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After Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, falls asleep in a drunken stupor, all of his animals meet in the big barn at the request of old Major, a 12-year-old pig. Major delivers a rousing political speech about the evils inflicted upon them by their human keepers and their need to rebel against the tyranny of Man. After elaborating on the various ways that Man has exploited and harmed the animals, Major mentions a strange dream of his in which he saw a vision of the earth without humans. He then teaches the animals a song — "Beasts of England" — which they sing repeatedly until they awaken Jones, who fires his gun from his bedroom window, thinking there is a fox in the yard. Frightened by the shot, the animals disperse and go to sleep.
Analysis
Several of the novel's main characters are introduced in this chapter; Orwell paints their dominant characteristics with broad strokes. Jones, for example, is presented as a drunken, careless ruler, whose drinking belies the upscale impression he hopes to create with the name of his farm. In addition, Jones' very name (a common one) suggests he is like many other humans, and the tyranny of all mankind is an important theme of Major's speech. His unsteady gait (suggested by the "dancing lantern" he carries) and snoring wife mark him immediately as the epitome of all that Major says about mankind's self-absorption and gluttony. Indeed, the first chapter presents Jones as more of an "animal" than the animals themselves, who reacts to any disruption of his comfort with the threat of violence, as indicated by his gunfire when he is awakened from his drunken dreams.The animals assembling in the barn are likewise characterized by Orwell in quick fashion: Major is old and wise, Clover is motherly and sympathetic, Boxer is strong yet dimwitted, Benjamin is pessimistic and cynical, and Mollie is vain and childish. All of these characteristics become more pronounced as the novel proceeds.However, Major's speech is the most important part of the chapter, and through it Orwell displays his great understanding of political rhetoric and how it can be used to move crowds in whichever direction the speaker wishes. By addressing his audience as "comrades" and prefacing his remarks with the statement that he will not be with the others "many months longer," Major ingratiates himself to his listeners as one who has reached a degree of wisdom in his long life of twelve years and who views the other animals as equals — not a misguided rabble that needs advice and correction from a superior intellect. This notion that "All Animals Are Equal" becomes one of the tenets of Animalism, the philosophy upon which the rebellion will supposedly be based.
Major's speech seems to initially echo the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes, the seventeenth-century English philosopher who wrote (in his workLeviathan) that men in an unchecked state of nature will live lives that are "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Unlike Hobbes, however, who felt that a strong, authoritative government was required to keep everyone's innate self-interest from destroying society, Major argues that the earth could be a paradise if the tyranny of Man was overthrown; he presents his fellow animals as victims of oppression and incapable of any wrongdoing. The flaw in Major's thinking, therefore, is the assumption that only humans are capable of evil — an assumption that will be overturned as the novel progresses. Although he tells his listeners, "Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever," this will not prove to be the case.As previously mentioned, Major possesses great rhetorical skill. His barrage of rhetorical questions makes his argument more forceful, as does his imagery of the "cruel knife" and the animals screaming their "lives out at the block within a year." Major also specifically addresses Man's tyranny in terms of how he destroys families, consumes without producing, withholds food, kills the weak, and prevents them from owning even their own bodies. Major uses slogans as well ("All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.") because he knows that they are easily grasped by listeners as simpleminded as Boxer. The speech is a masterful example of persuasion, and his argument that a rebellion must take place is reminiscent of the one made by Patrick Henry to the House of Burgesses in Virginia, where he argued that a potential war with England was both inevitable and desirable.Of course, the irony of the entire episode in the barn is that the animals will eventually betray the ideals set forth by Major. He warns, for example, that the animals must never come to resemble their human oppressors — but by the end of the novel, the tyrannical pigs are indistinguishable from their human companions. old Major's dream of an animal utopia will quickly become a totalitarian nightmare.The song "Beasts of England" is another way in which Major rouses his audience. Although the narrator jokes that the tune is "something between Clementine and La Cucaracha," the animals find it rousing and moving. The use of a song to stir the citizenry is an old political maneuver, and the lyrics of "Beasts of England" summarize Major's feelings about Man: The song describes a day when all animals (even Irish ones — a detail Orwell knew would resonate with a British readership) will overcome their tormentors. Symbols such as rings in their noses, harnesses, bits, spurs, and whips are used to convey the liberty that Major hopes will one day be won. Images of food and plenty also contribute to the song's appeal. The singing of this powerful piece of propaganda reflects one of the novel's chief themes: Language can be used as a weapon and means of manipulation. As the animals will later learn, characters like Napoleonand Squealer will prove even more skilled at using words to get others to do their bidding.
After Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, falls asleep in a drunken stupor, all of his animals meet in the big barn at the request of old Major, a 12-year-old pig. Major delivers a rousing political speech about the evils inflicted upon them by their human keepers and their need to rebel against the tyranny of Man. After elaborating on the various ways that Man has exploited and harmed the animals, Major mentions a strange dream of his in which he saw a vision of the earth without humans. He then teaches the animals a song — "Beasts of England" — which they sing repeatedly until they awaken Jones, who fires his gun from his bedroom window, thinking there is a fox in the yard. Frightened by the shot, the animals disperse and go to sleep.
Analysis
Several of the novel's main characters are introduced in this chapter; Orwell paints their dominant characteristics with broad strokes. Jones, for example, is presented as a drunken, careless ruler, whose drinking belies the upscale impression he hopes to create with the name of his farm. In addition, Jones' very name (a common one) suggests he is like many other humans, and the tyranny of all mankind is an important theme of Major's speech. His unsteady gait (suggested by the "dancing lantern" he carries) and snoring wife mark him immediately as the epitome of all that Major says about mankind's self-absorption and gluttony. Indeed, the first chapter presents Jones as more of an "animal" than the animals themselves, who reacts to any disruption of his comfort with the threat of violence, as indicated by his gunfire when he is awakened from his drunken dreams.The animals assembling in the barn are likewise characterized by Orwell in quick fashion: Major is old and wise, Clover is motherly and sympathetic, Boxer is strong yet dimwitted, Benjamin is pessimistic and cynical, and Mollie is vain and childish. All of these characteristics become more pronounced as the novel proceeds.However, Major's speech is the most important part of the chapter, and through it Orwell displays his great understanding of political rhetoric and how it can be used to move crowds in whichever direction the speaker wishes. By addressing his audience as "comrades" and prefacing his remarks with the statement that he will not be with the others "many months longer," Major ingratiates himself to his listeners as one who has reached a degree of wisdom in his long life of twelve years and who views the other animals as equals — not a misguided rabble that needs advice and correction from a superior intellect. This notion that "All Animals Are Equal" becomes one of the tenets of Animalism, the philosophy upon which the rebellion will supposedly be based.
Major's speech seems to initially echo the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes, the seventeenth-century English philosopher who wrote (in his workLeviathan) that men in an unchecked state of nature will live lives that are "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Unlike Hobbes, however, who felt that a strong, authoritative government was required to keep everyone's innate self-interest from destroying society, Major argues that the earth could be a paradise if the tyranny of Man was overthrown; he presents his fellow animals as victims of oppression and incapable of any wrongdoing. The flaw in Major's thinking, therefore, is the assumption that only humans are capable of evil — an assumption that will be overturned as the novel progresses. Although he tells his listeners, "Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever," this will not prove to be the case.As previously mentioned, Major possesses great rhetorical skill. His barrage of rhetorical questions makes his argument more forceful, as does his imagery of the "cruel knife" and the animals screaming their "lives out at the block within a year." Major also specifically addresses Man's tyranny in terms of how he destroys families, consumes without producing, withholds food, kills the weak, and prevents them from owning even their own bodies. Major uses slogans as well ("All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.") because he knows that they are easily grasped by listeners as simpleminded as Boxer. The speech is a masterful example of persuasion, and his argument that a rebellion must take place is reminiscent of the one made by Patrick Henry to the House of Burgesses in Virginia, where he argued that a potential war with England was both inevitable and desirable.Of course, the irony of the entire episode in the barn is that the animals will eventually betray the ideals set forth by Major. He warns, for example, that the animals must never come to resemble their human oppressors — but by the end of the novel, the tyrannical pigs are indistinguishable from their human companions. old Major's dream of an animal utopia will quickly become a totalitarian nightmare.The song "Beasts of England" is another way in which Major rouses his audience. Although the narrator jokes that the tune is "something between Clementine and La Cucaracha," the animals find it rousing and moving. The use of a song to stir the citizenry is an old political maneuver, and the lyrics of "Beasts of England" summarize Major's feelings about Man: The song describes a day when all animals (even Irish ones — a detail Orwell knew would resonate with a British readership) will overcome their tormentors. Symbols such as rings in their noses, harnesses, bits, spurs, and whips are used to convey the liberty that Major hopes will one day be won. Images of food and plenty also contribute to the song's appeal. The singing of this powerful piece of propaganda reflects one of the novel's chief themes: Language can be used as a weapon and means of manipulation. As the animals will later learn, characters like Napoleonand Squealer will prove even more skilled at using words to get others to do their bidding.
Despite the initial difficulties inherent in using farming tools designed for humans, the animals cooperate to finish the harvest — and do so in less time than it had taken Jones and his men to do the same. Boxerdistinguishes himself as a strong, tireless worker, admired by all the animals. The pigs become the supervisors and directors of the animal workers. On Sundays, the animals meet in the big barn to listen to Snowball and Napoleon debate a number of topics on which they seem never to agree. Snowball forms a number of Animal Committees, all of which fail. However, he does prove successful at bringing a degree of literacy to the animals, who learn to read according to their varied intelligences. To help the animals understand the general precepts of Animalism, Snowball reduces the Seven Commandments to a single slogan: "Four legs good, two legs bad." Napoleon, meanwhile, focuses his energy on educating the youth and takes the infant pups of Jessie and Bluebell away from their mothers, presumably for educational purposes.The animals learn that the cows' milk and windfallen apples are mixed every day into the pigs' mash. When the animals object, Squealer explains that the pigs need the milk and apples to sustain themselves as they work for the benefit of all the other animals.
Analysis
AnalysisWhile the successful harvest seems to signal the overall triumph of the rebellion, Orwell hints in numerous ways that the very ideals that the rebels used as their rallying cry are being betrayed by the pigs. The fact that they do not do any physical work but instead stand behind the horses shouting commands suggests their new positions as masters — and as creatures very much like the humans they presumably wanted to overthrow.When Squealer explains to the animals why the pigs have been getting all the milk and apples, he reveals his rhetorical skill and ability to "skip from side to side" to convince the animals that the pigs' greed is actually a great sacrifice: Appealing to science (which presumably has proven that apples and milk are "absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig") and lying about pigs disliking the very food they are hoarding, Squealer manages a great public-relations stunt by portraying the pigs as near-martyrs who only think of others and never themselves. "It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples," Squealer explains, and his dazzling pseudo-logic persuades the murmuring animals that the pigs are, in fact, selfless.Squealer's rhetorical question, "Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones back?" is the first of many times when Squealer will invoke the name of Jones to convince the animals that — despite any discontentment they may feel — their present lives are greatly preferable to the ones they led under their old master. Orwell's tone when describing the animals' reaction to Squealer ("The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too obvious") is markedly ironic and again signals to the reader that the pigs are slowly changing into a new form of their old oppressors.
The flag created by Snowball is, like the Seven Commandments and the preserving of Jones' house as a museum, an attempt by the animals to create a greater sense of solidarity and emphasize their victory. Snowball's Animal Committees fail, however, because in them he attempts to radically transform the animals' very natures. Trying to create a "Clean Tails League" for the cows is as doomed to fail as trying to tame the wild animals in a "Wild Comrade's Re-education Committee." Snowball's aims may be noble and high-minded, but he is naive in thinking that he can alter the very nature of the animals' personalities. Thus, Snowball is marked as the intellectual theoretician of the rebellion — a characteristic that will be heightened later when he begins planning the construction of the windmill. Like old Major, Snowball has noble yet naive assumptions about the purity of animals' natures.Unlike Snowball, Napoleon is a pig of action who cares little for committees. His assumption that the education of the young is the most important duty of the animal leaders may sound like one of Snowball's altruistic ideas — but he only says this to excuse his seizure of the new pups that he will raise to be the vicious guard dogs he uses to terrorize the farm in later chapters.Note that the characters of other animals are further developed in this chapter. Boxer, for example, is portrayed as a simple-minded but dedicated worker: He cannot learn any more than four letters of the alphabet, but what he lacks in intelligence he more than makes up for in devotion to the farm. His new motto — "I will work harder" — and request to be called to the field half an hour before anyone else marks him as exactly the kind of animal that the pigs feel confident in controlling. When there is no thought, there can only be blind acceptance. (Like Boxer, the sheep are content with repeating a motto instead of engaging in any real thought. Their repetition of "Four legs good, two legs bad" will continue throughout the novel, usually when Napoleon needs them to quiet any dissention.)Mollie's vanity is stressed in her reluctance to work during the harvest — she cannot devote herself to any cause other than her own ego. Thus, when she is taught to read, she refuses to learn any letters except the ones that spell her name. Unlike Snowball (and his intellectual fancies) or Napoleon (and his ruthlessness), Mollie willingly abstains from any part in the political process.Old Benjamin's character is likewise developed in this chapter. Orwell points out that Benjamin "never changed" and that, when asked about the rebellion, only remarks, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." The other animals find this reply a "cryptic" one, but the reader understands Benjamin's point: He is wary of becoming too enthusiastic about the rebellion, since he knows that any new government can succumb to the temptation to abuse its power. Later, when the animals learn to read, Benjamin never does, since he finds "nothing worth reading." His cynicism is out-of-place with the patriotism felt by the other animals, but he cannot be convinced that the rebellion is a wholly noble cause — and, after witnessing the actions of the pigs, neither can the reader.
After the death of old Major, the animals spend their days secretly planning the rebellion, although they are unsure when it will occur. Because of their intelligence, the pigs are placed in charge of educating the animals about Animalism, the name they give to the philosophy expounded by Major in Chapter 1. Among the pigs, Snowball and Napoleon are the most important to the revolution. Despite Mollie's concern with ribbons and Moses' tales of a place called Sugarcandy Mountain, the pigs are successful in conveying the principles of Animalism to the others.The rebellion occurs when Jones again falls into a drunken sleep and neglects to feed the animals, who break into the store-shed in search of a meal. When Jones and his men arrive, they begin whipping the animals but soon find themselves being attacked and chased off the farm. The triumphant animals then destroy all traces of Jones, eat heartily, and revel in their newfound freedom. After a tour of Jones' house, they decide to leave it untouched as a museum. Snowball changes the sign reading "Manor Farm" to "Animal Farm" and paints the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the wall of the barn. The cows then give five buckets of milk, which Napoleon steals.
