness, the pigs Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball emerge as leaders of the new community in a subtle evolution that later in the novel proves disastrous. Initially, two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, demonstrate themselves important figures and planners of the dangerous enterprise that saw Mr. Jones out of the farm. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and he and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall.

These commandments are:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

These commandments are also condensed into the maxim "Four legs good, two legs bad!" which is primarily used by the sheep on the farm, often to disrupt discussions and disagreements between animals on the nature of Animalism.

At the outset, the uprising is a success: The animals complete the harvest and meet every Sunday to debate farm policy. The pigs, because of their intelligence, become the managers of the farm. Napoleon, however, proves to be a power-hungry leader who steals the cows' milk and a number of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also enlists the services of Squealer, a pig with the ability to persuade the other animals with sugar-coated lies that the pigs have little liking of milk if any but they take for the sake of the rest of the animals and are always moral and correct in their decisions.

Sooner than not, Jones and his men return to Animal Farm and tries to take possession of it again. Thanks to the tactics of Snowball, the animals defeat Jones in what thereafter becomes known as The Battle of the Cowshed. Although the animals seems to be united in the spirit of Animalism after being inspired by Old Major, Mollie, a vain horse concerned only with ribbons and sugar, becomes the first animal to betray the rest by accepting to be lured off the farm by another human during winter.

Snowball begins drawing plans for a windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the animals more leisure time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes such a plan on the grounds that building the windmill will allow them less time for producing food. On the Sunday that the pigs offer the windmill to the animals for a vote, Napoleon after urinating on the windmill plan drawn by Snowball, summons a pack of ferocious (brutal) dogs, who chase Snowball off the farm forever. Typical of a totalitarian leader, Napoleon announces that there will be no further debates; he also tells them that the windmill will be built after all and lies that it was his own idea, stolen by Snowball. For the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat (victim) on whom he blames all of the animals' hardships.

In the succeeding year, animals spent their time building the windmill. The dimwitted Boxer, though an incredibly strong horse, proves himself to be the most valuable animal in this endeavor. Jones, meanwhile, forsakes the farm and moves to another part of the county. Once again, contrary to the principles of Animalism, like Millie, Napoleon betrays the Old Major. He hires a solicitor and begins trading with neighboring farms. When a storm topples the half-finished windmill, Napoleon unsurprisingly blames Snowball alleging that he is still in league with some animals in the farm an allegation that made him (Napoleon) to force "confessions" from innocent animals and having the dogs kill them in front of the entire farm. He orders the continuation of the windmill building.

As his lust for power grow beyond proportion, Napoleon and the pigs move into Jones' house and begin sleeping in beds (which Squealer excuses with his brand of twisted logic). The animals receive less and less food, while the pigs grow fatter. After the windmill is completed in August, Napoleon sells a pile of timber to Frederick, a neighboring farmer who pays for it with forged banknotes. Frederick and his men attack the farm and explode the windmill but are eventually defeated.

As more of the Seven Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs, Napoleon and his pigs secretly revise some commandments to clear themselves of accusations of law-breaking as animals keep hearing strange noise at night while Squealer changes the language of the Commandments.

The changed commandments are as follows, with the changes italicized:

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets (Pg. 20).
5. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess (Pg. 33).
6. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause (Pg. 27).

 To illustrate some of these changes, after the pigs become drunk one night, the Commandment, "No animals shall drink alcohol" is changed to, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

 Boxer again offers his strength to help build a new windmill, but when he collapses, exhausted, Napoleon sells the devoted horse to the meat packers. Squealer tells the indignant animals that Boxer was actually taken to a veterinarian and died a peaceful death in a hospital, a tale the animals believe.

As years pass on, life for all the animals (except the pigs) is harsh. 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 reading “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Pg. 40).

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, twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs? “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which” (pg. 42). In fact, the common animals see that the distinction between humans and animals have vanished completely.

Much of the novella’s drama arises from the question of whether, and when, the animals will recognize that their true antagonist is not humans or pigs but power itself. The moment of reckoning comes in the novel’s final scene, when the animals see that the pigs and the humans are exactly alike, because they are equally corrupted by political power.

PLOT SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS

General Plot Analysis

The central struggle of Animal Farm arises when the animals’ desire for freedom and equality is corrupted by the consolidation of political power amongst the pigs. The animals’ original goal is expressed in the first chapter, in Old Major’s teachings and especially in “Beasts of England,” the song that becomes the anthem of Animal Farm.

At the beginning of the novella, political power is embodied by the farmer, Mr. Jones, who indulges himself while the animals starve. The animals win easily when they rebel against Mr. Jones, and as a result they make the mistake of thinking they have overcome political power itself. In reality they have only overcome one of the forms that political power can take. By the end of Chapter 2, when Napoleon steals the cows’ milk, the political power becomes embodied by the pigs.

Chapters 2 to 7 trace the development of the pigs’ power, and the other animals’ growing awareness that they have not achieved their goal after all. The pigs and Napoleon in particular come to embody political power in three ways;

• First, they claim more and more of the farms’ resources for themselves. They start by stealing milk and apples, then eventually sell animal products to buy human luxuries like whisky.
• Second, the pigs become more violent, introducing the dog police force and ordering executions.
• Third, the pigs claim the power to determine what truth is. Squealer changes the Commandments of Animalism and the story of the Battle of the Cowshed. Meanwhile, the animals slowly come to realize that their lives are no better than they were before the Rebellion.

The climax of the novella occurs in Chapter 7, when Napoleon decides to sell the hens’ eggs. The hens finally recognize that the pigs are their antagonists, and they rebel. Their rebellion is brutally crushed and the hens are executed.

Now, Boxer is the only character still clinging to the hope that freedom can be achieved. He has worked tirelessly to achieve this goal set forth by Old Major, which for Boxer is represented by his hope of one day retiring to a special pasture.

However, when the time comes for Boxer to retire, he is sold and killed. Boxer’s betrayal marks the moment in which political power embodied in Napoleon and the pigs completely defeats the animals.

 In Animal Farm’s final pages, the animals watch the pigs dining with human farmers, and find they are unable to tell the difference between humans and pigs. The pigs have become one with the human farmers because both groups are equally corrupted by the reality of political power.

Chapter One

 Animals meet to hear Old Major’s dream

As the novella opens, Mr. Jones, the proprietor and overseer of the Manor Farm, has just stumbled drunkenly to bed after forgetting to secure his farm buildings properly. As soon as his bedroom light goes out, all the farm animals except Moses, Mr. Jones’s tame raven, convene in the big barn to hear the educational and inspiring speech of Old Major, a 12 years old prize boar and pillar of the animal community. “Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals” (Pg. 1). Sensing that his long life is about to come to an end, Major wishes to impart to the rest of the farm animals a distillation of the wisdom that he has acquired during his lifetime.

As the animals listen raptly (attentively), Old Major begins delivering up the fruits of his years of quiet contemplation in his stall. The plain truth, he says, is that the lives of his fellow animals are “miserable, laborious, and short” (Pg. 2). Animals are born into the world as slaves, worked incessantly from the time they can walk, fed only enough to keep life in their bodies, and then slaughtered mercilessly when they are no longer useful. He urges animals to resist the false notion spread by humans that animals and humans share common interests, encouraging them to strive towards achieving a complete solidarity or “perfect comradeship” (Pg. 3).

After elaborating on the various ways that Man has exploited and harmed the animals, Major now relates a strange dream that he had the previous night, of a world in which animals live without the tyranny of men.  He then teaches the animals a song "Beasts of England" which initially he says has been lost to memory for generations but previous night both the tune and the words of the song had come back. The animals sing repeatedly until they awaken Jones, who fires his gun from his bedroom window, thinking there is a fox in the yard. Frightened by the shot, the animals disperse and go to sleep.

Analysis of chapter one

Numerous main characters are introduced in this chapter; Orwell paints their dominant characteristics with broad strokes. Jones, for example, is presented as a drunken, careless ruler, whose drinking belies (contradicts) the upscale (fashionable) impression he hopes to create with the name of his farm.

 In addition, Jones' very name (a common one) suggests he is like many other humans, and the tyranny of all mankind is an important theme of Major's speech. His unsteady gait (walk) suggested by the "dancing lantern" he carries and snoring wife mark him immediately as the epitome of all that Major says about mankind's self-absorption and gluttony. Indeed, the first chapter presents Jones as more of an "animal" than the animals themselves, who reacts to any disruption of his comfort with the threat of violence, as indicated by his gunfire when he is awakened from his drunken sleep.

The animals assembling in the barn are likewise characterized by Orwell in quick fashion: Major is old and wise, Clover is motherly and sympathetic, Boxer is strong yet dimwitted (stupid), Benjamin is pessimistic and cynical, and Mollie is vain and childish. All of these characteristics become more pronounced as the novel proceeds.

However, Major's speech is the most important part of the chapter, and through it Orwell displays his great understanding of political rhetoric and how it can be used to move crowds in whichever direction the speaker wishes. By addressing his audience as "comrades" and prefacing his remarks with the statement that he will not be with the others "many months longer," Major crawls himself to his listeners as one who has reached a degree of wisdom in his long life of twelve years and who views the other animals as equals, not a misguided rabble that needs advice and correction from a superior intellect. This notion that "All Animals Are Equal" becomes one of the tenets of Animalism, the philosophy upon which the rebellion will supposedly be based.

Major's speech seems to initially echo the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes, the seventeenth-century English philosopher who wrote (in his work Leviathan) that men in an unchecked state of nature will live lives that are "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Unlike Hobbes, however, who felt that a strong, authoritative government was required to keep everyone's innate self-interest from destroying society, Major argues that the earth could be a paradise if the tyranny of Man was overthrown. He presents his fellow animals as victims of oppression and incapable of any wrongdoing. The flaw (mistake) in Major's thinking, therefore, is the assumption that only humans are capable of evil, an assumption that will be overturned as the novel progresses. Although he tells his listeners, "Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever," this will not prove to be the case.

As previously mentioned, Major possesses great rhetorical skill. His barrage (bank) of rhetorical questions makes his argument more forceful, as does his imagery of the "cruel knife" and the animals screaming their "lives out at the block within a year." He specifically addresses Man's tyranny in terms of how he destroys families, consumes without producing, withholds food, kills the weak, and prevents them from owning even their own bodies. Major uses slogans as well ("All men are enemies. All animals are comrades") because he knows that they are easily grasped by listeners as simpleminded as Boxer.

Of course, the irony of the entire episode in the barn is that the animals will eventually betray the ideals set forth by Major. He warns, for example, that the animals must never come to resemble their human oppressors but by the end of the novel, the tyrannical pigs are indistinguishable from their human companions. Old Major's dream of an animal utopia will quickly become a totalitarian nightmare of dystopian.

Symbols such as rings in their noses, harnesses, bits, spurs, and whips are used to convey the liberty that Major hopes will one day be won. Images of food and plenty also contribute to the song's appeal. The singing of this powerful piece of propaganda reflects one of the novel's chief themes: Language can be used as a weapon and means of manipulation. As the animals will later learn, characters like Napoleon and Squealer will prove even more skilled at using words to get others to do their bidding.

The song "Beasts of England" is another way in which Major rouses his audience. Although the narrator jokes that the tune is "something between Clementine and La Cucaracha," the animals find it rousing and moving. The use of a song to stir the citizenry is an old political maneuver, and the lyrics of "Beasts of England" summarize Major's feelings about Man: The song describes a day when all animals will overcome their tormentors.

Far from just rousing his audience, Old Major’s dream presents the animals with a vision of utopia, an ideal world. The “golden future time” that the song “Beasts of England” prophesies is one in which animals will no longer be subject to man’s cruel domination and will finally be able to enjoy the fruits of their labors. The optimism of such lyrics as “Tyrant Man shall be o’erthrown” and “Riches more than mind can picture” galvanizes the animals’ agitation, but unwavering belief in this lofty rhetoric, as soon becomes clear, prevents the common animals from realizing the gap between reality and their envisioned utopia.

