George Orwell’s Animal Farm: A Comprehensive Academic Guide

Introduction

Animal Farm is a 1945 novella by George Orwell satirically fusing political critique with the form of a fairy tale. Subtitled “A Fairy Story,” it uses talking farm animals to expose the corruption of revolutionary ideals and the nature of totalitarian regimes​.​

Orwell’s purpose was deeply political: he aims to warn the world about the dangers of authoritarian rule masquerading as equality. In his own words, Animal Farm was “the first book in which I tried… to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole.”

The novella allegorically reflects events of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of Stalinism. Animal Farm demonstrates how initial dreams of justice devolve into a dictatorship as oppressive as the past. Orwell, a democratic socialist, wrote the book after witnessing the “negative influence of the Soviet myth upon the western Socialist movement.” He came to believe that exposing Stalin’s betrayal of revolution was essential​.

Since publication, Animal Farm has become a classic, significant for its blend of simple fable and biting political commentary. It remains a staple in literature classes and a cautionary tale about how power can corrupt, and how language and propaganda can cement that corruption.

Chapter Summaries

Animal Farm Chapter 1 Summary

The story opens on Manor Farm in England. The farm animals gather in the barn at night to hear a respected old boar’s message. Old Major, the prize Middle White boar, calls the meeting to share a strange dream and inspire the animals to revolt. He describes the miserable, laborious lives the animals lead under their human farmer, Mr. Jones. Old Major declares that Man is the only real enemy who consumes without producing​.

Old Major introduces the principles of Animalism: the idea that animals should unite against their oppressor and create a society of equality. In an impassioned speech, he teaches them the song “Beasts of England.” It paints a vision of a free future and fires the animals’ revolutionary spirit​. The meeting galvanises the animals, but it also establishes their personalities, including the:

• Cynicism of the donkey Benjamin;
• Enthusiasm of the cart-horse Boxer;
• Vain petulance of the mare Mollie, and;
• Intelligence of the pigs. 

By chapter’s end, the animals dream of rebellion. Though Mr. Jones scatters the meeting with a gunshot into the night air, Old Major’s ideas take root. Old Major dies just days later, but his speech sets the stage for the revolution to come.

Animal Farm Chapter 2 Summary

After Old Major’s death, the pigs develop his idealistic teachings into a formal philosophy called Animalism. Two young pigs – Snowball and Napoleon – emerge as leaders, with a pig named Squealer as their persuasive mouthpiece​. The pigs begin secret meetings to educate the others, though they struggle against doubts.

• the foolish Mollie asks if there will still be sugar and ribbons​, and;
• The tame raven Moses distracts others with tales of a heaven-like “Sugarcandy Mountain”​.

In midsummer, the Rebellion happens unexpectedly: when Mr. Jones neglects to feed the animals. He instead falls into a drunken sleep, the hungry animals break into the store-shed. Jones and his farmhands try to whip them back, but the animals revolt and chase the humans off the farm. Suddenly free, the jubilant animals burn the symbols of their oppression (whips, chains) and rename the property “Animal Farm.” 

The pigs reveal that they have learned to read and write, and ​Snowball paints the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the barn wall. These Seven Commandments – including “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy” and “All animals are equal” – are to serve as the unalterable law of the new society​. All the animals enthusiastically agree to abide by these principles. Notably, the pigs quietly reserve certain privileges: when milk disappears, they explain they are mixing it into their mash. By the end of Chapter 2, the farm is under animal control, founded on lofty egalitarian rules, and full of optimism.

Animal Farm Chapter 3 Summary

In Chapter 3, the animals experience the fruit of their revolution. They work hard to bring in the first harvest without humans, and it turns out remarkably successful – the largest harvest the farm has seen​​. Every animal, down to the hens and ducks, contributes in accordance with their ability. Boxer, the strong cart-horse, emerges as an idol of work ethic. His personal motto becomes “I will work harder!” and he labours earlier and later than anyone​.

Animal Farm Pigs Assert Their “Leadership”

The pigs, being the most intelligent, do not do manual labor but instead supervise and direct the others. Which the animals willingly accept, as the pigs’ “superior knowledge” makes them naturally suited to leadership​. With the humans gone, the animals feel a sense of ownership and camaraderie in their toil – every meal tastes sweeter knowing it is truly theirs​. The farm runs smoothly and there is an air of egalitarian contentment. 

However, small cracks in equality appear. The pigs set aside the milk and windfall apples for their own consumption. They justifying it through Squealer’s smooth argument that the brainworkers need extra nutrition “for everyone’s sake.” Squealer even frightens the others with the prospect that Mr. Jones might return if the pigs fail to stay healthy. This is the animals’ first encounter with pigs bending the principles of Animalism.

Additionally, Snowball reduces the Seven Commandments to a single maxim – “Four legs good, two legs bad.” The sheep begin bleating endlessly to reinforce the animals’ collective identity. Meanwhile, Benjamin the donkey remains unchanged and skeptical. When asked if he’s happier after the Rebellion, Benjamin cryptically replies, “Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey,” implying his doubt that real change has occurred​. Despite some unease, most animals remain proud of their early achievements and ignorant of the pigs’ subtle consolidations of power.

Animal Farm Chapter 4 Summary

News of Animal Farm’s formation spreads quickly to other farms, carried by pigeons and local gossip. The Rebellion inspires animals elsewhere, worrying farmers in the region. Mr. Jones, desperate to reclaim his farm, rounds up some men from adjacent farms. Namely, Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood and Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield, disillusioned by their own animals singing “Beasts of England.” 

In October, Jones and his armed men invade Animal Farm, leading to the Battle of the Cowshed. Under Snowball’s tactical leadership, the animals mount a fierce defence. Snowball, who has studied an old book of Julius Caesar’s campaigns, devises a strategy:

• first the birds harry the men;
• then a false retreat lures the men deeper in;
• before the larger animals ambush them.

