Animal Farm

GROUP 4
 • OLD MAJOR
• An old boar whose speech rouses the animals
into rebellion.
• His philosophy is called Animalism. He teaches
the animals the song of freedom “Beasts of
The Pigs England.”
• Snowball
• He is a young boar who becomes one of the
rebellion’s most valuable leaders.
• He draws complicated plans for the windmill.
 •Squealer
• A porker pig who becomes Napoleon’s
mouthpiece.
• He uses his ability to manipulate the animals.
•Napoleon
The Pigs • A boar, who with Snowball, leads the rebellion
against Jones.
• He systematically takes over the farm and
becomes undisputed tyrant.
 •Boxer
• A dedicated and hard worker. He keeps believing
that hard work solves all problems. He is sort of
dimwitted.
•Clover
• A motherly horse who tries to take care of Boxer
The Horses and who silently questions Napoleon’s decisions.
• Mollie
• A vain horse who prefers ribbons and sugar over
ideas and rebellion. She is eventually lured off the
farm.
 •Benjamin
• A cynical, pessimistic donkey who continually
undercuts the animals’ enthusiasm.
•Moses
Other • A tame raven who tells the animals stories about a
Animals paradise called Sugar-candy Mountain
• Bluebell Jessie Pincher
• The dogs and their puppies raised to be
Napoleon’s guard dogs.
Humans
•Mr. Jones
• The often-drunk owner of Manor Farm, later expelled by the animals.
•Mrs. Jones
• The farmer’s wife who flees from the farm after the rebellion.
•Mr. Whimper
• A solicitor hired by Napoleon to act as an intermediary in Animal Farm’s trading
with other farms.
Humans
•Mr. Pilkington
• The owner of Foxwood, another farm. He eventually sells some of his land to
Napoleon.

•Mr. Frederick
• An enemy of Pilkington and owner of Pinchfield, another farm. Known for
driving hard bargains, he swindles Napoleon He later attacks the farm but is
defeated.
 STORY OF
ANIMAL FARM
Animal Farm
• The story takes place on a farm somewhere in England.
• It is told by an all-knowing narrator in third person.
• The action begins when the oldest pig on the farm, Old Major, calls all
the animals to a secret meeting. He tells them of his dream of revolution
against the cruel Mr. Jones.
• His speech gives the animals a new outlook on life.
• The pigs, being considered the most intelligent, begin to instruct the
other animals. They work out the theory of Animalism, run Mr. Jones off
the farm, and post seven commandments above the door of the barn.
So begins the story.
 • Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

•Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.

•No animal shall wear clothes.

The Seven •No animal shall sleep in a bed.
Commandments
•No animal shall drink alcohol.

•No animal shall kill another animal.

•All animals are equal.

 Ending
•The story ends with a new version of the
original slogan and one simple commandment.
•New Version: Four legs good, two legs better.
•THE NEW AND FINAL COMMANDMENT
•“ ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME
ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.”
Themes
Class Discrimination
• Orwell explores class through:
• The hardships of the animals during Mr. Jones’ rule
• The exploitation of the animals by Mr. Jones
• The exploitation of the animals by the pigs after they take control
Societal Tendency Toward Class Levels

• Animal Farm offers commentary on the development of class tyranny and the
human tendency to maintain and reestablish class structures even in societies
that allegedly stand for total equality.
• The novella illustrates how classes that are initially unified in the face of a
common enemy, may become internally divided when that enemy is
eliminated.
• The expulsion of Mr. Jones creates a power vacuum, and it is only so long
before the next oppressor assumes totalitarian control.
The Danger of a Naïve Working Class

• Gullible, loyal, and hardworking, these animals give Orwell a chance to sketch
how situations of oppression arise not only from the motives and tactics of the
oppressors but also from the naïveté of the oppressed, who are not
necessarily in a position to be better educated or informed.
• When presented with a dilemma, Boxer prefers not to puzzle out the
implications of various possible actions but instead to repeat to himself,
“Napoleon is always right.”
• Animal Farm demonstrates how the inability or unwillingness to question
authority condemns the working class to suffer the full extent of the ruling
class’s oppression.
 Power and control

• Power and control is one of the most important themes in Animal Farm.
Orwell explores political power - Mr Jones owns the farm and the animals
and uses his men and whips to keep them under control and maintain his
power.
• Orwell shows that the animals have the power to challenge Mr Jones'
control and take over the farm - using power in a positive way. He then
explores how the pigs use rhetoric and propaganda to establish
themselves in power and take control of the farm.
• It is interesting that the working animals, especially Boxer the horse, have
great physical power but they don’t use it to break free from the control of
the pigs.
Equality and inequality in Animal Farm

Orwell explores equality and inequality through:

•The inequality between the animals and mankind
•The equality that the animals seek to establish after the rebellion
•The inequality that begins again after the pigs take control
Inequality

• Before Rebellion
• The inequality that exists between the animals and Mr. Jones – Mr.
Jones spends his time drinking whilst the animals go unfed. He is
the only one who profits from their hard work.
• After Rebellion
• The chance for equality is lost when the pigs come to power - they
start to change the rules, they take more food and enjoy more
leisure time until life on the farm is filled with just as much
inequality as before the rebellion
 Idea of Equality

• When the animals chase Mr. Jones away, there is a chance for
equality after the rebellion.
• - 'All animals are equal' is one of the Commandments the animals
decide on.
• There are hints that this sort of equality might be hard to establish -
the animals aren’t sure whether to include the rats in their
comradeship and the pigs clearly have a better quality of life than
the other animals, even under the rule of Mr. Jones.
• This equality is short-lived, and the pigs begin to bend the rules until
inequality returns to the farm.
Power of Language

• From the start of the novel, Orwell depicts the animals being
manipulated by common propaganda techniques, including songs,
slogans, and ever-changing information.
• Singing "Beasts of England" evokes an emotional response that
reinforces the animals' loyalty to both Animalism and the pigs.
• The adoption of slogans like Napoleon is always right or four legs
good, two legs bad demonstrates their unfamiliarity with the complex
philosophical and political concepts underlying the revolution.
“Power corrupts absolute power corrupts
absolutely”

George Orwin
Power Leads To Corruption

• Orwell explores the idea of power leading to corruption.

• Many of the characters in the novel are eventually corrupted by the
power they have, particularly the pigs, as they manipulate their
position of leadership to exploit other animals.
• Napoleon uses fear to control the farm.
Deception

• Napoleon and squealer bend history to better suit their needs

suppressing education while fear mongering creates a culture of

deception that allows for the rise of a dictator.

Idealism

• The theme of idealism is an important one for the rebellion of animal farm.

• It was the idea of idealism that gathered the animals under one flag to fight
Mr. Jones off the farm.

• Especially at the beginning dreams of equality and legends of animal

bravery set the stage for a revolution underscored by good intentions.
Useless Education

• Education is essentially useless.

• We especially see this in Benjamin the donkey whose cynical attitude
and insistence that nothing ever changes becomes a self-fulfilling
prophecy of a complacent population is right for the picking by
controlling dictators bent on power and control.
Thank-YOu