Summary of contents

The story takes place at a farm with similar climate as Soviet.

We meet the “evil” farmer Mr. Jones and the animals at the farm, first led by the oldest and wisest animal, the pig called Old Major. The animals are driven too hard and are given too little food by the farmer, who has started drinking. They are planning a revolt against the “capitalist reign” (Mr. Jones) who is taking their harvest and controlling the income. A big meeting is being held in the main barn after Mr. Jones has gone to sleep and Old Major holds a speech that makes the animals realize the time for change has come. In this speech, he also states that “All animals are equal”, and they should all stay together to achieve equality. After Old Major’s death, the animals, now led by Snowball (another pig) chases Mr. Jones away and claim the farm for their own. Mr. Jones tries to retaliate but is struck back once more, confirming their victory. The animals now make seven rules that apply to all the animals on the farm.

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.

3. No animal shall wear clothes.

4. No animal shall sleep in beds.

5. No animal shall drink alcohol.

6. No animal shall kill another animal.

7. All animals are equal.

The animals now start producing on their own and are achieving better results than Mr. Jones had. They all work for the common good (Communism), and for a year the farm flourishes and brings wealth to the animals. One of the animals however, the big boned pig Napoleon, found and raised a pack of dogs to help him seize power over Animal farm. He claims that their current leader, Snowball, is allied with Mr. Jones and wants to bring him back to the farm. He is successful in sending Snowball away from the farm and also in killing him. Now, with his new military government (the dogs being the soldiers), Napoleon re-writes the rules to fit his needs and uses force to strike down anyone who disagrees with him. He is changing the main rule of Animal farm, “All animals are equal” to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. Napoleon are becoming more and more disliked by the animals, as he is starting to remind them of old days, distributing low rations and commanding long work hours. After the strongest of the animals, a horse called Boxer, is injured and sent to the glue factory, his faithful companion Benjamin ( a donkey) is starting his plan to bring down the new reign.