Kennon McClendon

Claim: Napoleon and Squealer manipulate the other animals and slowly create a totalitarianism style of
government.
"Childrens Authors Share Their Favorite Childhood Books." Publishers Weekly 262.49 (2015): 6-11. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
Page 6 I saw it as an allegory of the schoolyard: all the deep friendships, dubious allegiances, bullying, arbitrary
rule making, and power games that adults, preoccupied with their own lofty social politics, rarely witness in the
world of lunchtime recess, much less understand.
RODDEN, JOHN. "How Orwell Became "A FAMOUS AUTHOR." Midwest Quarterly 56.1 (2014): 26-45.
Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
Page 31 We discover at the end of the story that this little man with the grandiose fantasies is none other than
Monsieur BonaparteNapoleon Bonaparte. His fantasies about what he would do if in power remain just
that. For people are content with the way things are at present: the early eighteenth century in France is an era of
relative calm. This is the period immediately before the rise of the French
May, Charles E. "Animal Farm." Masterplots II: British & Commonwealth Fiction Series (1987): 1-3. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 23 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. Rather than as the result of a conscious and prearranged effort, the
rebellion, when it comes a few months later, develops as a result of hunger and neglect caused by Mr. Jones.
The animals break into the food shed and drive the farmer and his wife off the land. Immediately thereafter, in a
series of acts of comradeship, the animals change the name of the farm from Manor Farm to Animal Farm and
list Seven Commandments on the barn wall, which the pigs have developed from the teachings of old Major.
Basically, the Commandments suggest that whatever is human is an enemy, that whatever is animal is a friend,
and that all animals are equal. 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 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 for example, that Snowballs part in the Battle of the Cowshed was
exaggerated, that Napoleon had never really opposed the windmill, and that in fact Snowball was a traitor.
Furthermore, under Napoleons regime, the original Seven Commandments are gradually altered and reduced to
suit the specific desires of the ruling pigs.
No Page Soon Napoleon enters into agreements with humans for trade on the farm; works the animals endlessly
to build the windmill; engages in the same kinds of vices, such as drinking and greed, of which Mr. Jones was
guilty; and in general rules the animals even more harshly than did their oppressor before the revolution.
Snowball, even though he is never seen again, is used as a scapegoat who is responsible for all animal

hardships. Any attempt to disobey Napoleon is met with violent retaliation; some animals, in an act of mass
hallucination, even admit that they are responsible for working with the phantom Snowball and are promptly
slaughtered by Napoleons fierce dogs. 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.
Pearce, Robert. "Animal Farm." History Today 55.8 (n.d.): 47-53. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016
Page 19 Many parallels between Russian history and the revolution at Manor Farm are unmistakable. Clearly
Old Major represents Marx, Napoleon is Stalin, Snowball is Trotsky, Pilkington is Britain, Frederick Germany,
the dogs are the OGPU/NKVD. The battle of the cowshed represents the Allied invasion of 1918, the battle of
the windmill is the Nazi invasion of 1941, while the windmill itself represents the Five Year Plans. Orwell had
merely changed the chronological order of events, to meet the needs of symmetry of plot. There are far more
parallels than most readers realise, and another score could be specified. When in chapter eight Orwell wrote
that, during the battle of the windmill, 'all the animals, except Napoleon, flung themselves flat on their bellies'
he had changed an earlier proof version ('all the animals including Napoleon') because he had received reliable
information, from Joseph Czapaski, ironically a Polish survivor of the Gulag, that Stalin bravely stayed in
Moscow during the German advance.
Page 19 The problem here is simply that Orwell had to spell out the moral, for, as he wrote in the introduction
to the Ukrainian edition, if the book 'does not speak for itself, it is a failure'. The overwhelming majority of
readers carry away from Animal Farm the conviction that the animals, except the pigs, are innocent dupes. The
corruption of the revolution is so gradual and insidious that it seems inevitable. In particular Boxer, the
Stakhanovite carthorse, is universally regarded as the book's hero, a character whose pathos has led him to be
seen as an equine Little Nell. Are we supposed to condemn him for failing to stand up to Napoleon? The fact is
that he simply does not have the brains to do so. Orwell pointed to his unintelligence many times, and even gave
him a 'somewhat stupid appearance'. In the play he adapted from the book, broadcast in January 1947, Orwell
made this prosaically clear. 'I am not good at thinking things out for myself,' states the hapless Boxer; 'The pigs
are cleverest My brain is not good.' If the intellectually inferior animals were supposed to control the selfevidently superior pigs, then surely there was no hope for a successful socialist revolution.
Page 19 No doubt Orwell could have written an unambiguous propagandist pamphlet. Yet we should be grateful
that instead he wrote a work of art, something which by its very nature is open to divergent interpretations.
Animal Farm is a superb but ambiguous satire on a particular revolution. It is also a more general allegory, into
which human imagination will continue to breathe life in unexpected ways. In present-day Asia, for instance,
Animal Farm is considered one of Orwell's 'Burmese books'. In 2001 a serialization by an opposition newspaper
in Zimbabwe, the Daily News, had illustrations of Napoleon wearing Robert Mugabe's unmistakable black
spectacles.
Welsh, James M. "Animal Farm." MagillS Guide To Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature (1996): 1-2. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Page 20 Major draws up Seven Commandments of Animalism to govern the newly named Animal Farm,
stipulating that whoever goes on two legs is our enemy, that all animals are equal, and that they shall not
wear clothes, sleep in beds, drink alcohol, or kill any other animal. The pigs quickly assume a supervisory

position to run the farm, and two of them, Snowball and Napoleon, become leaders after the death of old Major.
Factions develop, and Napoleon conspires against Snowball after the animals defeat an attempt by Mr. Jones
and the neighboring farmers to recover the farm at the Battle of the Cowshed. Snowball is a brilliant debater and
a visionary who wants to modernize the farm by building a windmill that will provide electrification. Two
parties are formed, supporting Snowball and the three-day week and Napoleon and the full manger.
Meanwhile, the pigs reserve special privileges for themselves, such as consuming milk and apples that are not
shared with the others
Page 20 The animals are led by the teachings of old Major, whose historical counterpart is Karl Marx.
Snowball, the theoretician, represents Leon Trotsky, and it is Snowball who organizes the rebellion against
Farmer Jones, who represents capitalism. Another swine, Napoleon, representing Joseph Stalin, discredits
Snowball with the help of his propagandist, Squealer. Napoleon organizes a counterrevolution with the help of
his guard dogs (the state police or palace guards, in terms of the allegory) and drives Snowball into exile (as
happened with Trotsky), then plays one neighbor, Frederick (Hitler), against the other, Pilkington (a
Churchillian Tory), paralleling the events of World War II.
Page 21 Napoleon raises nine pups to become his guard dogs. After they have grown, his palace guard drives
Snowball into exile, clearing the way for Napoleons dictatorship. Napoleon simplifies the Seven
Commandments into one slogan: Four legs good, two legs bad. With the help of Squealer, his propagandist,
Napoleon discredits Snowballs bravery and leadership in the Battle of the Cowshed and claims as his own the
scheme to build a windmill. Every subsequent misfortune is then blamed on Snowball.

Page22 Thereafter, the animals work like slaves, with Napoleon as the tyrant in charge. Gradually the pigs take
on more human traits and move into the farmhouse. Before long, they begin sleeping in beds and consuming
alcohol. 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.
Page22 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. Working to rebuild the
windmill, the brave workhorse Boxer collapses. He is sent heartlessly to the glue factory by Napoleon, who
could have allowed Boxer simply to retire. All the principles of the rebellion eventually are corrupted and
overturned. Finally, the pigs begin to walk on their hind legs, and all the Seven Commandments ultimately are
reduced to a single one: All Animals Are Equal, but Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others. The pigs
become indistinguishable from the men who own the neighboring farms, and the animals are no better off than
they were under human control.
Brockington, Jr., William S. "Animal Farm." Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series (1991): 1-2.
Literary
Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

