BreShona Sereal

Claim: While Snowball and Napoleon but heads most of the time, their intelligence comes
together in order to make the farm better living place for the animals.
Pearce, Robert. "Animal Farm." History Today 55.8 (n.d.): 47-53. Literary Reference Center.
Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
No page: The pigs were far more intelligent than the other animals and the best qualified to run
the farm, so what was really needed 'was not more communism but more public-spirited pigs'

May, Charles E. "Animal Farm." Masterplots II: British & Commonwealth Fiction Series (1987):
1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
No page: The pigs, the cleverest of the animals on the farm, develop Majors teachings into a
coherent system which they call Animalism and which they secretly teach to the rest of the
animals in preparation for the revolution which the Major has foretold
No page: The first indication that all are not equal, however, occurs when the pigs set
themselves up as the leaders and take for themselves the milk usually mixed with the animals
mash.
No page: The rest of the novel is structured around the positive action of the animals attempt to
be self-sufficient and the negative action of the gradual attainment of preferential power by the
pigs.
No page: When Mr. Jones and some of his friends attempt a recapture of Animal Farm, the
animals rebuff their enemies, decorate Snowball as Animal Hero, First Class, and
commemorate the event as the Battle of the Cowshed. Soon afterward, Snowball develops his
most ambitious plan: the building of a windmill so that the animals can have electrical power.
No page: The most insidious part of Napoleons campaign for gaining complete power is his
manipulation of the past. With the help of the rhetoric of Squealer and the fierceness of the dogs,
he convinces the animals that past events are not as they remember them
No page: Furthermore, under Napoleons regime, the original Seven Commandments are
gradually altered and reduced to suit the specific desires of the ruling pigs.
No page: At the end of the novel, the original Seven Commandments have been reduced to one,
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others, and when the pigs meet
with several human farmers to work out a trade agreement, the other animals who look in at their
meeting cannot really tell the difference between the men and the pigs.
Welsh, James M. "Animal Farm." MagillS Guide To Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature
(1996): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

No page: Snowball is a brilliant debater and a visionary who wants to modernize the farm by
building a windmill that will provide electrification
No page: Napoleon organizes a purge, sets his dogs on four dissenting pigs who question his
command, and has them bear false witness against the absent Snowball. He then has the dogs kill
them, violating one of the Seven Commandments, which are slyly emended to cover the
contingencies of Napoleons rule and his desires for creature comforts.
No page: Eventually, Napoleon enters into a political pact with one neighboring farmer,
Pilkington, against the other, Frederick, whose men invade Animal Farm with guns and blow up
the windmill.
Brockington, Jr., William S. "Animal Farm." Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction
Series (1991): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
No page: By the end of Animal Farm, the pigs walk upright and are indistinguishable from
humans. When neighboring farmers visit Animal Farm to see the prosperity, they are amazed at
the success.
Fitzpatrick, Kathleen. "An overview of Animal Farm." Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale,
2016. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No page: Napoleon and Snowball, the pigs who are primarily responsible for this elaboration of
ideas into doctrine, represent Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, respectively. Some of the novel's
details slip a bit from a strict representation of reality, as Orwell found it necessary to compress
some events and change some chronologies in order to make his story work.
No page: For instance, Snowball's original plans for building the windmill correspond to
Lenin's plans for the electrification of Russia; however, though this plan was not the point on
which the Stalin/Trotsky conflict turned, the ultimate result was the same as that between
Napoleon and Snowball: Trotsky was driven from the country under a death warrant; he was
reported to be hiding in various enemy states; he was held responsible for everything that went
wrong under the Stalinist regime; and, ultimately, his supporters were violently purged from the
ranks of the Communist Party.
No page: These lines are crucial to a full understanding of the novel. Orwell does not claim here
that Napoleon/Stalin is worse than the humans, and thus that the animals would be better off
under benign human control.
Robb, Paul H. "Animal Farm: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L.
Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb.
2016.