Chapter Two

The death of Old Major and animals’ rebellion

Three nights later, Old Major dies in his sleep, and for three months the animals make secret preparations to carry out the old pig’s dying wish of wresting (grabbing) control of the farm from Mr. Jones. Because of their intelligence, the pigs are placed in charge of educating the animals about principles Animalism, the name they give to the philosophy expounded by Major in Chapter one. Among the pigs, Snowball, Napoleon together with a silver-tongued pig named Squealer, are the most important to the revolution. Despite Mollie's concern with ribbons and Moses' tales of a place called Sugar candy Mountain, the pigs are successful in conveying the principles of Animalism to the others.

The rebellion occurs when Jones again falls into a drunken sleep and neglects to feed the animals, When Jones and his men arrive, they begin whipping the animals but soon find themselves being attacked and chased off the farm. The triumphant animals then destroy all traces of Jones, eat heartily, and celebration in their newfound freedom. After a tour of Jones' house, they decide to leave it untouched as a museum. Snowball changes the name "Manor Farm" to "Animal Farm" and paints the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the wall of the barn. The cows then give five buckets of milk, which Napoleon steals.

Analysis of chapter Two

The death of old Major marks the moment when the animals must begin to put his theory into practice. For the remaining part of the novel however, Orwell depicts the ever-widening abyss between the vision expounded by old Major and the animals' attempt to realize it.

The names of the pigs chosen to lead the revolution reveal their personalities. Snowball's name suits the revolution in general, which "snowballs" (increases) and grows until, at the novel's end, the animal rulers completely resemble their previous masters. Napoleon's name suggests his stern leadership style (he has "a reputation for getting his own way") and, of course, his incredible lust for power, which becomes more pronounced with each chapter.

Squealer (informant), as his name suggests, becomes the mouthpiece of the pigs. His habit of "skipping from side to side" while arguing "some difficult point" dramatizes, in a physical way, what the smooth-talking pig will later do in a rhetorical sense: Every time he is faced with a question or objection, he will "skip" around the topic, using convoluted (complex) logic to prove his point. In short, he eventually serves as Napoleon's Minister of Propaganda.

Like all patriots and revolutionaries, Snowball is earnest and determined to win as many converts to his cause as he can. Two animals, however, momentarily annoys him. Mollie's concern over sugar and ribbons is offensive to Snowball because he (as a proponent of Animalism) urges his fellow beasts to sacrifice their luxuries. To him, Mollie is a shallow materialist, concerned only with her own image and comforts. Like Mollie, Moses proves irksome to Snowball because Moses fills the heads of the animals with tales of Sugar candy Mountain.

What Snowball (and the rest of the animals) fail to realize is that Sugar candy Mountain, a paradise, is as unattainable a place as a farm wholly devoted to the principles of Animalism. As the biblical Moses led his people out of bondage and into the Promised Land, Moses the raven only offers a story about an obviously fictitious place. The fact that the animals are so willing to believe him reveals their wish for a utopia that (in the sky or on the farm) will never be found. Thus, Moses is the novel's "religious figure," but in a strictly ironic sense, since Orwell never implies that Moses' stories better the animals' condition. As Karl Marx famously said, "Religion is the opium of the people", an idea shown in the animals' acceptance of Moses' tales.

Once the animals rebel and drive Jones from the farm, they behave as a conquering army retaking its own land and freeing it from the yoke of oppression. All the symbols of Jones' reign nose-rings, dog-chains, knives, are tossed into a celebratory bonfire. More important is that the animals attempt to create their own sense of history and tradition by preserving Jones' house as a museum. Presumably, future animals will visit the house to learn of the terrible luxury in which humans once lived, but, like Sugar candy Mountain, this world where all animals study their oppressors instead of becoming them is a fantasy.

 Similarly, the renaming of Manor Farm to Animal Farm suggests the animals' triumph over their enemy. By renaming the farm, they assume that they will change the kind of place it has become another example of their optimism and innocence.

The Seven Commandments of Animalism, like the biblical Ten Commandments, are an attempt to completely codify the animals' behavior to comply with a system of morality. Like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are direct and straightforward, leaving no room for interpretation or qualification. The fact that they are painted in "great white letters" on the side of the barn suggests the animals' desire to make these laws permanent as the permanence of the Ten Commandments is suggested by their being engraved on stone tablets. Of course, like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are bound to be broken and bound to be toyed with by those looking for a loophole to excuse their wrongdoing.

The chapter's final episode involving the buckets of milk hints at the ruthlessness Napoleon will display as the novel progresses. One of the hens suggests that the milk be put into the animals' mash so that all can enjoy it an Animalistic thought, to be sure, since the Seventh Commandment of Animalism states that "All animals are equal." Note that Napoleon, however, places himself in front of the buckets and sends Snowball to lead the animals to the harvest.

 Already the reader can sense the boar's greed and betrayal of the most basic law of Animalism. Napoleon is using the patriotism and drive of the other animals for his own purposes, which initially involve gaining as much control over the farm's food as he can.

Chapter Three

‘Four legs good, two legs bad’

Despite the initial difficulties inherent in using farming tools designed for humans, the animals cooperate to finish the harvest and do so in less time than it had taken Jones and his men to do the same. Boxer distinguishes himself as a strong, tireless worker, admired by all the animals. The pigs become the supervisors and directors of the animal workers. On Sundays, the animals meet in the big barn to listen to Snowball and Napoleon debate a number of topics on which they seem never to agree.

Snowball forms a number of Animal Committees, all of which fail. However, he does prove successful at bringing a degree of literacy to the animals, who learn to read according to their varied intelligences.

 To help the animals understand the general precepts of Animalism, Snowball reduces the Seven Commandments to a single slogan: "Four legs good, two legs bad." Napoleon, meanwhile, focuses his energy on educating the youth and takes the infant pups of Jessie and Bluebell away from their mothers, presumably for educational purposes.

The animals learn that the cows' milk and wind fallen apples are mixed every day into the pigs' mash. When the animals object, Squealer the sugar-tongued boar explains that the pigs don’t really like the milk but at this particular time, need the milk and apples to sustain brains as they work for the benefit of all the other animals lest Mr. Jones come back.

Analysis of chapter Three

While the successful harvest seems to signal the overall triumph of the rebellion, Orwell hints in numerous ways that the very ideals that the rebels used as their rallying cry are being betrayed by the pigs. The fact that they do not do any physical work but instead stand behind the horses shouting commands suggests their new positions as masters and as creatures very much like the humans they presumably wanted to overthrow.

When Squealer explains to the animals why the pigs have been getting all the milk and apples, he reveals his rhetorical skill and ability to "skip from side to side" to convince the animals that the pigs' greed is actually a great sacrifice: Appealing to science (which presumably has proven that apples and milk are "absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig") and lying about pigs disliking the very food they are hoarding, Squealer manages a great public-relations stunt (trick) by portraying the pigs as near-martyrs who only think of others and never themselves. "It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples," Squealer explains, and his dazzling pseudo-logic persuades the murmuring animals that the pigs are, in fact, selfless.

Squealer's rhetorical question, "Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones back?" is the first of many times when Squealer will invoke the name of Jones to convince the animals that despite any discontentment they may feel their present lives are greatly preferable to the ones they led under their old master. Orwell's tone when describing the animals' reaction to Squealer "The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too obvious" is markedly (evidently) ironic and again signals to the reader that the pigs are slowly changing into a new form of their old oppressors.

The flag created by Snowball is, like the Seven Commandments and the preserving of Jones' house as a museum, an attempt by the animals to create a greater sense of solidarity and emphasize their victory. Snowball's Animal Committees fail, however, because in them he attempts to radically transform the animals' very natures.

Trying to create a "Clean Tails League" for the cows is as doomed to fail as trying to tame the wild animals in a "Wild Comrade's Re-education Committee." Snowball's aims may be noble and high-minded, but he is naive in thinking that he can alter the very nature of the animals' personalities. Thus, Snowball is marked as the intellectual theoretician of the rebellion, a characteristic that will be heightened later when he begins planning the construction of the windmill. Like old Major, Snowball has noble yet innocent assumptions about the purity of animals' natures.

Unlike Snowball, Napoleon is a pig of action who cares little for committees. His assumption that the education of the young is the most important duty of the animal leaders may sound like one of Snowball's altruistic (unselfish) ideas but he only says this to excuse his removal of the new pups that he will raise to be the vicious guard dogs he uses to terrorize the farm in later chapters.

Worth noting is that the characters of other animals are further developed in this chapter. Boxer, for example, is portrayed as a simple-minded (dimwitted) but dedicated worker: He cannot learn any more than four letters of the alphabet, but what he lacks in intelligence is completed in his devotion to the farm.

His new motto "I will work harder" and request to be called to the field half an hour before anyone else marks him as exactly the kind of animal that the pigs feel confident in controlling. When there is no thought, there can only be blind acceptance. (Like Boxer, the sheep are content with repeating a motto instead of engaging in any real thought. Their repetition of "Four legs good, two legs bad" will continue throughout the novel, usually when Napoleon needs them to quiet any dissention (disagreement).

Mollie's vanity is stressed in her reluctance to work during the harvest. She cannot devote herself to any cause other than her own ego. Thus, when she is taught to read, she refuses to learn any letters except the ones that spell her name. Unlike Snowball (and his intellectual fancies) or Napoleon (and his ruthlessness), Mollie willingly abstains from any part in the political process.

Old Benjamin's character is likewise developed in this chapter. Orwell points out that Benjamin "never changed" and that, when asked about the rebellion, only remarks, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." The other animals find this reply                        a "cryptic"(puzzling) one, but the reader understands Benjamin's point: He is wary (cautious) of becoming too enthusiastic about the rebellion, since he knows that any new government can succumb to the temptation to abuse its power.

Later, when the animals learn to read, Benjamin never does, since he finds "nothing worth reading." His cynicism is out-of-place with the patriotism felt by the other animals, but he cannot be convinced that the rebellion is a wholly noble cause and, after witnessing the actions of the pigs, neither can the reader.

Chapter Four

"The Battle of the Cowshed."

As summer ends and news of the rebellion spreads to other farms (by way of pigeons released by Snowball and Napoleon), Jones spends most of his time in a pub, complaining about his troubles to two neighboring farmers: Pilkington and Jones; Frederick.

In October, Jones and a group of men arrive at Animal Farm and attempt to seize control of it. Snowball turns out to be an extraordinary tactician and, with the help of the other animals, drives Jones and his men away. Boxer fights courageously, as does Snowball, and the humans suffer a quick defeat. The animals’ losses amount only to a single sheep, whom they give a hero’s burial.

Boxer, who believes that he has unintentionally killed a stable boy in the chaos, expresses his regret at taking a life, even though it is a human one. Snowball tells him not to feel guilty, asserting that “the only good human being is a dead one.” Mollie, as is her custom, has avoided any risk to herself by hiding during the battle.

 Snowball and Boxer each receive medals with the inscription “Animal Hero, First Class.” The animals discover Mr. Jones’s gun where he dropped it in the mud. They place it at the base of the flagstaff, agreeing to fire it twice a year: on October 12th, the anniversary of the Battle of the Cowshed and on the anniversary of the rebellion.

Analysis of chapter Four

Snowball and Napoleon's decision to send pigeons to neighboring farms to spread news of Animal Farm is like their creation of "Animal Hero, First Class" at the end of the chapter, an attempt to heighten the gravity and scope of the rebellion. By informing other animals about Animal Farm, the pigs hope to instigate rebellions elsewhere and eventually live in the world depicted in old Major's dream.

The scene of Jones commiserating in the Red Lion with Pilkington and Frederick portrays the humans as exactly the greedy self-centered beings that the animals wished to overthrow albeit the reader knows how Napoleon is betraying the principles of Animalism, as he becomes more and more like Jones and his sympathizers.

Driven by fear and their perception that other animals at neighboring farms are beginning to become inspired by the rebels' example, Jones attempts to take back what is his but his attempt at military prowess (competence or expertise) in this case only further depicts him as impotent and inept (clumsy or incompetent). After being muted upon by the pigeons, Jones is knocked into a dung heap a fitting place for him, in the eyes of his animal enemies.

Boxer's teary-eyed concern over the possible death of the stable-lad reinforces his simple-mindedness and foreshadows the fact that he will be unable to survive in a place as harsh as Animal Farm is soon to become. The image of the great horse trying to turn the boy over with his hoof while he laments, "Who will not believe that I did not do this on purpose?" contrasts the one of Snowball, with the blood dripping from his wounds, stating, "War is war. The only good human being is a dead one." Unlike Boxer, who wishes no real harm even to his enemies, Snowball cares little for the possible regrets one of his soldiers may face. To him, death is an inevitable by-product of revolution, as he remarks during his funeral oration for the dead sheep.

The chapter ends with the implication that Animal Farm is becoming a place grounded more in military might than farming industry. The creation of military decorations, the naming of the battle, and the decision to fire Jones' gun twice a year all suggest the animals' love of ceremony and the slow but sure transformation of Animal Farm into a place governed by martial law more than the Seven Commandments of Animalism.

In this chapter, Orwell makes masterful use of irony, an important component of satirical writing, to illustrate the gap between what the animals are fighting for and what they believe they are fighting for. All of the animals except Mollie fight their hardest in the Battle of the Cowshed, but as Chapter III demonstrates, they do not fully understand the ideals for which they fight, the principles that they defend. In putting all of their energies toward expelling the humans, the animals believe that they are protecting themselves from oppression.

 In reality, however, they are simply and unwittingly consolidating the pigs’ power by muting the primary threat to the pigs’ regime the human menace. Moreover, though the animals are prepared to give their lives in defense of Animal Farm, they appear unprepared to deal with the consequences of their fight: Boxer is horrified when he thinks that he has killed the stable boy.

Chapter Five

The windmill controversy and the banishment of Snowball.

Winter comes, and Mollie works less and less. Eventually, Clover discovers that Mollie is being bribed off Animal Farm by one of Pilkington's men, who eventually wins her loyalties. Mollie disappears, and the pigeons report seeing her standing outside a pub, sporting one of the ribbons that she always coveted.

The pigs increase their influence on the farm, deciding all questions of policy and then offering their decisions to the animals, who must ratify them by a majority vote. Snowball and Napoleon continue their fervent debates, the greatest of which occurs over the building of a windmill on a knoll. Snowball argues in favor of the windmill, which he is certain will eventually become a labor-saving device; Napoleon argues against it, saying that building the windmill will take time and effort away from the more important task of producing food.

The two also disagree on whether they should (as Napoleon thinks) amass an armory of guns or (as Snowball thinks) send out more pigeons to neighboring farms to spread news of the rebellion. On the Sunday that the plan for the windmill is to be put to a vote, Napoleon calls out nine ferocious dogs, who chase Snowball off the farm. Napoleon then announces that all debates will stop and institutes a number of other new rules for the farm.

Three weeks after Snowball's escape, Napoleon surprises everybody by announcing that the windmill will be built. He sends Squealer to the animals to explain that the windmill was really Napoleon's idea all along and that the plans for it were stolen from him by Snowball.

Analysis of chapter Five

The defection of Mollie marks her as greater materialist than she had appeared to be earlier in the novel. The fact that she is bribed away from Animal Farm with sugar and ribbons, two items that Snowball condemned as unnecessary for liberty in Chapter 2, shows her desire for luxury without making the necessary sacrifices to obtain it. She is a defector from the politics of Animal Farm and is never mentioned by the other animals, who find her abandonment of Animalism and the rebellion shameful.

Despite their implied condemnation, however, the pigeons do report that "She appeared to be enjoying herself" much more so than the animals who remain on the farm. Mollie may be politically shallow in the eyes of her former comrades, but she does manage to secure herself a much more comfortable life, which raises the question of whether one is better off living well with one's enemies or suffering with one's comrades. The novel eventually suggests that Mollie did, in fact, make a wise decision in leaving Animal Farm, although (to be fair) she did not do so because of any political or moral motives.

At this point, the pigs have gained more power: Earlier, they were "supervisors," but now they decide "all questions of farm policy." While these decisions still need to be ratified by the other animals, Orwell suggests that the pigs are gaining ground at a slow but steady rate.

"Bitterly hard" debates increase between Snowball and Napoleon. Actually, "debate" is hardly the correct term, since only Snowball attempts to use rhetoric and logic to sway the other animals Napoleon uses a number of what Squealer will later call "tactics" to get his way. For example, Napoleon spends time during the week training the sheep to break into their "Four legs good, two legs bad" bleating during "crucial moments" in Snowball's speeches; packing the meetings with his own unwitting supporters is Napoleon's calculated strategy here. His unleashing of the nine dogs later in the chapter is Napoleon's ultimate "debating technique": Violence, not oratory, is how Napoleon settles disagreements.

The windmill itself is a symbol of technological progress. Snowball wants it to be built because he thinks it will bring to the farm a degree of self-sufficiency — which accords with the principles of Animalism. Napoleon, however, cares nothing for the windmill (and even urinates on Snowball's plans for it) because he is only concerned with establishing his totalitarian rule. At the debate on the windmill, Snowball argues that after it is built, the animals will only need to work three days a week, while Napoleon argues that "if they wasted time on the windmill they would all starve to death."

Thus, Snowball is a leader who looks forward and considers the future of his nation, while Napoleon thinks only of the present, since his vision of the future is one in which he is in full control over animals who have no time for leisure activities. (This is again emphasized when Snowball argues for spreading news of the rebellion so that eventually all animals will rise against oppression, while Napoleon wants to create a stockpile of weapons that he can then turn, if needed, on his own citizens.) In short, Snowball's vision of life with the windmill is like Moses' Sugar candy Mountain: An immensely desirable yet fantastic place.

Note that Benjamin does not endorse either pig, and their slogans have no effect on him. Like the reader, he is doubtful of Snowball's scheme and wary of Napoleon's maneuvers. All Benjamin believes is what he knows for sure, the sum total of which is that, "Windmill or no windmill, life will go on as it always had gone on; that is, badly." This cynical remark is perhaps the most important statement in the entire novel, for despite all of the ideologies, plans, battles, schemes, debates, betrayals, sound, and fury of the animals, the end result is that they return full circle to the exact same life they tried to avoid. As he does several times throughout the novel, Orwell speaks directly to the reader through Benjamin.

Napoleon's newfound power is based wholly on the threat of violence, as demonstrated in his "winning" the debate with Snowball by driving him off the farm. His decision to end all debates reflects his insatiable need for power: Debates, when conducted in the spirit of inquiry and discovery of viewpoints, are crucial to a government that wants its citizens to take part in their own rule. Napoleon, however, views debates as "unnecessary" because he will permit no questioning of his command and wants to silence any dissention.

Napoleon begins to become an unapproachable, godlike figure. Note that when the four porkers object to the way in which Napoleon seizes power, the dogs begin to growl, and the sheep bleat their "Four legs good" slogan over and over. This combination of relentless propaganda and threats of violence comprise Napoleon's philosophy of leadership. Napoleon's disinterment (discovery) of Major's skull is his way of affiliating himself with the beloved father of Animalism; another piece of admittedly brilliant propaganda.

Squealer displays even more of his skill at doubletalk in this chapter. As he did previously with the milk and apples, Squealer paints Napoleon's crimes in a light that makes Napoleon more like a martyr than a dictator. Calling Napoleon's takeover a "sacrifice" and stating that leadership is "not a pleasure," the self-important pig manages to as was said earlier about him "turn black into white." Even more invidious (undesirable) is Squealer's ability to rewrite history: He tells the animals that Snowball's part in the Battle of the Cowshed was "much exaggerated" and (once Napoleon decides to proceed with the building of the windmill) that the idea for it was Napoleon's all along.

Here, Orwell attacks the ways in which those who rise to power revise the past in order to keep their grip on the present and future. These "tactics," as Squealer calls them, allow Napoleon to always present himself in the most favorable light and, if an animal still objects, the three dogs accompanying Squealer serve as ample deterrent. Faced with Squealer's "skipping" words and the mouths of the dogs, an animal has hardly a choice but to submit to the new regime.

Chapter Six

Napoleon engages in trade; the windmill collapses

For the rest of the year, the animals work at a backbreaking pace to farm enough food for themselves and to build the windmill. The leadership cuts the rations, Squealer explains that they have simply “readjusted” them and the animals receive no food at all unless they work on Sunday afternoons. But because they believe what the leadership tells them that they are working for their own good now, not for Mr. Jones’s they are eager to take on the extra labor. Boxer proves himself a model of physical strength and dedication.

Although their work is strenuous, the animals suffer no more than they had under Mr. Jones. They have enough to eat and can maintain the farm grounds easily now that humans no longer come to cart off and sell the fruits of their labor. But the farm still needs a number of items that it cannot produce on its own, such as iron, nails, and paraffin oil.

Napoleon announces that Animal Farm will begin trading with neighboring farms and hires Mr. Whymper, a solicitor, to act as his agent. Other humans meet in pubs and discuss their theories that the windmill will collapse and that Animal Farm will go bankrupt. Jones gives up his attempts at retaking his farm and moves to another part of the county. The pigs move into the farmhouse and begin sleeping in beds, which Squealer excuses on the grounds that the pigs need their rest after the daily strain of running the farm. “It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work It was also more suited to the dignity of the Leader…” (Pg. 20). 

That November, a storm topples the half-finished windmill. Napoleon tells the animals that Snowball is responsible for its ruin and offers a reward to any animal who kills Snowball or brings him back alive. He then gives a passionate speech in which he convinces the animals that they must rebuild the windmill, despite the backbreaking toil involved. “Long live the windmill!” he cries. “Long live Animal Farm!”

Analysis of chapter six

With the passing of a year, all of the animals (save Benjamin) have wholly swallowed Napoleon's propaganda: Despite their working like "slaves," the animals believe that "everything they did was for the benefit of themselves" and "not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings." When Napoleon orders that animals will need to work on Sundays, he calls the work "strictly voluntary" yet adds that any animal who does not volunteer will have his rations reduced. Thus, Napoleon is able to foster a sense of unity (where animals "volunteer") using the threat of hunger. This transformation of obvious dictatorial practices (forced labor) into seemingly benevolent social programs (volunteering) is another of Napoleon's methods for keeping the animals working and docile.

The effect of Napoleon's propaganda is also seen in Boxer's unflagging devotion to the windmill. Even when warned by Clover about exerting himself, Boxer can only think, "I will work harder" and "Napoleon is always right." The fact that he can only think in slogans reflects his inability to engage in any real thought at all. Slogans such as these are powerful weapons for leaders like Napoleon, who want to keep their followers devoted, docile, and dumb.

One of the most effective ways that Napoleon strengthens his rule is his use of the politics of sacrifice. Indeed, "sacrifice" is an often-repeated word in the novel, and Napoleon uses it to excuse what he knows others will see as his blatant disregard for the Seven Commandments of Animalism. For example, when ordering that Animal Farm will engage in trade with human beings and that the hens must sell their eggs, he states that the hens "should welcome this sacrifice as their own special contribution towards the building of the windmill."

Squealer continues his work of mollifying (appeasing) the animals who object to Napoleon's plans. As he figuratively rewrites history when explaining that there never was a resolution against using money or trading and that the animals must have dreamed it, he literally rewrites history when he changes the Fourth Commandment from "No animal shall sleep in a bed" to "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." When Clover learns of the two added words, she is naturally suspicious but has been so brainwashed by Napoleon's regime that she concludes that she was mistaken. Squealer's explanation of why the pigs sleep in beds hinges on semantics rather than common sense: "A bed merely means a place to sleep in" and "A pile of straw is a bed, properly regarded" are examples of his manipulation of language. His most powerful word, of course, is "Jones," for whenever he asks, "Surely, none of you wishes to see Jones back?" all the animals' questions are dispelled.

