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Animal farm

Von George Orwell

The author:
George Orwell, who's real name was Eric Arthur Blair was born in
1903 in India, where his father worked for the Civil Service. The
family moved to England in 1907 and in 1917 Orwell entered Eton,
where he contributes regularly to the various college magazines. He
left in 1921 and joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma the
following year, in which he served until 1928. His first published
article appeared in Le Monde in October 1928, while Orwell was
living in Paris, and he returned to England in 1929 to take up work as
private tutor and later as a school teacher. Down and Out in Paris and
London was published in 1933. Due to his poor health, Orwell gave
up teaching and worked as a part-time assistant in a Hampstead
bookshop, and later was able to earn his living reviewing novels for
the New English Weekly, a post he kept until 1940. At the end of
1936 Orwell went to Spain to fight for the Republicans and was
wounded. During the Second Word War he was a member of the
Home Guard and worked for the BBC Eastern Service from 1940 to
1943. As literary editor of Tribune he contributes a regular page of
political and literary commentary. From 1945 Orwell was the
Observer's war correspondent and later became a regular contributor
to the Manchester Evening News. Orwell suffered from tuberculosis,
and was in and out of hospital from 1947 until his death 1950. He was
forty-six. His publications include The Road to Wigan Pier, Coming
Up for Air, Keep the Aspidistra Flying and Homage to Catalonia.
Orwell's name became known with the population of Animal Farm
and Nineteen Eighty-Four, both of which have sold more than two
million copies.


About the book:

Animal farm was first published in 1945 by Martin Secker & Warburg
Ltd. The story is set on a farm in England in the first half of the 20 th
century. On this farm the animals chase away Mr. Jones, the farmer,
and establish their own society, based on the rights and the equality of
all animals. But with the passing times the system changes more and
more, so that in the end it is totally different from the one they had
wanted to establish at the beginning of their rebellion. It is often said
that the story refers to the revolution in Russia in 1918 or nearly all
revolutions in history have brought. Even very short time after the
revolution the ideals and promises are not realised, the only thing what
has chanced, are the names of the people, who have power and
control. But the new dictatorship is not erected from one day to the
other, it is a very slow process and the people don't realise it before it
is too late. Typical for a totalitarian system as shown here are the
existence of one enemy who is blamed for everything, the
glorification of the leader or whatever he may be called and the use of

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some credible methods, e.g. Statistics, to convince the people that the
current system is the best.

The revolution in Russia

Because of the food shortage (in the book Jones doesn't feed the
animals) and a few other reasons the rebellion happened in USSR
(October revolution). A new government was formed after the
rebellion. The leader was Lenin. He called Stalin and Trotsky to his
side (This is a point where the "Animal Farm" is incorrect: Lenin alias
Old Major was already dead in the story - but not in history). They
made a constitution (in the book the seven commandments) and
everything seemed good. But other lands like France and England (in
the book the neighbourfarms) tried to reconquer the power, but the try
didn't succeed (The battle of the cowshed in the book). The economic
revolution could now go further. The USSR began to commerce with
other countries (with Mr. Whymper in the book) A new economy
began in 1928 with the inauguration of the first Five-year plan. The
plan wanted to convert the USSR from an agricultural country to a
leading industrial power (This whole process is shown in the idea of
the windmill in the story). But then Lenin died and the power struggle
between Stalin and Trotsky began. Trotsky dreamed of a world-wide
revolution - Stalin wanted this only in one country, but he wanted to
be the one and only leader. In the end he expelled Trotsky and became
the leader (The same which happened in the book between Napoleon
and Snowball). His power was guaranteed by the red army. Helped by
it, he suppressed every kind of revolts and unrest.
Nearly every character in this book has an equivalent character in the
history of the USSR.

Main characters:

Mr. Jones: He represents the old imperial power, the lost zar, who had
to abdicate the throne.

Old Major: Without the pig there wouldn't have been any revolution.
He gives the other animals a vision, a hope for a better life an for that
he is very respected. He is the personification of Lenin who is like the
father for the Russians. He spread his idea of the new world to the
other people.

Snowball, another pig: Snowball must be Trotsky, the intellectual,
gifted leader. With all his plans and new ideas for a better life for
everyone.

Napoleon, also a pig: Napoleon reflects the iron man - J. Stalin - who
expelled Trotsky (Snowball) from the farm respectively from the
party. He's a clever and determined organiser, but he is the military
type of leader, who does everything for his own advantage.

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Boxer: The cart-horse stands for the whole working class. His two
mottoes are "I will work harder" and "Napoleon is always right".

