Animal Farm Chapters 1-3 Summary

Animal Farm is an allegorical, dystopian, and satirical novella written by George Orwell and
published in 1945. The literal story features a group of animals on a farm that rise up in rebellion against
their human master, Mr. Jones, only to find themselves continuing to have issues with power struggles
and abuses of power.

In the opening chapter, we are introduced to Manor Farm, where the drunken farmer Mr. Jones has
shut the animals in for the night. Once he is safely in bed, the animals all spring to life to meet in the
main farm building, where Old Major, a large old boar, has asked them to gather to hear about a strange
dream he had the previous night. When all of the animals have assembled, Old Major tells them he
doesn't expect to be alive much longer, and he wishes to pass on his wisdom before he dies. Old Major
goes on to describe how all of the animals in England live miserable lives, enslaved by humans and
forced to work for no reward until they are eventually slaughtered, but that the animals continue this
way because humans are in control of the goods produced by the their labour. He suggests that
rebellion against humans, whenever the opportunity should arise, is the only way for the animals to be
free from being abused and controlled. Old Major says that even when humans are conquered, no
animal should act like a human by sleeping in a bed, wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, or using money
to engage in trade. At the end of his speech, Old Major suggests a vote as to whether wild creatures,
such as rats and rabbits, are considered comrades. The majority vote that rats are indeed comrades,
and Old Major describes his strange dream of the earth when humans have vanished, and sings a song
called "Beasts Of England". All of the animals joyfully take up the song, making so much noise they
waken Mr. Jones who shoots his gun into the night, which sends all of the animals fearfully back to
sleep.

Chapter two opens with the news that Old Major dies in his sleep three nights after his rousing
speech. The rest of the animals do what they can to prepare for the rebellion, with the pigs assuming
roles as leaders, particularly Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer, who develop old Major's teachings
into a system of thought called Animalism.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jones has fallen on hard times, and spends most of the day drinking while his men
do a poor job of the farm work. One day they neglect to feed the animals, prompting the cows to break
into the store shed, where all of the animals then gather to eat. When Mr. Jones and his men come to
whip the animals into submission, they fight back, chasing all of the humans out of the farm and barring
the gate behind them.

Suddenly liberated, the animals go about destroying symbols of their oppression, but decide that
the farmhouse itself will remain untouched as a museum, and that no animal shall live in it. Snowball
and Napoleon organize the rest of the animals, and since they have been learning to read and write
over the past few months, they re-paint the Manor Farm sign to read 'Animal Farm', and paint their
seven commandments of Animalism on the wall. To make the commandments more simply
remembered, Snowball teaches the animals the phrase "four legs good, two legs bad". Before the
animals get to work harvesting, the cows are milked. While most of the animals express interest in the
milk, Napoleon tells them it will be dealt with later, and after the harvest, the milk has disappeared.

Chapter three describes how the animals all work to perform different tasks in the harvest, and
together they do a far better job than the humans ever have. Assuming the role of leaders, the pigs do
not actually work, but direct and supervise the others. Most of the animals work happily throughout the
day, although Mollie the horse often leaves work early, the cat disappears when there is work to be
done, and Benjamin the donkey continues on as before, doing his work but never volunteering for extra.
The animals have a weekly meeting in which the pigs put forth resolutions to be voted on, during which
Snowball and Napoleon always disagree with each other. Snowball spends time organizing the other
animals into committees, while Napoleon feels the education of the young is most important, and
personally oversees the raising of puppies that are born after the rebellion.

In the fall, it is discovered by the animals that the missing milk along with extra fallen apples are
being given only to the pigs. Squealer explains this by saying it is scientifically proven that milk and
apples are necessary for the well-being of pigs, who are the brain-workers, and that if the pigs fail in
their duty, Jones will come back to rule the farm. All agreeing that they don't want Jones back, the rest
of the animals consent to the milk and apples will be reserved for the pigs alone.
Animal Farm Chapters 4-7 Summary
Chapter four opens with an update on the world outside of Animal Farm. News of the rebellion has
spread across England, along with the singing of Beasts of England. The song quickly spreads, and
soon animals all over the country are acting in rebellious ways and heard singing the song, which
makes people fearful of a larger animal rebellion.