Analysis
The death of old Major marks the moment when the animals must begin to put his theory into practice. For the remainder of the novel, Orwell depicts the ever-widening gulf between the vision expounded by old Major and the animals' attempt to realize it.The names of the pigs chosen to lead the revolution reveal their personalities. Snowball's name suits the revolution in general, which "snowballs" and grows until, at the novel's end, the animal rulers completely resemble their previous masters. Napoleon's name suggests his stern leadership style (he has "a reputation for getting his own way") and, of course, his incredible lust for power, which becomes more pronounced with each chapter. Squealer, as his name suggests, becomes the mouthpiece of the pigs. His habit of "skipping from side to side" while arguing "some difficult point" dramatizes, in a physical way, what the smooth-talking pig will later do in a rhetorical sense: Every time he is faced with a question or objection, he will "skip" around the topic, using convoluted logic to prove his point. In short, he eventually serves as Napoleon's Minister of Propaganda.Like all patriots and revolutionaries, Snowball is earnest and determined to win as many converts to his cause as he can. Two animals, however, momentarily fluster him. Mollie's concern over sugar and ribbons is offensive to Snowball because he (as a proponent of Animalism) urges his fellow beasts to sacrifice their luxuries. To him, Mollie is a shallow materialist, concerned only with her own image and comforts. Like Mollie, Moses proves irksome to Snowball because Moses fills the heads of the animals with tales of Sugarcandy Mountain.
What Snowball (and the rest of the animals) fail to realize is that Sugarcandy Mountain — a paradise — is as unattainable a place as a farm wholly devoted to the principles of Animalism. As the biblical Moses led his people out of bondage and into the Promised Land, Moses the raven only offers a story about an obviously fictitious place. The fact that the animals are so willing to believe him reveals their wish for a utopia that (in the sky or on the farm) will never be found. Thus, Moses is the novel's "religious figure," but in a strictly ironic sense, since Orwell never implies that Moses' stories better the animals' condition. As Karl Marx famously said, "Religion … is the opium of the people" — an idea shown in the animals' acceptance of Moses' tales.Once the animals rebel and drive Jones from the farm, they behave as a conquering army retaking its own land and freeing it from the yoke of oppression. All the symbols of Jones' reign — nose-rings, dog-chains, knives — are tossed into a celebratory bonfire. More important is that the animals attempt to create their own sense of history and tradition by preserving Jones' house as a museum. Presumably, future animals will visit the house to learn of the terrible luxury in which humans once lived, but, like Sugarcandy Mountain, this world where all animals study their oppressors instead of becoming them is a fantasy. Similarly, the renaming of Manor Farm to Animal Farm suggests the animals' triumph over their enemy. By renaming the farm, they assume that they will change the kind of place it has become — another example of their optimism and innocence.The Seven Commandments of Animalism, like the biblical Ten Commandments, are an attempt to completely codify the animals' behavior to comply with a system of morality. Like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are direct and straightforward, leaving no room for interpretation or qualification. The fact that they are painted in "great white letters" on the side of the barn suggests the animals' desire to make these laws permanent — as the permanence of the Ten Commandments is suggested by their being engraved on stone tablets. Of course, like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are bound to be broken and bound to be toyed with by those looking for a loophole to excuse their wrongdoing.The chapter's final episode involving the buckets of milk hints at the ruthlessness Napoleon will display as the novel progresses. One of the hens suggests that the milk be put into the animals' mash so that all can enjoy it — an Animalistic thought, to be sure, since the Seventh Commandment of Animalism states that "All animals are equal." Note that Napoleon, however, places himself in front of the buckets and sends Snowball to lead the animals to the harvest. Already the reader can sense the boar's greed and betrayal of the most basic law of Animalism. Napoleon is using the patriotism and drive of the other animals for his own purposes, which initially involve gaining as much control over the farm's food as he can.
After Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, falls asleep in a drunken stupor, all of his animals meet in the big barn at the request of old Major, a 12-year-old pig. Major delivers a rousing political speech about the evils inflicted upon them by their human keepers and their need to rebel against the tyranny of Man. After elaborating on the various ways that Man has exploited and harmed the animals, Major mentions a strange dream of his in which he saw a vision of the earth without humans. He then teaches the animals a song — "Beasts of England" — which they sing repeatedly until they awaken Jones, who fires his gun from his bedroom window, thinking there is a fox in the yard. Frightened by the shot, the animals disperse and go to sleep.
Analysis
Several of the novel's main characters are introduced in this chapter; Orwell paints their dominant characteristics with broad strokes. Jones, for example, is presented as a drunken, careless ruler, whose drinking belies the upscale impression he hopes to create with the name of his farm. In addition, Jones' very name (a common one) suggests he is like many other humans, and the tyranny of all mankind is an important theme of Major's speech. His unsteady gait (suggested by the "dancing lantern" he carries) and snoring wife mark him immediately as the epitome of all that Major says about mankind's self-absorption and gluttony. Indeed, the first chapter presents Jones as more of an "animal" than the animals themselves, who reacts to any disruption of his comfort with the threat of violence, as indicated by his gunfire when he is awakened from his drunken dreams.The animals assembling in the barn are likewise characterized by Orwell in quick fashion: Major is old and wise, Clover is motherly and sympathetic, Boxer is strong yet dimwitted, Benjamin is pessimistic and cynical, and Mollie is vain and childish. All of these characteristics become more pronounced as the novel proceeds.However, Major's speech is the most important part of the chapter, and through it Orwell displays his great understanding of political rhetoric and how it can be used to move crowds in whichever direction the speaker wishes. By addressing his audience as "comrades" and prefacing his remarks with the statement that he will not be with the others "many months longer," Major ingratiates himself to his listeners as one who has reached a degree of wisdom in his long life of twelve years and who views the other animals as equals — not a misguided rabble that needs advice and correction from a superior intellect. This notion that "All Animals Are Equal" becomes one of the tenets of Animalism, the philosophy upon which the rebellion will supposedly be based.
Major's speech seems to initially echo the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes, the seventeenth-century English philosopher who wrote (in his workLeviathan) that men in an unchecked state of nature will live lives that are "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Unlike Hobbes, however, who felt that a strong, authoritative government was required to keep everyone's innate self-interest from destroying society, Major argues that the earth could be a paradise if the tyranny of Man was overthrown; he presents his fellow animals as victims of oppression and incapable of any wrongdoing. The flaw in Major's thinking, therefore, is the assumption that only humans are capable of evil — an assumption that will be overturned as the novel progresses. Although he tells his listeners, "Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever," this will not prove to be the case.As previously mentioned, Major possesses great rhetorical skill. His barrage of rhetorical questions makes his argument more forceful, as does his imagery of the "cruel knife" and the animals screaming their "lives out at the block within a year." Major also specifically addresses Man's tyranny in terms of how he destroys families, consumes without producing, withholds food, kills the weak, and prevents them from owning even their own bodies. Major uses slogans as well ("All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.") because he knows that they are easily grasped by listeners as simpleminded as Boxer. The speech is a masterful example of persuasion, and his argument that a rebellion must take place is reminiscent of the one made by Patrick Henry to the House of Burgesses in Virginia, where he argued that a potential war with England was both inevitable and desirable.Of course, the irony of the entire episode in the barn is that the animals will eventually betray the ideals set forth by Major. He warns, for example, that the animals must never come to resemble their human oppressors — but by the end of the novel, the tyrannical pigs are indistinguishable from their human companions. old Major's dream of an animal utopia will quickly become a totalitarian nightmare.The song "Beasts of England" is another way in which Major rouses his audience. Although the narrator jokes that the tune is "something between Clementine and La Cucaracha," the animals find it rousing and moving. The use of a song to stir the citizenry is an old political maneuver, and the lyrics of "Beasts of England" summarize Major's feelings about Man: The song describes a day when all animals (even Irish ones — a detail Orwell knew would resonate with a British readership) will overcome their tormentors. Symbols such as rings in their noses, harnesses, bits, spurs, and whips are used to convey the liberty that Major hopes will one day be won. Images of food and plenty also contribute to the song's appeal. The singing of this powerful piece of propaganda reflects one of the novel's chief themes: Language can be used as a weapon and means of manipulation. As the animals will later learn, characters like Napoleonand Squealer will prove even more skilled at using words to get others to do their bidding.
After Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, falls asleep in a drunken stupor, all of his animals meet in the big barn at the request of old Major, a 12-year-old pig. Major delivers a rousing political speech about the evils inflicted upon them by their human keepers and their need to rebel against the tyranny of Man. After elaborating on the various ways that Man has exploited and harmed the animals, Major mentions a strange dream of his in which he saw a vision of the earth without humans. He then teaches the animals a song — "Beasts of England" — which they sing repeatedly until they awaken Jones, who fires his gun from his bedroom window, thinking there is a fox in the yard. Frightened by the shot, the animals disperse and go to sleep.
Analysis
Several of the novel's main characters are introduced in this chapter; Orwell paints their dominant characteristics with broad strokes. Jones, for example, is presented as a drunken, careless ruler, whose drinking belies the upscale impression he hopes to create with the name of his farm. In addition, Jones' very name (a common one) suggests he is like many other humans, and the tyranny of all mankind is an important theme of Major's speech. His unsteady gait (suggested by the "dancing lantern" he carries) and snoring wife mark him immediately as the epitome of all that Major says about mankind's self-absorption and gluttony. Indeed, the first chapter presents Jones as more of an "animal" than the animals themselves, who reacts to any disruption of his comfort with the threat of violence, as indicated by his gunfire when he is awakened from his drunken dreams.The animals assembling in the barn are likewise characterized by Orwell in quick fashion: Major is old and wise, Clover is motherly and sympathetic, Boxer is strong yet dimwitted, Benjamin is pessimistic and cynical, and Mollie is vain and childish. All of these characteristics become more pronounced as the novel proceeds.However, Major's speech is the most important part of the chapter, and through it Orwell displays his great understanding of political rhetoric and how it can be used to move crowds in whichever direction the speaker wishes. By addressing his audience as "comrades" and prefacing his remarks with the statement that he will not be with the others "many months longer," Major ingratiates himself to his listeners as one who has reached a degree of wisdom in his long life of twelve years and who views the other animals as equals — not a misguided rabble that needs advice and correction from a superior intellect. This notion that "All Animals Are Equal" becomes one of the tenets of Animalism, the philosophy upon which the rebellion will supposedly be based.
Major's speech seems to initially echo the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes, the seventeenth-century English philosopher who wrote (in his workLeviathan) that men in an unchecked state of nature will live lives that are "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Unlike Hobbes, however, who felt that a strong, authoritative government was required to keep everyone's innate self-interest from destroying society, Major argues that the earth could be a paradise if the tyranny of Man was overthrown; he presents his fellow animals as victims of oppression and incapable of any wrongdoing. The flaw in Major's thinking, therefore, is the assumption that only humans are capable of evil — an assumption that will be overturned as the novel progresses. Although he tells his listeners, "Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever," this will not prove to be the case.As previously mentioned, Major possesses great rhetorical skill. His barrage of rhetorical questions makes his argument more forceful, as does his imagery of the "cruel knife" and the animals screaming their "lives out at the block within a year." Major also specifically addresses Man's tyranny in terms of how he destroys families, consumes without producing, withholds food, kills the weak, and prevents them from owning even their own bodies. Major uses slogans as well ("All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.") because he knows that they are easily grasped by listeners as simpleminded as Boxer. The speech is a masterful example of persuasion, and his argument that a rebellion must take place is reminiscent of the one made by Patrick Henry to the House of Burgesses in Virginia, where he argued that a potential war with England was both inevitable and desirable.Of course, the irony of the entire episode in the barn is that the animals will eventually betray the ideals set forth by Major. He warns, for example, that the animals must never come to resemble their human oppressors — but by the end of the novel, the tyrannical pigs are indistinguishable from their human companions. old Major's dream of an animal utopia will quickly become a totalitarian nightmare.The song "Beasts of England" is another way in which Major rouses his audience. Although the narrator jokes that the tune is "something between Clementine and La Cucaracha," the animals find it rousing and moving. The use of a song to stir the citizenry is an old political maneuver, and the lyrics of "Beasts of England" summarize Major's feelings about Man: The song describes a day when all animals (even Irish ones — a detail Orwell knew would resonate with a British readership) will overcome their tormentors. Symbols such as rings in their noses, harnesses, bits, spurs, and whips are used to convey the liberty that Major hopes will one day be won. Images of food and plenty also contribute to the song's appeal. The singing of this powerful piece of propaganda reflects one of the novel's chief themes: Language can be used as a weapon and means of manipulation. As the animals will later learn, characters like Napoleonand Squealer will prove even more skilled at using words to get others to do their bidding.
After Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, falls asleep in a drunken stupor, all of his animals meet in the big barn at the request of old Major, a 12-year-old pig. Major delivers a rousing political speech about the evils inflicted upon them by their human keepers and their need to rebel against the tyranny of Man. After elaborating on the various ways that Man has exploited and harmed the animals, Major mentions a strange dream of his in which he saw a vision of the earth without humans. He then teaches the animals a song — "Beasts of England" — which they sing repeatedly until they awaken Jones, who fires his gun from his bedroom window, thinking there is a fox in the yard. Frightened by the shot, the animals disperse and go to sleep.
Analysis
Several of the novel's main characters are introduced in this chapter; Orwell paints their dominant characteristics with broad strokes. Jones, for example, is presented as a drunken, careless ruler, whose drinking belies the upscale impression he hopes to create with the name of his farm. In addition, Jones' very name (a common one) suggests he is like many other humans, and the tyranny of all mankind is an important theme of Major's speech. His unsteady gait (suggested by the "dancing lantern" he carries) and snoring wife mark him immediately as the epitome of all that Major says about mankind's self-absorption and gluttony. Indeed, the first chapter presents Jones as more of an "animal" than the animals themselves, who reacts to any disruption of his comfort with the threat of violence, as indicated by his gunfire when he is awakened from his drunken dreams.The animals assembling in the barn are likewise characterized by Orwell in quick fashion: Major is old and wise, Clover is motherly and sympathetic, Boxer is strong yet dimwitted, Benjamin is pessimistic and cynical, and Mollie is vain and childish. All of these characteristics become more pronounced as the novel proceeds.However, Major's speech is the most important part of the chapter, and through it Orwell displays his great understanding of political rhetoric and how it can be used to move crowds in whichever direction the speaker wishes. By addressing his audience as "comrades" and prefacing his remarks with the statement that he will not be with the others "many months longer," Major ingratiates himself to his listeners as one who has reached a degree of wisdom in his long life of twelve years and who views the other animals as equals — not a misguided rabble that needs advice and correction from a superior intellect. This notion that "All Animals Are Equal" becomes one of the tenets of Animalism, the philosophy upon which the rebellion will supposedly be based.
Major's speech seems to initially echo the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes, the seventeenth-century English philosopher who wrote (in his workLeviathan) that men in an unchecked state of nature will live lives that are "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Unlike Hobbes, however, who felt that a strong, authoritative government was required to keep everyone's innate self-interest from destroying society, Major argues that the earth could be a paradise if the tyranny of Man was overthrown; he presents his fellow animals as victims of oppression and incapable of any wrongdoing. The flaw in Major's thinking, therefore, is the assumption that only humans are capable of evil — an assumption that will be overturned as the novel progresses. Although he tells his listeners, "Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever," this will not prove to be the case.As previously mentioned, Major possesses great rhetorical skill. His barrage of rhetorical questions makes his argument more forceful, as does his imagery of the "cruel knife" and the animals screaming their "lives out at the block within a year." Major also specifically addresses Man's tyranny in terms of how he destroys families, consumes without producing, withholds food, kills the weak, and prevents them from owning even their own bodies. Major uses slogans as well ("All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.") because he knows that they are easily grasped by listeners as simpleminded as Boxer. The speech is a masterful example of persuasion, and his argument that a rebellion must take place is reminiscent of the one made by Patrick Henry to the House of Burgesses in Virginia, where he argued that a potential war with England was both inevitable and desirable.Of course, the irony of the entire episode in the barn is that the animals will eventually betray the ideals set forth by Major. He warns, for example, that the animals must never come to resemble their human oppressors — but by the end of the novel, the tyrannical pigs are indistinguishable from their human companions. old Major's dream of an animal utopia will quickly become a totalitarian nightmare.The song "Beasts of England" is another way in which Major rouses his audience. Although the narrator jokes that the tune is "something between Clementine and La Cucaracha," the animals find it rousing and moving. The use of a song to stir the citizenry is an old political maneuver, and the lyrics of "Beasts of England" summarize Major's feelings about Man: The song describes a day when all animals (even Irish ones — a detail Orwell knew would resonate with a British readership) will overcome their tormentors. Symbols such as rings in their noses, harnesses, bits, spurs, and whips are used to convey the liberty that Major hopes will one day be won. Images of food and plenty also contribute to the song's appeal. The singing of this powerful piece of propaganda reflects one of the novel's chief themes: Language can be used as a weapon and means of manipulation. As the animals will later learn, characters like Napoleonand Squealer will prove even more skilled at using words to get others to do their bidding.
After the death of old Major, the animals spend their days secretly planning the rebellion, although they are unsure when it will occur. Because of their intelligence, the pigs are placed in charge of educating the animals about Animalism, the name they give to the philosophy expounded by Major in Chapter 1. Among the pigs, Snowball and Napoleon are the most important to the revolution. Despite Mollie's concern with ribbons and Moses' tales of a place called Sugarcandy Mountain, the pigs are successful in conveying the principles of Animalism to the others.The rebellion occurs when Jones again falls into a drunken sleep and neglects to feed the animals, who break into the store-shed in search of a meal. When Jones and his men arrive, they begin whipping the animals but soon find themselves being attacked and chased off the farm. The triumphant animals then destroy all traces of Jones, eat heartily, and revel in their newfound freedom. After a tour of Jones' house, they decide to leave it untouched as a museum. Snowball changes the sign reading "Manor Farm" to "Animal Farm" and paints the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the wall of the barn. The cows then give five buckets of milk, which Napoleon steals.
Analysis
The death of old Major marks the moment when the animals must begin to put his theory into practice. For the remainder of the novel, Orwell depicts the ever-widening gulf between the vision expounded by old Major and the animals' attempt to realize it.The names of the pigs chosen to lead the revolution reveal their personalities. Snowball's name suits the revolution in general, which "snowballs" and grows until, at the novel's end, the animal rulers completely resemble their previous masters. Napoleon's name suggests his stern leadership style (he has "a reputation for getting his own way") and, of course, his incredible lust for power, which becomes more pronounced with each chapter. Squealer, as his name suggests, becomes the mouthpiece of the pigs. His habit of "skipping from side to side" while arguing "some difficult point" dramatizes, in a physical way, what the smooth-talking pig will later do in a rhetorical sense: Every time he is faced with a question or objection, he will "skip" around the topic, using convoluted logic to prove his point. In short, he eventually serves as Napoleon's Minister of Propaganda.Like all patriots and revolutionaries, Snowball is earnest and determined to win as many converts to his cause as he can. Two animals, however, momentarily fluster him. Mollie's concern over sugar and ribbons is offensive to Snowball because he (as a proponent of Animalism) urges his fellow beasts to sacrifice their luxuries. To him, Mollie is a shallow materialist, concerned only with her own image and comforts. Like Mollie, Moses proves irksome to Snowball because Moses fills the heads of the animals with tales of Sugarcandy Mountain.
What Snowball (and the rest of the animals) fail to realize is that Sugarcandy Mountain — a paradise — is as unattainable a place as a farm wholly devoted to the principles of Animalism. As the biblical Moses led his people out of bondage and into the Promised Land, Moses the raven only offers a story about an obviously fictitious place. The fact that the animals are so willing to believe him reveals their wish for a utopia that (in the sky or on the farm) will never be found. Thus, Moses is the novel's "religious figure," but in a strictly ironic sense, since Orwell never implies that Moses' stories better the animals' condition. As Karl Marx famously said, "Religion … is the opium of the people" — an idea shown in the animals' acceptance of Moses' tales.Once the animals rebel and drive Jones from the farm, they behave as a conquering army retaking its own land and freeing it from the yoke of oppression. All the symbols of Jones' reign — nose-rings, dog-chains, knives — are tossed into a celebratory bonfire. More important is that the animals attempt to create their own sense of history and tradition by preserving Jones' house as a museum. Presumably, future animals will visit the house to learn of the terrible luxury in which humans once lived, but, like Sugarcandy Mountain, this world where all animals study their oppressors instead of becoming them is a fantasy. Similarly, the renaming of Manor Farm to Animal Farm suggests the animals' triumph over their enemy. By renaming the farm, they assume that they will change the kind of place it has become — another example of their optimism and innocence.The Seven Commandments of Animalism, like the biblical Ten Commandments, are an attempt to completely codify the animals' behavior to comply with a system of morality. Like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are direct and straightforward, leaving no room for interpretation or qualification. The fact that they are painted in "great white letters" on the side of the barn suggests the animals' desire to make these laws permanent — as the permanence of the Ten Commandments is suggested by their being engraved on stone tablets. Of course, like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are bound to be broken and bound to be toyed with by those looking for a loophole to excuse their wrongdoing.The chapter's final episode involving the buckets of milk hints at the ruthlessness Napoleon will display as the novel progresses. One of the hens suggests that the milk be put into the animals' mash so that all can enjoy it — an Animalistic thought, to be sure, since the Seventh Commandment of Animalism states that "All animals are equal." Note that Napoleon, however, places himself in front of the buckets and sends Snowball to lead the animals to the harvest. Already the reader can sense the boar's greed and betrayal of the most basic law of Animalism. Napoleon is using the patriotism and drive of the other animals for his own purposes, which initially involve gaining as much control over the farm's food as he can.
Despite the initial difficulties inherent in using farming tools designed for humans, the animals cooperate to finish the harvest — and do so in less time than it had taken Jones and his men to do the same. Boxerdistinguishes himself as a strong, tireless worker, admired by all the animals. The pigs become the supervisors and directors of the animal workers. On Sundays, the animals meet in the big barn to listen to Snowball and Napoleon debate a number of topics on which they seem never to agree. Snowball forms a number of Animal Committees, all of which fail. However, he does prove successful at bringing a degree of literacy to the animals, who learn to read according to their varied intelligences. To help the animals understand the general precepts of Animalism, Snowball reduces the Seven Commandments to a single slogan: "Four legs good, two legs bad." Napoleon, meanwhile, focuses his energy on educating the youth and takes the infant pups of Jessie and Bluebell away from their mothers, presumably for educational purposes.The animals learn that the cows' milk and windfallen apples are mixed every day into the pigs' mash. When the animals object, Squealer explains that the pigs need the milk and apples to sustain themselves as they work for the benefit of all the other animals.
