This book, just like Of mice and Men is an allegory. This means that the story represents an event that took place or is taking place in society in the real world. All of the characters(anthropomorphic animals) in Animal Farm actually represent important figures that symbolise the Russian Revolution of 1917. Hopefully you can see the link between the events that happened in it to the events that took place in the book by reading the summary below.
The Russian Tsars
Before the revolution, Russia was ruled by a powerful monarch called the Tsar. The Tsar had total power in Russia, commanding the army, owning most of the land and even controlling the church.
During the period of time before the Russian Revolution, life for the working class people and the peasants was very difficult. They worked for little pay, often went without food, and were exposed to dangerous working conditions. The aristocrat class treated the peasants like slaves, giving them few rights under the law and treating them almost like animals.
Bloody Sunday
A major event leading to the Russian Revolution then took place on January 22, 1905. A large number of workers were marching to the Tsar's palace in order to present a petition for better working conditions. They were fired upon by soldiers and many of them were killed or injured. This day is called Bloody Sunday.
Before Bloody Sunday many peasants and working class people used to believe that the Tsar was on their side. They blamed their troubles on the government, not on the Tsar. However, after the shootings, the Tsar was seen as the real enemy of the working class and the desire for revolution began to spread amongst the working class.
World War I
In 1914, World War I began and Russia was at war with Germany. A huge Russian army was formed by forcing working class and peasant men to join. Although the Russian army had great numbers, the soldiers were not equipped or trained to fight. Many of them were sent into battle without shoes, food, and even weapons. Over the next three years, nearly 2 million Russian soldiers were killed in battle. The Russian people blamed the Tsar for entering the war and getting so many of their men killed.
The February Revolution
The people of Russia first revolted in early 1917. The Tsar, Nicholas II, ordered the army to suppress it. However, many of the soldiers refused to fire on the Russian people and the army began to mutiny against the Tsar. After a few days of riots, the army turned against the Tsar. The Tsar was forced to give up his throne and a new government took over. The government was run by two political parties: the Petrograd Soviet (representing the workers and soldiers) and the Provisional Government (the traditional government without the Tsar).
Bolshevik Revolution
Over the next several months the two sides ruled Russia. One of the main factions of the Petrograd Soviet was a group called the Bolsheviks. They were led by Vladimir Lenin and believed that the new Russian government should be a Marxist (communist) government. In October of 1917, Lenin took full control of the government in what is called the Bolshevik Revolution. Russia was now the first communist country in the world.
Results
After the revolution, Russia exited World War I by signing a peace treaty with Germany called the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The new government took control of all industry and moved the Russian economy from a rural one to an industrial one. It also seized farmland from landholders and distributed it among the peasants. Women were given equal rights to those of men and religion was banned from many aspects of society.
From 1918 to 1920, Russia experienced a civil war between the Bolsheviks (also called the Red Army) and the anti-Bolsheviks (the White Army). The Bolsheviks won and the new country was called the USSR (United Soviet Socialist Republic).
Chapter 1: This story begins on Manor Farm, a farm in England owned by a lazy and often drunk farmer by the name of Mr Jones. He goes to sleep, forgetting to lock the animals securely into their barns, hen-houses etc. It is clear to see that he is not a very good owner. Mr Jones' poor management represents the poor treatment that the Tsar(refer to Russian Revolution summary) made the working class go through because Mr Jones not locking the animals up properly suggests that he does not care about them to the extent that he should.
Late into the night, word goes around the farm between the animals that Old Major, a respected and old prize boar had had a strange dream which he wished to share with all of the other animals. All of the animals gather in the barn to hear about Old Major's dream. The two dogs, Jessie and Bluebell; then the pigs, Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer and Minimus; the two cart horses, Boxer and Clover; Muriel the goat and Benjamin the donkey; Mollie, another horse with red ribbons in her hair and the cat as well as the rest of the animals such as the orphaned ducklings that Clover keeps safe in between her legs. Only Moses, the tame raven is not present. Although the animals all seem to be united to listen to Old Major, there is already a sense of hierarchy as the pigs and dogs sit at the front suggesting that divisions among the animals may appear later in the story.
Once everyone is settled, Old Major begins to talk. He first mentions the hard lives that the animals face: working hard every day, eggs and other precious things being taken away from them, being sent to the slaughterhouse when deemed unfit for any work. He addresses everyone as comrades and reveals the cause of their problems: man who is the only kind to take and not give anything back. This new idea mirrors the idea of socialism that Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin led and supported that caused the Russian Revolution: equality and freedom for every class, every division.
Old Major therefore states that all animals are comrades and are to be treated equally. As soon as this is said, the dogs spot some rats listening the Old Major and chase them away. This creates a controversy as rats are animals too. Old Major decides to hold a vote on whether wild animals should be treated the same as well. They are deemed equal. The irony before the vote was quickly addressed by Old Major, but it emphasize the many problems that may arise once he dies.
He then states some other rules that they should follow in order for his dream of overthrowing Mr Jones to come true. Firstly, he repeats the importance of equality amongst the animals by saying that any that has four legs or wings is a friend. He then states that no animal shall kill another and no animal shall act like a human in any way. He then in conclusion teaches them a song called 'Beasts of England' which they all learn the words of and sing together. The lyrics describe their shared dream. Even though some of the more stupid animals don't understand Old Major's ideas properly, the song excites them.
Unfortunately, the loud commotion of their singing wakes up Mr Jones, who fires a shot into the barn, causing all of the animals to scatter. This shows how man still has power although a revolution that is unknown to him is brewing just like how the Tsar during the Russian revolution still had power at this point in time.
Chapter 2:
Three nights later, Old Major passes away, just like how Karl Marx passed away before he could see his revolution come true. As the smartest species of animal, the pigs decide to take charge in running the farm in an orderly fashion. Two more dominant pigs emerge as leading characters: Snowball and Napoleon. Another cunning pig by the name of Squealer accompanies them who is gifted with persuasive speech. These pigs convert Old Major's ideas into a concept called Animalism.
Although the pigs are strong believers in Animalism, some animals who are less smart already begin to doubt their life after the revolution. For example, Mollie the white horse only seems to care about the sugar lumps that Mr Jones had given her and the ribbons that he had tied in her mane. These unnecessary items symbolise the slavery that the animals had once been subject to. Mollie's desires for these unnecessary things reflect the greed of the upper class before the Russian revolution.
Another problem that the pigs have to address is Moses' tales about Sugarcandy Mountain-the place claimed by Moses to be where the animals go in the after-life as the equivalent of heaven. Due to the tales that he tells and the lack of work that he does, most of the animals hate him. However, some also believe in Sugarcandy. We can compare Moses and his tales to the Russian Orthodox Church that the Tsar used to control the lower classes with lies. To add on, Moses is the only animal to actually stay in the house with Mr Jones who represents the Tsar and in chapter 2 he is even fed crusts of bread by him.
It is evident that Boxer and Clover show the most devotion and effort into making their shared dream come true. They never fail to attend a secret meeting in the barn and they teach all that they learn from the pigs to the rest of the animals.
Surprisingly, the revolution and overthrowing of Mr Jones came about much faster than expected. On Midsummer's Eve, Mr Jones was so drunk that he failed to feed the animals and with all of his workers going hunting instead of working, the animals became too hungry to resist and broke into the feed shed and began to gorge on the food. This woke up Mr Jones and he began to whip the animals. This enraged the animals so much that they attacked him, driving him away from the farm with Moses flying after him.
The animals become very shocked at what they had done-their dream had already come true and the animals were free to roam the farm as their own property. They destroy all of the reins, whips etc that Mr Jones had used to control them, sing 'Beasts of England' and eat as much as they want from the feed shed. The next morning, they explore the farm and the house. They decide to leave the house as a museum. As a final touch, the pigs, who had secretly taught themselves to read and write, repaint the sign on the gate of the farm to read Animal Farm instead of Manor Farm. This symbolises the change in name from Russia to the Soviet Union. It seems that the want for freedom and equality has been fulfilled. The pigs then depict the freedom and equality on the farm with seven rules known as the Seven Commandments of Animalism which is painted on the wall of the barn. They are written as follows:
1. Whatever has two legs is an enemy.
2.Whatever has four legs or 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 any other animal.
7.All animals are equal.
These rules are written to stand as clear evidence to ensure no animal on the farm is ever abused by humans again and that all animals are equal.
Snowball then leads the animals to the hayfield in order to complete the harvest as quickly as possible. However, the cows begin to moo as they had not been milked that day. The pigs soon figure out how to milk the cows and they produce a total of 5 pails of milk. As soon as the cows are milked, Napoleon then suddenly decides to stay behind, saying that he would follow them a little while later. What is very suspicious is that when the animals returned from the hayfield, they find the milk gone. This immediately suggests that Napoleon drank it as he was the only one who stayed behind, showing how he has already decided to go against the seventh rule for his own satisfaction. This foreshadows the impeding corruption that may occur as the story develops.
Chapter 3:
After achieving their dream, the animals work very hard to produce a large and successful harvest. The intelligence of the pigs and the immense strength of Boxer the carthorse allows for a smooth and rapid solution to any problem that they face on the farm. Boxer's inspirational motto "I will work harder" is used whenever the animals face a new problem. The principles of Animalism seem to be working at the moment although divisions in the animals have resulted due to the difference in intelligence between every species.
Each animal equally works hard each according to what they can do with their limited bodies except for Mollie who represents the middle class who had more privileges than lower classes in Russia. She seems to disappear whenever there is work to be done. In addition, Benjamin the donkey works less hard than the other animals, who seems to think that this freedom and equality will not last.
Sunday is the only day that the animals do not work. On Sundays, the animals raise and salute their flag- the flag of Animalism that consists of a hoof and horn on a green background that represents a lush field. They also hold a meeting to plan the next week as to stay organised. At the meetings, all of the animals are allowed to put forward ideas and vote for any idea cast by someone however it is always the intelligent pigs that put forward ideas as the other animals only seem to watch. Snowball and Napoleon seem to speak for almost the whole of the meeting but their ideas seem to clash and lead to quarrels. It seems that the non-pig animals do not want to speak out and put their ideas forward because they want to be led by someone with authority rather than do the leading themselves. Even though Animalism is all about equality, already the pigs are dominating- the complete opposite of equality. This is easy for the pigs as the other animals are far less intellectual than them, making them believe anything that the pigs say.
Snowball also sets up committees such as the Whiter Wool Committee devoted to making the lives of the animals better although only the animals who can read and write seem to take notice of them. Muriel and Benjamin learn to read along with the pigs and the dogs. These committees show how Snowball seems to care more about the other animals than the other pigs do. On the other hand, the sheep are unable to read, write or even memorize anything including the Seven Commandments of Animalism. Snowball summarizes the Commandments for them into one phrase "Four legs good, two legs bad." When we first read this phrase, we think that it summarizes the Commandments quite well however the flaw with this phrase is that the animals with four legs will not always be the 'good' and vice versa. This phrase is bleated by the sheep almost everywhere.
While Snowball's actions benefit the animals, Napoleon puts other things above animal freedom and equality such as the education of the young. When the two dogs give birth to nine puppies, Napoleon decides to raise them in secret. How he will use the dogs once they have been trained is yet to be revealed.
To conclude the chapter, the mystery of the missing milk from chapter 2 is explained. The pigs explain that only they should have access to the apples and milk produced on the farm to ensure that they stay healthy. When the animals begin to object, Squealer explains that if they did not have the milk and apples, the pigs may fail to maintain the freedom that they currently have on the farm which could lead to the return of Mr Jones. This immediately instills fear into the animals and in the end they agree. This is obviously absurd but the animals believe this as the pigs exploit their strong belief in keeping their dream alive as long as possible to trick them into getting them to believe everything that they say i.e. to get them to believe that they are always right. This is the result of the decisive mentioning of Mr Jones returning by Squealer which is an example of the pigs using fear tactics. Already we can see that there is less equality on the farm as the pigs now place themselves in a class above the rest of the animals that means that they get more privileges.
Chapter 4:
Soon, the news that a revolution had taken place on Animal Farm is spread to nearby farms. Snowball and Napoleon send flights of pigeons over to them so that the animals on the other farms can also be taught the lyrics to 'Beasts of England'. This is just like the propaganda that Soviet Communists spread to teach the principles of Communism to other nations.
Meanwhile, in the village pub, Mr Jones spends his time getting drunk, still shocked at getting kicked out of his own farm by his own livestock. Upon hearing this, the farmers from the neighbouring farms, Mr Frederick of Pinchfield Farm and Mr Pilkington of Foxwood Farm, begin to fear that their animals could revolt against them as well. To try and prevent this, they spread false rumours about how the animals on Animal Farm are facing many problems such as starvation and are leading very miserable lives. However, none of their animals believe them and against their wishes, the song 'Beasts of England' begins to spread even faster. These two farmers are also linked to the Russian Revolution-in fact they represent the Allies(capitalist) and Germany(ruled by Fascists). These two nations feared that Communism would spread to their nations and that their own lower classes would revolt. However, just like the two farmers, they hated each other very much as they had different political views just like how Mr Pilkington is a gentleman and how Mr Frederick is cunning( different personalities in this case).
Surprisingly however, a group of pigeons bring news to the animals on Animal Farm that the three farmers were planning to take back the farm. Snowball quickly draws up a plan which involves an ambush and when the farmers arrive, the animals charge them together. Although Snowball gets shot by Mr Jones, he brings him down and Boxer scares the other men off. Unfortunately, the animals later discover a single death on their side- a sheep that Mr Jones ahd shot before running away. This battle mirrors the civil war that began in 1918 where the anti-Communist nations and the Western nations(Germany etc) invaded Communist territory together. Against the odds, the Communist side won and Leon Trotsky(Snowball) was recognized for his bravery during the war.
After checking their casualties, Boxer discovers a stable boy that seems to have died from one of his powerful kicks. He is horrified that he had killed someone, regardless of the fact that the victim had been a human. Snowball cheers him up saying that all humans are better off dead. Afterwards, they find Mollie hiding in the stable during the battle. When they return, they find the body of the stable boy missing and come to the conclusion that he had merely been stunned not killed to Boxer's relief. It seems that some animals have conflicting views even though they all believe in Animalism. Some such as Snowball, believe that humans should be killed whereas some such as Boxer are more compassionate and wish to keep them from harm as long as they do not disturb them.
To conclude, the animals bury the sheep and Snowball emphasizes to the animals that they should also be willing to die for Animalism to prosper. Snowball and Boxer both receive the award of Animal Hero, First Class. They also decide to fire Mr Jones' gun twice a year: once on the anniversary of the revolution and once on the anniversary of the battle. The battle is named the "Battle of the Cowshed".
Chapter 5:
In chapter 5, we see even more animals beginning to give in to their temptations and go against the rules of Animalism. For example, one day the animals find Mollie missing from the stable. She is found by Clover at the boundary between the farm and Foxwood where she is letting one of Mr Pilkington's men stroke her nose. Later, Clover searches the Mollie's stall in the stable and finds sugar cubes. Three days later, Mollie disappears from the farm and weeks later, the pigeons spot her pulling a cart with ribbons in her hair. When the animals are told the news, they decide to never bring up Mollie's name ever again. Mollie represents the Russian middle class who like her, also choose slavery(listening to the Tsar and turning a blind eye to any abuse of power) as they would rather lead a more comfortable life over a free one.
After dismissing the incident of Mollie, the pigs plan in advance for the next year in order to prevent problems such as food shortages in the winter. The pigs are also given something very close to absolute power as the animals decide to let the pigs be in charge of what needs to be done on the farm. Their decisions are also now absolute unless they are opposed by a majority vote. The fact that the pigs are gaining more and more power as the story progresses begins to create an uneasy atmosphere-the animals are becoming less and less equal while class divisions are becoming stronger.
Even though the pigs now have a lot more power, they fail to use it usefully because of Snowball and Napoleon arguing and opposing each other at every Sunday meeting. The biggest ongoing dispute between them is the idea that Snowball contributed to build a windmill. This is of course is contradicted by Napoleon, who argues that more pressing needs such as food is more important.. These disputes between the two pigs, who represent Trotsky(Snowball) and Stalin(Napoleon), are just like the disputes that they themselves had as Trotsky wanted to modernize the USSR whereas Stalin wanted to address more imminent problems. The fact that these arguments occur so often and are so violent even though man has been eradicated from the farm suggest that something on Animal Farm is not quite right.
The animals also begin to take sides; some on Snowball's, some on Napoleon's. The only animal who does not pick a side is Benjamin the donkey who claims that life will always be bad when someone is given power. A prime example is Stalin who at first was fighting for the lower classes but later became corrupted by power.
Another dispute that is also currently taking place between the two pigs is the problem with the defence of the farm. The animals predict that more attacks on the farm may happen again for Mr Jones to return with more planning and determination. Snowball suggests sending out more pigeons to stir rebellion on other farms which would mean that they would not have to defend themselves as the animals would overwhelm the humans. On the other hand, Napoleon suggests teaching the animals on the farm how to use firearms, making him appear as the more violent of the two.
Finally, Snowball finishes the blueprint of his windmill. In the next Sunday meeting, the animals gather to vote whether to build the windmill or not. Snowball recites a passionate and well-prepared speech while the only thing that Napoleon says is that the idea is nonsense without any persuasive speaking at all. This leads to the decision that the windmill is going to be built. The reason that Napoleon had not said anything is then explained. Napoleon makes a strange whimpering sound and suddenly the nine dogs that he had been raising attack Snowball and chase him out of the farm. They then surround Napoleon like a guard. Napoleon then announces to the shocked animals that the Sunday meetings would cease-instead, a committee of pigs would now decide everything on the farm. The committee would also give orders to the other animals on Sunday mornings when they gathered to sing 'Beasts of England.'
Only four young pigs protest out loud but they are immediately put off by the dogs. All the animals are too scared by the dogs to protest even though they are troubled by the idea that the pigs would run the farm completely so just like Mollie, they choose comfort over freedom. Squealer then uses manipulative speech to ease the animals and to get them to agree. He says that Napoleon decided to lead the farm and not let the other animals vote out of fear that the animals would vote wrongly which would make life worse on the farm.
Squealer also claims that Snowball had been a criminal which is obviously not true and had had to be removed in order to maintain peace on the farm. He also dismisses claims
that Snowball had fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed, saying that his role in the battle had been exaggerated. He asks the animals what use is bravery when one does not have discipline. A lack of discipline could lead to Jones' return. Note here that again, fear tactics of Jones' return is used which stops the animals from thinking straight. This fear tactic even convinces Boxer who says that "if Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right." This shows how Boxer thinks that since Animalism is right, what Napoleon is doing is right.
This event mirrors the time when power-hungry Stalin exiled Trotsky and spread false rumours about him.
Three Sundays later, Napoleon announces that the windmill would be built after all. Squealer explains that Napoleon only opposed the idea of the windmill before because he wanted to get rid of Snowball, who would only bring misfortune to the farm. The animals have no choice but to accept the explanation since Squealer has the dogs with him. This is just like how Stalin stole Trotsky's ideas after banishing him. Clearly by the end of chapter five, Animalism has failed.
Chapter 6:
In order to build the windmill, the animals work like slaves which suggests that life on the farm after the revolution is not so great after all. The animals, especially Boxer however, are happy and are willing to work the long hours as they think that it is for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of Mr Jones. Unfortunately, we know that this is not the case. It is clear that the pigs are using Animalism to trick the animals into doing all of the work for them as we can predict that they will probably use the windmill for their own gain while the others get nothing from it.
Meanwhile, the farm suffers shortages of items that the animals cannot produce by themselves such as iron. Napoleon therefore decides to start trading hay and wheat and eggs if necessary with the neighbouring farms in order to carry on building the windmill. He states that it would not be for commercial purposes. The animals are uneasy about this though as they know that money is associated with humans which is exactly what they want to stay away from and had thought that they had decided not to use it but Squealer convinces them that no rule had ever said that they could not use it. Another factor that gets the animals to agree is that the pigs always have the dogs with them who scare the animals into doing whatever the pigs want them to do.
Therefore, with the animals settled, Napoleon hires a man named Mr Whymper who would carry out their financial activities for them. Mr Whymper represents the capitalists who got rich by doing business with the USSR. He is a character that shows how the lower classes in Russia feel like that they are free but are not and shows how even with a revolution, capitalists still have better lives than the lower classes.
Outside the farm, the humans begin to realize how efficient the farm is with the animals in charge. This makes them hate them even more but unknowingly, a feeling of respect had also arisen for the smooth running of the farm without a single human. This shows how the pigs are even more like humans in their behaviour than ever because if they were more like animals then the humans would think nothing of them but now that the pigs are more like humans, they are beginning to accept them.
Squealer now refers to Napoleon as "The Leader" which shows how unequal the animals are now due to a hierarchy that has gradually built up on the farm. The pigs also start sleeping in beds. The animals are again uneasy by this but Boxer only replies "Napoleon is always right." This shows how brainwashed he is to think that whatever the pigs do, they are right just because they are smarter than him. On the other hand, Clover is sure that the Commandments ban animals from sleeping in beds so she gets Muriel to read the fourth Commandment for her- it now reads: "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." This is different from the original fourth Commandment which had banned beds all together so we know that the pigs are changing the Commandments to justify all of the luxuries that they want to use for themselves. What is very smart of the pigs is that in order to get their way they do not get rid of Animalism altogether but change it subtly so that the stupid animals do not realize that what is being practised on the farm is not Animalism.
By Autumn, the animals are tired but happy. Their food store for Winter is relatively small due to the hay and corn that they had sold. They had had a hard year but the fact that the windmill was almost half-finished seems to compensate for everything in the minds of the animals except for Benjamin of course. This contentment however is unluckily lost all in a single night in November when a terrible storm breaks out and...knocks down the windmill. The animals are horrified at the sight. Napoleon sniffs around the rubble and begins to wiggle his tail in concern. Suddenly, he shouts "Snowball!". He puts the blame on him to the horror of the animals. He announces that they would begin rebuilding it that very day. By shifting the blame on Snowball, Napoleon is eradicating any lack of faith that the animals might have in him as he was in charge of the farm when the windmill was knocked down. This is not unlike the way Stalin spoke of Trotsky after exiling him.
Chapter 7:
Regardless of the fact that the animals have to rebuild the windmill, they work even harder now that Winter has come. The humans claim that the windmill fell because of its thin walls but the pigs dismiss this immediately and brand it a lie which the animals then believe. The reason that the pigs say that it is not true is that just like when they found the windmill destroyed due to the error in their plans, they fear that the other animals may doubt that they are good leaders due to the careless error that had been made and uncovered by the humans. However, the animals believe their lie because they are still blinded by the thought that four legs are good and two legs are bad which is clearly nonsense as the pigs are showing themselves when they also taught it themselves to the animals. Unsurprisingly though, when they rebuild the windmill, they make the walls three feet thick.
Another problem is that the farm's food supply runs out during the Winter. This leads to the pigs having to lie yet again in order to hide the food shortage from the humans by leading Mr Whymper through a storehouse that is made to appear full of food. This problem represents Stalin's Five Year Plan that caused a great famine across the USSR but was also covered up so that other countries would not find out.
After dealing with these problems, Napoleon decides not to appear as much in front of the animals and instead issues orders through Squealer. One of the first orders that he relays to the animals is that the hens must now give four hundred of their eggs a week in order to generate funds to purchase grain and feed. This is refused by the furious hens who then consequently have their rations cut by Napoleon, who also states that anyone who feeds them would be killed. The hens give in five days later due to the nine hens that had starved to death. This show of power from the pigs shows how they think that they can kill anyone who disagrees with them because the animals believe that if Animalism is right then so is Animal Farm so anyone disagreeing with the pigs who run the farm would be going against Animalism in the eyes of the animals. At the same time as this, Napoleon also decides to sell some wood to either of the neighbouring farms. This represents the negotiations that the USSR had with the Allies and Fascists before WW2.
Squealer also spreads false rumours that Snowball had been sneaking around the farm at night. He claims that he had been on Jones' side from the beginning and had tried to betray them at the Battle of the Cowshed. He also says that Napoleon had saved them from Snowball that day which is not true. This shows how the animals are gradually being brainwashed by the pigs who are trying to rewrite the history of Animal Farm for Napoleon's benefit and the Commandments of Animalism for the benefit of themselves.
Boxer is the only animal who disagrees, claiming that Snowball had been loyal at the beginning even if he became a traitor later on. However, Squealer convinces him by saying that Napoleon had stated himself that he had been a traitor from the beginning. Note how Boxer only thinks that Napoleon is right because of his motto to the extent that he even thinks that his own memories are wrong.
Four days later, Napoleon announces a meeting in the yard. When all of the animals are gathered, he summons his dogs who attack Boxer and the four pigs who had spoken out before. Boxer scares the dogs away and pins one to the ground but the pigs are severely injured. Napoleon orders Boxer to let the dog go and then turns to the pigs, ordering them to confess. They confess to traitorous crimes that they did not commit out of fear and are killed instantly by the dogs. Napoleon then asks if anyone else wanted to turn themselves in and surprisingly three hens who had led the rebellion against giving up their eggs, three sheep and a goose all confess to absurd crimes that again were never committed but were confessed out of fear. They are all killed. This event is just like how Stalin used his power to torture his enemies in the Soviet government to get them to confess to things that they had not done so that he had an excuse to kill them.
After these unjust killings, the animals leave the yard, traumatized the first smell of blood that they had smelt since Mr Jones' reign. Boxer merely thinks he needs to work harder to make things better on the farm whereas Clover gets the animals to sing "Beasts of England" to cheer themselves up. To make things even worse, Squealer then comes along and announces the song has been banned, using the reason that it had been a song of the revolution which had now ended. He replaces it with a new song composed my Minimus, a pig who creates propaganda in favour of the pigs. The real reason that it is banned though is that the lyrics of "Beasts of England" are all about a utopian world for animals where everyone is equal which is not what the pigs want anymore-they want to be better off than the other animals.
By the end of this chapter, the pigs have already broken five of the Seven Commandments of Animalism: they are interacting with humans who are enemies; not treating fellow animals with four legs or wings as friends; sleeping in beds; killing other animals and not treating other animals equally. They are yet to drink alcohol and wear clothes.
Chapter 8:
A few days later, Clover and a few other animals remember that the sixth commandment was not to kill. Clover asks Muriel to read it out for her to confirm this but they seem to have misremembered it: it now reads that "No animal shall kill another animal without cause." It seems that the pigs have changed another law of Animalism without the animals knowing(except for maybe Benjamin) for their own benefit and comfort. This is not the only thing that the pigs manipulate and lie about. The animals are working harder but seem to be getting less food than when Jones was around which is true. However, Squealer responds with fake statistics that show that the welfare on the farm is much better than when Jones was around. These statistics are blindly believed by the animals because they are too stupid to understand that the pigs are lying to them, and without the pigs, the farm would not function at all.
Meanwhile, Napoleon almost never appears before the animals in person. However, when he does, he appears to be more powerful and important than he actually is-he appears to look more like a king rather than the leader of a farm. He is glorified by Minimus' poems and songs that honour him(propaganda). The animals are also taught by the pigs to thank Napoleon and give credit to Napoleon whenever something good happens. Napoleon's birthday also becomes a holiday. All of this is absolutely nonsense but this is also accepted by the animals without hesitation. These actions show how the pigs are further wanting to imprint their power on the animals so that their faith in them does not waver and they do not realize that they are taking advantage of their loyalty.
The pigs also finally come to a deal with Pilkington and decide to sell their wood to him and the pigs spread rumours about Frederick that he had mistreated his animals such as making his chickens fight. This makes the animals turn on him and even want to invade his farm. They need to sell this wood as quick as possible in order to get their now-finished windmill functioning as they lack the machinery needed for electricity. Two days later, Napoleon decides to suddenly sell the wood to Frederick instead. The animals are shocked by this but the pigs now turn on Pilkington. The pigs explain that they had gone back and forth like this for a long time because they had wanted to raise the price of the wood as both farms wanted it. This is not unlike how the USSR signed a Non-Aggression Pact with Germany rather than the Allies when they had been friendly with them for a long time before. The wood is sold to Frederick(Germany).
Three days later though, Mr Whymper rushes into the farm with something important to tell: Frederick had paid for the wood with fake bank notes. Napoleon is enraged and he vows to have Frederick killed. This is just like how Germany had signed the pact with the USSR without actually thinking about establishing peace with them. Instead, they had signed it so that they could carry out a surprise attack straight after signing it as it would increase their chances of taking over the USSR.
The next morning after the wood is sold, Frederick and his men attack Animal Farm with guns. They overpower the animals at first with the element of surprise and push them all the way back to the barn. The animals watch him and his men destroy the windmill. This makes the animals furious as they had spent so much time on the windmill and they fight back. The men are eventually driven out but not before many animals are killed or injured like Boxer, who limps back with a split hoof and bullets peppered in his thigh. The surprise attack that the Germans carried out on the USSR also resulted in many casualties, 25 million just on the Soviet side in fact. This attack was known as Operation Barbarossa.
The pigs decide to celebrate for two days although they sacrificed nothing for the farm in the battle. The fake bank notes fraud is forgotten. After the celebrations, the pigs also find whiskey in the cellar of the farmhouse. On the night of the discovery, the animals hear loud singing in the farmhouse. The animals also spot Napoleon running around in a bowler hat that had once belonged to Jones. However, in the morning, the pigs are nowhere to be seen. When Squealer finally appears late in the morning, he brings bad news: Napoleon is dying! It is obvious to the readers that this is not true. We as humans understand that none of the pigs are dying-they are merely suffering from a hangover from the whiskey that they had drunk the previous night. It seems that another commandment of Animalism has been broken by the pigs as they have tasted alcohol. Once Napoleon has recovered, the pigs buy machinery to make alcohol and use one of the farm's fields to sow barley rather than buy the machinery needed to produce electricity which is far more essential than the luxury of alcohol.
That night, a crash wakes the animals in the middle of the night. They find Squealer unconscious on the ground next to a ladder and a bucket of white paint just in front of the wall of the barn with the commandments written on. Only Benjamin seems to have understood what had just happened but he refuses to tell anybody else. On the other hand, Muriel seems to have misremembered the Fifth Commandment. It now reads "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess ." Yet again, the pigs rewrite the rules of Animalism right in front of their eyes but they are still too stupid to realize.
Chapter 9:
Boxer's split hoof seems to be troubling him more than expected although he works harder than ever. He is one of the closest animals to retiring as he is just 1 year away from his 12th birthday which is the age set by the pigs for the retirement of horses. It is rumoured that a corner of the large pasture is to be the grazing area for the retired animals.