No Page Many of the animals, especially Boxer, continue to work hard; but it becomes more difficult to accept
the new regime. The all-powerful Napoleon carries a whip, the symbol of human oppression, as his badge of
authority. Propaganda also makes Napoleon into the only hope for the animals in their fight against human
outsiders. Indeed, after the Battle of the Windmill, in which Animal Farm is attacked by humans who are driven
off by the courage of the animals, Napoleon is made to appear as the primary reason for the victory.
No Page Little goes well for the masses. The animals work more for less, and the pigs enjoy the fruits of the
labors. Animal Farm becomes Manor Farm with merely a new name and new masters. When the hardestworking animal, Boxer, can no longer perform, he is sold to the glue factory. The animals have been deceived,
but because of their naivete, they have accepted their status. 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. Sadly, only the pigs are prosperous, and their prosperity has come at the expense of
the other animals. The revised slogan reflects this reality: All Animals Are Equal, but Some Animals Are More
Equal than Others.
No page In the beginning, a communal attitude toward decision making is adopted. Animals like Boxer, a
hardworking and loyal draft horse, are the very backbone of the new society. The slogan All Animals Are
Equal is to be the motto of Animal Farm. Despite the slogan, the pigs gradually develop into a new ruling
class, as their abilities of organizing and controlling are recognized as superior by the others. With the death of
Old Major, the leaders of this rebellion are the idealistic Snowball and the pragmatic Napoleon. Before
Snowball can become too successful, the cynical Napoleon eliminates him as an opponent. Napoleon uses his
personal bodyguard of nine vicious dogs to attack Snowball, and Snowball barely escapes from Animal Farm
with his life. Napoleon then adopts Snowballs ideas, calling them his own. Through distortion and propaganda,
Snowball becomes the enemy. Napoleon becomes the dictator of Animal Farm. Under Napoleon, the commune
is no longer permitted to discuss or to debate; it must simply follow orders. Squealer, the propagandist,
constantly rewrites history to reflect new realities. The dogs enforce the orders of the pig ruling class, which
increasingly takes on the characteristics of the humans whom the animals have overthrown.
No Page A major theme of Animal Farm is the failure of the dream of a utopia for the inhabitants of Animal
Farm. In Western civilization, the failure of the utopian dream is as old as the story of the Garden of Eden in the
Bible. Orwell meant for his novel to show not only that utopian dreams are unrealistic but also that those who
blindly accept them will be manipulated and controlled by cynics willing to betray the dream. The dream in this
case is a good life for the animals. The method to the dream is, however, far too simplistic. The first slogans,
All Animals Are Equal and Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad, emphasize this simplicity. From the beginning,
not all animals are equal, and the pigs quickly become the new rulers. Worse yet, the pigs just as quickly subvert
the revolution for their own benefit. Orwell demonstrates that the trusting naif will soon become the pawn of
those who are more equal than others. The Boxers of the world will always be the dupes and pawns of the
Napoleons. Orwells second major theme is his fear of the all-powerful state with its expedient life. In Animal
Farm, Napoleon is certainly the most equal of all. He is cynical, brutal, and above all pragmatic. Once in power,
he will do whatever is necessary to keep his position. The propaganda and lies, the whip, and the vicious dogs
are all part of the corruption of the dream. Ultimately, the animals have even less than before; and the new
ruling class looks and acts like Mr. Jones and his men. Indeed, at the end of the novel, Animal Farm is renamed
Manor Farm, and the practices that meant so much during the early revolutionary period have been abolished. A
dictatorship has been established; the dream is dead.

No Page Animal Farm itself was an allegory of the history of the Soviet Union since the Bolshevik Revolution
of 1917. Each of the characters in Animal Farm has a counterpart in history. Old Major is not a specific person,
but an amalgam of socialist theorists whose theories had often been subverted by the callous. Snowball
represented Leon Trotsky; Napoleon, Joseph Stalin; the dogs, the secret police; Squealer, the expedient lie; and
Boxer, the loyal worker. Just as the Russian Revolution had broken out spontaneously with the result of hunger
and suffering during World War I, so did the Rebellion on Manor Farm. Sadly, the new Soviet state/Animal
Farm that began as a dream quickly became, in the hands of evil men like Stalin/Napoleon, repressive and
brutal. To Orwell, the totalitarianism of the Communists was no better than the absolutism of the czars.To view
Animal Farm as merely a recapitulation of history, however, does not do Orwell justice. Although the story and
setting are rooted in reality, the message of the story is timeless. The dream of a good life corrupted by the
greedy and the hypocritical is an age-old story, one that humankind has often witnessed. Of the novels for which
he is best remembered, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), are both metaphors of a society
perverted and subverted by the Stalins of history. Orwell himself had no solution for the problems of human
weaknesses. In none of his fiction was there a happy ending. He could only warn and remind through satire
and allegory.While Animal Farm may be enjoyed by readers from virtually any age group, its underlying themes
are comprehensible only if there is an awareness of history by the reader. Orwells warnings about
totalitarianism of any form may best be appreciated by the young adult who also maintains an awareness about
contemporary world history.
Beatty, Greg. "Animal Farm." Cyclopedia Of Literary Places (2003): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb.
2016.
Page 4 Sugarcandy Mountain Sugarcandy Mountain. Imaginary utopia in the preachings of Moses, the raven.
Sugarcandy Mountain is animal heaven. Moses is useful to Jones because he preaches a dream beyond this life
and keeps the animals pacified, but Moses leaves when the animals actually try to establish a utopia on earth. At
the end of the book, he is not only back, but actively supported by the pigs. This indicates that the idea of
heaven is threatening to real revolutionaries, but that tyrants find it useful for their subjects to have another
realm about which to dream.
Whalen-Bridge, John. "Animal Farm." Cyclopedia Of Literary Characters, Revised Third Edition (1998): 1.
Literary
Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Page32 Snowball Snowball, a young boar whose chief rival is Napoleon. Snowball is modeled on Leon Trotsky
and so represents intelligence and organizational ability rather than brute force. It is Snowball, for example, who
writes the Seven Commandments on the barnyard wall, who has the idea of building the windmill, and who
studies the books left behind by Mr. Jones to see what practical benefit he can extract from them. Like Trotsky,
Snowball is exiled after the revolution and is falsely made out to be the chief villain of Animal Farm. Napoleon
Napoleon, a young boar who ousts Snowball and assumes complete power over the other animals. While
Snowball is studying human science, Napoleon trains a litter of dogs to become his secret police force.
Napoleon corresponds to Joseph Stalin, who ousted Trotsky after the death of Lenin and who then led bloody
purges against possible and imagined dissenters. Squealer Squealer, also a young boar. Squealer is the most
clever with language and is Napoleons propagandist and chief misinformation officer. He is said to be able to
turn black into white, meaning that he can convince most animals of things that are patently false.