Heroic Snowball and Seeds of Jealousy

During the battle, Snowball himself bravely charges Jones, suffering a grazing from a shotgun pellet. Boxer ferociously fights, accidentally seeming to fell a stable-lad (who survives). The animals expel the attackers, saving the farm.

This victory solidifies Animal Farm’s identity and resolve. They create military decorations: Animal Hero, First Class goes to Snowball (and Boxer, who is reluctant to take any life). Animal Hero, Second Class posthumously goes to the fallen sheep. They raise the green hoof-and-horn flag. Ultimately, the battle also heightens the rivalry between Snowball and Napoleon – Snowball’s heroism earns him respect, sowing seeds of jealousy in Napoleon. 

Meanwhile, humans dismiss the rebellion’s success as a fluke. But Animal Farm’s existence is a beacon of possibility (and some say the animals fought like lions). Chapter 4 ends with the farm secure and the Revolution spreading in spirit, but tensions growing beneath the surface.

Animal Farm Chapter 5 Summary

Chapter 5 marks a turning point as the struggle for leadership comes to a head. Mollie the mare becomes a defector. Unwilling to give up human indulgences (sugar and ribbons), she fraternises with a neighbour farmer and soon disappears (“defects”) to a life pulling a human’s carriage. Her departure quietly underscores that not all animals prefer freedom over comfort. 

More critically, Snowball and Napoleon’s rivalry over the farm’s future intensifies. Snowball drafts ambitious plans to build a windmill that would generate electricity and automate labor, promising warmth and leisure. Napoleon, however, vehemently opposes the windmill, calling it nonsense and concentrating on food production. At the Meeting to decide on the windmill, Snowball gives a passionate speech, almost winning over the majority. 

But at the climax, Napoleon unleashes his coup: he gives a strange high-pitched whimper, and nine huge dogs – his secret guard dogs raised from pups – burst in and chase Snowball off the farm. Snowball flees for his life, escaping just in time. This sudden violence ends democratic debate on Animal Farm. Napoleon assumes sole command, declaring the abolishment of Sunday meetings. In a grim foreshadowing of totalitarian rule, Squealer then explains the new order to the shell-shocked animals. He claims that:

• Napoleon, as the “Leader,” will make better decisions without debate, and that;
• Snowball was a traitor and criminal. 

The animals are both uneasy and intimidated by these movs. Within a short time, Napoleon reverses course and announces the windmill will be built after all – saying it was his idea all along. The chapter ends with Napoleon’s consolidation of power: the pigs move into the farmhouse, start wearing Mr. Jones’s clothes, and none dare oppose. The promise of the early rebellion has given way to a pig dictatorship, with Snowball exiled and declared an enemy of the state.

Animal Farm Chapter 6 Summary

Under Napoleon’s unchallenged rule, the animals work longer hours, often in harsh conditions, notably to build the windmill which Napoleon now champions. Boxer pushes himself to exhaustion with his mantra “I will work harder.” Soon, they cut rations for many animals (except the pigs and dogs). The pigs begin bending the Commandments openly. They engage in trade with humans: Napoleon hires Mr. Whymper, a solicitor, as an intermediary to procure supplies that the farm needs.

The commandment changes ramp up

The sight of Napoleon on two legs, bargaining with humans, unsettles some animals, as it seems to violate Old Major’s teachings. Indeed, the pigs move into the farmhouse and sleep in beds, which alarms the animals until Squealer, with clever wordplay, points out that the Commandment forbids beds “with sheets.” 

When checked, the barn wall indeed reads “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets,” and Squealer explains that a bed merely means “a place to sleep” and the pigs need comfort as brainworkers. The animals accept this blatant alteration of the rules. It’s evident that the animals, lacking clear memories, doubt themselves. Meanwhile, Napoleon’s regime grows more repressive. He rarely appears in public, and when he does it is with pomp and the fierce guard dogs. 

By fall, a storm ravages the farm and topples the windmill: all that remains is rubble. Napoleon immediately blames Snowball’s sabotage, sentencing the exiled pig to death in absentia and using the threat of this unseen “traitor” to rally the animals. Furious and determined to crush the supposed enemy within, Napoleon urges the animals to rebuild the windmill, even as the toil will be even greater in the coming winter. 

Ultimately, chapter 6 shows the pigs’ gradual betrayal of the Seven Commandments. There’s also the cultivation of Snowball as a scapegoat to consolidate Napoleon’s power.

Animal Farm Chapter 7 Summary

The farm endures a terrible winter in Chapter 7. Food grows scarce, and the animals face starvation – a situation paralleling the famines under Stalin’s rule. To hide the crisis from the outside world, Napoleon has the nearly empty grain bins filled with sand and topped with a layer of grain, fooling Mr. Whymper (and thus human society) into believing Animal Farm is still prosperous. Under extreme hardship, the hens rebel when Napoleon orders a quota of their eggs to sell (a violation of one Commandment). In protest, the hens smash their eggs rather than surrender them. 

Napoleon reacts with brutality: he cuts off the hens’ rations, and after several die, the survivors capitulate. A climate of fear and repression takes hold. Napoleon, rarely seen, issues orders through Squealer. Snowball continues to be the convenient enemy; he receives blame as a saboteur whenever misfortune occurs. Tensions peak with a shocking scene of violence and betrayal: Napoleon calls all animals to assemble and forces several animals to make false confessions of treachery (some confess to absurd plots supposedly with Snowball). Upon each confession, Napoleon’s dogs tear out the throats of the “traitors,” executing a number of animals in front of everyone​.