Mr. Jones spends most of his time drinking and complaining to other farmers about the injustice he
has suffered, and eventually Jones and his men, along with some from the neighbouring farms of
Foxwood and Pinchfield make an attempt to recapture the farm. Being warned of this, Snowball quickly
puts into place defensive measures, and when the men arrive, the animals defeat them in a several
pronged ambush. During the battle, Jones fires his gun, grazing Snowball and killing one of the sheep.
Boxer the horse believes he has killed a man, and feels remorse, but later it is discovered the man was
only stunned and managed to escape. After all is settled, the animals have a ceremony, and name this
day the Battle of the Cowshed.

After the Battle of the Cowshed, Mollie, who hid in her stable during the battle, is seen to exhibit
strange behaviour. She's always avoiding work, and Clover is sure she saw Mollie standing near the
fence letting a man stroke her nose. When Mollie's stall is inspected, sugar and ribbons are found
stashed away, and days later Mollie disappears from the farm to go live as a pampered and obedient
animal.

During the winter, Snowball and Napoleon's disagreements come to a head. Snowball wants the
animals to build a windmill that will reduce their work and provide electrical power in the future, while
Napoleon believes they should focus their efforts on increasing food production. At the meeting where
this decision will be put to vote, Snowball speaks eloquently about how his plans for the windmill will
provide electricity and running water for the farm. Once Snowball is finished, Napoleon lets out a sound
that signals a pack of huge dogs to come in and chase Snowball away, who barely escapes with his
life. The rest of the animals realize these are the puppies Napoleon took away to raise on his own, and
they now obey him the way the other dogs used to obey Jones.

Napoleon uses Squealer to convince the other animals that Snowball was a dangerous criminal,
and declares that weekly meetings will no longer occur, and future decisions will be settled by a special
committee of pigs. Napoleon reveals several weeks later that the animals will indeed go ahead with
building the windmill.

The animals begin construction on the windmill, which is very difficult work, and causes some other
areas of the farm to suffer. A need also begins to arise for items the animals can't make, and this causes
Napoleon to declare that they will engage in trade with the neighbouring farms, by the sale of hay,
wheat, and eggs. When a man named Whymper begins visiting the farm to trade with Napoleon, the
animals seem to recall making resolutions against trade and dealing with humans, but Squealer assures
them they are remembering incorrectly, or that these were lies circulated by Snowball. Another sudden
change comes when the pigs move into the farmhouse and being sleeping in beds, which the other
animals also seem to remember a resolution against. Squealer reasons this away by saying they would
never sleep in beds with sheets, but beds without are no different than the hay in their stalls.

In autumn, when the windmill is partially built, a violent storm passes through, and the following
morning the windmill is in ruins. Napoleon immediately blames the destruction on Snowball, and
pronounces a death sentence upon Snowball, with a reward to any animal who captures him.
 Through the winter, the animals work hard to rebuild the windmill, and suffer through food shortages.
Aware that the outside world is watching, Napoleon uses tricks to make the farm seem to have an
abundance of food when Whymper comes to trade. In order to buy more grain, it is decreed more eggs
must be sold, and when the hens angrily protest, their rations are withheld, resulting in nine deaths.

Rumours circulate that Snowball is visiting the farm at night, and soon anything wrong is blamed on
Snowball's nighttime mischief and sabotage. Eventually Squealer announces that evidence has been
found proving Snowball was in league with Jones since the rebellion. Remembering Snowball fighting
bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed, the other animals express disbelief, especially Boxer, but Squealer
spins a story that Napoleon was in fact the hero of the battle.

Several days later, Napoleon orders an assembly and has his dogs kill four pigs who have been
vocally opposed to him in the past. He then demands confessions out of any other guilty animals, and
many confess their sins against the farm - which they say Snowball urged them to do - and are executed
on the spot. After this slaughter, the remaining animals are disheartened, and slink away to sleep
together. Boxer does not understand what is happening, but decides that the solution must be to work
even harder than before. While the animals sadly sing Beasts of England, they are visited by Squealer
who declares the song abolished, as it is no longer needed.
Animal Farm Chapters 8-10 Summary
Following Napoleon's series of frightening executions, some of the animals recall the Sixth
Commandment saying that no animal should kill another. When they go to read the commandments, it
says "no animal shall kill any other animal without cause", making it one of several that they seem to
have remembered incorrectly.

