Animal Farm
George Orwell
Animal Farm
The animals of Manor Farm drive out their drunken farmer to run the farm for themselves, and the pigs gradually take his place. Orwell's fable of the Russian Revolution and its betrayal (1945).
About the book
Published in 1945, Animal Farm is a short fable in which the animals of Manor Farm rise up against their drunken farmer and take over the farm in the name of equality. Under the leadership of the pigs, they set out to build a society where every animal works for the good of all. George Orwell wrote it as a satire of the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin, and several publishers turned it down during the war because the Soviet Union was an ally. Its simple language and farmyard setting make its account of how revolutions are betrayed easy to follow, and its lines about equality became some of the most quoted in English.
Characters
Old Major — Prize boar
The respected old boar whose dream of a world without humans inspires the rebellion.
Napoleon — Pig leader
A fierce Berkshire boar who says little and prefers to get his own way.
Snowball — Pig leader
A quick, inventive pig full of plans for the farm, including a windmill.
Squealer — Pig spokesman
A persuasive young pig who can turn black into white.
Boxer — Cart-horse
An enormous, loyal horse whose answer to every problem is to work harder.
Benjamin — Donkey
The oldest animal on the farm, cynical and unimpressed by the rebellion.
Clover — Mare
A motherly mare who looks after the weaker animals.
Mr Jones — Farmer
The drunken, neglectful owner of Manor Farm.
About the author
George Orwell (1903–1950) was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English novelist and essayist who turned plain, exact prose into a political act. Born in India and schooled at Eton, he served five years in the imperial police in Burma, then lived among the poor of Paris and London, and was shot through the throat fighting Franco's forces in Spain — and each of those became a book. He wanted prose to be "like a window pane", and distrusted any language built to hide what it meant. Animal Farm made him famous; Nineteen Eighty-Four, finished on a Scottish island while tuberculosis was killing him, gave the world Big Brother and doublethink. His work also includes Burmese Days, The Road to Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia.