114网址导航Animal&Farm:&A&Fairy&Story
乔治·奥威尔George
Animal Farm: A Fairy
George Orwell
When Animal Farm was published in 1945, its British
author George Orwell (a pseudonym for Eric Arthur Blair) had
already waited a year and a half to see his manuscript in print.
Because the book criticized the Soviet Union, one of England's
allies in World War II, publication was delayed until the war
ended. It was an immediate success as the first edition sold out in
a month, nine foreign editions had appeared by the next year, and
the American Book-of-the-Month Club edition sold more than a
half-million copies. Although Orwell was an experienced columnist
and essayist as well as the author of nine published books, nothing
could have prepared him for the success of this short novel, so
brief he had considered self-publishing it as a pamphlet. The novel
brought together important themes — politics, truth, and class
conflict — that had concerned Orwell for much of his life. Using
allegory — the weapon used by political satirists of the past,
including Voltaire and Swift — Orwell made his political statement
in a twentieth-century fable that could be read as an entertaining
story about animals or, on a deeper level, a savage attack on the
misuse of political power. While Orwell wrote Animal Farm as
a pointed criticism of Stalinist Russia, reviews of the book on the
fiftieth-anniversary of its publication declared its message to be
still relevant. In a play on the famous line from the book, "Some
animals are more equal than others," an Economist reviewer
wrote, "Some classics are more equal than others," and as proof he
noted that Animal Farm has never been out of print since it
was first published and continues to sell well year after year.
As Animal Farm opens, Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm,
is drunkenly heading to bed. The animals gather in the barn as Old
Major, the prize boar, tells them that he has thought about the
brutal lives that the farm animals lead under human bondage and is
convinced that a rebellion must come soon, in which the animals
throw off the tyranny of their human oppressors and come to live in
perfect freedom and equality. Major teaches the animals Beasts
of England, a song which will become their revolutionary
Chapter II
A few days later, Major dies. The animals, under the leadership
of the pigs, begin to prepare for the Rebellion. Two of the pigs,
Snowball and Napoleon, elaborate Major's ideas into a complete
system of thought known as Animalism. The Rebellion comes much
sooner than anyone thought, and the animals break free of Jones's
tyranny and drive the humans from the farm. Snowball and Napoleon
paint over the name "Manor Farm" on the gate, replacing it with
"Animal Farm." They also paint the basic principles of Animalism on
the wall of the barn:
THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
Chapter III
The farm passes through an idyllic time in which the animals
work joyously together and make a great success of the harvest. The
animals all attend weekly planning meetings at which the decisions
for the future of the farm are made. After realizing that some of
the other animals cannot read or remember the Seven Commandments,
Snowball boils these commandments down to a single maxim: "Four
legs good, two legs bad." But all of the milk and apples on the
farm, it seems, are now to be reserved for the pigs alone.
Chapter IV
News of the Rebellion at Animal Farm begins to spread, and
animals across the countryside are singing Beasts of
England. The neighboring farmers, led by Mr. Pilkington of
Foxwood and Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield Farm, attempt to retake
Animal Farm by force. The animals, led by Snowball, successfully
fight off the invaders in what comes to be known as the Battle of
the Cowshed. Snowball is decorated as an Animal Hero, First
Snowball and Napoleon fight a number of battles over policy,
culminating in the controversy over a windmill which Snowball has
designed and thinks should be built on the farm. Napoleon argues
that the animals need to concentrate on food production. As the
debate reaches fever pitch, Napoleon calls in nine dogs which he
raised to be loyal only to him. The dogs chase Snowball from the
farm. Napoleon declares an end to the planning meetings. Squealer,
another pig who serves as Napoleon's functionary, convinces the
other animals that Snowball was a criminal. A few days later,
Napoleon declares that the windmill will be built after all, and
Squealer explains that the idea had belonged to Napoleon from the
beginning, but that Snowball had stolen the plans.
Chapter VI
The animals' workload is repeatedly increased throughout the
following year as construction begins on the windmill. Napoleon
announces that the farm will begin trading with the neighboring
farms, which seems to violate one of the early resolutions passed
by the animals, but Squealer convinces them otherwise. The pigs,
moreover, have moved into the farmhouse, and it is rumored that
they are sleeping in the beds. The animals check the barn wall,
vaguely remembering an injunction against this — but the
commandment says that "No animal shall sleep in a bed with
sheets." When the windmill is knocked down during a storm,
Napoleon blames its destruction on Snowball and pronounces a death
sentence on this traitor. The animals begin the laborious process
of rebuilding.