The perversion of animalism

The surviving animals are now miserable. Animalism and its principles no longer have meaning – no animal was ever supposed to kill another, yet the dogs have killed many. Clover and the other animals, except the pigs and dogs, huddle together, confused and fearful. That night, they all creep to the barn wall and, for the first time, suspect there was an alteration of the commandments. Now, the Sixth Commandment reads “No animal shall kill any other animal without cause.” 

True to form, Squealer insists all is the same, as there was justification for the executions. In response to this purge, “Beasts of England” is outlawed. Napoleon replaces it with an anthem glorifying Animal Farm (and by extension himself), penned by the pig Minimus. The end of Chapter 7 finds the farm ruled by terror. The ideals of the rebellion lie in tatters, as Napoleon’s totalitarian regime is in full force, complete with purges, propaganda, and historical revisionism.

Animal Farm Chapter 8 Summary

With Napoleon’s tyranny entrenched, Chapter 8 shows the cult of personality and further corruption of ideals. The Commandments continue to be subject to subtle revision. Eventually, the animals notice a new qualification to the Fifth Commandment – “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.” Remarkably, this just happens to appear only after the pigs discover a cellar of whisky and indulge in a drunken night​. 

Napoleon seldom appears in public, but when he does he is flanked by trumpeting roosters and his fierce dogs. He takes on grandiose titles (like “Father of All Animals, Protector of the Sheepfold, Ducklings’ Friend” etc.). Minimus’ new poem “Comrade Napoleon” is inscribed on the barn wall, opposite the Seven Commandments. Napoleon is openly elevated above the other animals: they must show reverence and receive all orders through Squealer. Despite the oppression, the animals remain proud to be the only farm run by animals and not humans. They comfort themselves that at least Mr. Jones is gone.

The Outside World

The outside world still watches: Mr. Frederick (of Pinchfield) finally offers to buy a pile of timber from Animal Farm. Napoleon negotiates between Frederick and Pilkington, eventually selling to Frederick after extracting a higher price. But Frederick betrays them – he pays with forged banknotes, effectively stealing the timber. Napoleon, outraged, prepares for an attack.

Frederick and his men soon invade the farm with guns, leading to the Battle of the Windmill. The men blow up the windmill with dynamite, shattering the animals’ years of hard work. Enraged, the animals fight back ferociously and drive the humans out, though at great cost. Many, like Boxer, suffer injuries, and a cow and some other animals perish. 

The pigs declare this a victory (albeit a dubious one, since the windmill is no more). They hold a celebration. Ironically, after the battle, the pigs discover a case of whisky and imbibe. Napoleon himself has a severe hangover, during which he believes he is dying, and in his delirium he orders drinking alcohol punishable by death. Yet when he recovers, Napoleon learns to brew beer and soon has the pigs start a small brewery, allocating themselves a daily ration. By the end of Chapter 8, all the original Commandments except one have gone or subject to amendment. The worn out animals are fearful, but they dare not question the pigs. 

Several animals spot Squealer one night near the barn wall with a bucket of paint. Yet there is even an explanation for this suspicious incident. The pigs have become indistinguishable from the cruel human farmers in everything but appearance; only one Commandment (for now) remains as it originally was: “All animals are equal.”

Animal Farm Chapter 9 Summary

In Chapter 9, the farm, despite outwardly being a “Republic” with Napoleon as its elected President (he is the only candidate), is effectively a dystopia for most animals. The windmill is being rebuilt yet again. Life grows ever more unequal and harsh. They cut rations (except for pigs and dogs) again, now to starvation levels. The pigs use rousing propaganda, such as “Spontaneous Demonstrations” where animals march and celebrate the farm’s triumphs. It is meant to distract everyone from their hunger and fatigue. The ageing Boxer continues to work at a punishing pace to finish the windmill, despite a serious split in his hoof. He dreams only of seeing the windmill completed and then quietly retiring with his friend Benjamin.

Boxer meets his fate

However, Boxer’s fate illustrates the cruel betrayal of Animal Farm’s ideals. One summer day, Boxer collapses while hauling stone. The pigs announce they will send him to a veterinary hospital in town. A truck comes for Boxer, but Benjamin reads the side of the van and realises in horror that it belongs to a knacker (glue-boiler). A panic ensues as the animals cry out for Boxer to escape, but he is too weak and is taken away to his death. Squealer later claims the truck had been bought by the veterinarian and simply hadn’t been repainted, and that Boxer received the best medical care before dying – but the truth is clear when the pigs mysteriously acquire money for a case of whisky the following week. Boxer’s tragic end devastates the other animals; he was the most loyal and hardworking comrade, and in return the pigs sold him for profit.

Yet even this shock suffers through more propaganda. Squealer gives a speech extolling Boxer’s loyalty and urging others to emulate his maxims of hard work and obedience. By the end of Chapter 9, only a few animals even remember life before the rebellion. The principles of Animal Farm are a nightmare instead of the dream. Now the pigs live in comfort, and even erect a schoolroom for a litter of piglets. The piglets receive special treatment and better educational opportunities. All while the other animals toil hungry. Still, many remain hopeful that “Golden future time” that Old Major dreamed of will come – a hope that readers can see is increasingly in vain.

Animal Farm Chapter 10 Summary

Years pass in the final chapter, and Animal Farm undergoes a complete transformation – and betrayal – of its original ideals. Many of the original animals have died; few remember the days before the Rebellion clearly. The younger generation has grown up under the pigs’ regime and knows nothing else. The windmill is finished (and used not for the promised electricity to improve animals’ lives, but for milling corn profitably). The farm seems richer, but the common animals’ lives are as bleak as ever: they work long hours on meagre rations, and the pigs and dogs reap the benefits. By now, the pigs openly walk on two legs – a shock to the other creatures. 

