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Type of WorkAnimal Farmis a novel that mocks Stalinist Communism
and other despotic systems of government. The book
containscharacteristics of the following genres:Satire, which
ridicules injustice, stupidity, tyranny, depravity, and/or other
human flaws.
east tale, which casts animals in human roles.
!llegory, which ascribes secondary or symbolic meanings to
characters, events, objects, and ideas."ublication #ates
The $ondon firm of Secker % &arburg published the novel
asAnimal Farm: a Fairy Storyon !ugust '(, ')*+. The ew-ork firm of
arcourt, race and Company published the first !merican edition of
the novel but without the subtitle, aFairy Story0 on !ugust 12,
')*2.
Setting.The action takes place on an 3nglish farm on the
outskirts of the fictional town of &illingdon. !t the beginning
of thenovel, the farm resembles an oppressed human society. The
animals then rebel against its owner and form their owncommunal
society. owever, a power4hungry pig, apoleon, sei5es control and
operates the farm like a Communistpolice state.
Characters
Old Major: #ying pig who inspires animals on a farm to plot a
rebellion against the cruel owner of the farm.Mr. Jones: The owner
of the farm. The animals overthrow him and take over the farm.Mrs.
Jones: &ife of 6r. 7ones.Napoleon: 8uthless, power4hungry pig.
!fter the animals overthrow 7ones and establish their own society
and their ownform of government, called animalism, apoleon
eventually sei5es control of the farm and abolishes the animals9
idealisticrules of government.Snowball: ntelligent pig who helps
establish animalism and becomes apoleon9s rival for power.
apoleon9s attack dogsdrive him out of !nimal ;arm.Sqealer:
apoleon9s clever propagandist. e becomes so fat living off the
plenty produced by the hard4working animalsthat he can hardly see
out of his eyes.Mini!s: "oet pig who writes propagandistic poems
and songs for apoleon. e composes two versions of nationalanthems
for !nimal ;arm after the pigs reject a rallying song written
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apoleon then unleashes on Snowball a pack of nine vicious
dogs44the offspring of two other dogs, luebell and 7essie44which he
trained from puppyhood. They chase Snowball off the farm, leaving
apoleon in control, with Suealer as hisfawning propagandist. ! pig
named 6inimus composes propagandistic rallying songs and poems.
Thereafter, apoleonkeeps the attack dogs at his side to intimidate
malcontents and keep order. apoleon then dissolves the
animalcommittees, saying the pigs will do all the thinking.
Surprisingly, he decides to go ahead with the windmill project
thatSnowball had proposed. e also engages a human, 6r. &hymper,
to obtain nails and other human4made products thatthe animals need
to carry out projects and maintain the farm.
&hen a storm topples the windmill, apoleon blames Snowball,
saying he had sneaked back onto the farm andsabotaged it. e sets a
bounty for his capture and e@ecutes animals accused of conspiring
with Snowball.
Gnder apoleon, hours are long and hard and work becomes
drudgery. The pigs move into 7ones9s house, altering thefourth
commandment of the constitution to say that =o animal shall sleep
in a bed with sheets.= They drink beer andwhiskey and conduct trade
with humans. Suealer justifies these and other forbidden activities
by amending theconstitution again and again. ! poem e@tolling
apoleon appears on the side of the barn.
&hile the pigs live in lu@ury, the other animals work their
paws and hoofs to the bone as they till the fields and rebuild
thewindmill, all the while barely getting enough to eat. To raise
capital, apoleon sells timber to the operator of theneighboring
"inchfield ;arm, 6r. ;rederick, who pays with counterfeit bank
notes. &hen apoleon reali5es he has beenduped, he pronounces a
death sentence on ;rederick. ;rederick then attacks the farm,
blowing up the second windmill,but the animals repel his forces in
a fierce battle in which o@er suffers debilitating injuries.
!fter his health declines and he falls on the job, o@er
disappears from the farm. Suealer says he died in peace in a
hospital, a true and loyal animalist to the end. n truth,
apoleon sold o@er to a glue factory for money to buy whiskey.
n time, the pigs become more and more like the humans they
overthrew, walking upright on two legs, wearing clothes,and even
entertaining humans at dinners. 3ventually, the seven
commandment44=!ll animals are created eual=44becomes =!ll animals
are created eual, but some animals are more eual.=
apoleon declares that 6anor ;arm should be the proper name for
the business enterprise after all, then replaces the!nimal ;arm
sign with a 6anor ;arm sign. $ife goes on, with the =human= pigs in
full control.
Sy!bols/ Characters' #laces' and ThingsIn Alphabetical Order
(ni!al "ar!: Gnion of Soviet Socialist 8epublics, or Soviet
Gnion.
(ttack )ogs: apoleon9s private bodyguard and police force
represent the secret police of totalitarian societies, such asthe
Soviet Gnion9s Homitet Aosudarstvennoj e5opasnosti Committee of
State Security, known by the abbreviation HA0and a5i Aermany9s
Aeheime Staats "oli5ei Secret State "olice, known by the
acronymGestapo0.$enja!in:
