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Animal Farm (Plot (The Old Major calls the animals to a meeting and he…
Animal Farm
Plot
- The Old Major calls the animals to a meeting and he tells them about his dream of the animals living in harmony and working only for themselves. Then the Major dies, but when Jones forgets to feed the animals, the pigs lead a rebellion against him and chase him away.
- The next harvest is very successful, it is hard going but the animals all work together. The pigs steal the cows' milk and the apples for themselves and they explain that they need the food because they are the brains on the farm.
- After the revolution, Snowball and Napoleon take charge and turn Major's ideas into Animalism where they draw up 7 commandments to guide the animals.
- News of the animals' successful revolution spreads to neighbouring farms owned by Frederick and Pilkington. They try and help Jones to recapture his farm.
- The humans attack and Snowball bravely leads the animals to victory in the Battle of the Cowshed. Snowball and Napoleon disagree over everything and the tensions run high, Snowball wants to build a windmill, but Napoleon urinates over his plans.
- At the final windmill debate, Napoleon sets his dogs on Snowball and he is chased from the farm. Napoleon then announces he is going to build the windmill after all.
- The animals work harder and eat less under Napoloen. Napoleon starts to ignore the principles of Animalism by trading with humans and sleeping in the farmhouse beds. Squealer therefore changes the commandments to suit the pigs' needs.
- When the completed windmill falls down in a storm, Napoleon blames Snowball. The farm has a bad harvest and Napoleon tells the hens that he is going to sell their eggs to raise some money - when they refuse, he starves them until they give in.
- To prevent further rebellion, Napoleon forces many animals to confess that they are working with Snowball and he then executes them. Napoleon sells timber to Frederick, who pays him with forged notes. Frederick invades the farm and blows up the windmill. After a great struggle, the animals win the Battle of the Windmill.
- The aimals continue to work hard and they rebuild the windmill. They are starving whilst the pigs are getting fatter and lazier. Napoleon introduces new rules that benefit the pigs and not the other animals.
- Boxer, the farm's most loyal worker, collapses from overwork and is sold to the knacker's yard. Napoleon becomes more like Jones as he walks on two legs, wears clothes and carries a whip.
- All the commandments are removed and replaced with one - "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS." Napoleon then invites the humans to the farm to play cards and at the end, the animals can't tell the pigs and humans apart. - The quote doesn't even make sense which shows how much Napoleon has corrupted language and how he has absolute power
Characters
Napoleon
"Lord of the swill-bucket" - Napoleon ensures that it is "enscribed" on the wall of the barn at the "opposite end" from the seven commandments
"Napoleon's black cockerel" - This is Napoleon's own marching band which is a symbol of his authority
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He uses Snowball as a scapegoat and animals are executed for working with Snowball - Stalin executed Russians as well
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He said that he did all he could do for Boxer, providing medicine "without a thought as to the cost" - this is ironic because Napoleon's only thought was to sell Boxer for money
This can be linked to Stalin who was given the title Papa Stalin and Little Father of the Peoples which depicted him embracing children in propaganda posters
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"Our leader, comrade Napoleon"
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Boxer
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"If comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right."
Snowball
He is lively and a quick thinker and has good intentions - Trotsky cares about the working class just like Snowball
In the Battle of the Cowshed he is prepared to get hurt and he puts his life on the line for Animalism
He is dedicated to the Major's vision and writes out 7 commandments as well as makes plans for a new windmill
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Squealer
persuasive - "he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive"
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Old Major
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idealistic - "let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship"
Benjamin
Represents the intellectual Russians (intelligentsia) who realise that communism will not solve the injustices of society
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He is realistic when he sees "hardship and dissapointment" all around him but doesn't do anything to stop the pigs
Clover
A motherly figure - when the animals were frightened, they "huddled about Clover"
She represents the unquestioning working class and sometimes doubts the motives of Napoleon, but doesn't think she is intelligent enough to speak out
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Moses
He is a raven who tells the animals stories of Sugarcandy Mountain which is a paradise where animals go when they die
He is used to introduce Karl Marx's idea that religion is the "opium of the people" - he thought that religion decieved people into believing about a happy afterlife. Moses' name links to the Biblical prophet who told of a faraway 'promised land'
Key Points
When Squealer falls off the ladder and is clearly changing the commandments, the animals see it but they consider it a "strange incident" which "hardly anyone was able to understand"
The Old Majors Speech
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"That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion!"
