Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm is a novel written by George Orwell in the 1940s. George Orwell was the pen name of Eric
Arthur Blaire, who was an English novelist and Essayist of the 20th century. Animal farm is regarded as
his masterpiece. Although this is a little book, It holds profoundly deep meaning and symbolism in its
pages. The book is a political satire and Orwell based it on the Russian revolution of 1917, as the events
and symbols depicted in the book are quite similar to those of the revolution. Animal Farm is a story
about a Farm owned by a drunkard, Jones, who is very cruel to his animals and all the animals are in
pathetic condition. This is why the animals hold a meeting one day, in which an old, ailing pig, Major,
tells all the other animals of the miseries that they have all suffered at the hands of the human. Major
tells them that everything that the animals produce is snatched by Jones and they receive nothing in
return. So it is time to take the reins of the farm in their own hands and kick Jones out of there. In the
end, Major cautions them by saying: ‘when you do get rid of Jones, don’t be like him.’ After some time,
Major dies and animals mutiny against Jones. The revolt is successful and Jones runs away from the
farm. Even though Jones returns, he is defeated once again and the animals assume total control of the
farm, naming it Animal Farm. The animals led by a pig called Snowbell organize a meeting where they all
decide to continue living on the farm and not occupy Jones’ house, all except another pig called
Napoleon, who disagrees with them but is ignored. The animals under the new leadership of Snowbell
formulate some rules to live on the farm:

• Never sleep on Jones’ bed
• Never drink alcohol
• Never fight fellow animals
• Two-legged ones are the enemy
• Treat all animals as equals.

Under these rules the farm runs mostly for some time and there is peace and harmony. Snowbell
regularly holds meetings where they all talk about how good the farm is now and how bad it was under
Jones. The leader also has plans to construct a mill which will be used to produce electricity that will
reduce much of the labor of the animals. But Snowbell doesn’t know that Napoleon has kept his eyes on
her for quite some time. During the next meeting, when Snowbell tells all the others of her plans to
construct the mill, Napoleon interrupts and claims that the mill was his idea. Furthermore, he has kept
some wild dogs in his shed and with their help, kicks Snowbell out of the farm, assuming control over
the farm and becoming the new leader. Napoleon propagates that Snowbell was a traitor and wanted to
bring Jones back to power. This propaganda helps him strength his position. Under Napoleon’s rule, all
the animals are required to work really hard except for the pigs who are the new aristocracy. They are
also given more food than the rest of the animals, effectively breaking the rule that all animals are
equal. One day, Boxer, a very hard working horse who is an inspiration to all animals, and Benjamin, a
donkey, watch the pigs go into Jones’ house which was prohibited. Napoleon also begins to snatch away
the eggs which were the hens’ property and begins selling them out of the farm. At this, the hens complain, so Napoleon brutally murders all of them, further breaking the rules. The pigs and Napoleon
also start drinking alcohol. And this point the farm is in chaos. One day, the mill which was almost
completed, is blown away by Jones using a bomb. Still, Napoleon orders work to be resumed from
scratch. The pigs never work and all the burden of the reconstruction falls on the other poor animals.
They are soon fatigued because of the lack of food and stop work altogether except for Boxer and
Benjamin. However, Boxer is injured when a stone falls on him, and Napoleon sends him away, far from
the farm. The animals know that under Napoleon’s tyrannical rule, Boxer is never going to return. In this
way, the animals are treated with so much cruelty that at last they decide to organize another revolt,
this time against Napoleon and the other pigs. When Napoleon hears of this, he calls for his wild dogs to
kill the animals, but the dogs are so much drunk that they are barely conscious. Thus, Napoleon’s
chances of survival diminish further. The book ends when the animals revolt against Napoleon.