Nova High School

Animal Farm Study Guide Questions

Animal Farm in Context

In short, the novel is an allegory that depicts the rise of Josef Stalin and communism in the
former Soviet Union.

Orwell was dismayed by the favorable image of World War II era and post-war Soviet Union.
He viewed the USSR as a brutal dictatorship whose people were suffering under Stalin's rule. In
addition, Orwell was angered by what he viewed as acceptance of the Soviet Union by Western
countries. Given this, Stalin, Hitler and Karl Marx are all represented in the novel, which ends
with the famous quote: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” 

With the context of the book in mind, prepare to answer the discussion questions below. You can
review them before you read the book, as you read it or afterward. In any case, looking at these
questions will improve your comprehension of the material.

Questions for Review

"Animal Farm" is considered one of the most important works of 20th-century literature. The
answers to these questions reveal why the book has endured for generations.

1. What is important about the title?

2. Why do you think Orwell chose to represent political figures as animals? Why did he
choose a farm as the novel's setting?

3. Can you discern an authorial voice (a character who speaks the author's point of view) in
"Animal Farm?"
4. How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?

5. Does the story end the way you expected? What other outcome could there have been for
"Animal Farm?"