Equality is an illusion

Clover sees Squealer training the sheep to repeat a new slogan, and one day the pigs emerge walking upright, with Napoleon carrying a whip. The sheep drown out any protests with a new bleat: “Four legs good, two legs better.” The animals creep to the barn wall and find the Seven Commandments are now one maxim:

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

The pigs have begun wearing human clothes, reading human magazines, and smoking pipes. Soon after, the pigs invite neighboring human farmers (including Pilkington) for a tour and banquet. The other animals watch through the farmhouse window as Napoleon and Mr. Pilkington toast each other, congratulating the pigs on running a farm with the “lower animals” doing more work and receiving less food than on other farms. 

Pilkington notes with admiration that the animals at Animal Farm work hard on minimal rations – a situation he says “is something to which the rest of us might aspire.” The pigs and humans play a game of cards, during which a dispute breaks out – Napoleon and Pilkington each accuse the other of cheating by playing an ace of spades. As the argument erupts, the animals realise with horror that they can no longer distinguish the pigs from the men. The final scene has the animals peering in, unable to tell pig and human apart, symbolising the complete betrayal of the rebellion’s ideals. Animal Farm thus ends on a powerful note: the original oppressors (humans) and the new oppressors (pigs) are identical – tyranny has prevailed over equality.

Character Analysis

Napoleon (Animal Farm)

Napoleon, a large Berkshire boar, is the main antagonist of Animal Farm. From the start, Orwell describes him as “a large, rather fierce-looking” pig who “had a reputation for getting his own way.” Quiet yet cunning, Napoleon represents the archetype of the power-hungry dictator. He is an allegorical figure for Joseph Stalin​, the Soviet leader – through Napoleon’s rise, Orwell critiques how Stalin seized control of a revolution. Napoleon exhibits ruthless ambition: he raises a private army of dogs to eliminate his rival Snowball, just as Stalin used his secret police to oust Trotsky. 

After violently exiling Snowball, Napoleon monopolises power, abolishing democratic meetings and installing himself as supreme leader. He cultivates a cult of personality, taking titles and indulging in special privileges (e.g. drinking whisky, wearing a crown of laurels in one scene, fathering dozens of piglets whom he grooms as an elite class). As a ruler, Napoleon is brutal and calculating. He instigates the farm’s bloodiest events – the show trials and executions in Chapter 7 – to instill fear and quash dissent. Like Stalin, he frequently revises history and uses propaganda to justify his actions. Through Squealer, he spreads lies that glorify his leadership and vilify Snowball (mirroring Stalin’s propaganda against Trotsky).

Napoleon and the Seven Commandments

Under Napoleon, the original Seven Commandments are progressively altered to excuse the pigs’ violations. By the end, Napoleon and his pigs walk on two legs and behave exactly like the human tyrants the animals overthrew. Napoleon’s character illustrates how a revolutionary leader can become indistinguishable from a totalitarian oppressor. Orwell portrays him as the ultimate traitor to Animalism. Napoleon’s personal thirst for power leads him to destroy the very equality and freedom the Rebellion sought. In the allegory, Napoleon represents Stalin’s corrupt dictatorship, showing how one pig’s tyranny replaces another’s in the cycle of oppression​.

Snowball (Animal Farm)

Snowball is an intelligent, passionate boar who emerges as one of the early leaders of Animal Farm. He is a stand-in for Leon Trotsky, the Russian revolutionary leader subject to exile by Stalin. Orwell depicts Snowball as a pig of idealism and quick intellect: he is “more vivacious… quicker in speech and more inventive” than Napoleon, though “not considered to have the same depth of character.” 

Snowball genuinely works for the betterment of all animals – he organises numerous committees and classes to educate them, and he is the chief architect of the windmill project, envisioning technological progress that would reduce work hours and improve comfort. As a military leader, Snowball is brave and strategic: he plans the defense in the Battle of the Cowshed and personally fights at the front, sustaining an injury and earning the honor of “Animal Hero, First Class.” These qualities make Snowball popular and respected among the animals. 

Snowball vs Napoleon

However, Snowball is politically naïve in the face of Napoleon’s treachery. He fails to anticipate Napoleon’s ruthless drive for power. In the great debate over the windmill, Snowball’s eloquence nearly persuades the animals, but Napoleon’s sudden unleashing of the dogs forces Snowball into exile. After his expulsion, Snowball becomes a scapegoat for all the farm’s misfortunes. Napoleon (Stalin) rewrites history, alleging that Snowball was a traitor from the start – even claiming Snowball sabotaged the revolution and colluded with Mr. Jones. 

Despite these slanders, Snowball’s contributions are evident: the windmill that the animals eventually build was originally his idea. Snowball’s idealism and vision contrast with Napoleon’s brutality. He represents the kind of leader the revolution could have had – more intellectually inclined and morally motivated – but also shows the vulnerability of such leaders in a power struggle. In the allegory, Snowball’s exile and vilification parallel Trotsky’s fate. 

Orwell uses Snowball to demonstrate that:

• even earnest revolutionaries are at the mercy of a ruthless counterpart, and;
• truth is often the first casualty under a dictator (i.e. they altogther erase Snowball’s heroism from Animal Farm’s official history).

Snowball’s legacy on the farm is the windmill and the lingering notion of progress. But having lost the struggle for power, they invoke his namepower struggle only under a cloud of lies once Napoleon’s propaganda takes hold.

Benjamin (Animal Farm)

Benjamin is the old donkey on the farm, notable for his cynical, world-weary outlook. He is the oldest animal with a steadfast, if gloomy, detachment. Throughout the story, Benjamin “never laughed” and “never became enthusiastic” about the Rebellion or its leaders, maintaining that life would go on badly no matter who was in charge​. His most famous remark, delivered whenever other animals ask for his opinion, is “Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.”​. 

This cryptic statement encapsulates Benjamin’s belief that nothing truly changes. He implies he has outlived many upheavals and expects to outlive this one too, cynical that the promised better life will never materialise. Benjamin is literate (as intelligent as the pigs in reading), but he pointedly refuses to use his ability – symbolising those who see the truth but choose not to act. Benjamin represents the intelligentsia or skeptic in society who recognises tyranny early but feels powerless or unwilling to resist actively.

Friendship with Boxer

Despite his sarcasm and aloofness, Benjamin has a soft spot: his friendship with Boxer the horse. He is one of the few who stand by Boxer’s side, helping Boxer during his injury. In fact, Benjamin’s calm disinterest turns to urgency in Chapter 9 when he alone realises Boxer will die. 

Benjamin’s attempt to save Boxer (by alerting the others to the fate that awaits their friend) is the only time he actively breaks his apathy. After Boxer’s death, Benjamin becomes even more withdrawn and bitter. Benjamin’s character illustrates the consequences of inaction. He accurately perceives the pigs’ corruption early on – he notices every commandment change. But he says nothing until it is far too late. Orwell may be using Benjamin to criticise those in society who grasp what is happening (the erosion of rights, rise of tyranny) but do little to stop it. 

In the end, Benjamin is right that the revolution fails. But his cynicism also becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. By never speaking against the pigs until the very end, he tacitly allows their domination to go unchallenged. Thus, Benjamin represents the informed skeptic whose stubborn pessimism and passivity contribute to the very outcome he privately feared. It’s a caution that cynicism can enable tyranny just as ignorance can.

Themes and Symbolism

What is totalitarianism in Animal Farm?

In Animal Farm, Orwell offers a scathing portrayal of totalitarianism by showing how the pigs consolidate absolute power and betray the revolution’s ideals. A totalitarian regime is one that seeks to control all aspects of life under a single authoritarian party or leader. This includes government, economy, education, and even the citizens’ thoughts.

On Animal Farm, Napoleon’s rule becomes totalitarian: he and the pigs dictate every facet of the animals’ existence. Orwell critiques this authoritarian rule by illustrating its core features on the farm:

• a cult of personality;
• violent repression;
• manipulation of truth, and;
• exploitation of fear.

Napoleon gradually develops into a dictator who tolerates no opposition. To wit, he cancels public meetings, makes decisions unilaterally, and executes dissidents. 

The dogs (his secret police) enforce obedience through terror. Meanwhile, Squealer’s propaganda ensures the animals’ minds are controlled with lies and misinformation. The animals, initially hopeful and egalitarian, become slaves to a new tyranny. As such, they work long hours, their rations are continuously cut, and they live in fear of execution or punishment. Orwell’s message is that the pigs’ regime is indistinguishable from human tyrannies. In fact, by the end, the pigs are human-like tyrants, walking on two legs and carrying whips. Totalitarianism in Animal Farm is embodied in the slogan “Napoleon is always right.” Essentially, one leader’s will supplants all law or debate. 

Sustaining a Totalitarian Regime in Animal Farm

The novella shows that such regimes sustain themselves through violence (the purges), intimidation (the dogs’ constant presence), and propaganda (rewriting history and commandments). Importantly, Orwell also demonstrates how the populace’s ignorance and acquiescence enable totalitarianism: the other animals, lacking education and memory, are manipulated into docility. This reflects one of Orwell’s broader critiques: revolutions can degenerate into dictatorships if the people are not vigilant and empowered. As Orwell wrote of his own work, 

“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism.”​

Animal Farm is a vehicle for that stance, condemning the way Stalin’s Soviet Union (the allegorical pig regime) became a brutal totalitarian state—far from the original egalitarian ideals. In the book’s final scene, the ultimate horror of totalitarianism is laid bare. The pigs in power are indistinguishable from the human oppressors they replace. It emphasizes Orwell’s warning that unchecked power leads to the same tyranny, regardless of who holds it.

Animal Farm’s 7 Commandments and Their Manipulation

Upon establishing Animal Farm, the animals create the Seven Commandments of Animalism. It is a set of egalitarian principles meant to safeguard the revolution’s ideals. These Commandments are painted in large white letters on the barn wall for all to see and remember​. They include strictures like 

• “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy;” 
• “No animal shall sleep in a bed;”
• “No animal shall kill any other animal,” and;
• “All animals are equal.” 

Initially, the Seven Commandments serve as the constitutional foundation of the animals’ new society, encapsulating the dream of a farm run by animals for their own benefit, in stark contrast to human corruption. However, as the pigs gain power, they begin to manipulate and alter these Commandments to justify their privileges and abuses.

Amendments

Each change corresponds to the pigs breaking the very rule in question. For example:

• The pigs move into the farmhouse and start sleeping in beds. Suddenly, the Fourth Commandment “No animal shall sleep in a bed” is secretly repainted. It then reads to “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.”
• After the mass executions of animals in Chapter 7, the Sixth Commandment “No animal shall kill any other animal” gains the qualifier “without cause.”​ This twist suggests that the murders were allowable since Napoleon deemed them justified.
• When the pigs discover alcohol and indulge, the Fifth Commandment “No animal shall drink alcohol” is modified. It comes to read that “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.”
• Finally, the core principle “All animals are equal” is perverted into “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” It’s a chilling paradox that appears on the wall by the novella’s end (replacing all previous commandments).

