Animal Farm
Themes
Document 1
The themes in a novel are an expression of the author’s key ideas. While the plot or storyline
tells us what happens in the novel, themes tell us why: repeatedly conveying the message(s) the
author wants to give the readers that may make them reconsider their attitudes and even their
behaviour.
Remember that in Animal Farm Orwell is creating the events in order to get his ideas across to
the reader; and it is these ideas you should be writing about in your exam, not just the events
themselves. To read Animal Farm as a simple children’s ‘fairy tale’ is to entirely miss Orwell’s
purpose in writing the novel.
To gain the highest levels you need to be able to appreciate in detail the
different layers of meaning that exist in the text and be able to justify your
opinion of the relative importance of these layers. Always remember to keep in
m in Orwell’s purpose in writing the novel.
Although the main themes in Animal Farm can be said to be connected with the Russian
Revolution, it is important to remember that the allegory is applicable to any totalitarian regime.
Orwell’s universal themes- warning of failure of such revolutions to achieve their ideals and the
abuse, corruption and tyranny that can result-make the novel still relevant today.