Analysis
AnalysisWhile the successful harvest seems to signal the overall triumph of the rebellion, Orwell hints in numerous ways that the very ideals that the rebels used as their rallying cry are being betrayed by the pigs. The fact that they do not do any physical work but instead stand behind the horses shouting commands suggests their new positions as masters — and as creatures very much like the humans they presumably wanted to overthrow.When Squealer explains to the animals why the pigs have been getting all the milk and apples, he reveals his rhetorical skill and ability to "skip from side to side" to convince the animals that the pigs' greed is actually a great sacrifice: Appealing to science (which presumably has proven that apples and milk are "absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig") and lying about pigs disliking the very food they are hoarding, Squealer manages a great public-relations stunt by portraying the pigs as near-martyrs who only think of others and never themselves. "It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples," Squealer explains, and his dazzling pseudo-logic persuades the murmuring animals that the pigs are, in fact, selfless.Squealer's rhetorical question, "Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones back?" is the first of many times when Squealer will invoke the name of Jones to convince the animals that — despite any discontentment they may feel — their present lives are greatly preferable to the ones they led under their old master. Orwell's tone when describing the animals' reaction to Squealer ("The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too obvious") is markedly ironic and again signals to the reader that the pigs are slowly changing into a new form of their old oppressors.
The flag created by Snowball is, like the Seven Commandments and the preserving of Jones' house as a museum, an attempt by the animals to create a greater sense of solidarity and emphasize their victory. Snowball's Animal Committees fail, however, because in them he attempts to radically transform the animals' very natures. Trying to create a "Clean Tails League" for the cows is as doomed to fail as trying to tame the wild animals in a "Wild Comrade's Re-education Committee." Snowball's aims may be noble and high-minded, but he is naive in thinking that he can alter the very nature of the animals' personalities. Thus, Snowball is marked as the intellectual theoretician of the rebellion — a characteristic that will be heightened later when he begins planning the construction of the windmill. Like old Major, Snowball has noble yet naive assumptions about the purity of animals' natures.Unlike Snowball, Napoleon is a pig of action who cares little for committees. His assumption that the education of the young is the most important duty of the animal leaders may sound like one of Snowball's altruistic ideas — but he only says this to excuse his seizure of the new pups that he will raise to be the vicious guard dogs he uses to terrorize the farm in later chapters.Note that the characters of other animals are further developed in this chapter. Boxer, for example, is portrayed as a simple-minded but dedicated worker: He cannot learn any more than four letters of the alphabet, but what he lacks in intelligence he more than makes up for in devotion to the farm. His new motto — "I will work harder" — and request to be called to the field half an hour before anyone else marks him as exactly the kind of animal that the pigs feel confident in controlling. When there is no thought, there can only be blind acceptance. (Like Boxer, the sheep are content with repeating a motto instead of engaging in any real thought. Their repetition of "Four legs good, two legs bad" will continue throughout the novel, usually when Napoleon needs them to quiet any dissention.)Mollie's vanity is stressed in her reluctance to work during the harvest — she cannot devote herself to any cause other than her own ego. Thus, when she is taught to read, she refuses to learn any letters except the ones that spell her name. Unlike Snowball (and his intellectual fancies) or Napoleon (and his ruthlessness), Mollie willingly abstains from any part in the political process.Old Benjamin's character is likewise developed in this chapter. Orwell points out that Benjamin "never changed" and that, when asked about the rebellion, only remarks, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." The other animals find this reply a "cryptic" one, but the reader understands Benjamin's point: He is wary of becoming too enthusiastic about the rebellion, since he knows that any new government can succumb to the temptation to abuse its power. Later, when the animals learn to read, Benjamin never does, since he finds "nothing worth reading." His cynicism is out-of-place with the patriotism felt by the other animals, but he cannot be convinced that the rebellion is a wholly noble cause — and, after witnessing the actions of the pigs, neither can the reader.
After the death of old Major, the animals spend their days secretly planning the rebellion, although they are unsure when it will occur. Because of their intelligence, the pigs are placed in charge of educating the animals about Animalism, the name they give to the philosophy expounded by Major in Chapter 1. Among the pigs, Snowball and Napoleon are the most important to the revolution. Despite Mollie's concern with ribbons and Moses' tales of a place called Sugarcandy Mountain, the pigs are successful in conveying the principles of Animalism to the others.The rebellion occurs when Jones again falls into a drunken sleep and neglects to feed the animals, who break into the store-shed in search of a meal. When Jones and his men arrive, they begin whipping the animals but soon find themselves being attacked and chased off the farm. The triumphant animals then destroy all traces of Jones, eat heartily, and revel in their newfound freedom. After a tour of Jones' house, they decide to leave it untouched as a museum. Snowball changes the sign reading "Manor Farm" to "Animal Farm" and paints the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the wall of the barn. The cows then give five buckets of milk, which Napoleon steals.
Analysis
The death of old Major marks the moment when the animals must begin to put his theory into practice. For the remainder of the novel, Orwell depicts the ever-widening gulf between the vision expounded by old Major and the animals' attempt to realize it.The names of the pigs chosen to lead the revolution reveal their personalities. Snowball's name suits the revolution in general, which "snowballs" and grows until, at the novel's end, the animal rulers completely resemble their previous masters. Napoleon's name suggests his stern leadership style (he has "a reputation for getting his own way") and, of course, his incredible lust for power, which becomes more pronounced with each chapter. Squealer, as his name suggests, becomes the mouthpiece of the pigs. His habit of "skipping from side to side" while arguing "some difficult point" dramatizes, in a physical way, what the smooth-talking pig will later do in a rhetorical sense: Every time he is faced with a question or objection, he will "skip" around the topic, using convoluted logic to prove his point. In short, he eventually serves as Napoleon's Minister of Propaganda.Like all patriots and revolutionaries, Snowball is earnest and determined to win as many converts to his cause as he can. Two animals, however, momentarily fluster him. Mollie's concern over sugar and ribbons is offensive to Snowball because he (as a proponent of Animalism) urges his fellow beasts to sacrifice their luxuries. To him, Mollie is a shallow materialist, concerned only with her own image and comforts. Like Mollie, Moses proves irksome to Snowball because Moses fills the heads of the animals with tales of Sugarcandy Mountain.