After the revolution (chapter 2) the whips are "thrown on the rubbish fire" but towards the end of the novel Napoleon "carried a whip in his trotter"
After the revolution and when they inspect the farmhouse, the animals "tiptoed" from room to room and gazed with "awe" at the luxury. Mollie is found "admiring herself" in the mirror with a piece of "ribbon"
Milk and Apples
"Never mind the milk, comrades" cried Napoleon, "placing himself in front of the buckets" (with milk in)
"It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples," Squealer explains to the animals
"Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones back?" - Squealer uses a rhetorical question where he says that Jones will come back if they don't get the milk and apples, this is meant to portray Jones as an evil person and threaten the animals whilst sounding like Squealer is a nice pig
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The Windmill
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Squealer explains to the animals that the windmill was, in fact, "Napoleon's own creation" and he never disliked it
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Propaganda
When Squealer tells the animals that life in comparison to Jones is so much better the animals "believed every word"
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Squealer used "readjustment, never a reduction" - He uses the word "readjustment" which sounds better than "reduction"
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"Vote for snowball and the three-day week" - Napoleon says this is what Snowball wants which isn't very productive
Context
"Mollie disappeared" - She represents the middle class during the Russian Revolution, they didn't oppose the revolution, instead they didn't understand the need for it
Communism
This is where the major productive resources in society are owned by the public or state and wealth is divided equally among citizens. People try to work hard to benefit everyone else, but this doesn't work as people can be selfish and therefore imperfect. So the corruption of communism would be when the people become selfish and don't do things to benefit others.
Stalin - Napoleon
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He used fear to stay in control and people were arrested, imprisoned and executed without any warning
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Like Stalin, Napoleon becomes a dictator with absolute power and undermines the commandments to suit him
Napoleon held trials when Snowball was said to be plottijng against him and executed animals in public to scare other animals who may rebel
Hens were treated badly like the Russian peasants who were forced to share with the state, they refused which led to famine (starvation)
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Basic Context
- In October 1917, Vladimir Lenin (Old Major) led a revolution against the Russian government and he wanted the working class to have more power
- After Lenin died, Stalin took over and became a dictator and Lenin's vision became completely destroyed
Old Major
Marx
Marx says capitalism was wrong because those who did the work were poor whilst the business owners were getting rich
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The Old Major arns about the dangers of trading with humans and he is proven right when Napoleon trades with Frederick
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Trotsky - Snowball
There was a civil war between the Bolsheviks and people loyal to the Tsar - this was the Battle of the Cowshed
Napoleon and Snowball have a leadership battle which mirrors the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin - "As usual, Snowball and Napoleon were in disagreement"
Cyclical Structure
At the end, Napoleon says "To the prosperity of Manor Farm", this was the name of the farm under Jones' control
At the end, the animals "peered in at the dining room window" - this was when Napoleon was having dinner with humans in the house
"Four legs good, two legs bad" --> "Four legs good, two legs better"
"already it was impossible to say which was which" - the animals couldn't tell the difference between the pigs and the humans
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Jones is drunk at the end and so is Napoleon / Old Major teaches "Beasts of England" and Napoleon bans it / Old Major said Boxer will be sold to the knackers and this is what Napoleon does
Power and Language
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The more power Napoleon has, the more corrupt he becomes
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The Writers Techniques
Narrative Style
The narrator is detached and limited which means that the reader isn't directly influenced by what is happening in the novel
The story is told from the working animals' view and Orwell occasionally shifts to an animal's persprective which suggests that Orwell sympathises with the working class
The Full Title is 'Animal Farm: A Fairy Story', its simplicity is what contrasts with the animals suffering
Allegory and Fable
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Jones and Napoleon symbolise all dictators and the other animals symbolise inequality in a totalitarian society
It is a beast fable which is a story that uses animals to teach a moral lesson - they are used to appeal to a wider audience whilst also satirising politicians to make them seem ridiculous
How the Characters Speak
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Old Major, Snowball and Squealer have been able to use persuasive language as they are the more intelligent animals
Napoleons language develops as he is able to blame Snowball for things as he gathers the animals' support
The level of the language forms a hierachy in terms of the power the animals have which could reflect how language can be used to gain power
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Symbolism in Animal Farm
The symbols of slavery from Beasts of England are "flung down the well" as the animals break free from slavery
Animals destroyed guns after the revolution because this is what the humans used to control the animals
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The flag symbolises the animals' freedom and is just like the Soviet Union flag which became a meaningless symbol of workers' power
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Animalism
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"commandments" - This could reflect the 10 commandments and that they should be followed religiously
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Napoleon became so much like the humans just like Stalin became so much like the Tsar - this is Orwell's point - Russia had the same fate
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Education
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The varied intelligence is what splits the animals into two social groups and goes against "All animals are equal"
Snowball wants to teach all animals, but Napoleon focuses on the young (mainly pigs and dogs) - By doing this the power remains with the pigs and all the other animals can easily be manipulated