These changes are not announced; they are done furtively, and most animals are too dim or forgetful to realise the commandments have been altered – they doubt their own memories when Squealer brazenly insists the words were always that way. The manipulation of the Seven Commandments is a central symbol of how those in power can subvert a society’s laws to strengthen their control. Each Commandment was supposed to be an “unalterable law” for a better life​, yet “with the passage of time, these commandments were not only violated but also routinely altered by the pigs for their own selfish motives.”​

The Corruption of Ideals

This erosion of principles illustrates the theme of the corruption of ideals: what began as noble tenets of equality and freedom are steadily twisted into tools of oppression. The fact that the other animals come to accept statements like “more equal” shows the power of propaganda and conditioning – language is used to mask absurd inequalities with an appearance of logic. 

In essence, the fate of the Seven Commandments – reduced from seven egalitarian rules to one elitist maxim – symbolises the betrayal of the revolution. Orwell thus highlights how revolutionary slogans and laws can be gradually reinterpreted or erased entirely by those who seek personal power, leaving the populace with no memory of the original ideals. The Commandments’ manipulation is a stark warning: vigilance and education are required to prevent leaders from literally re-writing the rules of society to benefit themselves.

Propaganda and Language Control in Animal Farm

Orwell was deeply concerned with how those in power manipulate language as a tool of control, and Animal Farm provides a clear depiction of propaganda in action. The pig Squealer personifies the propaganda apparatus in a totalitarian regime. Described as a “brilliant talker” who could “turn black into white”​, Squealer twists truth and logic to persuade the other animals to accept Napoleon’s every decision. 

Through Squealer’s speeches, Orwell shows the techniques of propaganda: lies, euphemisms, fear-mongering, and revisionism. For example, when the pigs take the milk and apples for themselves, Squealer convinces the animals that this is scientifically proven to be necessary for the pigs’ brainwork, and that if the pigs fail in health, Jones might return – playing on the animals’ fear to force their acceptance. He constantly uses Jones as a bogeyman (“Surely none of you wishes to see Jones back?”) to justify the pigs’ privileges and any harsh policy. This parallels how totalitarian regimes invoke external threats or past enemies to stoke fear and obedience.

Rewriting History

As the story progresses, Squealer rewrites history with astonishing audacity. He claims that Snowball was a criminal all along, that Napoleon was the true hero at the Battle of the Cowshed, and even that Napoleon invented the windmill idea – all blatant lies. When the Commandments are altered, Squealer employs “doublespeak” to explain away the changes (e.g. claiming beds were never banned, only sheets were). The common animals, with poor memory and limited education, are susceptible to these distortions.

Orwell demonstrates that control of information is key to maintaining power: by controlling the narrative, the pigs ensure no one can challenge their authority with facts. The sheep chanting “Four legs good, two legs bad” (and later “four legs good, two legs better”) serve to drown out thought or debate, showing how slogans can reduce complex issues to simplistic, mind-numbing phrases.

Language control in Animal Farm reaches its climax when the Seven Commandments are replaced by the nonsensical maxim “some animals are more equal than others.” The pigs rely on the animals’ inability to critically parse such contradictions; years of propaganda and fear have dulled their capacity to resist even obvious abuse of language. Orwell’s point is that in a totalitarian setting, language becomes a weapon: it is used not to communicate truth but to obscure it and manipulate the populace​. 

Squealer’s Soviet allegories

Squealer’s propaganda is akin to the Soviet Union’s Pravda or the constant stream of misinformation in any dictatorship. Through lies repeated often, the pigs turn the revolutionary ethos on its head without an outcry. We also see propaganda in the form of songs and ceremonies – “Beasts of England” initially unites animals against tyranny, but once it’s banned, Minimus’s anthem glorifying Napoleon takes its place, transforming the revolutionary spirit into cult worship.

Orwell’s portrayal of propaganda in Animal Farm is a direct critique of how language was perverted under Stalin (and other regimes). By controlling language, the pigs control thought – the animals have no words to question the pigs’ actions if the concepts (like equality) have been redefined. This theme is a precursor to Orwell’s later novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which explores language control through “Newspeak.” In Animal Farm, the message is succinct: freedom of thought is lost when words are twisted and truth is silenced, making propaganda one of the most powerful tools of oppression on the farm.

Allegory and Historical Context

Animal Farm is a highly structured allegory of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Stalinist era in the Soviet Union. Each major character and event in the novel corresponds to a historical figure or happening in Soviet history​. Understanding this context enriches our reading of the novella, as Orwell’s satire closely parallels real people and events up to the mid-1940s.

Beginnings: Marx and Lenin

At the start, Old Major represents a composite of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Like Marx, Old Major inspires the revolution with his vision of a classless society (his speech mirrors Marx’s Communist Manifesto call for the workers of the world to unite​). After his death, Old Major’s skull is put on display, much as Lenin’s embalmed body was venerated – a symbol of the ideals of the revolution. Mr. Jones, the drunken farmer, symbolises Tsar Nicholas II (the autocratic ruler overthrown by the Russian Revolution). Jones’s negligence and eventual ouster in the Rebellion correspond to the February 1917 uprising that forced Nicholas II to abdicate – an uprising that, like the animals’, was due to mismanagement and famine and succeeded with relative ease​.

Early Soviet Phase of Animal Farm

The revolutionary takeover of the farm leads to a period akin to Russia’s early Soviet phase. Animal Farm’s establishment parallels the early Soviet Union, with the Seven Commandments echoing the lofty promises of socialist ideology. The rivalry between the pigs Napoleon and Snowball is a direct allegory of the power struggle between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. Snowball (Trotsky) is a fervent intellectual and idealist who favors rapid progress (his windmill project symbolises Trotsky’s push for industrialisation and “permanent revolution”). Napoleon (Stalin), in contrast, is power-hungry and cunning; he consolidates power behind the scenes and eventually uses force to eliminate Snowball just as Stalin exiled Trotsky and later had him assassinated. 

