Animal Farm

Published in 1945, Animal Farm by George Orwell (1903-1950) achieved immediate success and remains one of Orwell’s most popular works. A political satire in the guise of a moving and whimsical animal fable, the novella is about a group of farm animals who overthrow their owner, Mr. Jones, and establish animal rule. Although the animals start with high hopes for Animal Farm as a harmonious and just utopia where “all animals are equal” (19), it soon descends into tyranny and despotism under a pig named Napoleon. In the end, the animals’ lives are just as miserable, if not more so, than they had been under Jones, and the farm comes under the joint management of humans and pigs. The revolution has come full circle.

Frequently read in schools and regarded as an English classic, Animal Farm has been adapted twice for the screen, in 1954 as an animated feature and 1999 as a live-action/CGI animated film. This guide uses the edition of Animal Farm published by Harcourt Brace.

Plot Summary

Major, an old boar, stirs up his fellow animals on Manor Farm to revolt against their human masters, pointing out that if human beings were gone, animals would enjoy a happy and free life.