No page: Old Major uses a Hobbesian figure when he declares: ``Let us face it, our lives are
miserable, laborious, and short.'' And he also speaks in Marxist terms when he declares that Man
is the problem. ``
No page: Hypocrisies are numerous, for special privileges for the pigs are decreed and then
justified through Squealer's Doublespeak. And revisions of the Seven Commandments are
continually made to suit Napoleon's personal wishes.
No page: At the end of the novel the common animals realize what they have never been able to
understand: the pigs are the same as their human masters were. Instead of gaining freedom they
have only exchanged one set of masters for another
No page: The vision with which they began has been corrupted. They have experienced a kind
of rite of passage to sad knowledgeevents have come full circle and the common animals now
know the irony of expectations.
No page: The Rebellion comes sooner than had been expected and the successful animals join
together with a will to build the New Jerusalem. And to symbolize the new day the name of the
farm is changed from Manor Farm to Animal Farm.
No page: Orwell's fable illuminates his satirical theme: man's vulnerability to man's greed for
power. His allegory is a clear statement verified by history.
"Overview: Animal Farm." Characters in 20th-Century Literature. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Detroit:
Gale, 1990. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No page: Significantly, the pigs establish themselves as leaders over their more docile and
brutish counterparts, the sheep, horses, and dogs. These masses are cleverly subjugated through
Squealer's doubletalk and kept content, initially, by their share in the benefits that follow from
increased labor.
No page: Snowball assumes primary control of the collective and institutes various
organizational and educational reforms. However, when he presents an impressive plan for
construction of a windmill to provide electrical power, Napoleon, with the aid of dogs he has
secretly trained, overthrows his fellow pig and assumes absolute dictatorship.
No page: He rewrites the history of the animals so that Snowball is made a traitor and he also
revises the Commandments to support greater privileges for the pigs. Gradually the pigs come to
resemble the humans whom they once despised. By the close of the fable, the Seven
Commandments have been reduced to the single maxim: All animals are equal, but some
animals are more equal than others.
No page: Nevertheless, most critics concur that the basic plot of the novel closely parallels
events in the Soviet Union. Snowball and Napoleon represent Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin,
even to Snowball's eventual ouster of Napoleon. The Squealer represents the official Soviet news
agency Pravda. The simple and hardworking cart-horses and the anonymous sheep stand for

whole classes of people whose uncomprehending complicity aids the tyrants who pervert the
revolutionary ideal of equality to establish themselves as the ruling elite. Only the Major, who
represents Karl Marx and his original doctrine of socialism, escapes Orwell's satirical
indictment.
"Overview: Animal Farm." Characters in Young Adult Literature. John T Gillespie and Corinne
J. Naden. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No page: Animalism and its Seven Commandments take over. Dogs, sheep, and horses are kept
in line by the pigs, who justify their power with misleading rhetoric. When Snowball assumes
leadership and sets up a plan for the construction of a windmill that will give the farm electrical
power, he is overthrown by the pig Napoleon with the help of some dogs he has trained.
No page: Napoleon revises the Seven Commandments in order to give greater privileges to the
pigs. Pretty soon, the pigs are much like the humans they despised in the first place. The allegory
ends with the maxim that all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
With the revolution betrayed, a dictatorship develops, a bright vision dims, and the pressure of
the status quo represses any new ideas that threaten to change it.
No page: A twelve-year-old prize white boar, Major is a visionary who believes in the
possibility of a better society than the one in which the animals now live, and the animals respect
him enough to listen to him.
No page: Major expounds upon his vision that the animals would be better off and in better
health without humans, who are essentially unproductive. He feels the animals would have more
dignity and be more productive themselves if they lived on their own without being ordered
about by humans. There is a beauty and simplicity in Major's vision. The animals will avoid the
vices of humans and without having to give living space and food to humans they will live in
more comfort, dignity, and honor.
No page: Two of the pigs take charge of putting Major's vision into reality. One is Snowball,
who is in tune with the Major's beliefs. With the other leader pig, Napoleon, Snowball takes
charge of sorting out the details of Major's vision.
No page: He is the perfect complement to Major because he is able to organize and put the plan
into practical operation. He sets up classes so that the animals can learn to read and write; he
wants them all to be informed so that they will be better able to manage their lives after the
revolution. Snowball sets up committees to plan the rebellion against Farmer Jones, and he plans
a windmill that will be constructed in order to ease the work of the farm animals. He may be
likened to Leon Trotsky, who was a major force behind the Russian Revolution.
No page: Snowball is not merely a good strategist and organizer, however; he follows through
with his words by putting them into action.