Meanwhile, the food shortages are getting more serious and all of the animals find their rations reduced-except for the pigs and dogs of course. Squealer again attempts to comfort their anxiety by responding with fake news that the animals are all better off than they ever were before. This is obviously untrue but the pigs repeatedly claim this, leading to the animals helplessly believing every word they say because they still trust the pigs.
This problem does not get any better with the birth of 31 young pigs. As Napoleon is the only boar on the farm, he seems to be the father of all of them. He decides to educate them himself in the farmhouse kitchen and discourages them from interacting with the other baby animals. The pigs also set two new rules. The first one is that when a pigs and another animal meet on a path, the animal must move to the side for the pigs to pass. The second one is that the pigs can now wear green ribbons on their tails on Sundays. These new rules and the fact that Napoleon is telling his kids to stay away from the other animals shows that the pigs are starting to create a kind of upper class for themselves. The animals are truly no longer equal on the farm.
The pigs now lead a new celebration called Spontaneous Demonstration which celebrates the struggles and triumphs of the farm. These are planned strategically to go on for many hours by the pigs so that the animals are only greeted with optimistic speeches and information(all lies of course). This is because it confuses them and makes them forget about and dismiss the reality that they are literally mere slaves to the pigs.
Later in the year in April, the farm is labelled a Republic by the pigs and an election takes place, which is obviously won by Napoleon, the only candidate. This is merely a scheme planned by the pigs in order to trick the animals into thinking that they are acting fairly and are taking everyone into consideration-the word 'Republic' is a mere mask to cover the truth, and a convincing one indeed. That day, the pigs also claim that Snowball had fought against the animals at the Battle of the Cowshed. This piece of information is quickly accepted by the animals who remain unable to think for themselves.
With this small reshaping of the farm completed, the animals get back to rebuilding the windmill. However, Boxer unexpectedly collapses, unable to work. He had overworked himself to the point of severe exhaustion and lung damage. The animals immediately go to Squealer for help and he sends him off to a hospital in a van with a sign scrawled "Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler" on the side. When Benjamin reads this, the animals panic and cry out to Boxer to escape but at 11 years of age, he is unable to muster enough strength. A few days later, Squealer announces that Boxer had died during treatment and to comfort them he says that Boxer's last words had been "Napoleon is always right". In addition, he also addresses the sign on the van with the excuse that the van had previously been owned by a glue boiler and the new boiler had not yet repainted it. Yet again, unfortunately, the animals fail to realize that this is not the truth.
In memory of him, they decide to have a memorial banquet in a few days' time. On the day of the feast, a grocer's van drops off a large crate which the pigs seize and take into the farmhouse. That night, chaos is heard in the house: singing, quarrels and even the sound of crashing glass. The following day, word goes round that the pigs had somehow found the money to acquire a crate of whisky. They had sold Boxer for a mere crate of whisky.
With 6 of the 7 rules of Animalism now broken, the pigs only have to wear clothes to destroy Animalism.
Chapter 10:
Years pass by and only a few animals remember the revolution. The windmill, now complete is used to mill flour instead of producing electricity which brings in a lot of money although only the pigs and dogs seem better off. Unfortunately, as they can't remember any other way of life, the animals still believe that they are free. One day, to make things even worse, Squealer is spotted walking on his hind legs. The rest of the pigs also come out of the farmhouse on two legs with Napoleon also carrying a whip-a symbol of animal enslavement. In the midst of confusion, the sheep begin to bleat "Four legs good, two legs better!" which completely contradicts their former chant. This causes Clover to ask Benjamin to read the Seven Commandments of Animalism to her but now it only reads "All animals are equal. But some are more equal than others." which also contradicts itself. Upon reading this, the reader can instantly brand it absurd but it shows the extent of the brainwashing that the animals had undergone.
Soon enough, all of the pigs begin to wear clothes and carry whips. They also invite Pilkington to look around their farm and stay for dinner. The rest of the animals decide to eavesdrop on their conversation where Pilkington and Napoleon toast each other. Pilkington talks about how he admires the latter as his animals are so productive yet fed so little. He also talks about how men and pigs share similar problems: men have lower classes to deal with while pigs have lower animals. Napoleon immediately agrees with this and drive by those words he announces that the farm would revert back to its original name: Manor Farm.
After their meal, they return to their card game and as soon as the animals are about to leave, they hear a loud uproar-Pilkington and Napoleon had simultaneously caught each other cheating. As the two sides fight, the animals fail to differentiate between pig and man, showing how the pigs are no longer like animals. The farm's status had gone all the way back to the beginning when Mr Jones had owned the farm which had been an oppressive era for the animals and Animalism had now been completely abolished. The revolution had failed.
THE END