"Animal Farm." Recommended Reading: 500 Classics Reviewed (1995): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23
Feb. 2016.
With the pigs responsible for all intellectual efforts, they soon become the master class and take on mans
privileges, justifying everything through the propaganda of the pig Squealer. Napoleon establishes a personality
cult around himself and becomes the leader, ordering all activities. The animals lives move back into the
pattern of the time before the revolution. This novel can be seen simply as a satire on the Soviet Union and its
betrayal of the ideals of socialism, but it is more than that. Orwell makes the animals revolt a symbol for any
modern revolution. The rise of a ruling class of intellectual workers, the development of a leader figure, the use
of scapegoats, and, above all, the rewriting of history and the misuse of language for party purposes, all figure
in this satire. The use of multiple historical references gives a universal quality to this work. Orwell appears to
be saying that any revolutionary movement is self-defeating. This is a bleak picture, but the novel asks the
reader to make his own decision.
Peters, Michael. "`Animal Farm' Fifty Years On." Contemporary Review 267.1555 (1995): 90. Literary
Reference
Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No Page Orwell was very clear about his intentions in writing the book. During the Spanish Civil War, he had
seen the effects of the repressions and deceptions of Stalinism at first hand. He wished to open people's eyes to
the reality of the Soviet regime 'in a story that could be easily understood by almost anyone', even when that
regime had become an ally to Britain and the USA in the fight against German fascism. Such an exposure was
essential, Orwell believed, if a true and democratic form of socialism was to be created. Working in London,
first as a BBC journalist, and then as the literary editor of Tribune, Animal Farm was written whilst the bombs
dropped; one bomb even damaged the manuscript when it fell on the street where Orwell and his wife lived.
Certainly the process by which the book saw the light of day was a tortuous one, with publisher after publisher
finding reasons for refusing or delaying publication. For Gollancz, who had first option, and Faber, in the
person of T. S. Eliot, the novel was too much of an attack on Russia, which had suffered so hugely at Stalingrad.
Cape first consulted the Ministry of Information, who were concerned that the Russian leaders would take
offence at their depiction as pigs, before turning the book down.
No Page Whilst Orwell was happy to see his book used to attack the Soviet myth, he did become increasingly
worried about the way it was being used by the Right as a means of demonstrating that all revolutionary change
was bound to fail. Picking out as central the moment when the pigs keep apples and milk for themselves, he
makes the point that if 'the other animals had had the sense to put their foot down then it would have been all
right'. Major's dream could have been realised. The masses should be 'alert', ready to 'chuck out their leaders as
soon as they have done their job'. This is rather a different message than that found in the anti-Communist
propaganda which so frequently surrounded, and surrounds, the novel.
Knapp, John V. "George Orwell." Critical Survey Of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-6. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Page 44 The smartest of the animals, the pigs, are aroused by his speech and by the song; they secretly learn to
read and write, developing a philosophical system called animalism (Communism, Bolshevism) whose
principles are taught to all the animals. When Jones forgets one day to feed them (as Russians starved near the