What Snowball (and the rest of the animals) fail to realize is that Sugarcandy Mountain — a paradise — is as unattainable a place as a farm wholly devoted to the principles of Animalism. As the biblical Moses led his people out of bondage and into the Promised Land, Moses the raven only offers a story about an obviously fictitious place. The fact that the animals are so willing to believe him reveals their wish for a utopia that (in the sky or on the farm) will never be found. Thus, Moses is the novel's "religious figure," but in a strictly ironic sense, since Orwell never implies that Moses' stories better the animals' condition. As Karl Marx famously said, "Religion … is the opium of the people" — an idea shown in the animals' acceptance of Moses' tales.Once the animals rebel and drive Jones from the farm, they behave as a conquering army retaking its own land and freeing it from the yoke of oppression. All the symbols of Jones' reign — nose-rings, dog-chains, knives — are tossed into a celebratory bonfire. More important is that the animals attempt to create their own sense of history and tradition by preserving Jones' house as a museum. Presumably, future animals will visit the house to learn of the terrible luxury in which humans once lived, but, like Sugarcandy Mountain, this world where all animals study their oppressors instead of becoming them is a fantasy. Similarly, the renaming of Manor Farm to Animal Farm suggests the animals' triumph over their enemy. By renaming the farm, they assume that they will change the kind of place it has become — another example of their optimism and innocence.The Seven Commandments of Animalism, like the biblical Ten Commandments, are an attempt to completely codify the animals' behavior to comply with a system of morality. Like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are direct and straightforward, leaving no room for interpretation or qualification. The fact that they are painted in "great white letters" on the side of the barn suggests the animals' desire to make these laws permanent — as the permanence of the Ten Commandments is suggested by their being engraved on stone tablets. Of course, like the Ten Commandments, the Seven Commandments are bound to be broken and bound to be toyed with by those looking for a loophole to excuse their wrongdoing.The chapter's final episode involving the buckets of milk hints at the ruthlessness Napoleon will display as the novel progresses. One of the hens suggests that the milk be put into the animals' mash so that all can enjoy it — an Animalistic thought, to be sure, since the Seventh Commandment of Animalism states that "All animals are equal." Note that Napoleon, however, places himself in front of the buckets and sends Snowball to lead the animals to the harvest. Already the reader can sense the boar's greed and betrayal of the most basic law of Animalism. Napoleon is using the patriotism and drive of the other animals for his own purposes, which initially involve gaining as much control over the farm's food as he can.
A wise and persuasive pig, old Major inspires the rebellion with his rhetorical skill and ability to get the other animals to share his indignation. When he announces that he wishes to share the contents of his strange dream with his companions, all the animals comply, demonstrating the great respect they have for such an important (that is, "major") figure. His speech about the tyranny of man is notable for its methodical enumeration of man's wrongs against the animals. Listing all of man's crimes, old Major rouses the other animals into planning the rebellion. His leading them in singing "Beasts of England" is another demonstration of his rhetorical skills, for after he teaches the animals the song about a world untainted by human hands, the animals sing it five times in succession.The flaw in old Major's thinking is that he places total blame on man for all the animals' ills. According to him, once they "Remove Man from the scene," then "the root cause of hunger and overwork" will be abolished forever. Clearly, old Major believes that Man is capable only of doing harm and that animals are capable only of doing good. Such one-dimensional thinking that ignores the desire for power inherent inall living things can only result in its being disproved. Also ironic is old Major's admonition to the animals: "Remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him." This warning is ignored by Napoleon and the other pigs, who, by the novel's end, completely resemble their human masters.
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As a democratic socialist, Orwell had a great deal of respect for Karl Marx, the German political economist, and even for Vladimir Ilych Lenin, the Russian revolutionary leader. His critique of Animal Farm has little to do with the Marxist ideology underlying the Rebellion but rather with the perversion of that ideology by later leaders. Major, who represents both Marx and Lenin, serves as the source of the ideals that the animals continue to uphold even after their pig leaders have betrayed them.Though his portrayal of Old Major is largely positive, Orwell does include a few small ironies that allow the reader to question the venerable pig’s motives. For instance, in the midst of his long litany of complaints about how the animals have been treated by human beings, Old Major is forced to concede that his own life has been long, full, and free from the terrors he has vividly sketched for his rapt audience. He seems to have claimed a false brotherhood with the other animals in order to garner their support for his vision.
Snowball is the animal most clearly attuned to old Major's thinking, and he devotes himself to bettering the animals in intellectual, moral, and physical ways. He brings literacy to the farm so that the animals can better grasp the principles of Animalism by reading the Seven Commandments he paints on the barn wall. He also reduces the Commandments to a single precept ("Four legs good, two legs bad") so that even the least intelligent animals can understand the farm's new philosophy. The "thinker" of the rebellion, Snowball shows a great understanding of strategy during the Battle of the Cowshed, and while his various committees may fail, the fact that he attempts to form them reveals the degree to which he wants to better the animals' lives. His plan for the windmill is similarly noble, since its construction would give the animals more leisure time. His expulsion at the hands of Napoleon, however, suggests that force — not good intentions — governs the farm.
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Orwell’s stint in a Trotskyist battalion in the Spanish Civil War—during which he first began plans for a critique of totalitarian communism—influenced his relatively positive portrayal of Snowball. As a parallel for Leon Trotsky, Snowball emerges as a fervent ideologue who throws himself heart and soul into the attempt to spread Animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s infrastructure. His idealism, however, leads to his downfall. Relying only on the force of his own logic and rhetorical skill to gain his influence, he proves no match for Napoleon’s show of brute force.Although Orwell depicts Snowball in a relatively appealing light, he refrains from idealizing his character, making sure to endow him with certain moral flaws. For example, Snowball basically accepts the superiority of the pigs over the rest of the animals. Moreover, his fervent, single-minded enthusiasm for grand projects such as the windmill might have erupted into full-blown megalomaniac despotism had he not been chased from Animal Farm. Indeed, Orwell suggests that we cannot eliminate government corruption by electing principled individuals to roles of power; he reminds us throughout the novella that it is power itself that corrupts.
Every tyrant has his sycophants, and Napoleon has one in Squealer, a clever pig who (as the animals say) "could turn black into white." Throughout the novel, he serves as Napoleon's mouthpiece and Minister of Propaganda. Every time an act of Napoleon's is questioned by the other animals — regardless of how selfish or severe it may seem — Squealer is able to convince the animals that Napoleon is only acting in their best interests and that Napoleon himself has made great sacrifices for Animal Farm. For example, after Squealer is questioned about Napoleon's stealing the milk and windfallen apples, he explains that Napoleon and his fellow pigsmust take the milk and apples because they "contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig." He further explains that many pigs "actually dislike milk and apples" and tells the questioning animals, "It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." His physical "skipping from side to side" during such explanations parallels his "skipping" words, which are never direct and always skirt the obvious truth of the matter at hand. As the novel proceeds, he excuses Napoleon's tyranny and sullies Snowball's reputation, just as Napoleon desires. The most outrageous demonstration of his "skipping" is when he convinces the animals that Boxer was taken to a veterinary hospital instead of the knacker's.
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Throughout his career, Orwell explored how politicians manipulate language in an age of mass media. In Animal Farm, the silver-tongued pig Squealer abuses language to justify Napoleon’s actions and policies to the proletariat by whatever means seem necessary. By radically simplifying language—as when he teaches the sheep to bleat “Four legs good, two legs better!”—he limits the terms of debate. By complicating language unnecessarily, he confuses and intimidates the uneducated, as when he explains that pigs, who are the “brainworkers” of the farm, consume milk and apples not for pleasure, but for the good of their comrades. In this latter strategy, he also employs jargon (“tactics, tactics”) as well as a baffling vocabulary of false and impenetrable statistics, engendering in the other animals both self-doubt and a sense of hopelessness about ever accessing the truth without the pigs’ mediation. Squealer’s lack of conscience and unwavering loyalty to his leader, alongside his rhetorical skills, make him the perfect propagandist for any tyranny. Squealer’s name also fits him well: squealing, of course, refers to a pig’s typical form of vocalization, and Squealer’s speech defines him. At the same time, to squeal also means to betray, aptly evoking Squealer’s behavior with regard to his fellow animals.
