Bright Summaries - Animal Farm by George Orwell (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

Once Mr Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, has gone to bed, the farm animals gather in the barn to listen to old Major, the pigs elder, as it is the pigs who claim to be the most intelligent of all the animals. He invites his brethren to revolt against the only animal who consumes without producing and exploits all the others: man. The pig-prophet has even made a doctrine out of his ideas: Animalism. He had a dream which reminded him of an old song which heralds the golden age of animals: Beasts of England . He begins to sing it, and all the other animals join in enthusiastically, until Mr Jones, woken up by the din, fires a gunshot to scare off a potential fox. After old Major dies , Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer, three pigs who have taught themselves to read, set about teaching the other animals the alphabet and Animalism in order to lay the groundwork for the revolution.

This initiative does not take long to bear fruit: when Mr Jones neglects to feed the animals, they chase him off the farm along with his wife and workers. Now masters of the farm, they rush to get rid of all the instruments of oppression which have caused them so much suffering over the years and decide to run the place, now renamed Animal Farm, themselves. The next day, before going to collect hay in the fields, the pigs write the Seven Commandments of Animalism on one of the walls:

• Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
• Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
• No animal shall wear clothes.
• No animal shall sleep in a bed.
• No animal shall drink alcohol.
• No animal shall kill any other animal.
• All animals are equal.

On Sundays, the pigs preside over the Meeting and organise the life of the others. As most of the other animals cannot read, Snowball shortens the Seven Commandments to one: Four legs good, two legs bad, which the sheep begin to chant non-stop. As for Napoleon, he stays in the background, but quietly rounds up and imprisons nine puppies who will be of great use to him during the coup he has been preparing in secret. Time passes and the pigs begin giving themselves more and more rights, claiming that, without them, it would be impossible to run the farm.

The other farmers in the vicinity quickly learn of the uprising from Mr Jones and begin to slander the animals, because the revolutionary song Beasts of England is making its way through the countryside. Mr Jones tries to take back his farm on 12 October with the help of a few henchmen. However, under Snowballs leadership, the animals manage to rout them and, from this day onwards, 12 October becomes a day of remembrance: The Day of the Battle of the Cowshed. Meanwhile, a lazy, pretty mare called Mollie leaves the farm for good after being accused of letting a human pet her.

January arrives and, during such a difficult season for all the animals, the rivalry between Snowball and Napoleon continues to grow. Snowball wants to build a mill and put greater emphasis on propaganda, while Napoleon sees this as a waste of time and insists on the importance of organising the defence of the farm. During one Meeting, Napoleon stages a coup thanks to the nine hounds that he brought up in secret, forcing Snowball into exile and causing the dissolution of the Meeting. From now on there is only a committee of pigs led by Napoleon who run the farm. Squealer, who is now Napoleons spokesman, begins to rewrite history: according to him, Napoleon had always wanted to build a mill. Moving into Mr Jones old house, the pigs revise and then begin to ignore the Seven Commandments, giving themselves new benefits while Squealer continues to wipe the animals memories.

One year later, the animals are still working hard in the fields and on the construction of the mill. When they begin to run out of certain things from the outside world, Napoleon announces that he wants to do business with the neighbouring farms. In the outside world, the other farmers are amazed by the stability of Animal Farm, which they had at first made fun of.

One night in November, the mill is destroyed by a violent storm. Claiming that this is Snowballs doing, Napoleon sentences him to death. A rumour begins to spread that the exiled pig is back on the farm. When he finds out, Napoleon blames Snowball for all the farms problems and Squealer makes him public enemy number one. The animals set about building a more solid mill, but when food begins to become scarce their enthusiasm wanes with it. In order to crush any potential revolt, Napoleon turns to his hounds to help him publicly execute several animals accused of being traitors. Moreover, Beasts of England is now banned because, according to Squealer, the revolution has succeeded. Realising that they have strayed too far from their initial goal, Clover, the mare, Benjamin, the sceptical donkey, and several others all give up on the revolution.

Work therefore goes on, but only Napoleon, the pigs and the dogs benefit from it. In autumn, the mill is completed. However, contrary to general belief, it will not be used to improve life on the farm. Napoleon has made a deal to sell wood to a neighbouring farmer called Frederick. But Frederick betrays him and, the next day, attacks the farm with even more men and guns than Mr Jones had brought. And so begins the Battle of the Windmill. The animals emerge victorious, but suffer heavy losses: in addition to the deaths and casualties, the mill is also destroyed. Over the next few days, the pigs celebrate their victory with parties and get drunk on whisky. Squealer continues to alter the Seven Commandments: No animal shall drink alcohol is now amended with the words to excess.