The Great Purge

After Snowball’s expulsion, Napoleon’s dictatorship on the farm represents Stalin’s totalitarian rule in the 1930s, including the Great Purges. The forced confessions and executions of allegedly traitorous animals in Chapter 7 directly parallel Stalin’s 1936–1938 Purge Trials, where many loyal Bolsheviks were coerced into confessing to absurd conspiracies and executed​. During these purges, Stalin cultivated a climate of fear and eliminated anyone seen as a potential rival or dissenter – which is exactly what Napoleon achieves by killing several animals while blaming Snowball for plotting against the farm.

Squealer represents the propaganda machine (often associated with Vyacheslav Molotov and the Soviet state newspaper Pravda). His twisting of truth corresponds to how Soviet propaganda justified famines, purges, and the privileges of the Communist Party elite. Boxer, the hardworking horse, is emblematic of the loyal proletariat (working class) – steadfast and strong but tragically exploited by the regime. Boxer’s eventual fate (being sold to the knacker when he’s no longer useful) is Orwell’s commentary on how Stalin’s government betrayed the working class, despite all slogans about the dignity of labor​. It reflects the broader betrayal of the revolutionary masses, who gave their all to the cause only to be discarded.

World War II

Other characters also have clear allegorical roles. 

Animal characters 

• Benjamin the donkey can be seen as the intellectual skeptic (or perhaps the older generation) who remains cynical and unmoved by propaganda, much like many Russians who survived multiple regimes;
• Mollie the vain horse represents those of the former aristocracy or bourgeoisie who cannot bear the new regime and flee (she leaves for a life with humans, just as many White Russians emigrated after the revolution); 
• Moses the raven symbolises organised religion (specifically the Russian Orthodox Church), telling tales of Sugarcandy Mountain (Heaven) – initially chased away by the leaders as an enemy of the revolution, but later quietly allowed back (Stalin similarly reinstituted the church during WWII for morale).

Human characters

The farmers Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick represent capitalist powers around Soviet Russia – Pilkington, the easy-going owner of Foxwood, represents Britain (and the Allies in general), while the shrewd, nasty Frederick of Pinchfield represents Germany (Hitler). Their relations with Animal Farm mirror diplomatic events: the timber deal and Frederick’s cheating payment with forged banknotes allude to the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, which Stalin made with Hitler (the pact was an agreement that Hitler betrayed, just as Frederick betrays Napoleon). 

Frederick’s subsequent attack on Animal Farm – the Battle of the Windmill – corresponds to Hitler’s invasion of the USSR in 1941 (Operation Barbarossa) and the heavy devastation of World War II. The animals’ pyrrhic victory in the Battle of the Windmill, driving Frederick away but losing the windmill, is analogous to the Soviet victory in World War II achieved at enormous cost.

Card Game Scene and the Tehran Conference

Finally, the Card Game scene at the end is a direct allegory of the onset of the Cold War. The banquet with the pigs and humans represents the Tehran Conference (1943) where Stalin (Napoleon) met with Western leaders (like Churchill, represented by Pilkington). In Orwell’s allegory, both sides toast each other but then cheat and accuse each other – symbolising the breakdown of the wartime alliance and the beginning of post-war tensions between the Soviet Union and the West. Orwell himself noted that he ​intended the novel to end on a note of discord, not a harmonious merger.​

The animals observing that they cannot tell pigs from men signifies that the Soviet communists had become indistinguishable from the corrupt capitalist elites they once opposed, highlighting Orwell’s central theme: the revolution’s leaders became what they hated.

In summary, Animal Farm’s narrative arc (the Revolution, the struggle between Snowball and Napoleon, the construction and destruction of the windmill, the purges, and the final collusion with humans) is a mirror of Soviet history from 1917 through World War II. Orwell’s use of farm animals and simple language in no way diminishes the complexity of this allegory; instead, it makes the historical critique accessible and sharply pointed. The novel serves as a cautionary tale that revolutions can betray themselves, and it immortalises the idea that “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” – a direct jab at the hypocrisy of Soviet communism’s edicts about equality.​

Animal Farm Ending: Interpretation

The ending of Animal Farm is both profoundly ironic and bleak. As the common animals peer through the farmhouse window, they see the pigs dining with human farmers, toasting and playing cards. Napoleon’s final transformation – standing on two legs, wearing human clothes, and fraternizing with Mr. Pilkington – completes the allegory: the revolutionary leaders (the pigs) have become indistinguishable from the oppressive humans they replaced. 

The famous last line illustrates this chilling revelation: 

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig… but already it was impossible to say which was which.” 

This scene symbolises the ultimate betrayal of the revolution. All the principles of Animalism have been erased; the sole remaining Commandment reads: 

“ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” 

This is an open mockery of the animals’ hopes. The ending drives home Orwell’s warning that without true equality, a new tyranny will mirror the old.

Continuing Discord

Importantly, Orwell intended the final card game and quarrel to emphasise a note of continuing discord rather than a neat resolution​. During the toast, Mr. Pilkington and Napoleon congratulate each other, but their poker game ends in cheating and shouting – Napoleon and Pilkington both play an ace of spades. This conflict suggests that the pigs’ alliance with the humans is temporary and illusory; each side seeks advantage, foreshadowing future conflict (an allusion to the quickly soured relations between Stalin and the Western Allies after WWII). 

Orwell wrote the book just after the Tehran Conference, and he did not believe the wartime camaraderie would last long​. Thus, the ending also implies that the masses on the farm (and by extension, the people in a state) remain trapped in a cycle of oppression: now subject to a porcine elite who are as exploitative as the humans, and with external hostilities brewing anew.

Ending

For the reader, the ending evokes a sense of tragic inevitability. We have witnessed each step of the pigs’ corruption, and yet the speed and completeness of their metamorphosis still shocks. In narrative terms, the ending underscores the book’s central themes: the corrupting nature of power, the gullibility or powerlessness of the governed, and the betrayal of noble ideals. The very simplicity of the animals’ perspective – they cannot even tell pig from man – is what makes the finale so haunting.