The animals continue labouring heavily to complete the windmill, and Napoleon is seen less and
less, mostly issuing orders through Squealer. As Animal Farm is in possession of a pile of timber that
both neighbouring farmers, Frederick and Pilkington, wish to buy, Napoleon busies himself with
negotiating the sale. The animals all have a deep hatred of Frederick, who is said to be horribly cruel
to his animals. When Napoleon shocks the animals by announcing he has sold the timber to Frederick,
Pilkington is newly vilified in his place. The five pound notes that Frederick has paid are meant to be
used to purchase machinery for the newly finished windmill, but they are discovered to be fake. On the
heels of this betrayal, Frederick and his men come to attack Animal Farm, and use their guns to force
the animals to hide in the farm buildings. The men then use blasting powder to destroy the windmill,
which enrages the animals so much they run from their hideout and attack the men, eventually forcing
them to retreat.

After the battle, the animals are exhausted and injured, and several have died in battle. The pigs
declare this will be called the Battle of the Windmill, and a new decoration is created and awarded to
Napoleon.

A few days later, the pigs find a case of whisky in the farmhouse, and spend a night drinking
raucously, appearing in very poor shape the next day. Squealer announces that Napoleon is dying, but
he seems to be miraculously recovered by the next evening. Soon after, the pigs research brewing and
distilling, and formulate plans to sow barley. Following this new development, Squealer is discovered
with a can of paint near where the Commandments are painted, and what the animals thought had read
"No animal shall drink alcohol", actually says: "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess".

The animals set to work on construction of the windmill once again, with Boxer continuing to work
hard despite the warnings of Clover and Benjamin to take care of himself. Boxer intends to work until
his twelfth birthday when he is set to retire. Rations are reduced over the winter for all animals except
the pigs and dogs, and four litters of pigs are born, resulting in even more mouths to feed. While the
other animals continue to have their rations reduced and work expectations increased, the pigs brew
beer that becomes part of only their daily rations. When Animal Farm is proclaimed a Republic,
Napoleon is unanimously elected President, and new information is spread that further vilifies
Snowball's past actions, while giving additional credit to Napoleon. Moses the raven returns to the farm
after several years away, and preaches to the animals about Sugarcandy Mountain. Despite the pigs'
insistence they don't believe what Moses says, they strangely choose to keep him safe and fed.

After continuing to work as hard as ever, Boxer is found collapsed one day, and the pigs arrange to
have him treated by the veterinarian in town. When a wagon comes to take Boxer, Benjamin is able to
read that the wagon is for a horse slaughterer. The other animals chase after the wagon to alert Boxer,
but he is too weak to escape, and they are unable to catch up. Days later, Squealer announces that he
was present when Boxer died in the hospital, and that the wagon had only been previously owned by
a horse slaughterer. The other animals are relieved to hear this, and happy to know that Squealer was
with Boxer when he passed away. Napoleon declares that a memorial banquet will be held in Boxer's
honour, but on the day of the banquet, another case of whisky is delivered to the farmhouse, and the
pigs spend the evening drinking.

Years pass, and the original rebellion becomes a distant memory that only Clover, Benjamin, Moses,
and some of the pigs were alive during. Clover and Benjamin have passed retirement age, but no
animal is ever granted retirement, and they all continue to work. The farm is prosperous, but only the
pigs and dogs seem to benefit from this. The windmill, finally completed, is being used to mill corn
instead of provide electrical light and hot water for the animals.

Despite their lives never having improved, the animals all retain a sense of hope for the future, and
honour at being part of Animal Farm. Squealer has the sheep spend an entire week on the far end of
the farm under the guise that he is teaching them a new song. After the sheep return, Squealer and the
other pigs begin walking on their hind legs, while the sheep unveil their new chant, "four legs good, two
legs better". This prompts Benjamin and Clover to go re-read the Seven Commandments, which they
are sure forbids walking on two legs, but they have been painted over with the message: ALL ANIMALS
ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS. After this day, the pigs are
all seen carrying whips, and Napoleon begins smoking a pipe and wearing Jones' clothes.

In the novel's final scene, a group of neighbouring farmers have been invited to tour Animal Farm,
and they are very impressed with what they see. In the evening the men and pigs convene in the
farmhouse, and the other animals sneak over to watch through the windows. Pausing from a game of
cards, Pilkington makes a toast to Animal Farm, where the lower animals do more work and receive
less food than any other farm in the country. In response, Napoleon makes a speech where he declares
many old customs will be suppressed, and that Animal Farm is to be known as Manor Farm once again.

As the pigs and men resume their card game, the animals watching see a change in the faces of
the pigs. They begin to creep away from the farmhouse, but are stopped by the sounds of an argument
inside the house, caused by Napoleon and Pilkington both playing an ace of spades. Watching on, the
other animals see that the men and pigs are now indistinguishable from one another.