The destruction of the windmill marks the failure of Snowball's vision of the future. It also allows Orwell to again demonstrate Napoleon's ability to seize an opportunity for his own purposes. He invokes the name of Snowball as Squealer does with Jones: "Do you know," he asks, "the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? Snowball!" For the remaining part of the novel, Snowball will be used as a scapegoat for all of Napoleon's failings; his commands to begin rebuilding the windmill and shouting of slogans occur because he does not want to give the animals any time in which to consider the credibility of his story about Snowball. Although he shouts, "Long live Animal Farm," he means, "Long live Napoleon!"

Chapter seven

"Beasts of England" outlawed; Napoleon’s poet pig-song introduced

In the bitter cold of winter, the animals struggle to rebuild the windmill. In January, they fall short of food, a fact that they work to conceal from the human farmers around them, lest Animal Farm be perceived to be failing while Napoleon uses Mr. Whymper to spread news of Animal Farm's sufficiency to the human world.

After learning that they must surrender their eggs, the hens stage a demonstration that only ends when they can no longer live without the rations that Napoleon had denied them. Nine hens die as a result of the protest.

The animals are led to believe that Snowball is visiting the farm at night and spitefully subverting their labor. He becomes a constant (and imagined) threat to the animals' security, and Squealer eventually tells the animals that Snowball has sold himself to Frederick and that he was in league with Jones from the very beginning.

One day in spring, Napoleon calls a meeting of all the animals, during which he forces confessions from all those who had questioned him (such as the four pigs in Chapters 5 and 6 and the three hens who lead the protest) and then has them murdered by the dogs. Numerous animals also confess to crimes that they claim were instigated by Snowball. Eventually, the singing of "Beasts of England" is outlawed and a new song by Minimus, Napoleon's pig-poet, is instituted, although the animals do not find the song as meaningful as their previous anthem.

Analysis of chapter seven

Chapter VII joins Chapter VI in focusing primarily on the violent tactics employed by oppressive governments again explored through the behavior of the pigs to maintain the docility and obedience of the populace even as their economic and political systems falter and grow corrupt.

Faced with the realities of farming and his own lack of planning for the winter Napoleon is forced to deal with a hungry populace and the potentially damaging leaks of such news to the outside world. The humans react with relief when the windmill topples because its failure seems to justify their contempt for the animals and their belief in their own superiority.

To surmount these problems, Napoleon metaphorically assumes the role of director and mounts a theatrical production. In terms of this metaphor, Mr. Whymper is the audience whom Napoleon must engage and fool into believing in an illusion, the sheep are actors reciting lines about the rations having been increased, and the empty grain bins filled with sand are the props (or "special effects"). Whymper is fooled into thinking that Animal Farm is running smoothly, and Napoleon again demonstrates his judicious use of deception.

More deception occurs in the malicious lies spread about Snowball. Napoleon uses him as a scapegoat for any misfortunes, as Hitler did with European Jews as he rose to power. Both leaders understand the public's desire to cast blame on an outside source for all their troubles.

Squealer's claims that the pigs have found "documents" linking Snowball to Jones are an appeal to the animals' need for proof although the nonexistent documents are never revealed to them on the grounds that the animals are unable to read them. Like the grain-bins filled with sand, Snowball's "documents" are another ruse used by Napoleon to manipulate the thoughts of those who could end his rule. The animals refuse to believe that the thin walls of the windmill contributed to its collapse, revealing the extent to which they subscribe to the Snowball enticing ideology.

Those who actually threaten Napoleon's rule are dealt with in a swift and brutal fashion. Napoleon calls a meeting of all the animals for the purpose of publicly executing dissidents in order to make the others understand what will happen to them should they refuse one of his orders.

When the four pigs who protested against Napoleon's decision to end the Sunday meetings are called before him, they confess to have been secretly in touch with Snowball, in the hopes of receiving some clemency from Napoleon. This is the same technique used by the hens, who, likewise, are slaughtered. The number of other animals who confess to Snowball-inspired crimes, however, suggests the degree to which paranoia has gripped the animals, who now feel the need to confess things as slight as stealing six ears of corn or urinating in the drinking water.

The terrible atmosphere of fear and death that now engulf Animal Farm is discussed by Boxer and Clover at the end of the chapter. Boxer, naturally, concludes that he must work harder to atone for "some fault in ourselves"; like the confessing animals, he wants to purge himself of nonexistent evils. Clover, however, does gain a small amount of insight as she looks at the farm from the hill and considers that the terrors she has seen were not in her mind when old Major spoke of his dream. However, since she lacked "the words to express" these ideas, her possibly revolutionary thoughts are never brought out. With Snowball gone, none of the animals are encouraged to read for the same reasons that slaves throughout history were similarly deprived.

Napoleon's outlawing "Beasts of England" is his next step in assuming total control. Fearful that the song might stir up the same rebellious feelings felt by the animals the night Major taught it to them, Napoleon replaces it with a decidedly blander song that focuses on the responsibility of the animals to protect the farm, rather than to overthrow its leaders:

Animal Farm, Animal Farm,

Never through me shalt thou come to harm!

Of course, there is no debate about this decision, since the sheep who accompany Squealer effectively end all talk of it with their incessant bleating. Nothing at Animal Farm will ever be the same since the blood of animals has been shed by their own kind.

Just as the pigs rewrite history, they manipulate statistics in their favor, claiming that every important aspect of life on the farm has improved statistically since the Rebellion: animals live longer, eat more, have more offspring, work fewer hours, and so forth. In this way, the pigs produce a false vision of reality but busy breaking the principles of Animalism.

Chapter Eight

The battle of the windmill; the 5^th and 6^th commandments changed

The following year brings more work on the windmill and less food for the workers, despite Squealer's lists of figures supposedly proving that food production has increased dramatically under Napoleon's rule. As Napoleon grows more powerful, he is seen in public less often. The general opinion of him is expressed in a poem by Minimus that lists his merits and virtues. More executions occur while Napoleon schemes to sell a pile of timber to Frederick who is alternately rumored to be a sadistic torturer of animals and the victim of unfounded gossip.

After the completion of the new windmill in August, Napoleon sells the pile of timber to Frederick, who tries to pay with a check. Napoleon, however, demands cash, which he receives. Whymper then learns that Frederick's banknotes are forgeries, and Napoleon pronounces the death sentence on the traitorous human.

The next morning, Frederick and 14 men arrive at Animal Farm and attempt to take it by force. Although the humans are initially successful, after they blow up the windmill, the animals are completely enraged and drive the men from the farm. Squealer explains to the bleeding animals that, despite what they may think, they were actually victorious in what will hereafter be called "The Battle of the Windmill."

Some days later, the pigs discover a case of whisky in Jones' cellar. After drinking too much of it, Napoleon fears he is dying and decrees that the drinking of alcohol is punishable by death. Two days later, however, Napoleon feels better and orders the small paddock (which was to have been used as a retirement-home for old animals) to be ploughed and planted with barley. The chapter ends with Muriel rereading the Seven Commandments and noticing, for the first time, that the Fifth Commandment now reads, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

Analysis of chapter Eight

By this point, Napoleon and Squealer have so systematically perverted the truth that the animals cannot recognize their leaders’ duplicity even when they witness it directly especially the changing of the commandments. The animals are quick to blame their memory because they are made to think that their retention is weak.

The number of executions occurring at the farm naturally raises some concerns among the animals, who recall the Sixth Commandment of Animalism: "No animal shall kill any other animal." However, as he has done many times already, Napoleon revises the past to suit his present aims and alters the painted Commandment to read, "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause." The addition of two words gives Napoleon free rein to kill whomever he wishes (since he determines all "causes"), and these two words echo the other additions to the commandments: "with sheets" to the Fourth and "to excess" to the Fifth. In all three cases, a minor grammatical revision permits major revision of a law that legitimizes and excuses Napoleon's tyranny.

As the work on the windmill continues, the animals do begin to starve, as Napoleon originally said they would in his debates with Snowball. Ever the happy sycophant, however, Squealer readily provides lists of figures to prove to the animals that they are not starving. Benjamin Disraeli, the former Prime Minister of England, once remarked, "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics", a remark that Squealer's actions here prove true.

Like many people, the animals are dazzled by numbers as indicative of scientific sampling and concrete information, despite the fact that "they would sooner had less figures and more food." Official sounding "evidence" thus convinces the animals that their own rumbling stomachs must be in the wrong.

Now that he is in total and undisputed control of Animal Farm, Napoleon becomes                      a paranoid (suspicious) egomaniac, and Orwell stresses this new phase of Napoleon's character in several ways:

Ø  First, he virtually vanishes from public; when he is seen, he is first heralded by a black cockerel.

Ø  Second, he lives in separate rooms from the other pigs and only eats from Jones' Crown Derby dinner service.

Ø  Third, he orders the gun to be fired on his birthday and is referred to with flattering epithets, such as "Protector of the Sheep-fold."

Ø  Fourth, he orders Minimus' poem about himself to be inscribed on the wall of the big barn, surmounted by a painting of his profile.

Ø  Fifth, he has a pig named Pinkeye taste all of his food to be sure it is not poisoned.

Ø  Sixth, he names the completed windmill Napoleon Mill and, after selling the timber, has the animals slowly walk past him as he lies on a bed of straw next to his piles of money. Again, Orwell displays a politician's image as a powerful means of controlling his subjects.

None of these unabashed displays of his own importance, however, deter the animals from worshipping him. The poem written by Minimus is notable for the ways in which it resembles a prayer, likening Napoleon to "the sun in the sky" and flattering him with lines like, "Thou are the giver of / All that thy creatures love." (Note the formal poetic diction found in words like "Thou," "Ere," and "thee" that seemingly elevates the dignity of the poem's subject.) As a whole, however, the poem portrays Napoleon as an omniscient force ("Thou watches over all, / Comrade Napoleon") that begins brainwashing his subjects from their first living moments:

Had I a sucking pig,
Ere he had grown as big
Even as a pint bottle or a rolling-pin,
He should have learned to be
Faithful and true to thee,
Yes, his first squeak should be
"Comrade Napoleon!"…

Unlike "Beasts of England," which called for an uprising against tyranny and an increased sense of unity among all animals, Minimus' poem portrays Napoleon as a greater and better animal than all others, deserving their full devotion. On the surface, such a song of praise might seem like innocent flattery — but the reader understands that the poem is another weapon in Napoleon's propaganda arsenal.

Napoleon's relationship with Frederick and Pilkington also reveal his disregard for old Major's principles; indeed, Orwell remarks that relations between Napoleon and Pilkington become "almost friendly." When the animals are shocked to learn that Napoleon "had really been in secret agreement with Frederick" to sell him the timber, the reader (as with Minimus' poem) senses the truth and understands that there never was a "secret agreement," but that Napoleon had been sounding each man to see who would offer him a better price.

Again Napoleon is able to manipulate the animals' perceptions in order to make himself appear in complete control. The pigeons that Napoleon releases with their varying slogans ("Death to Frederick" and "Death to Pilkington") resemble government-controlled media, spreading the official word on a topic to the world and completely contradicting all previous statements when necessary.

Another way in which Napoleon manipulates public opinion is his naming the windmill "Napoleon Mill." Building the windmill had been an effort of all the animals, but Napoleon names it after himself to again insinuate that Animal Farm has become what it is because of his actions. Ironically, this is true in both the positive and negative sense: Napoleon's leadership has freed the animals from human control but it has also begun to enslave them to another form of tyranny.

 As Snowball is deemed responsible for everything that goes wrong on the farm, Napoleon is credited with all improvements. The animals praising him for the taste of the water and other things with which Napoleon obviously had nothing to do reveals the depth to which he has pervaded their minds — and terrified them into complete dependence and obedience.