It confirms that Animal Farm’s experiment in equality has failed utterly, bringing the story full circle. Manor Farm (as Napoleon pointedly renames it at the end) goes back to business as usual, a farm run by cruel masters overworked, starving servants. The only difference is that the new masters walk on four (now two) legs instead of two (now dressed in pants). This collapse of the distinction between oppressor and oppressed is Orwell’s final satiric punch, driving home that slogans and symbols mean nothing if the underlying power structures don’t change.

Summary

In sum, the ending of Animal Farm serves as a powerful indictment of the events that inspired it: just as the Soviet Union under Stalin ended up betraying the proletarian revolution and forming a new privileged class, Animal Farm ends with pigs indistinguishable from men, and the farm’s populace no closer to freedom or equality than at the start. 

It leaves the reader with a resounding question about revolutions: How can one prevent today’s liberators from becoming tomorrow’s tyrants? Orwell doesn’t offer a simple answer, but his ending scene ensures that the question lingers unsettlingly in our minds.

Who Does Napoleon Represent in Animal Farm?

Napoleon the pig is a direct allegorical representation of Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union. Through Napoleon’s character, Orwell mirrors Stalin’s trajectory from revolutionary leader to tyrannical despot. Like Stalin, Napoleon is not a charismatic idealist (compare him to Snowball/Trotsky) but rather a shrewd opportunist who prioritises power above all else. Several aspects of Napoleon’s actions and traits correspond to Stalin’s historical behavior:

Elimination of Rivals

Napoleon’s expulsion of Snowball by force (using trained attack dogs) parallels Stalin’s expulsion of Trotsky from the Communist Party and later from the USSR, using loyal agents and secret police. Just as Stalin saw Trotsky as a threat to his power, Napoleon sees Snowball as a dangerous rival and removes him to become unchallenged leader.

Cult of Personality

After consolidating power, Napoleon begins to be glorified and cannot be criticised. Squealer calls him “Leader” and attributes every good idea or success to Napoleon. This mirrors Stalin’s cult of personality, where history was rewritten to credit Stalin for achievements and he was idealised as the infallible father of the nation. The pig Minimus’s poem “Comrade Napoleon” and the titles Napoleon assumes recall the praise-laden propaganda and titles used for Stalin.

Use of Fear and Violence

Napoleon uses fear as a tool of control – the ferocious dogs enforce his commands, much like Stalin’s NKVD (secret police) enforced his. The confessions and executions of animals accused of treason in Animal Farm directly correspond to Stalin’s Great Purges​, where he eliminated thousands of supposed “enemies,” often after forced confessions. Napoleon’s readiness to spill blood to retain power is very much Stalin-like.

Scapegoating and Propaganda

Napoleon blames Snowball for all problems on the farm – from the windmill’s destruction to crop failures. This scapegoating is analogous to Stalin blaming “saboteurs” or Trotskyists for issues in the USSR. Through Squealer’s propaganda, Napoleon cultivates an image as the farm’s protector while depicting Snowball (Trotsky) as an evil agent. Stalin similarly painted himself as Lenin’s true heir and denounced Trotsky as a traitor.

Betrayal of Principles for Power

Under Napoleon, the Seven Commandments are systematically broken and changed to suit the pigs’ interests. The crowning change – “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” – reflects how Napoleon/Stalin betrayed the founding egalitarian ideals. Stalin’s regime, while preaching communism, became a hierarchy with the Party elite enjoying special privileges (just as the pigs do). Napoleon’s trading with humans, adopting human behaviors, and finally becoming indistinguishable from Mr. Jones encapsulate how Stalin’s governance became as oppressive as the Tsar’s or any capitalist dictator’s.

In short, Napoleon is Orwell’s satirical portrait of Stalin’s personality and rule. He represents the corruption of socialist revolution by a dictatorial figure. Everything Napoleon does – from deceptively aligning with Pilkington or Frederick (echoing Stalin’s pacts with Western powers or Nazi Germany) to rewriting history in his favor can be mapped onto Stalin’s actions in the Soviet Union​. 

Orwell chose the name Napoleon to evoke the image of another famous dictator (Napoleon Bonaparte) who betrayed a revolution, but the allegorical target is clearly Stalin. By understanding Napoleon as representing Stalin, readers grasp the full weight of Orwell’s critique: Animal Farm is not just a tale of pigs and farm animals, but a denunciation of Stalin’s totalitarian control over the Soviet Union and the betrayal of the Russian Revolution. Napoleon’s rise and reign demonstrate how a leader can warp a noble cause into a vehicle for personal power and oppression, a fate tragically exemplified by Stalin’s legacy.

References (Harvard Style)

• Orwell, G. (1946). “Why I Write.” Gangrel, No.4, Summer 1946.
• Orwell, G. (1945/1947). Preface to the Ukrainian Edition of Animal Farm. In Orwell Foundation Online Library​. (Written 1947 for a special edition of Animal Farm, explaining Orwell’s aims and the allegory)*.
• Orwell, G. (1945). Animal Farm: A Fairy Story. London: Secker & Warburg. (All direct quotations from the novel’s text, including the Seven Commandments, are from Orwell’s original work.)
• Sharma, S. & Bhatt, A. (2023). “Language as a Vehicle of Domination: A Totalitarian World in George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.” IIS Univ. Journal of Arts (Vol.11, No.3), pp.234-240.
• Newport Beach Public Library (2025). “Animal Farm by George Orwell – Reviewed by Jacqueline.” City of Newport Beach: City News​​. (Summary of the novel with parallels to the Russian Revolution.)