Chapter VII
Rumors begin to fly that Snowball is sneaking into the farm at
night, causing small bits of mischief. Moreover, it is asserted
that certain of the animals on the farm are in league with
Snowball. Napoleon orders a full investigation. A meeting is held
in which the animals are invited to confess their connections with
Snowball. All the animals that do confess are promptly ripped to
pieces by Napoleon's dogs. The others are shocked at such bloodshed
and try to comfort themselves by singing Beasts of England,
only to be told that the song has now been abolished.
Chapter VIII
In the days after the purges, the animals seem to recall a
commandment prohibiting the killing of animals, but when they check
the barn wall, they discover that it reads "No animal shall kill
any other animal without cause." Napoleon bargains to sell
Mr. Pilkington a pile of timber. The animals do not trust
Pilkington, but they prefer him to Frederick, who, it is whispered,
is t in fact, Napoleon declares Frederick to
be an enemy of the farm. But several days later it is announced
that he has sold the timber to Frederick, and now Pilkington is the
enemy. Frederick fools Napoleon by giving him forged banknotes for
the timber, and, with a group of men, attacks Animal Farm and
destroys the windmill. Squealer, however, informs the animals that
the battle was a victory for the animals. Shortly after, the pigs
discover a case of whiskey in the basement of the farmhouse, and a
raucous celebration is heard throughout the night. The next day, it
is announced that Napoleon is near death. When he recovers, the
animals discover that the commandment which they thought said that
no animal should drink alcohol in fact reads "No animal shall drink
alcohol to excess."
Chapter IX
That winter, rations are repeatedly reduced on the farm, for
everyone but the pigs. The animals are kept content, however,
through an ever-increasing number of formal ceremonies. An old
cart-horse, Boxer, who has worked tirelessly for Animal Farm,
suddenly takes ill. Napoleon announces that arrangements have been
made to treat Boxer in a hospital in town. However, the truck that
arrives to take Boxer away belongs to a horse slaughterer, and the
animals erupt in a great outcry. They are pacified by Squealer, who
tells them that, in fact, the truck has been purchased by the
veterinarian but has not been repainted.
The years pass, and the animals lead harder and harder lives,
though at least no animal is lorded over by a human. Then, one day,
Napoleon emerges from the house on two legs. The sheep's
traditional chant of "Four legs good, two legs bad" has now,
somehow, been changed to "Four legs good, two legs better." And the
Seven Commandments have now all been erased from the barn wall and
replaced with a single Commandment: "All animals are equal, but
some animals are more equal than others." The pigs begin reading
newspapers, wearing clothes, and carrying whips in the fields. They
call for a meeting between themselves and the human owners of the
surrounding farms, at which Napoleon announces that the name of
Animal Farm has been changed back to Manor Farm. The other animals
peek in the windows of the farmhouse as this meeting progresses and
are stunned to discover that they cannot tell the difference
between the men and the pigs at all.
Characters
Benjamin, a donkey, is "the oldest animal on the farm, and the
worst tempered." He is a sad cynic who believes that whatever the
animals do, conditions on the farm will remain equally as bad.
Although he usually refuses to read, he is the one who reads the
side of the truck that comes to take Boxer away and realizes it
belongs to the horse slaughterer. Benjamin is moved to action, but
he is too late to save his friend. Benjamin represents the cynical
intellectual who refuses to get involved in politics and so fails
to affect meaningful change. His cynicism is much like Orwell's own
attitude toward life.
One of the two cart-horses on the farm, Boxer's biggest triumph
is his work on the windmill. Despite his strength, he is sensitive
to the feelings of others. During the Battle of the Cowshed, when
he accidentally stuns a stable-boy with blows from his hoofs, he is
remorseful: "I have no wish to take life, not even human life."
Boxer has such blind faith in Napoleon that he refuses to question
anything the pig says, reasoning, "If Comrade Napoleon says it, it
must be right." He constantly repeats the slogans: "I will work
harder" and "Napoleon is always right." In the end, once Boxer's
health fails and he is no longer able to work, Napoleon sends him
to the horse slaughterer. In Orwell's tale, he represents the
common working class who unwittingly accept their base existence,
because they believe by hard work they will get ahead and that
their leaders will protect them. Boxer's lung trouble seems to
refer to Orwell's own bouts with tuberculosis.
A "stout, motherly mare," Clover is one of the two cart-horses
on the farm, and one of Boxer's closest friends. She tries to lead
the other animals to see events as they really are but is often
frustrated in her attempts. She questions the change in the fourth
commandment of Animalism, yet she accepts Squealer's explanation of
why it seems different. When Benjamin sounds the alarm that Boxer
is being taken to the horse slaughterer, Clover runs after the van
but is unable to stop it. Like Boxer, she represents the working
class, particularly those who should realize they are being
exploited but do not because of their own laziness or apathy.
Mr. Frederick
Mr. Frederick is a neighbor of Mr. Jones who runs the farm
called Pinchfield. His farm is better run than Pilkington's, but he
is always involved in law suits. In Orwell's allegory, Frederick
represents Germany and its leader, Adolf Hitler. Like Hitler,
Frederick is treacherous, and after signing an agreement with
Napoleon he attacks Animal Farm, destroying the animals'
Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, gets the animals thinking
about revolution when he gets drunk and is unable to perform all of
the chores around the farm. When, in his drunkenness, he stays
overnight away from the farm, and neither he nor his men feed the
farm animals, the animals revolt and chase the humans out of the
farm. Jones tries to retake the farm but is unsuccessful. He
vanishes "to another part of the country" and dies there in "an
inebriates' home." With his common surname Jones could be any
farmer, and his farm any farm. In Orwell's political allegory, he
represents Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia, before the
communists took over the government.
Described only as "a poet," Minimus composes a poem in honor of
Napoleon, and a patriotic song that replaces Beasts of
England. Minimus represents artists who are used by
totalitarian states for propaganda purposes.
A vain white mare whose main concerns when Old Major calls for a
Rebellion are having sugar lumps to chew and ribbons for her mane.
She eventually flees the farm to work for humans. She represents
those whose lust for material things blinds them to the importance
of freedom.
A tame raven who belongs to Mr. Jones, Moses represents
organized religion. He is tolerated by the pigs because he takes
the animals' minds off their troubles by preaching to them about a
happy land called the Sugarcandy Mountain.
A white goat (named after an actual animal that Orwell kept at
his farm), Muriel reads better than most of the other animals and
is called on to read the Commandments for them.
A "large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar," Napoleon
becomes the leader of the animals after Snowball is chased off the
farm. He, Snowball, and Squealer are the ones who organize the
thoughts proclaimed by Old Major into the principles of
Animalism.
Soon after the revolt of the animals, Napoleon takes nine
puppies from their mothers to "educate" them. The puppies end up
being his personal bodyguards and secret police force. He grows
increasingly removed from the other animals, dining alone and being
addressed as "our Leader, Comrade Napoleon." Like Joseph Stalin,
the Soviet leader who had negotiated with England while making a
secret deal with Hitler, Napoleon negotiates with one of Jones's
neighbors, Mr. Pilkington, while making a secret agreement with Mr.
Frederick, another one of Jones's neighbors. Stalin had a
reputation for arranging the death of anyone who stood in his way.
After Napoleon chases his former friend Snowball off the farm, he
has countless animals killed who confess to being Snowball's
allies. Near the end of the novel, he stands on two legs, just like
the men he had previously denounced, and announces that Animal
Farm's name will revert back to Manor Farm. His name is reminiscent
of the historical Napoleon, who became the all-powerful, autocratic
Emperor of the French. Like his French counterpart, Napoleon seems
to embody the idea that with power comes corruption.
A "prize Middle White boar," Old Major calls the animals
together in the novel's opening scene to explain to them his vision
of a world ruled by animals. Although quite old for a pig, he is
described as "still a majestic-looking pig." He concludes his
speech by teaching of the animals the song, Beasts of
England. It becomes the rallying cry of the Rebellion. Three
nights after the meeting he dies in his sleep. He represents Karl
Marx, the German political philosopher who wrote, with Friedrich
Engels, the Communist Manifesto (1848) that called the
workers of the world to unite against the ruling classes.
Mr. Pilkington
Mr. Pilkington is a neighbor of Mr. Jones who runs the farm
called Foxwood. His farm is overgrown with woodland, for he enjoys
hunting and fishing over farming. In Orwell's allegory, Pilkington
represents England.
