Animal Farm
by George Orwell
A Comparison of Characters to
the Russian Revolution
Animal Farm as Allegory

As we know, George Orwell’s novel
Animal Farm is an allegory.
– A work that can be read on two levels.
On one level, we can simply enjoy the
stories of animals on the farm.
 On a deeper level, we can examine
the symbolism behind these
characters.

Mr. Jones
 Irresponsible to his
animals
 Sometimes cruel:
beats them with a
whip
 Sometimes kind:
mixes milk in
animals mash
Czar Nicholas II
 A poor leader a
best, compared
with Western kings
 Sometimes cruel:
brutal with
opponents
 Sometimes kind:
hired students as
spies to make
money
Old Major
 Taught Animalism
 Workers do the
work, the rich keep
the money, animals
revolt
 Dies before the
revolution
Karl Marx
 Invented
Communism
 “Workers of the
world unite!”
 Dies before the
Russian Revolution
Animalism
 No owners
 No rich, but no poor
 Workers get a
better life; all
animals equal
 Everyone owns the
farm
Communism
 Same
 All people equal
 Government owns
everything
 People own the
government
Snowball
 Young, smart, good
speaker, idealistic
 Really wants to
make life better for
all
 One of the leaders
of the revolution
 Chased away into
exile by Napoleon’s
dogs
Leon Trotsky
 Other leader of the
“October
Revolution”
 Pure Communist;
followed Marx
 Wanted to improve
life for all in Russia
 Chased away by
Lenin’s KGB
(Lenin’s secret
police)
Napoleon
 Not a good
speaker; not clever
like Snowball
 Cruel, brutal,
selfish, devious,
corrupt
 His ambition is for
power; willing to kill
opponents
 Uses dogs, Moses,
and Squealer to
control animals
Joseph Stalin
 Not a good
speaker; not
educated like
Trotsky
 Did not follow
Marx’s ideas purely
 Killed all those that
opposed him
 Used KGB and
propaganda to
control his people
Squealer
 Big mouth
 Talks a lot
 Convinces animals
to believe and
follow Napoleon
 Changes and
manipulates the
commandments
Stalin’s Propagandists
 Worked for Stalin to
support his image
 Used lies to convince
people to follow
Stalin
 Benefited from the
fact that education
was controlled.
Focus for Reading
As you continue to read the novel, try
to identify other places where Orwell
uses allegorical symbolism.
 By doing some independent research
on the Russian Revolution – or by
paying attention in history class – you
should be able to pick up on many
more references to history in the novel.