The destruction of the windmill marks Animal Farm's final, irrevocable turn for the worse. As the windmill earlier symbolized the hopes of Snowball and a future of leisure, its explosion at the hands of Frederick symbolizes the absolute impossibility of Snowball's dreams. The Battle of the Windmill recalls, of course, the Battle of the Cowshed, but this battle is more chaotic, bloodier, and less effective than the former: "A cow, three sheep, and two geese were killed, and nearly everyone was wounded."

Like the statistics that "proved" that the animals could not be hungry, Squealer's logic in proving that the battle was a victory. Boxer, bleeding and wounded, cannot conceive how Squealer can call the battle a victory, until the pig explains, "The enemy was in occupation of this very ground that we stand upon. And now, thanks to the leadership of comrade Napoleon; we have won every inch of it back again!" Boxer's deadpan (unsmiling) reply to this "Then we have won back what we had before", contains a wisdom that even he cannot appreciate, for he is attempting to follow Squealer's logic while simultaneously (and unknowingly) pointing out the laughable nature of Squealer's claim. Here, as elsewhere, the satire of Animal Farm grows even sharper.

 The episode involving the alcohol is notable for the way in which it further characterizes the pigs as the gluttonous animals they are thought to be in the popular imagination, as well as how it offers another example of Napoleon's cold efficiency: His decision to use that paddock as a place to harvest barley instead of the old-age home it was originally earmarked to clearly indicate that Napoleon values profits (and homemade spirits) over revering the aged.

Chapter Nine

Napoleon betrays Boxer his loyal worker, he is sold for profit

Unenthusiastically and weakly, the animals set about rebuilding the windmill after celebrating their so-called victory against Frederick. Though Boxer remains seriously injured, he shows no sign of being in pain and refuses to leave his work for even a day. Clover makes him a bandage for his hoof, and he eventually does seem to improve, but his great strength seems slightly diminished. He says that his only goal is to see the windmill off to a good start before he retires. Though no animal has yet retired on Animal Farm, it had previously been agreed that all horses could do so at the age of twelve. Boxer now nears this age, and he looks forward to a comfortable life in the pasture as a reward for his immense labors.

Food supplies continue to diminish, but Squealer explains that they actually have more food and better lives than they have ever known. The four sows litter 31 piglets; Napoleon, the father of all of them, orders a schoolroom to be built for their education. Meanwhile, more and more of the animals' rations are reduced while the pigs continue to grow fatter. Animal Farm is eventually proclaimed a Republic, and Napoleon is elected President.

Once his hoof heals, Boxer works as hard as he can at building the windmill until the day he collapses because of a lung ailment. After he is helped back to his stall, Squealer informs them that Napoleon has sent for the veterinarian at Willingdon to treat him. When the van arrives to take Boxer to the hospital, however, Benjamin reads its side and learns that Boxer is actually being taken to a knacker, or glue-boiler. Clover screams to Boxer to escape, but the old horse is too weak to kick his way out of the van, which drives away. Boxer is never seen again.

To placate (calm) the animals, Squealer tells them that Boxer was not taken to a knacker but that the veterinarian had bought the knacker's truck and had not yet repainted the words on its side. The animals are relieved when they hear this. The chapter ends with a grocer's van delivering a crate of whisky to the pigs, who drink it all and do not arise until after noon the following day.

Analysis of chapter nine

Chapter nine hinges on the fate of one of Napoleon’s most loyal worker; Boxer. Orwell uses Boxer’s death as a searing indictment (accusation) of such totalitarian rule, using his death to sadly and bitterly point to the downfall of Animal Farm. The great horse seems to have no bad qualities apart from his limited intellect, but, in the end, he falls victim to his own virtues of loyalty and the willingness to work.

Thus, Boxer’s great mistake lies in his conflation (mixing) of the ideal of Animal Farm with the character of Napoleon: never thinking for himself about how the society should best realize its founding ideals, Boxer simply follows Napoleon’s orders blindly, naïvely assuming that the pigs have the farm’s best interest at heart. It is sadly ironic that the system that he so loyally serves ultimately betrays him: he works for the good of all but is sold for the good of the few who never ever appreciates his efforts on the farm.

The scene in which Boxer is taken to his death is notable for its depiction of a powerless and innocent figure caught in the gears of unforgiving tyranny. (Note that the van's driver wears a bowler hat, a symbol of cruel humanity.) Although Boxer tries to kick his way out of the van, his previously incredible strength has been through days of mindless hard work in the service of his tormentors reduced to nothing. Only in his last moments does Boxer begin to understand what is happening to him, but the knowledge comes too late for anything to change.

The pig leadership’s betrayal and hypocrisy becomes even more apparent in the specific manner of Boxer’s death: by selling Boxer for profit, the pigs reenact the very same cruelties against which the Rebellion first fights, the valuing of animals for their material worth rather than their dignity as living creatures by Jones. When a new crate of whisky arrives for the pigs, we can reasonably infer that the money for it has come from the sale of Boxer. Moreover, the intensely tragic nature of Boxer’s fate in a glue factory contrasts greatly with his noble character, and the contrast contributes to the dramatic effect of Boxer’s death, increasing the power of Orwell’s critique.

Boxer’s life and death provide a microcosm for Orwell’s conception of the ways in which the Russian communist power treated the working class that it purported to serve: Orwell suggests that the administration exhausted the resources of the workers for its own benefit and then mercilessly discarded them.

This chapter also continues to display Squealer's manipulation of language for the pigs' political ends. In his famous essay, "Politics and the English Language" (1946), Orwell discusses the many ways that our language "becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish," but also argues that "the slovenliness of our language makes it easier to have foolish thoughts."

This process is illustrated in Squealer's announcements to the animals about their shortages of food: "For the time being," he explains, "it had been found necessary to make a readjustment of rations." His use of "readjustment" instead of "reduction" is a subtle attempt to quell the animals' complaints about their stomachs "reduction" is a word implying less of something, but "readjustment" implies a shifting of what is already there. (Thus one hears politicians speak of "the need to increase funding of government programs" instead of "tax hikes". In "Politics and the English Language," Orwell contends that such euphemisms are used because they prevent listeners from conjuring mental pictures of what is being described, which in turn lessens the amount of horror listeners can feel when considering the topic.

Similarly, the animals are "glad to believe" Squealer's obvious lies about Boxer's final moments in which he supposedly praised both Animals and Napoleon. This is Squealer's most outrageous and blatant piece of propaganda, and a reader may well wonder why none of the animals raise the slightest suspicion about it. The reason is that they are afraid to do so, afraid of Napoleon and his dogs, of course, but also afraid of probing too deeply into the story and thus upsetting their own consciences. Believing Squealer is easier politically and morally. They can excuse their lack of action by willingly believing Squealer's lies about the owner of the van. As Orwell ironically explains:

The animals were enormously relieved to hear this. And when Squealer went on to give further graphic details of Boxer's death-bed, the admirable care he had received, and the expensive medicines for which Napoleon had paid without a thought to the cost, their last doubts disappeared and the sorrow that they felt for their comrade's death was tempered by the thought that at least he had died happy.

Also notable in this chapter is the great amount of ceremony that Napoleon institutes throughout the farm: The increased amount of songs, speeches, and demonstrations keep the animals' brains busy enough not to think about their own wretchedness and Napoleon packs the meetings with the sheep in case any animals momentarily see past all the pomp and circumstance.

 The wreath Napoleon orders to be made for Boxer's grave is a similar display for Napoleon's own ends, as is the elegy (poem) for Boxer that he ends with the horse's two maxims in order to threaten the other animals. “Napoleon ended his speech with a reminder of Boxer's two  favorite  maxims, "I will  work  harder"  and  "Comrade Napoleon is  always  right", maxims, he said, which every animal  would  do well to  adopt  as his  own” (Pg. 37).

 The fact that the pigs get drunk on the night of the supposed solemn day of Boxer's memorial banquet betrays their complete lack of sympathy for the devoted but ignorant horse. Their drunkenness also makes them more like Jones, their former oppressor.

Chapter Ten

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others

Years pass, and Animal Farm undergoes its final changes. Muriel, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher are all dead, and Jones dies in an inebriates' home. Clover is now 14 years old (two years past the retiring age) but has not retired. (No animal ever has.) There are more animals on the farm, and the farm's boundaries have increased, thanks to the purchase of two of Pilkington's fields. The second windmill has been completed and is used for milling corn. All the animals continue their lives of hard work and little food except, of course, for the pigs.

One evening, Clover sees a shocking sight: Squealer walking on his hind legs. Other pigs follow, walking the same way, and Napoleon also emerges from the farmhouse carrying a whip in his trotter. The sheep begin to bleat a new version of their previous slogan: "Four legs good, two legs better!" Clover also notices that the wall on which the Seven Commandments were written has been repainted: Now, the wall simply reads, "All Animals Are Equal / But Some Animals Are More Equal than Others." Eventually, all the pigs begin carrying whips and wearing Jones' clothes.

In the novel's final scene, a deputation of neighboring farmers are given a tour of the farm, after which they meet in the dining-room of the farmhouse with Napoleon and the other pigs. Mr. Pilkington makes a toast to Animal Farm and its efficiency. Napoleon then offers a speech in which he outlines his new policies: The word "comrade" will be suppressed, there will be no more Sunday meetings, the skull of old Major has been buried, and the farm flag will be changed to a simple field of green. His greatest change in policy, however, is his announcement that Animal Farm will again be called Manor Farm.

 Soon after Napoleon's speech, the men and pigs begin playing cards, but a loud quarrel erupts when both Napoleon and Pilkington each try to play the ace of spades. As Clover and the other animals watch the arguments through the dining-room window, they are unable to discriminate between the humans and the pigs.

Analysis of chapter ten

Chapter ten of Animal Farm brings the novel to its logical, unavoidable, yet chilling (frightening) conclusion. Everything depicts the complete transformation from the left hand to the right hand.  Napoleon and the other pigs have completely become identical to the human farmers to the degree that "it was impossible to say which was which."  Animal Farm has been changed to Manor Farm. There will never be a "retirement home" for old animals as evidenced by Clover.

The completion of the second windmill marks not the rebirth of Snowball's utopian vision, but a further linking of the animals and humans: Used not for a dynamo but instead for milling corn (and thus making money), the windmill's symbolic meaning has (like everything else) been reversed and corrupted. Animal Farm is now inexorably (inevitably) tied to its human neighbors in terms of commerce and atmosphere.

Orwell has years pass between Chapters 9 and 10 to stress the ways in which the animals' lack of any sense of history has rendered them incapable of judging their present situation: The animals cannot complain about their awful lives, since "they had nothing to go upon except Squealer's lists of figures, which invariably demonstrated that everything was getting better and better." the animals cannot recall there ever having been a way of life different from their present one and, therefore, no way of life to which they can compare their own.

Although "Beasts of England" is hummed in secret by some would-be rebels, "no one dared to sing it aloud." The pigs have won their ideological battle. Only Benjamin, a means by which Orwell again voices his own opinion of the matter, is able to conclude that "hunger, hardship, and disappointment" are the "unalterable law of life."

Throughout the novella, Orwell has told his fable from the animals’ point of view. In this chapter, we see clearly the dramatic power achieved by this narrative strategy. The animals remain naïvely (honestly) hopeful up until the very end. Although they realize that the republic foretold by Old Major has yet to come to fruition, they stalwartly (faithfully) insist that it will come “someday.” These assertions charge the final events of the story with an intense irony.

While Clover is shocked at the sight of Squealer walking on two legs, the reader is not, since this moment is the logical result of all the pigs' previous machinations. Napoleon's carrying a whip in his trotter formerly a symbol of human torture and dressing in Jones' clothes only cements in readers minds what they have long suspected. The sheep's new slogan, as before, destroys any chance for thought or debate on the animals' part, and the new Commandment painted on the wall perfectly (and ironically) expresses Napoleon's philosophy. Of course, the phrase "more equal" is paradoxical, but this illustrates the contradictory notion of animals oppressing their own kind in the name of liberty and unity.

