Animal Farm

Major dies, but his speech has given inspiration to many of the animals on the farm, who secretly plan for a rebellion against Jones. Two young pigs named Snowball and Napoleon take the lead, assisted by another pig named Squealer.

Having learned to read and write from a discarded spelling book, the three pigs expand Major’s teachings into a system of thought called Animalism, the cornerstone of which is a series of Seven Commandments, culminating in the precept that “[a]ll animals are equal” (19). The pigs hold secret meetings at night in which they teach the principles of Animalism to their comrades.

However, they face resistance from Mollie, a vain young mare, and Moses, a raven who preaches belief in an afterlife he calls Sugarcandy Mountain. On the other hand, the pigs find willing disciples in Boxer and Clover, two hardworking cart horses.

Jones is in a bad way after losing money in a lawsuit and taking to heavy drinking. He and his helpers neglect the upkeep of the farm and underfeed the animals. Finally, the animals have had enough, so they break into the store-shed to get food. Jones and his men try to whip them into submission, but the animals attack them and chase them out of the farm to the main road, while Mrs. Jones escapes by the back way. “Much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected” (14), the animals have expelled Jones and taken possession of Manor Farm, which they rename Animal Farm.

The animals destroy everything that reminds them of Jones, including whips and other devices for disciplining and restraining animals. They agree to preserve the farmhouse as a museum since it is not fit for animals to live in. The pigs inscribe the Seven Commandments on the barn wall, milk the cows, and lead the other animals to begin the hay harvest. When the animals return in the evening, the buckets of milk have disappeared.

With great effort and intensive cooperation, the animals produce a successful harvest. Boxer emerges as the hardest and most dedicated worker on the farm. His motto is “I will work harder” (22), and the other animals depend on him a great deal. The animals soon fall into a routine: They work during the week and devote Sundays to leisure, a commemorative flag ceremony, various committees to manage the farm, and the study of reading and writing, to varying success. To help the less intelligent animals learn the Seven Commandments, Snowball suggests simplifying them into a single maxim: “Four legs good, two legs bad” (26). Snowball has devised an official Animal Farm flag out of an old tablecloth, featuring a white hoof and horn on a green background.

The pigs soon emerge as the dominant animals on the farm and hoard milk and apples for themselves, claiming their superior intellectual capabilities require extra food. Declaring the importance of educating the young, Napoleon takes nine newborn puppies away from their mothers, Jessie and Bluebell, and raises them in seclusion in a barn loft.

News of Animal Farm has spread across the county thanks to messenger pigeons sent from the farm, and animals everywhere start to rebel in small ways that frighten their human owners. Jones bewails his misfortune in losing his property to a pack of animals, but the owners of farms adjacent to Animal Farm hope to profit from the situation. Two in particular, Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick, who are sworn enemies, spread rumors that Animal Farm is unstable and liable to crumble, and that the animals engage in immoral behavior.

In October, Jones and men from adjacent farms attempt to retake Animal Farm, but the animals thoroughly defeat them in the Battle of the Cowshed, which becomes very violent. Snowball learns military tactics by reading a book about Julius Caesar that he found in the farmhouse, and after the battle, there are graveside eulogies and “Animal Hero” medals. The animals capture Jones’ gun and install it as an artifact to be fired ceremonially twice a year.