The nine dogs: The dogs - Napoleons proper army - stand for the red
army which defends Stalin from his enemies.

Squealer: The pig stands for the general manipulation of facts with
help of the media and the whole propaganda of the Bolsheviks. He
changes the bad things into good things just by telling them different.
So the animals mostly believe that everything is alright.

Benjamin: The donkey represents the old, resigned and experienced
part of the people, which think that nothing will change, everything
will stay that bad as it is.


The story:

Mr. Jones is the owner of the "Manor Farm", he is often drunk and
treats his animals badly. One night Major, an old pig, calls out for all
animals to come to the big barn. He tells them about his vision of
freedom and Animalism, and how their live would be improved. The
main facts are that human beings are the enemies, and that the animals
could only survive with a rebellion. After the speech he teaches them
the song "Beasts of England". Three days later Major dies, but the
animals keep his vision in mind. One day Mr. Jones comes home late
and drunk and forgets to feed the animals. So the animals start the
rebellion and Mr. Jones and his family have to leave. Now the farm
belongs to the animals. There are two pigs Napoleon and Snowball
who follow the thought of old Major and work out "The seven Rules
of Animalism":
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 another animal
7. All animals are equal
The pigs are more intelligent than the other animals and so they do the
thinking part, the organisation, on the farm. After they have milked
the cows, they all go to the fields to do the harvest, which was in this
year better than ever and so all animals are satisfied. Each Sunday
there is a meeting in the barn where the solutions for the problems are
decided by voting, and the song "Beasts of England" is sung.
Snowball tries to teach the animals reading and Napoleon takes nine
puppies and brings them up hidden. There are two farms next to the
Animal Farm. One day Jones comes back with a few men, leading an
attack against the farm. But the animals led by Snowfall defeat it
bravely. That day is called then the day of "The Battle of Cowshed".
Everytime Snowfall makes a suggestion for anything Napoleon is
against it. As Snowfall has the idea to build a windmill, to have later

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on a better live, because of the electrical power, the light and the warm
water, Napoleon disagrees and lets his nine dogs attack Snowball. He
has to flee and just escapes with his life. Napoleon forbids the Sunday
meetings and decides all problems by himself. Some animals are
against it and ask why Snowball was driven away. But Squealer, who
becomes more and more the right hand of Napoleon argues that
Snowball was on Mr. Jones side, and they all don't want Mr. Jones to
come back. The dogs are like a security guard and every time any
animal doesn't agree with the pigs, it is warned by the dogs. Napoleon
even decides to let the windmill be built. During the next summer the
animals work like slaves, building the windmill and working on the
fields. There isn't more food than before the rebellion, it is equal or
even less, but the animals mostly don't recognise, and those who do,
they say: "it's better having less food, than Mr. Jones coming back".
The pigs behave more and more like humans and even they move to
the farmhouse. They also sleep in beds. Also the animals changed the
fourth rule into "No animal shall sleep in beds with sheets". Napoleon,
called the leader, starts dealing with the humans of the other farms
through Mr. Whymper. In Autumn the windmill is half-built as it is
destroyed by a great storm. The leader says it was Snowball who came
back. There is less food in winter and so the hens have to give away
their eggs for selling. The animals start to rebuilt the windmill. One
day four pigs are sentenced to death and killed by the dogs, because
they alleged have been in league with Snowball. A few days later the
animals find the sixth rule changed into "No animal shall kill any
other animal without cause". In autumn the windmill is finished and
named "Napoleon Mill". Some days later it is destroyed by the
farmers of the neighbour farm and about a dozen men with guns and
dynamite. A lot of animals are killed, but they win again. One day a
pig finds some whiskey and so they drink it. And from now on the
fifth rule is changed into "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess".
And again the animals start rebuilding the mill. There also should be
built a school for the young pigs. One day Boxer, who is twelve years
old, brakes down. Instead of bringing him to a hospital as he said,
Napoleon gets Boxer to a slaughter house.
Years later only some of the animals are alive who were there before
the rebellion. The farm is richer than before and the windmill has been
finished, but it isn't used for electrical power, but for milling corn,
which is sold. One day Squealer takes some sheeps and teaches them
the new rule "Four legs good, two legs better". From that day on the
pigs walk on their hind legs. Clover and Benjamin, who are both very
old, go to the barn and find just one rule is left "All animals are equal,
but some are more equal than others". A week later some humans
come to the farm to celebrate a feast with the pigs, and as the other
animals look through the window into the farmhouse they can't divide
the pigs form the humans.