Horses are universally prized for their strength, and Boxer is no exception: Standing almost six-feet tall, Boxer is a devoted citizen of the farm whose incredible strength is a great asset to the rebellion and the farm. As soon as he learns about Animalism, Boxer throws himself into the rebellion's cause. At the Battle of the Cowshed, Boxer proves to be a valuable soldier, knocking a stable-boy unconscious with his mighty hoof. (Note that Boxer, however, is not bloodthirsty and feels great remorse when he thinks he has killed the boy.) His rising early to work on the farm and his personal maxim — "I will work harder" — reveal his devotion to the animals' cause. He also proves himself to be the most valuable member of the windmill-building team.Boxer's great strength, however, is matched by his equally stunning innocence and naiveté. He is not an intelligent animal (recall his inability to learn any of the alphabet past the letter D) and therefore can only think in simple slogans, the second of which ("Napoleon is always right") reveals his childlike dependence on an all-knowing leader. Even when he collapses while rebuilding the windmill, his first thoughts are not of himself but of the work: "It is my lung … It does not matter. I think you will be able to finish the windmill without me." His hopes of retiring with Benjamin after his collapse display the extent of his innocence, since the reader knows that Napoleon has no intention of providing for an old, infirm horse. Even when he is being led to his death at the knacker's, Boxer needs to be told of his terrible fate by Benjamin and Clover. He becomes wise to Napoleon's ways too late, and his death is another example of Napoleon's tyranny.
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The most sympathetically drawn character in the novel, Boxer epitomizes all of the best qualities of the exploited working classes: dedication, loyalty, and a huge capacity for labor. He also, however, suffers from what Orwell saw as the working class’s major weaknesses: a naïve trust in the good intentions of the intelligentsia and an inability to recognize even the most blatant forms of political corruption. Exploited by the pigs as much or more than he had been by Mr. Jones, Boxer represents all of the invisible labor that undergirds the political drama being carried out by the elites. Boxer’s pitiful death at a glue factory dramatically illustrates the extent of the pigs’ betrayal. It may also, however, speak to the specific significance of Boxer himself: before being carted off, he serves as the force that holds Animal Farm together.
Unlike Boxer, who always thinks of others, Mollie is a shallow materialist who cares nothing for the struggles of her fellow animals. Her first appearance in the novel suggests her personality when she enters the meeting at the last moment, chewing sugar and sitting in the front so that the others will be able to admire the red ribbons she wears in her mane. Her only concerns about the revolution are ones prompted by her ego: When she asksSnowball if they will still have sugar and ribbons after the rebellion, she betrays the thoughts of old Majorand reveals her vanity. She is lulled off the farm by the prospect of more material possessions than she could enjoy in an animal-governed world, marking her as one to whom politics and struggle mean nothing.
As horses are known for their strength, donkeys are known for their stubbornness, and Benjamin stubbornly refuses to become enthusiastic about the rebellion. While all of his comrades delight in the prospect of a new, animal-governed world, Benjamin only remarks, "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey." While this reply puzzles the animals, the reader understands Benjamin's cynical yet not-unfounded point: In the initial moments of the rebellion, Animal Farm may seem a paradise, but in time it may come to be another form of the same tyranny at which they rebelled. Of course, Benjamin is proven right by the novel's end, and the only thing that he knows for sure — "Life would go on as it had always gone on — that is, badly" — proves to be a definitive remark about the animals' lives. Although pessimistic, he is a realist.
With his tales of the "promised land" to which all animals retire after death, Moses is the novel's "religious" figure. Like his biblical counterpart, Moses offers his listeners descriptions of a place — Sugarcandy Mountain — where they can live free from oppression and hunger. At first, the pigs find him irksome, since they want the animals to believe that Animal Farm is a paradise and fear that the animals will be prompted by Moses' tales to seek a better place. However, as conditions on the farm worsen, the pigs allow Moses to stay because his tales offer the animals the promise of rest after a weary, toilsome life. As Karl Marx famously stated, "Religion is the opium of the people," and Moses' tales of Sugarcandy Mountain likewise serve as an opiate to the animals' misery.
Like George III to the American colonists or Czar Nicholas II to the Russian revolutionaries, Jones is the embodiment of the tyranny against which the animals rebel — and with good reason. An inept farmer and slovenly drunkard, Jones cares little for his Manor Farm and the animals who live there. The novel's first paragraph describes Jones forgetting (out of drunkenness) to shut the popholes for the hen-houses but remembering to draw himself a glass of beer before "lumbering" off to a drunken sleep. The fact that the rebellion is sparked by Jones' forgetting to feed the animals adds to the overall impression of him as an uncaring master. For the remainder of the novel, he is portrayed as an impotent has-been, unable to reclaim his own farm and idling in a pub until his eventual death in an inebriates' home.Long after Jones has been driven from the farm, the pigs invoke his name to scare the other animals into submission. Squealer's question, "Surely, comrades, you do not want Jones back?" elicits a knee-jerk reaction in the animals, who fail to realize that the spirit of Jones has returned, despite the farmer's physical absence.
The crafty owner of Pinchfield, a neighboring farm, Frederick is "perpetually involved in lawsuits" and reveals himself to be a cutthroat businessman. Despite his offers of sympathy to Jones about the rebellion at his farm, Frederick inwardly hopes that he can "somehow turn Jones' misfortune to his own advantage." He attempts this by offering to buy a load of timber from Napoleon but paying for it with counterfeit notes. His subsequent attempt to take Animal Farm by force reveals him to be a man who always takes what he wants — in short, exactly the kind of man against which the animals initially wanted to rebel. By the novel's end, however, Napoleon has proven himself to be more greedy and double-dealing than Frederick at his worst.
The owner of Foxwood, a neighboring farm in "disgraceful" condition, Pilkington becomes an ally to Napoleon. This alliance, however, has a rocky start, when Napoleon changes the pigeons' message of "Death to Jones; Frederick" to "Death to Pilkington" and Pilkington refuses to help when the farm is attacked by Frederick. However, Napoleon and Pilkington eventually reconcile since they are, in essence, made of the same moral fiber and need each other to prosper (as seen when Pilkington sells part of his land to Napoleon). In the novel's last scene, Pilkington praises what Napoleon has done with Animal Farm, getting more work out of the animals with less food and likening the "lower animals" to humanity's "lower classes." The final moments of the novel, when Pilkington and Napoleon each attempt to cheat the other at cards, shows that their "friendship" is simply a facade each is using in order to better swindle the other.
the very beginning of the novella, Napoleon emerges as an utterly corrupt opportunist. Though always present at the early meetings of the new state, Napoleon never makes a single contribution to the revolution—not to the formulation of its ideology, not to the bloody struggle that it necessitates, not to the new society’s initial attempts to establish itself. He never shows interest in the strength of Animal Farm itself, only in the strength of his power over it. Thus, the only project he undertakes with enthusiasm is the training of a litter of puppies. He doesn’t educate them for their own good or for the good of all, however, but rather for his own good: they become his own private army or secret police, a violent means by which he imposes his will on others.Although he is most directly modeled on the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Napoleon represents, in a more general sense, the political tyrants that have emerged throughout human history and with particular frequency during the twentieth century. His namesake is not any communist leader but the early-eighteenth-century French general Napoleon, who betrayed the democratic principles on which he rode to power, arguably becoming as great a despot as the aristocrats whom he supplanted. It is a testament to Orwell’s acute political intelligence and to the universality of his fable that Napoleon can easily stand for any of the great dictators and political schemers in world history, even those who arose after Animal Farm was written. In the behavior of Napoleon and his henchmen, one can detect the lying and bullying tactics of totalitarian leaders such as Josip Tito, Mao Tse-tung, Pol Pot, Augusto Pinochet, and Slobodan Milosevic treated in sharply critical terms.