George Orwell - Animal Farm: A fairy story (1945)
After the drunken farmer Jones has gone to bed, all animals of The Manor Farm
assemble for a meeting called by Old Major, a boar who is the oldest and wisest animal
on the farm. The pigs, cows, horses, ducks, hens and dogs all assemble in the big barn.
Old Major tells them that his life is coming to an end and that he has a dream. He tells
them that all animals are exploited by their human enemies and that rebellion is the only
possible solution to their situation. The animals sing a hymn called Beasts of England.
After Old Major’s death, three pigs called Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer develop an
ideology called Animalism and must convince the other animals that they have to fulfill
Old Major’s last wish and realize his courageous dream. When Farmer Jones gets drunk
and neglects to milk the cows and feed the animals, a spontaneous rebellion arises. The
humans are chased away and the farm is now called Animal Farm. The animals adapt
seven commandments:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
No animal shall wear clothes.
No animal shall sleep in a bed.
No animal shall drink alcohol.
No animal shall kill any other animal.
All animals are equal.
By the end of the day, the pigs milk the cows but the milk mysteriously disappears.
Regular meetings take place each Sunday to plan the work for the upcoming week. All of
the resolutions are put forward by the pigs. Soon, it becomes clear that Napoleon and
Snowball rarely agree about anything. Snowball forms several committees while
Napoleon puts all his energy in teaching all animals how to write and how to read. As
most animals have massive problems to do so, Napoleon only teaches the seven
commandments and reduces them to the single maxim:
“Four legs good, two legs bad!”
The pigs soon start to consume apples and milk while other animals aren’t allowed to do
so. The pigs explain that they need to keep their brainpower up and that science has
proven that drinking milk and eating apples are essential for this. They tell the other
animals that the alternative would be to have Farmer Jones back but no animal wants to
have him back.
The success of Animal Farm is spread all over the country by the pigeons. Other animals
sympathize with revolutionary ideas despite severe punishments by their farmers. One
day, Farmer Jones and his men try to attack Animal Farm but they are chased away
thanks to the courageous pig Snowball and the loyal horse Boxer. Soon after the incident,
the vain horse Mollie who accepts gifts of ribbon and sugar from one of the men of a
neighboring farm mysteriously disappears.
A few months later, the divisions between Snowball and Napoleon are becoming more
pronounced. Snowball convinces with intelligent speeches while Napoleon is quietly
working behind the scenes building support and getting all of the sheep on his side.
Snowball often talks about the ambitious construction of a windmill which can provide
electricity and heat to the farm. When Snowball is working on his plans for the windmill,
Napoleon gets furious and urinates on them. An inevitable meeting takes place where the
animals have to vote for one of the two opponents. Snowball is about to convince the
animals even though Napoleon often tries to interrupt him. When the latter realizes that
he might lose these elections, he chases nine dogs at the first. Napoleon had taken them
away as puppies a few months before. Snowball flees the farm and is never seen again.
Napoleon abolishes the Sunday Meetings and declares that decisions will be taken solely
by the pigs. The sheep and the nine dogs menace the other animals and force them to
obey. Three weeks later, Napoleon announces that the windmill will be built. His
assistant Squealer convinces the animals to participate and underlines the fact that
Napoleon had always been in favor of the project but couldn’t show it because he wanted
to get rid of Snowball.
The animals are working harder and harder under the supervision of the pigs but the farm
is running out of supplies. Napoleon decides to enter into trading arrangements with
surrounding farms. Squealer convinces the other animals that these contacts with humans
are not against the commandments but necessary to ensure the survival of the farm. Soon,
the pigs start living in the farmhouse as they are eating in the kitchen, relaxing in the
drawing room and even sleeping in beds. When the horse Clover remembers that one
commandment said that no animal should sleep in a bed, Squealer shows her that the
fourth commandment has always looked like this:
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
When the half-constructed windmill is destroyed during a storm, Napoleon accuses
Snowball of sabotage. Later, he accuses him to have been allied to Farmer Jones right
from the start. The hymn Beats Of England is abolished and replaced by a new anthem
written by the anthem Animal Farm written by one of the pigs.
As starvation gets worse during winter time, Napoleon wants the hens to give up their
eggs to trade them. When the hens refuse to do so, the pigs are stopping their rations
completely and are threatening death on any other animal that would share its food with
them. Finally, the hens give up their eggs.
Napoleon appears rarely in public but establishes a reign of terror. He publically executes
four troublesome pigs with the help of the nine dogs who have become his personal
escort. When the horse Clover remembers that one commandment said that no animal
should kill another, Squealer shows her that the sixth commandment has always looked
like this:
6. No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.
One of the neighboring farms betrays Napoleon and his middleman as they send him
forged banknotes, destroy the windmill and try to attack the farm. The animals gather
some weapons and shoot at the humans who give up and run away. The pigs celebrate the
victory by drinking some whiskey they had found in the farmhouse. When another animal
remembers that one commandment said that no animal shall drink alcohol, the fifth
commandment happens to look like this.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
Over the next months, the reconstruction of the windmill and the construction of a school
building for piglets weaken the animals and even the loyal and strong horse Boxer who is
about to retire collapses at one moment. Squealer promises to send him to a veterinary
surgeon but in facts sells the old and useless animal to a horse-slaughterer. Squealer
though explains to the animals that Boxer had received wonderful care and treatment in
his final hours and makes a moving speech in his praise.
Over the next years, many animals die due to severe starvation, public executions or
terrible exhaustion. Many animals are past retirement age but couldn’t retire yet because
of economical problems. Only the pigs don’t work on the fields as they take care of the
farm’s bureaucracy in the warm comfort of the farmhouse. Only a few surviving animals
remember the days before the rebellion.
At one moment, the pigs start walking upright and wearing clothes. A new maxim is
chanted by the sheep:
“Four legs good, two legs better!”
By now, all commandments have gone and been replaced by one single commandment
loosely based on the previous seventh and most important commandment:
“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”
The Animal Farm is called The Manor Farm again as pigs and humans from the
surrounding farms congratulate and promise each other to work hand in hand. The
humans are positively surprised how the pigs manage to make the other animals work
hard despite the poor rations.
When one of the farmers and Napoleon play an ace of spades at the same time, a noisy
argument breaks out. When the farm animals come closer to the farmhouse and look from
pig to man, they realize that they are unable to distinguish between the two.
Exercise 1: Take a look at the following statements and decide if they are right or wrong:
1.) “Animal Farm” is a dystopian political novel.
_____________
2.) The fairy story is a satire of the Russian Revolution.
_____________
3.) The “seven commandments” are inspired by the Bible.
_____________
4.) The term “Animalism” is inspired by “Communism”.
_____________
5.) The pigs symbolize the Communist Party.
_____________
6.) The dogs represent the Soviet secret service KGB.
_____________
7.) The pigeons are a symbol for propaganda.
_____________
8.) The inferior rats and rabbits symbolize the Mensheviks.
_____________
9.) The farm buildings symbolize the Soviet government (Kremlin). _____________
10.)
The windmill stands for the Russian industry.
_____________
11.)
The neighboring farms represent foreign countries.
_____________
12.)
“Animal Farm” can be seen as propaganda novel, too.
_____________
Exercise 2: Associate the following historical characters to those of the fable.
List of historical characters:
Karl Marx (Communist philosopher (1818-1883) / Vladimir Lenin (revolutionary and
predecessor of Joseph Stalin (1870-1924))
Tsar Nicholas II (last Emperor of aristocratic Russia (1868-1918))
Joseph Stalin (leader of the Soviet Union (1878-1953))
Leon Trotsky (supporter of the Menshevik Internationalists and opponent of Joseph
Stalin (1879-1940))
Vyacheslav Molotov (important minister and protégé of Joseph Stalin (1890-1986))
1.) The irresponsible farm owner Mr. Jones represents ________________________
2.) The boar Old Major is comparable to ___________________________________
3.) The leader and villain Napoleon is similar to _____________________________
4.) His opponent Snowball is inspired by ___________________________________
5.) His assistant Squealer acts like ________________________________________
Exercise 3: Describe if you think “Animal Farm” is a fable or a fairy tale or none of
them. Give at least three reasons to justify your choice.
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