Animal Farm

Synopsis

'The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.' When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. Animal Farm was one of George Orwell's most successful books - after its publication Orwell became one of the best-paid writers in England. Though the text continues to play a foundational role in the political education of young people across the world, its allegorical function has become more difficult to decode as the U.S.S.R recedes into the historical distance.

Summary

Chapter 1:

* The story introduces Manor Farm, where all the animals are overworked and oppressed by their human owner, Mr. Jones.
Real Example: The Russian Revolution of 1917, where the working class (animals) was oppressed by the wealthy landowners (Mr. Jones).

Chapter 2:

* Old Major, a respected pig, gives a speech about the injustice of Mr. Jones' rule and calls for a rebellion.
Real Example: Karl Marx, who inspired the Russian Revolution with his theories of class struggle.

Chapter 3:

* The animals stage a revolt, drive Jones out, and take over the farm.
Real Example: The storming of the Winter Palace in Petrograd, which led to the overthrow of the Tsar in 1917.

Chapter 4:

* The animals create a new society based on the principles of equality and freedom.
Real Example: The early ideals of the Soviet Union, which promised a just and equitable society for all.

Chapter 5:

* Two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, emerge as leaders of the farm.
Real Example: Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, who vied for power in the Soviet Union.

Chapter 6:

* Snowball proposes building a windmill to improve the farm's productivity.
Real Example: Industrialization in the Soviet Union, which was seen as a way to modernize the country.

Chapter 7:

* Napoleon and Snowball clash over the windmill, and Napoleon uses propaganda and intimidation to gain support.
Real Example: Stalin's use of propaganda and political purges to eliminate his rivals and consolidate power.

Chapter 8:

* Napoleon expels Snowball and takes complete control of the farm.
Real Example: Stalin's exile of Trotsky and his subsequent rise to unchallenged leadership.

Chapter 9:

* The farm becomes a dictatorship under Napoleon, who corrupts the principles of the rebellion.
Real Example: The Soviet Union's transformation into a totalitarian state under Stalin's rule.

Chapter 10:

* The animals realize the true nature of Napoleon's regime and rebel against him.
Real Example: The growing disillusionment and resistance within the Soviet population towards Stalin's rule.

Chapter 11:

* Napoleon crushes the rebellion and establishes an unbreakable dictatorship.
Real Example: The suppression of dissent and the reign of terror in the Soviet Union under Stalin.

Chapter 12:

* The farm becomes a mirror of the old Manor Farm, with the pigs as the ruling class and the other animals as oppressed slaves.
Real Example: The failure of the Soviet Union to achieve its egalitarian goals and the persistence of social inequality and oppression.