When the deputation of neighboring humans arrives, the animals are not sure whom they should fear: The pigs or the men. Orwell implies here that there is no real difference, as he does with the pigs buying a wireless, a telephone, and newspapers, and with Napoleon smoking a pipe, despite old Major's admonition to avoid all habits of men.

Pilkington's address to Napoleon is sniveling (sobbing) in tone and reveals his desire to remain on good terms with the intimidating leader of Animal Farm. Excusing all cruelty and apologizing for being "nervous" about the effects of the rebellion, Pilkington offers a stream of empty words said only to keep the wheels of commerce well-greased. Note that he praises Napoleon for making the animals do more work for less food; flattery from such a man can only suggest that the object of such praise is as corrupt as he who flatters. His final witticism (joke) "If you have your lower animals to contend with … we have our lower classes!" again stresses the political interchangeability between the pigs and the men.

v  The changes of which Napoleon speaks in his address are the final ones needed to make the farm a complete dictatorship:

v  The abolition of the word "comrade" will create less unity among the animals,

v  The burial of old Major's skull will figuratively "bury" any notions of the dead pig's ideals.

v  The removal of the horn and hoof from the flag will ensure that the animals over which it waves never consider the rewards of struggle and rebellion.

 Finally, the changing of the farm's name back to Manor Farm implies that everything has come full circle while also implying that the farm is not, in any sense, the animals'.

The novel's final scene in which Napoleon and Pilkington argue about two aces of spades brilliantly represents the entire book: After years of oppression, rebellion, and reform, the pigs have become as corrupt and cruel as their masters. Smoking, drinking, whipping, killing, and even cheating are now qualities shared by both animal and man. Each is motivated purely by self-interest and not the altruistic yet ineffectual principles once expounded by old Major.

Ultimately, the readers of Animal Farm and so do the animals conclude that the real enemy and the problem in this case has not been Mr. Jones neither the pigs but POWER, it corrupts. All leaders who think they have a license to lead must check this spot. Is it leadership or power?

CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION

1. Old Major

The prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia serves as the inspiration for the Rebellion. Three days after describing the vision and teaching the animals the song “Beasts of England,” Major dies, leaving Snowball and Napoleon to struggle for control of his legacy. Orwell based Major on both the German political economist Karl Marx and the Russian revolutionary leader Lenin.

A wise and persuasive pig, old Major inspires the rebellion with his rhetorical skill and ability to get the other animals to share his indignation. When he announces that he wishes to share the contents of his strange dream with his companions, all the animals comply, demonstrating the great respect they have for such an important (that is, "major") figure.

His speech about the tyranny of man is notable for its methodical enumeration of man's wrongs against the animals. Listing all of man's crimes, old Major rouses the other animals into planning the rebellion.

His leading them in singing "Beasts of England" is another demonstration of his rhetorical skills, for after he teaches the animals the song about a world untainted by human hands, the animals sing it five times in succession.

Though his portrayal of Old Major is largely positive, Orwell does include a few small ironies that allow the reader to question the venerable pig’s motives. For instance, in the midst of his long litany of complaints about how the animals have been treated by human beings, Old Major is forced to concede that his own life has been long, full, and free from the terrors he has vividly sketched for his rapt audience. He seems to have claimed a false brotherhood with the other animals in order to gather their support for his vision.

Another flaw in old Major's thinking is that he places total blame on man for all the animals' ills. According to him, once they "Remove Man from the scene," then "the root cause of hunger and overwork" will be abolished forever.

Clearly, old Major believes that Man is capable only of doing harm and that animals are capable only of doing good. Such one-dimensional thinking that ignores the desire for power inherent in

living things can only result in its being disproved.

Also ironic is old Major's admonition to the animals: "Remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him." This warning is ignored by Napoleon and the other pigs, who, by the novel's end, completely resemble their human masters.

Major, who represents both Marx and Lenin, continuously serves as the source of the ideals that the animals continue to uphold even after their pig leaders have betrayed them. Animals keep quoting Old Major once they sense something bizarre happening with their animal leadership, the pigs.

2. Snowball

A boar who becomes one of the rebellion's most valuable leaders. After drawing complicated plans for the construction of a windmill, he is chased off the farm forever by Napoleon's dogs and thereafter used as a scapegoat for the animals' troubles.

Snowball is the animal most clearly is attuned to old Major's thinking, and he devotes himself to bettering the animals in intellectual, moral, and physical ways. As a result of this, he manages to win the support of many animals except the power hungry ones like Napoleon and Squealer.

He brings literacy to the farm so that the animals can better grasp the principles of Animalism by reading the Seven Commandments he paints on the barn wall. He also reduces the Commandments to a single precept ("Four legs good, two legs bad") so that even the least intelligent animals can understand the farm's new philosophy.

The "thinker" of the rebellion, Snowball shows a great understanding of strategy during the Battle of the Cowshed, and while his various committees may fail, the fact that he attempts to form them reveals the degree to which he wants to better the animals' lives.

 His plan for the windmill is similarly noble, since its construction would give the animals more leisure time. His expulsion at the hands of Napoleon, however, suggests that force but not good intentions governs the farm.

Snowball emerges as a fervent ideologist who throws himself heart and soul into the attempt to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s infrastructure. His idealism, however, leads to his downfall. Relying only on the force of his own logic and rhetorical skill to gain his influence, he proves no match for Napoleon’s show of brute force.

Although Orwell depicts Snowball in a relatively appealing light, he refrains from idealizing his character, making sure to endow him with certain moral flaws. For example, Snowball basically accepts the superiority of the pigs over the rest of the animals.

 Moreover, his fervent, single-minded enthusiasm for grand projects such as the windmill might have erupted into full-blown megalomaniac despotism had he not been chased from Animal Farm. Indeed, Orwell suggests that we cannot eliminate government corruption by electing principled individuals to roles of power; he reminds us throughout the novella that it is power itself that corrupts.

3. Napoleon:

 A boar (pig) who, with Snowball, leads the rebellion against Jones. After the rebellion's success, he systematically begins to control all aspects of the farm until he turned out into an undisputed tyrant.

While Jones' tyranny can be somewhat excused due to the fact that he is a dull-witted drunkard, Napoleon's can only be ascribed to his blatant lust for power.

The very first description of Napoleon presents him as a "fierce-looking" boar "with a reputation for getting his own way."

Throughout the novel, Napoleon's method of "getting his own way" involves a combination of propaganda and terror that none of the animals can resist. Note that as soon as the revolution is won, Napoleon's first action is to steal the cows' milk for the pigs.

From the very beginning of the novella, Napoleon emerges as an utterly corrupt opportunist. Though always present at the early meetings of the new state, Napoleon never makes a single contribution to the revolution, not to the formulation of its ideology, not to the bloody struggle that it necessitates and not to the new society’s initial attempts to establish itself.

 He never shows interest in the strength of Animal Farm itself, only in the strength of his power over it. Thus, the only project he undertakes with enthusiasm is the training of puppies. He doesn’t educate them for their own good or for the good of all, however, but rather for his own good: they become his own private army or secret police, a violent means by which he imposes his will on others not disregarding the banishment of Snowball from the farm.

Although he is most directly modeled on the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Napoleon represents, in a more general sense, the political tyrants that have emerged throughout human history and with particular frequency during the twentieth century.

 His namesake is not any communist leader but the early-eighteenth-century French general Napoleon, who betrayed the democratic principles on which he rode to power, arguably becoming as great a despot as the aristocrats whom he supplanted.

It is a testament to Orwell’s acute political intelligence and to the universality of his fable that Napoleon can easily stand for any of the great dictators and political schemers in the world history, even those who arose after Animal Farm was written.

Clearly, the words of old Major inspired Napoleon not to fight against tyranny, but to seize the opportunity to establish himself as a dictator. The many crimes he commits against his own comrades range from seizing nine puppies to "educate" them as his band of killer guard dogs to forcing confessions from innocent animals and then having them killed before all the animals' eyes.

Napoleon's greatest crime, however, is his complete transformation into Jones although Napoleon is a much harsher and stern master than the reader is led to believe Jones ever was. By the end of the novel, Napoleon is sleeping in Jones' bed, eating from Jones' plate, drinking alcohol, wearing a derby hat, walking on two legs, trading with humans, and sharing a toast with Mr. Pilkington.

His final act of propaganda changing the Seventh Commandment to "All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal than Others" reflects his unchallenged belief that he is in complete control of the farm. His restoration of the name Manor Farm shows just how much Napoleon has wholly disregarded the words of old Major.

4. Squealer  

Every tyrant has his sycophants, and Napoleon has one in Squealer, a clever pig who (as the animals say) "could turn black into white."

 He justifies the pigs’ monopolization of resources and spreads false statistics pointing to the farm’s success. Orwell uses Squealer to explore the ways in which those in power often use rhetoric and language to twist the truth and gain and maintain social and political control.

Throughout the novel, he serves as Napoleon's mouthpiece and Minister of Propaganda. Every time an act of Napoleon's is questioned by the other animals  regardless of how selfish or severe it may seem Squealer is able to convince the animals that Napoleon is only acting in their best interests and that Napoleon himself has made great sacrifices for Animal Farm.

For example, after Squealer is questioned about Napoleon's stealing the milk and apples, he explains that Napoleon and his fellow pigs must take the milk and apples because they "contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig."

He further explains that many pigs "actually dislike milk and apples" and tells the questioning animals, "It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." His physical "skipping from side to side" during such explanations parallels his "skipping" words, which are never direct and always skirt the obvious truth of the matter at hand.

As the novel proceeds, he excuses Napoleon's tyranny and sullies Snowball's reputation, just as Napoleon desires. The most outrageous demonstration of his "skipping" is when he convinces the animals that Boxer was taken to a veterinary hospital instead of the knacker's.

All the way through his career, Orwell explored how politicians manipulate language in an age of mass media. In Animal Farm, the silver-tongued pig Squealer abuses language to justify Napoleon’s actions and policies to the proletariat by whatever means seem necessary.

 By radically simplifying language, as when he teaches the sheep to bleat “Four legs good, two legs better!”, he limits the terms of debate. By complicating language unnecessarily, he confuses and intimidates the uneducated, as when he explains that pigs, who are the “brainworkers” of the farm, consume milk and apples not for pleasure, but for the good of their comrades.

In this latter strategy, he also employs jargon (“tactics, tactics”) as well as a baffling vocabulary of false and impenetrable statistics, engendering in the other animals both self-doubt and a sense of hopelessness about ever accessing the truth without the pigs’ mediation.

Squealer’s lack of conscience and unwavering loyalty to his leader, alongside his rhetorical skills, make him the perfect propagandist for any tyranny. Squealer’s name also fits him well: squealing, of course, refers to a pig’s typical form of vocalization, and Squealer’s speech defines him. At the same time, to squeal also means to betray, aptly evoking Squealer’s behavior with regard to his fellow animals.

5. Boxer

Horses are universally prized for their strength, and Boxer is no exception, standing almost six-feet tall, Boxer is a devoted citizen: The horse whose incredible strength, dedication, and loyalty play a key role in the early prosperity of Animal Farm and the later completion of the windmill.

The most sympathetically drawn character in the novel, Boxer epitomizes all of the best qualities of the exploited working classes: dedication, loyalty, and a huge capacity for labor. Quick to help but rather dim-witted, Boxer shows much devotion to Animal Farm’s ideals but little ability to think about them independently. He naïvely trusts the pigs to make all his decisions for him. His two mottoes are “I will work harder” and “Napoleon is always right.”

He also, however, suffers from what Orwell saw as the working class’s major weaknesses: anaïve trust in the good intentions of the intelligentsia and an inability to recognize even the most blatant forms of political corruption.

 Exploited by the pigs as much or more than he had been by Mr. Jones, Boxer represents all of the invisible labor that undergirds the political drama being carried out by the elites. Boxer’s pitiful death at a glue factory dramatically illustrates the extent of the pigs’ betrayal.

It may also, however, speak to the specific significance of Boxer himself: before being carted off, he serves as the force that holds Animal Farm together.

As soon as he learns about Animalism, Boxer throws himself into the rebellion's cause. At the Battle of the Cowshed, Boxer proves to be a valuable soldier, knocking a stable-boy unconscious with his mighty hoof. (Note that Boxer, however, is not bloodthirsty and feels great remorse when he thinks he has killed the boy.)

His rising early to work on the farm and his personal maxim "I will work harder" reveal his devotion to the animals' cause. He also proves himself to be the most valuable member of the windmill-building team.

Boxer's great strength, however, is matched by his equally stunning innocence and naiveté. He is not an intelligent animal (recall his inability to learn any of the alphabet past the letter D) and therefore can only think in simple slogans, the second of which ("Napoleon is always right") reveals his childlike dependence on an all-knowing leader.

Even when he collapses while rebuilding the windmill, his first thoughts are not of himself but of the work: "It is my lung … It does not matter. I think you will be able to finish the windmill without me." His hopes of retiring with Benjamin after his collapse display the extent of his innocence, since the reader knows that Napoleon has no intention of providing for an old, infirm horse.

 Even when he is being led to his death at the knacker's, Boxer needs to be told of his terrible fate by Benjamin and Clover. He becomes wise to Napoleon's ways too late, and his death is another example of Napoleon's tyranny.

6. Mollie

Unlike Boxer, who always thinks of others, Mollie is a shallow materialist who cares nothing for the struggles of her fellow animals. Self-centered and a vain horse who prefers ribbons and sugar over ideas and rebellion.

The vain, capricious animal who pulls Mr. Jones’s carriage. Mollie craves the attention of human beings and loves being groomed and pampered. She has a difficult time with her new life on Animal Farm, as she misses wearing ribbons in her mane and eating sugar cubes.

Her first appearance in the novel suggests her personality when she enters the meeting at the last moment, chewing sugar and sitting in the front so that the others will be able to admire the red ribbons she wears in her mane.

Her only concerns about the revolution are ones prompted by her ego: When she asks Snowball if they will still have sugar and ribbons after the rebellion, she betrays the thoughts of old Major and reveals her vanity.

She is lulled off the farm by the prospect of more material possessions than she could enjoy in an animal-governed world, marking her as one to whom politics and struggle mean nothing.

7. Benjamin

A cynical, pessimistic donkey who continually undercuts the animals' passion with his cryptic remark, "Donkeys live a long time." As horses are known for their strength, donkeys are known for their stubbornness, Benjamin is the long-lived donkey who stubbornly refuses to feel inspired by the Rebellion. He is the only animal who never really believes in the rebellion, but he doesn’t oppose it, and he doesn’t oppose Napoleon’s rise to power either.  

While all of his comrades delight in the prospect of a new, animal-governed world, Benjamin only remarks, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey."

He is intelligent and able to read, but he “never exercised his faculty. So far as he knew, he said, there was nothing worth reading” (Chapter 3). When the animals ask him to help them by reading the Commandments which have been changed on Napoleon’s orders, Benjamin refuses “to meddle in such matters” (Chapter 8).

Benjamin firmly believes that life will remain unpleasant no matter who is in charge. Of all of the animals on the farm, he alone comprehends the changes that take place, but he seems either unwilling or unable to oppose the pigs.

While this reply puzzles the animals, the reader understands Benjamin's pessimistic point: In the initial moments of the rebellion, Animal Farm may seem a paradise, but in time it may come to be another form of the same tyranny at which they rebelled. Of course, he is proven right at the end. The only thing that he knows for sure "Life would go on as it had always gone on that is, badly" proves to be a definitive remark about the animals' lives. Although cynical, he is a realist.

Within the novella’s allegory of Soviet history, Benjamin represents the intellectuals who failed to oppose Stalin. More broadly, Benjamin represents all intellectuals who choose to ignore politics. Benjamin pays a high price for his refusal to engage with the Farm’s politics. When he finally tries to take action and save his best friend, Boxer, it is already too late.

8. Colver

Not so much is known about Clover, a good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer’s close friend.  It is worth noting however, that she is a very interesting and sarcastic animal. She never calls a spade with the name but calls it another.

She is also motherly horse who silently questions some of Napoleon's decisions and tries to help Boxer after his collapse

Knowing very well what the pigs are capable of doing, Clover often suspects the pigs of violating one or another of the Seven Commandments, and she would ask Muriel the white goat to read out for her the commandment she suspects to have been corrupted. But to avoid any hair raising concern, she repeatedly ‘blames herself for misremembering the commandments’ whereas she knows the truth.

9. Moses

A tame raven and sometimes pet of Jones who tells the animals stories about a paradise called Sugar candy Mountain. He is alluded to the biblical Moses.

With his tales of the "promised land" to which all animals retire after death, Moses is the novel's "religious" figure. Like his biblical counterpart, Moses offers his listener descriptions of a place Sugar candy Mountain where they can live free from oppression and hunger.

At first, the pigs find him irksome, since they want the animals to believe that Animal Farm is a paradise and fear that the animals will be prompted by Moses' tales to seek a better place. However, as conditions on the farm worsen, the pigs allow Moses to stay because his tales offer the animals the promise of rest after a weary, toilsome life.

 As Karl Marx famously stated, "Religion is the opium of the people," and Moses' tales of Sugar candy Mountain likewise serve as an opiate to the animals' misery.

10. Bluebell, Jessie and Pitcher

Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher are the three dogs. The nine puppies born between Jessie and Bluebell are taken by Napoleon and raised to be his guard dogs although he takes them under the pretext of educating them.

Jessie always acted as the mobiliser of the animals in the Farm and fast to take action. While Pitcher after swearing to be loyal to Napoleon alone, becomes the head of the other guards as endorsed by Napoleon. The three and the other nine puppies are used by the pig to banish Snowball from the farm and always instill fear in the other animals in case they try to complain.

11. Minimus 

The poet pig who writes verse about Napoleon and pens the prosaic patriotic song “Animal Farm, Animal Farm” to replace the earlier idealistic hymn “Beasts of England,” which Old Major passes on to the others.

12. Mr. Jones

The often drunk farmer who runs the Manor Farm before the animals stage their Rebellion and establish Animal Farm. Mr. Jones is an unkind master who indulges himself while his animals lack food; he thus represents Tsar Nicholas II, whom the Russian Revolution ousted.

The novel's first paragraph describes Jones forgetting (out of drunkenness) to shut the pop holes for the hen-houses but remembering to draw himself a glass of beer before "lumbering" off to a drunken sleep.

The fact that the rebellion is sparked by Jones' forgetting to feed the animals adds to the overall impression of him as an uncaring master. For the remainder of the novel, he is portrayed as an impotent has-been, unable to reclaim his own farm and idling in a pub until his eventual death in an inebriates' home.

Long after Jones has been driven from the farm, the pigs invoke his name to scare the other animals into submission. Squealer's question, "Surely, comrades, you do not want Jones back?" elicits a knee-jerk reaction in the animals, who fail to realize that the spirit of Jones has returned, despite the farmer's physical absence. He dies after abandoning his hopes to reclaim his farm by excessively intoxicating himself.

13. Frederick

An enemy of Pilkington and crafty owner of Pinch field, another neighboring farm. Known for "driving hard bargains," Frederick swindles Napoleon by buying timber from him with counterfeit money. He later tries to attack and seize Animal Farm but is defeated.

He reveals himself to be a cutthroat businessman. Despite his offers of sympathy to Jones about the rebellion at his farm, Frederick inwardly hopes that he can "somehow turn Jones' misfortune to his own advantage."

His subsequent attempt to take Animal Farm by force reveals him to be a man who always takes what he wants in short, exactly the kind of man against which the animals initially wanted to rebel.

 By the novel's end, however, Napoleon has proven himself to be more greedy and double-dealing than Frederick at his worst.

14. Pilkington

 The owner of Foxwood, a neighboring farm in neglected and "disgraceful" condition.  

Pilkington becomes an ally to Napoleon. This alliance, however, has a rocky start, when Napoleon changes the pigeons' message of "Death to Jones; Frederick" to "Death to Pilkington" and Pilkington refuses to help when the farm is attacked by Frederick.

However, Napoleon and Pilkington eventually reconcile since they are, in essence, made of the same moral fiber and need each other to prosper (as seen when Pilkington sells part of his land to Napoleon).

 In the novel's last scene, Pilkington praises what Napoleon has done with Animal Farm, getting more work out of the animals with less food and likening the "lower animals" to humanity's "lower classes."

 The final moments of the novel, when Pilkington and Napoleon each attempt to cheat the other at cards, shows that their "friendship" is simply a concealment each is using in order to better swindle the other.

MAIN THEMES AND IDEAS

It should be clear from the initial departure that the novella Animal Farm is written in a highly satirical language and as a matter of fact, this dominate language runs agreeable to all the other themes handled by Orwell.  Satire, therefore, though it would have, will not stand alone here as a single theme but will be used through out to strengthen other themes

1.     Corruption

Animal Farm demonstrates the idea that power always corrupts. And he who misuses power, is corrupted absolutely since power is proficient of demeaning the best of men.

The novella’s heavy use of foreshadowing, especially in the opening chapter, creates the sense that the events of the story are unavoidable. Not only is Napoleon’s rise to power inevitable, the novella strongly suggests that any other possible ruler would have been just as bad as Napoleon.

Although Napoleon is more power-hungry than Snowball, plenty of evidence exists to suggest that Snowball would have been just as corrupt a ruler. Before his expulsion, Snowball goes along with the pigs’ theft of milk and apples, and the disastrous windmill is his idea.

Even Old Major is not incorruptible. Despite his belief that “all animals are equal,” (Chapter 1) he lectures the other animals from a raised platform, suggesting he may actually view himself as above the other animals on the farm.

 In the novel’s final image the pigs become indistinguishable from human farmers, which hammers home the idea that power inevitably has the same effect on anyone who wields it.

Similarly, after reading the novel, one is left questioning whether Mr. Jones was actually the real enemy of the animals neither do Napoleon. The big answer to this question seems to be power. So, neither Mr. Jones nor Napoleon is the real enemy but the corrupting effects of power.

2. False allegiance

A noteworthy (and again, satiric) theme is the way in which people proclaim their allegiance to each other, only to betray their true intentions at a later time.

Directly related to the idea that the rulers of the rebellion (the pigs) eventually betray the ideals for which they presumably fought, this theme is dramatized in a number of relationships involving the novel's human characters.

 Pilkington and Jones; Frederick, for example, only listen to Jones in the Red Lion because they secretly hope to gain something from their neighbor's misery.

Similarly, Frederick's buying the firewood from Napoleon seems to form an alliance that is shattered when the pig learns of Frederick's forged banknotes.

The novel's final scene demonstrates that, despite all the friendly talk and flattery that passes between Pilkington and Napoleon, each is still trying to cheat the other (as seen when both play the ace of spades simultaneously). Of course, only one of the two is technically cheating, but Orwell does not indicate which one because such a fact is unimportant: The "friendly" game of cards is a facade (disguise) that hides each ruler's desire to destroy the other.

According to Orwell, rulers such as Napoleon will continue to grow in number and in power unless people become more politically aware and more wary of these leader's "noble" ideals.

3. Religion and Tyranny

Another theme of Orwell's novel that also strikes a satiric note is the idea of religion being the "opium of the people" (as Karl Marx famously wrote).

