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ANIMAL FARMContents

Brief summary of the plot02

The plot of

Animal Farm

chapter by chapter 03 A Ready Reference 16 The Characters in

Animal Farm

20 Themes in Animal Farm 28Key Concepts in note form 33Spot the speaker/s and situation/s 35Much more than a fairy story 37 Who was George Orwell? 40 Animal Farm – Examination Practice 43

A Brief Summary of thePlot

Just before he dies, OldMajor, a respected pig onManor Farm stirs theanimals up with hisrevolutionary ideas of rebellion against thetyrant Man.Before long, theineffective farmer, Mr. Jones, is over thrown and expelled from the farm. The animals adoptthe name

Animal Farm.

The animals draw up a set of principles which will guide their new lives:the Seven Commandments.Before long, the pigs emerge as leaders and start to assume minorprivileges over the other animals. The two leading pigs, Snowball andNapoleon, quarrel and Napoleon eventually drives his rival off the farmby force.Despite hardships, the farm makes progress, and the animals embarkon the construction of a windmill which will supposedly ease their lives.Unfortunately, the windmill is destroyed and the animals must startagain. Boxer, the cart-horse, is a tower of strength.Napoleon assumes more and more power, and governs by fear andterror. Opponents are killed. The pigs now enjoy a luxurious style of life, far removed from the hardships of the other animals.Napoleon is cheated by Frederick, a neighbouring farmer, over the saleof some timber. Frederick attacks and destroys the windmill a secondtime. The over-worked Boxer falls ill and is treacherously shipped off to theknacker's by Napoleon.

Over the years, the pigs continue to benefit at the expense of the otheranimals. The Commandments are changed, corrupted and perverted.At the end of the novel,Napoleon and his henchpigs,are discovered drinking andplaying cards with Pilkingtonand other men. Napoleon eventoasts the farm by its old name'Manor Farm'. The bewildered animals whowitness this scene throughthe farmhouse windows arefinally unable to tell thedifference between the pigs and the humans who had previously ruledover them and exploited them.Absolute power has corrupted the pigs - absolutely.

The Plot of

Animal Farm

Chapter by Chapter

Chapter 1 The novel opens with

Mr. Jones

, the proprietor of Manor Farm,lurching across his yard and going off drunk to bed. The animals, afterwaiting for his light to go out, assemble in the barn to hear what

OldMajor

, the

prize boar

, has to say to them. We meet the animals onthe farm as they arrive and already know something of their charactersas they settle down to listen. Major has had a dream. He isapproaching death and wishes to communicate to the others thewisdom he has acquired during his long, thoughtful life. This, briefly, iswhat he tells the animals:(a)Animals' lives are 'miserable, laborious and short'; they live atsubsistence level while working to capacity; the moment they cease tobe useful they are cruelly killed; misery and slavery is the fate of allanimals in England.(b)The land can support them but the produce of their labour isstolen by Man; remove Man and the problem is solved.