The sheep function as a group and, therefore, have no individual
names. They are taught to bleat the latest slogan for hours at a
time: first, "four legs good, two legs bad," later, "four legs
good, two legs better." They are the "yes-men" in every
society who blindly repeat party slogans without knowing what they
are saying.
A "young boar" who, with Napoleon and Squealer, helps to codify
Old Major's ideas into the commandments of Animalism. Orwell
describes him as "quicker in speech and more inventive" than
Napoleon. He is the one who organizes the animals into various
committees: "the Egg Production Committee for the hens, the Clean
Tails League for the cows, the Whiter Wool Movement for the sheep,
and various others." He also plans the defense of the farm against
the humans which proves useful when Jones and his friends try to
retake the farm. Snowball shows his expert use of military strategy
during the attack — which becomes known as the Battle of the
Cowshed — and is later awarded a medal. Snowball also comes up with
the idea of building a windmill to produce electricity. He
represents the historical figure of Leon Trotsky. Like Trotsky, who
was exiled from Russia by his former partner Stalin, Snowball is
eventually run off the farm by Napoleon. After he is gone, Napoleon
uses him as a scapegoat, blaming him for everything that goes wrong
on the farm. In an allegory of the bloody purge trials that took
place in the Soviet Union during the 1930s, the animals confess to
scheming in various ways with Snowball for the downfall of the
other pigs. Whoever confesses is slaughtered.
"A small, fat pig" known for being a smooth talker, Squealer
reportedly "could turn black into white." He is the propaganda
chief for the pigs, the equivalent of the Soviet party newspaper
Pravda (which means "Truth" in Russian) in Orwell's
allegory. Squealer has an explanation for everything, including why
the pigs need to drink the milk the cows produce, why the
commandments of Animalism seem different, and why the "ambulance"
called to take Boxer to the hospital has a sign for a horse
slaughterer on its side. By the story's end, he is so fat that his
eyes are mere slits. Always on the look out for a new slogan, he
teaches the sheep a new song to explain why the pigs are suddenly
walking on their hind legs. Like any good propaganda boss, he is
able to not only explain the present, he is also an expert at
rewriting the past. He makes the animals believe, for example, that
Snowball never had received the order of "Animal Hero, First
Class." But, of course, he had.
Mr. Whymper
An attorney, Mr. Whymper handles negotiations between the pigs
and the outside world. He represents an intermediary between
warring countries who is only too happy to do what is expedient
without thinking about whether it is right.
Media Adaptations
Animal Farm was adapted as a film by John Halas and Joy
Batchelor and released in 1955.
Animal Farm was also adapted by Nelson Slade Bond for a
play of the same title, Samuel French, 1964.
Language and Meaning
In Animal Farm, his allegory of the Soviet Revolution,
Orwell examines the use of language and the subversion of the
meaning of words by showing how the powerful manipulate words for
their own benefit. As a journalist, Orwell knew the power of words
to serve whichever side the writer backed. In the novel, Snowball
is a quick talker who can always explain his way out of any
situation. When the birds object to the maxim, "Four legs good, two
legs bad," that the pig teaches the sheep, he explains that the
bird's wing "is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation. It
should therefore be regarded as a leg." The birds do not really
understand this explanation, but they accept it. Orwell
particularly comments on the abuse of language with his character
Squealer, "a brilliant talker," who acts as an unofficial head of
propaganda for the pigs. Like Joseph Goebbels, who bore the title
of Nazi party minister of propaganda and national enlightenment
during World War II, Squealer "could turn black into white." This
is also reminiscent of the official newspaper of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union, Pravda, which was often used to
rewrite the past. (Ironically, its title means "Truth.") When a bad
winter forces a reduction in food rations to the animals, Squealer
calls it a "readjustment." In a totalitarian state, language can be
used to change even the past. Squealer explains to the animals
"that Snowball had never — as many of them had believed hitherto —
received the order of 'Animal Hero, First Class.'"
God and Religion
In the novel religion is represented by Moses, the tame raven.
The clergy is presented as a privileged class tolerated by those in
power because of their ability to placate the masses with promises
of rewards in the afterlife for suffering endured on Earth. Moses
is afforded special treatment not available to the other animals.
For example, he is the only animal not present at the meeting
called by Old Major as the book opens. Later, the reader is told
the other animals hate the raven because he
in fact, the pigs give him a daily ration of beer. Like Lenin, who
proclaimed religion was the opiate of the people, Orwell sees
organized religion as another corruptible institution which serves
to keep the masses tranquil. Moses preaches "the existence of a
mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals
" in that distant land "it was Sunday seven
days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump
sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges."
Human Rights
In Animal Farm, Orwell comments on those who corrupt the
idea of human rights by showing how the animals deal with the issue
of equality. In chapter one, Old Major interrupts his speech
appealing to the animals for a Rebellion against the humans by
asking for a vote on whether "wild creatures, such as rats and
rabbits" should be included in the statement "All animals are
comrades." Although at this point, the animals vote to accept the
rats, later distinctions between different types of animals become
so commonplace that the seventh commandment of Animalism is
officially changed to read, "All animals are equal, but some are
more equal than others." A number of societies have historically
"voted" that portions of their populations were not equal because
of their faith, their skin color, or their ancestry.
Class Conflict
Orwell saw firsthand how being a member of a lower class singled
him out for abuse at St. Cyprian's, a school which attracted most
of its students from the British upper class. He had also seen how
the British ruling class in Burma had abused the native population.
In Animal Farm the animals begin by proclaiming the equality
of all animals. The classless society soon becomes divided as
preferential treatment is given to the pigs. First, they alone are
allowed to consume the milk and the apples which Squealer claims
they do not really want to take, but must to preserve their
strength. Later, the other animals are told that they must "stand
aside" if they meet a pig coming down a path and that all pigs had
"the privilege of wearing green ribbons on their tails on Sundays."
By this time, not even an explanation from S
the hierarchy in the society is wellestablished. A pointed remark
by Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood, who represents Great Britain in
Orwell's satire, puts the author's distaste for classes in
perspective. When Mr. Pilkington and other farmers meet with
Napoleon in the novel's last scene, Pilkington chokes with
amusement as he says to the pigs, "If you have your lower animals
to contend with, we have our lower classes." Orwell knew that with
power came the abuse of power and only a vigilant citizenry could
prevent such abuses.
Orwell uses Animal Farm to express his deeply held
political convictions. He stated in his 1946 essay, "Why I Write,"
"every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been
written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and
for Democratic socialism." Although the novel is written in
direct response to his bitter disappointment that the Russian
Revolution, instead of establishing a people's republic,
established an essentially totalitarian state, its continued
relevance is possible because his criticism stands against any and
all totalitarian regimes. The only protection the average citizen
has against a similar tyranny developing in his own country is his
refusal to blindly follow the crowd (like the sheep), the
repudiation of all spurious explanations by propaganda sources
(like Squealer), and diligent attention to all government activity,
instead of faithfully following those in power (like Boxer).
Truth and Falsehood
In the novel, the animals are often forced to examine the
meaning of truth in their society. Again and again, truth becomes
simply what Snowball, and later Squealer, tells them. Any questions
about past events that do not seem to match the pigs' version of
those events are either discounted or explained away. For example,
when some of the animals are executed after they confess to various
crimes against Napoleon, some of those left alive remember that the
Sixth Commandment of Animalism was "No animal shall kill any other
animal." When Clover asks Muriel to read the commandment, however,
it is discovered that it reads, "No animal shall kill any other
animal without cause." "Somehow or other," the narrator
comments, "the last two words had slipped out of the animals'
memory." Similarly, when the pigs get into a case of whiskey and
get drunk, Muriel looks up at the barn wall where the Seven
Commandments had been written and sees that the Fifth Commandment
reads, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess. " She
thinks the animals must have forgotten the last two words of this
commandment as well. She comes to believe that the original event
of the writing of the commandments on the wall did not happen the
way she and other animals remember it. With this theme Orwell
challenges the Soviet state's — and any totalitarian state's —
method of controlling public opinion by manipulating the truth and,
in particular, rewriting history.
Topics for Further Study
Research a current political scandal on the state, local, or
national level, or one from the past (such as Watergate or Tammany
Hall). Develop a brief animal allegory of the main figures
involved, using some of the same animals found in Orwell's
Using examples from classic animal fables, report on how
Orwell's novel conforms and/or deviates from features found in
those you've investigated.
Analyze how Squealer manipulates language to get the animals to
go along with him, then watch the evening news or read periodicals
to find similar uses of language in speeches or press releases from
contemporary politicians.
Point of View
The third person point of view traditionally used for fables and
fairy tales is the one Orwell chooses for Animal Farm, his
tale of an animal rebellion against humans in which the pigs become
the powerful elite. The storyteller in this case, as is also
typical of the fable, tells the reader only what is needed to
follow the story and the bare minimum about each character, without
overt commentary. Orwell focuses on the bewilderment of the simple
beasts — the horses, birds, and sheep — in the face of their
manipulation by the pigs, eliciting sympathy from the reader.
Animal Farm takes place at an unspecified time on a
British farm near Willingdon, a town that is mentioned only in
passing. The farm is first called Manor Farm, later renamed Animal
Farm and, finally, Manor Farm once more. Manor — which can mean the
land overseen by a lord, the house of a lord, or a mansion —
associates the farm with the upper, or ruling, class. Orwell
focuses entirely on activities taking place at the farm, except for
a brief scene in Willingdon when Jones asks his neighbors to help
him. By keeping a narrow focus, Orwell makes the location in
England unimportant.
The narrator in the novel functions as a storyteller, telling a
fable. Orwell gives the fable ironic overtones by using a naive
narrator, one who refuses to comment on events in the novel that
the reader understands to be false. After Muriel tells Clover that
the fourth commandment of Animalism reads, "No animal shall sleep
in a bed with sheets, " the narrator declares: "Curiously
enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment
but as it was there on the wall, it must have
done so." Both the reader and the narrator know the truth of the
matter — that the words of the commandment have been changed — but
the narrator does not admit it. The tension between what the
narrator knows but does not say and what the reader knows is
dramatic irony.
Dramatic Irony
With dramatic irony an audience, or reader, understands the
difference between the truth of a situation and what the characters
know about it, while the characters remain ignorant of the
discrepancy. For instance, Squealer explains that the van in which
Boxer was taken to the hospital formerly belonged to a horse
slaughterer. He further explains that the veterinarian who now uses
it did not have the time to paint over the horse slaughterer's sign
on its side, so the animals should not worry. The narrator says:
"The animals were enormously relieved to hear this." The reader,
who assumed the truth when the van originally appeared to carry the
horse away, feels doubly outraged by Squealer's explanation.
Fairy Tales
The fairy story, or fairy tale, is a type of folk literature
found all over the world. It involves a highly imaginative
narrative told in a simple manner easily understood and enjoyed
even by children. While they do not have a moral, fairy tales
instruct by placing their characters in situations that they have
children who hear the tales can imagine what they
would do in a similar situation. Fairy tales, also, often involve
animals that can talk. Orwell gave his work the subtitle "A Fairy
Story." The reader can surmise that the story told in Animal
Farm is universal, with implications for every culture or
country, and that it will be easily understood. Using "fairy story"
to describe his novel is another bit of irony, because the
political story behind the tale is far from the light entertainment
the term implies.
A work that uses humor to criticize a weakness or defect is
called a satire. The satirist makes whatever he is criticizing look
ridiculous by a variety of methods, often through irony or other
types of biting humor. The satirist hopes to change the behavior he
is satirizing. Orwell ridicules the socalled achievements of the
Russian revolution in a number of ways: by comparing its proponents
to animals, by developing irony through the use of the naive
narrator, and by allowing each animal or group of animals to stand
for one human trait or tendency that he criticizes.
A fable is a short, imaginative narrative, usually with animal
characters, that illustrates a moral. The characters often embody a
specific human trait, like jealousy, to make fun of humans who act
similarly. Orwell uses details to make his animal characters seem
like real animals: the cat vanishes Molly the
mare likes to have her nose stroked. The animals also represent
human traits or characteristics: the pigs are selfish
powergrabbers, the sheep are dim-witted "yes-men," and the horses
are stouthearted workers. Animal Farm, like the traditional
fable, is told in a simple, straightforward style.
In an allegory, characters and events stand for something else.
In this case, the characters in the novel stand for significant
figures in twentieth-century Russian history. Orwell makes the
characters easily identifiable for those who know the historic
parallels, because he gives each one a trait, or has them perform
certain tasks, that are like that of a historical figure. Old Major
is identified with Karl Marx because, just as Old Major develops
the teachings that fuel the Animal Rebellion, Marx formulated the
ideas that spawned the Russian revolution. Napoleon and Snowball,
both pigs, stand for Russian leaders Joseph Stalin and Leon
Trotsky. Stalin and Trotsky had a falling out much like
Napoleon and Snowball do. Events from history — the revolution
itself and the Moscow purge trials of the 1930s — also appear in
allegorical form in the novel.
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