No page: Napoleon is a mean-looking boar who doesn't talk much. His quiet manner makes the
other animals think he has great depth, which he does not, and that Snowball, because he talks
too much, is shallow.
No page: Like Snowball, however, Napoleon does share Major's vision and plan and is willing
to work to see the revolution succeed. The main difference is that Napoleon has his own agenda
for a successful revolution. Whereas Snowball wants good for all, Napoleon concentrates on the
advantages he can gain for himself; and whereas Snowball plans activities out in the open,
Napoleon plots secretly, as when he covertly trains the dogs.
No page: Napoleon may be likened to Stalin, the former despotic ruler of the Soviet Union. He
is ruthless in carrying out his plans for his own betterment. Greed is his overall characteristic, a
motive that never changes throughout the novel. Napoleon becomes better and better at
satisfying his own goals and needs and in duping the other animals into believing that he is doing
it all for them. Each new project that takes all their energy keeps them from questioning whether
their lives are truly improved. Napoleon is a master of propaganda, as was Stalin. And like
Stalin, Napoleon uses ruthless tactics to gain his objectives.
No page: Squealer with his fine voice is the propagandist of the revolution. Whatever Napoleon
wants, Squealer will do. He even revises the Seven Commandments when it suits Napoleon's
aims. As Napoleon's official spokespig, Squealer is so persuasive that he can cleverly turn ideas
and thoughts inside out until the other animals are no longer sure of what is right or even what
has happened. Although Squealer presents a merry posture, he is an argumentative, vindictive
pig. One does not threaten his authority. If one of the animals objects to something Squealer has
said, he merely brings up the threat of Farmer Jones's return.
"Profile: 60th anniversary of Orwell's 'Animal Farm'." Day To Day 17 Aug. 2005. Literature
Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No page: The book is widely seen as depicting the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin.
Old Major represents Karl Marx, the father of communism. Other pigs and dogs, horses, ravens
represent Russian historical figures from Rasputin to Trotsky.
No page: But then a dictatorial pig, Napoleon, takes control, exploiting the other animals,
crushing his opponents, and many animals quickly realize life without humans isn't what they
thought it would be.
No page: By the end of "Animal Farm," the despot Napoleon is walking on two legs, wearing
clothes, cutting deals with humans and eating like--well, like a pig, while his comrades starve.
Ironically, the animals end up worse than they had been.
"Overview: Animal Farm." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen and Kevin Hile. Vol. 3.
Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No page: 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.

No page: 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.
No page: 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.
No page: 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.
No page: 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 and, after Napoleon chases his former friend Snowball off the farm, has countless
animals killed who confess to being Snowball's allies.
No page: 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 attackwhich becomes known as the Battle of the Cowshedand is
later awarded a medal.
No page: Snowball also comes up with the idea of building a windmill to produce electricity.
He represents the historical figure of Leon Trotsky and, like Trotsky who was exiled from Russia
by his former partner Stalin, Snowball is eventually run off the farm by Napoleon.
No page: 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 side of the "ambulance" called to
take Boxer to the hospital has a sign for a horse slaughterer on its side.
"Animal Farm." Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA: MerriamWebster, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No page: The book concerns a group of barnyard animals who overthrow and chase off their
exploitative human masters and set up an egalitarian society of their own. Eventually the
animals' intelligent and power-loving leaders, the pigs, subvert the revolution and form a
dictatorship even more oppressive and heartless than that of their former human masters.

"Overview: Animal Farm." Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and
the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss and George Wilson. Vol. 4: World War II
to the Affluent Fifties (1940-1950s). Detroit: Gale, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23
Feb. 2016.
No page: In Old Major's incendiary speech at the beginning of the novel, he says, Why then do
we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour
is stolen from us by human beings (Animal Farm, p. 4). This is a direct reference to Karl Marx's
notion of estranged labor, which holds that in a capitalistic society, the worker is related to the
product of his labour as to an alien object (Marx in Tucker, p. 72).
No page: The fundamental problem at Animal Farm is the constant rift between its two leaders,
Napoleon and Snowball. When Snowball comes up with the idea of building a windmill, and
therefore improving the quality of life on the farm, Napoleon does everything he can to disparage
it. The day comes to put the matter to a vote. When it appears that Snowball is going to win,
Napoleon calls in a cadre of ferocious dogs that he has raised in secret. The snarling dogs attack
Snowball, who flees for his life and is never seen again on Animal Farm.
No page: In Snowball's absence, Napoleon seizes absolute power, and things begin to
deteriorate at a rapid rate. Snowball is declared a traitor to Animal Farm, and it is announced that
there will be no more debates. Squealer, the propaganda pig, explains that construction of the
windmill will begin as soon as possible, that it only seemed like Napoleon was against the idea,
when in fact he was cunningly rooting out the traitor Snowball.
No page: This incident marks the beginning of a long line of marginal transgressions by
Napoleon and his inner circle of pigs, who incrementally alter the Seven Commandments to suit
their own increasingly humanlike behavior. Squealer's propaganda is used at every turn to divert
the suspicions of the animals.
No page: When a group of pigs take issue with Napoleon's leadership, they are murdered by
Napoleon's dogs. This sets off a series of massacres, in which animals of every kind make one
improbable confession of sedition after another and each is slain on the spot, until the barn is
filled with corpses.
No page: The pigs are feasting and exchanging toasts with other farmers, one of whom
compliments Napoleon on his efficient leadership, as his animals seem to do more work and
receive less food than any animals in the country. Strangely, the faces of the pigs seem to have
changed, and it is now impossible to tell them apart from the humans.
"Snowball." Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster,
1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No page: Fictional character, a pig who is one of the leaders of the revolt in ANIMAL FARM,
George Orwell's allegorical tale about the early history of Soviet Russia. Most critics agree that
Snowball represents Leon Trotsky.