 Moses the raven's talk of Sugar Candy Mountain originally annoys many of the animals, since Moses, known as a "teller of tales," seems an unreliable source. At this point, the animals are still hopeful for a better future and therefore dismiss Moses' stories of a paradise elsewhere. As their lives worsen, however, the animals begin to believe him, because "Their lives now, they reasoned, were hungry and laborious; was it not right and just that a better world should exist somewhere else?"

 Here, Orwell mocks the futile dreaming of a better place that clearly does not exist. The pigs allow Moses to stay on the farm and even encourage his presence by rewarding him with beer because they know that his stories of Sugar candy Mountain will keep the animals docile: As long as there is some better world somewhere even after death the animals will trudge through this one.

 Thus Orwell implies that religious devotion viewed by many as a noble character trait can actually distort the ways in which one thinks of his or her life on earth. It is capable of making you believe in an illusory world in order to escape the impending oppression or tyranny.

4. Tyrants

Broadly speaking, Animal Farm satirizes politicians, specifically their rhetoric, ability to manipulate others, and insatiable lust for power.

 Despite his seemingly altruistic motives, Napoleon is presented as the epitome of a power-hungry individual who masks all of his actions with the excuse that they are done for the betterment of the farm.

 His stealing the milk and apples, for example, is explained by the lie that these foods have nutrients essential to pigs, who need these nutrients to carry on their managerial work. His running Snowball off the farm is explained by the lie that Snowball was actually a traitor, working for Jones and that the farm will fare better without him.

Each time that Napoleon and the other pigs wish to break one of the Seven Commandments, they legitimize their transgressions by changing the Commandment's original language.

Whenever the farm suffers a setback, Napoleon blames Snowball's treachery which the reader, of course, knows is untrue. Napoleon's walking on two legs, wearing a derby hat, and toasting Pilkington reflect the degree to which he (and the other pigs) completely disregard the plights of the other animals in favor of satisfying their own cravings for power.

 Thus, the dominant theme of Animal Farm is the tendency for those who espouse the most virtuous ideas to become the worst enemies of the people whose lives they are claiming to improve.

5. Role of the populace

Orwell, however, does not imply that Napoleon is the only cause for Animal Farm's decline. He also satirizes the different kinds of people whose attitudes allow rulers like Napoleon to succeed.

Mollie, whose only concerns are materialistic, is like people who are so self-centered that they lack any political sense or understanding of what is happening around them. Apolitical people like Mollie who care nothing for justice or equality offer no resistance to tyrants like Napoleon.

Boxer is likened to the kind of blindly devoted citizen whose reliance on slogans ("Napoleon is always right") prevents him from examining in more detail his own situation: Although Boxer is a sympathetic character, his ignorance is almost infuriating, and Orwell suggests that this unquestioning ignorance allows rulers like Napoleon to grow stronger.

Even Benjamin, the donkey, contributes to Napoleon's rise, because his only stand on what is occurring is a cynical dismissal of the facts: Although he is correct in stating that "Life would go on as it had always gone on that is, badly," he, too, does nothing to stop the pigs' ascension or even raise the other animals' awareness of what is happening. His only action is to warn Boxer of his impending death at the knacker's but this is futile as it occurs too late to do Boxer any good.

6. Abuse of language

One of Orwell’s central concerns, both in Animal Farm and in 1984, is the way in which language can be manipulated as an instrument of control.

In Animal Farm, the pigs gradually twist and distort a rhetoric of socialist revolution to justify their behavior and to keep the other animals in the dark. The animals heartily embrace Major’s visionary ideal of socialism, but after Major dies, the pigs gradually twist the meaning of his words.

As a result, the other animals seem unable to oppose the pigs without also opposing the ideals of the Rebellion. By the end of the novella, after Squealer’s repeated reconfigurations of the Seven Commandments in order to decriminalize the pigs’ treacheries, the main principle of the farm can be openly stated as “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

This outrageous abuse of the word “equal” and of the ideal of equality in general typifies the pigs’ method, which becomes increasingly audacious as the novel progresses. Orwell’s sophisticated exposure of this abuse of language remains one of the most compelling and enduring features of Animal Farm, worthy of close study even after we have decoded its allegorical characters and events.

7. Exploitation

As well as being an allegory of the ways human exploit and oppress one another, Animal Farm also makes a more literal argument: humans exploit and oppress animals.

While the animals’ rebellion is mostly comic in tone, it ends on a serious and touching note, when the animals “wipe out the last traces of Jones’s hated reign. The harness-room at the end of the stables was broken open; the bits, the nose-rings, the dog-chains, the cruel knives with which Mr. Jones had been used to castrate the pigs and lambs, were all flung down the well” (Chapter 2).

The novella also suggests that there is a real connection, as well as an allegorical one, between the exploitation of animals and the exploitation of human workers. Mr. Pilkington jokes to Napoleon: “If you have your lower animals to contend with… we have our lower classes!” (Chapter 10). From the point of view of the ruling class, animals and workers are the same.

8.     Intellectual Indifference

Animal Farm is deeply skeptical about the value of intellectual indifference. The pigs are identified as the most intelligent animals, but their intelligence rarely produces anything of value. Instead, the pigs use their intelligence to manipulate and abuse the other animals.

The novella identifies several other ways in which intelligence fails to be useful or good. Benjamin is literate, but he refuses to read, suggesting that intelligence is worthless without the moral sense to engage in politics and the courage to act.

 The dogs are nearly as literate as the pigs, but they are “not interested in reading anything except the Seven Commandments” (Chapter 3). The dogs’ use of their intelligence suggests that intellect is useless even harmful when it is combined with a personality that prefers to obey orders rather than question them.

PROTAGONIST

A protagonist is a central character in the book of movie who pushes for an idea that is deemed ideal.

The animals, as a group, are the protagonists of Animal Farm. Their goal is to achieve the vision set out by Old Major: equality and freedom for all animals. This goal brings them into conflict with the reality of political power.

First they must confront power by rebelling against Mr. Jones. Later they must confront power in a more subtle and dangerous form: the manipulation and deceit of the pigs. While the animals defeat Mr. Jones easily, they are completely fooled by the pigs.

By the time the animals recognize that the pigs are stopping them achieving their goal, it is too late. The pigs are in a position to kill any animals who continue to fight for their goal. By the end of the novella, the animals cannot even sing “Beasts of England,” the song that expressed their dream of equality and freedom.

In the story’s last moments, the animals finally realize what they have been up against. By defeating their human farmer, they have not defeated the reality of political power. They have only exchanged one set of rulers for another, identical set.

ANTAGONIST

The antagonist is a contending force against the protagonist. The antagonist work to the downfall of the central character.

In the case of Animal Farm, the animals’ antagonist is the corrupting reality of political power. This abstract idea is embodied by the different characters who wield power at different times.

At first, the corruption of political power is embodied in the cruel, lazy Mr. Jones. When Mr. Jones is defeated, the Farm’s new rulers, the pigs, gradually come to embody the reality of political power.

Now it is the pigs who oppose the animals, in exactly the same way as Jones did, by exploiting and oppressing them. From the beginning of the novella, the animals’ defeat by the power embodied in the pigs is heavily foreshadowed.

Much of the novella’s drama arises from the question of whether, and when, the animals will recognize that their true antagonist is not humans or pigs but power itself. The moment of reckoning comes in the novel’s final scene, when the animals see that the pigs and the humans are exactly alike, because they are equally corrupted by political power.

NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN THE NOVEL ANIMAL FARM

The narrative techniques also commonly referred to as language and style is a particular methodology or vehicle the writer employs to pass or convey his message to readers more effectively. These techniques are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. In the novella Animal Farm, Orwell has employed a multiplicity of styles to pass on his message as seen below;

1. Songs

Animal Farm is filled with songs, poems, and slogans, including Major’s stirring “Beasts of England” (chapter one), Minimus’s ode to Napoleon, the sheep’s chants, and Minimus’s revised anthem, “Animal Farm, Animal Farm.” All of these songs serve as propaganda, one of the major conduits of social control.

 By making the working-class animals speak the same words at the same time, the pigs evoke an atmosphere of grandeur and nobility associated with the recited text’s subject matter. The songs also erode the animals’ sense of individuality and keep them focused on the tasks by which they will purportedly achieve freedom.

2. symbols

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts in a given circumstance.  In the case of Animal Farm, Orwell has employed many symbols to make clear his points including the following;

Animal Farm: Animal Farm, known at the beginning and the end of the novel as the Manor Farm, symbolizes Russia and the Soviet Union under Communist Party rule. But more generally, Animal Farm stands for any human society, be it capitalist, socialist, fascist, or communist. It possesses the internal structure of a nation, with a government (the pigs), a police force or army (the dogs), a working class (the other animals), and state holidays and rituals. Its location amid a number of hostile neighboring farms supports its symbolism as a political entity with diplomatic concerns.

The Barn: The barn at Animal Farm, on whose outside walls the pigs paint the Seven Commandments and, later, their revisions, represents the collective memory of a modern nation. The many scenes in which the ruling-class pigs alter the principles of Animalism and in which the working-class animals puzzle over but accept these changes represent the way an institution in power can revise a community’s concept of history to bolster its control.

The Windmill: The great windmill symbolizes the pigs’ manipulation of the other animals for their own gain. Despite the immediacy of the need for food and warmth, the pigs exploit Boxer and the other common animals by making them undertake backbreaking labor to build the windmill, which will ultimately earn the pigs more money and thus increase their power.

The pigs’ declaration that Snowball is responsible for the windmill’s first collapse constitutes psychological manipulation, as it prevents the common animals from doubting the pigs’ abilities and unites them against a supposed enemy.

3. Genre

The kind of genre or registry Orwell employed in his writing is Political satire: Animal Farm is an animal fable or beast fable because it uses animal characters to make a concise, forceful argument about human morality and politics. By including several human farmers in his fable, Orwell reminds his readers that the exploitation and oppression of animals is not just a literary metaphor for the exploitation and oppression of human beings. The exploitation of animals really happens and relies on the same process as the exploitation of humans.

4. Allusion

Allusion is an indirect reference to an event or situation. Orwell in his novel Animal Farm has used historical and political allusion. The entire fable is an allusion to the Russian political situation of 1917 to 1945, a period that saw the revolution at its peak in Russia. The very revolution in the book where animals rose against their human masters because of the mistreatment, is alluding to the Russian revolution that saw a totalitarian rule over thrown by the communist party.

Orwell also employed biblical or religious allusion in the character of Moses, Mr. Jones’ tamed raven who claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugar candy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died. This is contrasted with the biblical Moses who leads the people of Israel to freedom.

5. Foreshadowing

Animal Farm makes heavy use of foreshadowing. Most of the plot’s main events are foreshadowed in the opening chapter. This foreshadowing emphasizes the inevitability of what happens, suggesting that violent revolution is doomed to fail, and that power always corrupts.

Napoleon’s decision to execute other animals is foreshadowed in Chapter 1, when Old Major says: “You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year.” This prophecy comes true, but instead of being killed by Mr. Jones on the butcher’s “block,” the porkers are killed on Napoleon’s orders on the executioner’s “block.” By using an example of Mr. Jones’s cruelty to foreshadow Napoleon’s, the novella argues that the two regimes, human and pig, are essentially the same.

Napoleon’s treachery: Animal Farm strongly foreshadows that Napoleon and the other pigs will betray the ideals of the rebellion. From the beginning of the novella, the pigs take control of Old Major’s ideas and twist them into new shapes: first “Animalism,” then the simplistic slogan of the sheep: “Four legs good, two legs bad.” The manipulation of Old Major’s ideas foreshadows the ultimate betrayal of the rebellion’s goals, when the commandments of Animalism are replaced by the slogan: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Chapter 10).

 Napoleon’s treachery begins with small deceptions, like taking all the cows’ milk for the pigs, which foreshadow the bigger deceptions to come, such as the lie that Boxer has been taken to hospital. Napoleon’s dogs are threatening from the moment they appear, which foreshadows their role in the violent oppression that follows.