end of their involvement in World War I), the animals revolt spontaneously, driving out Jones, his wife (Russian
nobility), and Moses, the raven (the Russian Orthodox Church). The animals rejoice, feeling a sense of
camaraderie and esprit de corps, and set about to build a new life. The pigs, however, by taking on the
responsibility of organization, also take over certain decision-making processes as well as all the milk and
apples; in fact, Orwell has himself stated that the first sign of corruption, the taking of the cows milk, led to the
inevitable destruction of everything else. Two pigs in particular, Snowball (Leon Trotsky) and Napoleon (Joseph
Stalin), argue constantly, while a third, Squealer (Pravda, Tass) appears more than happy to endorse any course
of action with his adroit use of language and his physical habit of skipping from side to side as he speaks. After
changing the name from Manor Farm to Animal Farm, the pigs paint on the side of the barn the seven
commandments of animalism, the most important being: All animals are equal. Meanwhile, Napoleon has
been privately raising puppies born on the farm after the overthrow of Jones, puppies that develop into savage
attack dogs (secret police, Peoples Commissariat of Internal Affairs, or NKVD); with these, he will one day
drive off the farm all of his personal enemies, especially the brilliant theoretician Snowball. Also soon to be lost
to Animal Farm is Mollie (the bourgeoisie), who shows up at Pilkingtons (the West, England).
Kearney, Anthony. "Orwell's Animal Farm And 1984." Explicator 54.4 (1996): 238. Literary Reference Center.
Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
Page 28 The famous slogan in Animal Farm, "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others,"[1] is
more ambiguous than it has usually been taken to be. The slogan has invariably been read as meaning that some
animals (the pigs) are more equal (are better) than others. If being equal is a good thing, then the more equal
you are the better. This is what we might call the obvious meaning of the slogan, a meaning authorized by
popular usage over half a century and so deeply embedded in everyone's mind that advertisers, among others,
can use it to trigger our desire to be better than everyone else. In the novel 1984, for obvious reasons, the phrase
was used often. "Are you more equal than others?" asked The Welding Journal, "This is your chance to become
one who is more equal than others, more expert in the welding field. . . ."[2] Being "more equal" means
excelling in certain ways and being superior to others, just as the pigs in Animal Farm claim to be more equal
than, and superior to, the other animals.
Byrne, Katharine. "Not All Books Are Created Equal." Commonweal 123.10 (1996): 14. Literary Reference
Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No Page If you were in high school at any time since the 1950s, you probably read Animal Farm, a story of the
revolt of Farmer Jones's livestock against their brutal, drunken owner. The venerable boar, Old Major, is the
philosopher of the revolution. His ringing words to the clandestine assemblage of animals remind them that
their lives are "miserable, laborious, and short," with no share in the fruits of their labor. While ascribing all
their troubles to "man," his speech ends with the warning: "Above all, no animal must ever tyrannize over his
own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. All animals are equal." The barnyard is roused
to revolution. Led by the pigs, the animals rout Jones and take possession; "Jones's Manor" is now called
"Animal Farm." Morale is high. Victory is sweet for the liberated animals but also brief. At first they gambol in
joy at the prospect of living out their lives in dignity, sharing in the prosperity their labor produces. Each works
hard to sustain the revolution.
No Page But then, inexorably, methodically, equality and freedom are stripped away as the pigs, under
Napoleon, a ruler as brutal as Jones was, develop a ruling elite that abrogates all privilege to itself at the
expense of the "lower" animals. (The wily pigs explain that they really don't like the milk that they refuse to

share with the other animals; they drink it only to keep up their strength so that they can pursue the welfare of
all.) Lies and terror now rule "Animal Farm." In the ultimate reversal of Old Major's words, "all animals are
created equal, but some animals are more equal than others." One form of repression has been replaced by
another. In the end, the wretched animals are looking in the window at an economic summit between Men and
Pigs, "Looking from pig to man, and from man to pig they observe that there is no difference between them."
Pearson, John. "George Orwell." George Orwell (2005): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
No Page Orwell's next book, the satirical allegory "Animal Farm" (1945), took direct aim at Stalins takeover of
the fledgling Soviet Union in the 1920s. Approximately 160 pages long, the book at first glance looks and reads
like a childs fable. But soon after the animals take control of Manor Farm from their human owner, espousing
high ideals for a more fair and just life, their leader, a pig named Napoleon (standing in for Stalin) is corrupted
by power. He drives out his rival Snowball (as Stalin exiled Trotsky), and eventually makes a pact with the
farmer to again enslave the animals. Revolutionary commandments for animal equality are edited to justify the
pigs luxury and comfort at the expense of the other animals.
No Page The books obvious condemnation of the Soviet Union made it difficult for Orwell to find a
sympathetic publisher among his left-leaning literary employers. As he was looking for a publisher in 1945 he
returned to writing as a war correspondent, this time for the "Observer" and "The Manchester Evening News."
While he was away from home, his wife died after a botched anesthetic procedure during a routine operation.
The couple had just adopted a son, Richard Horatio Blair, the year before.When "Animal Farm" was finally
published, it was a commercial success in both Europe and the United States. Orwell used the proceeds from the
book to buy a farm in a remote location in the Scottish Hebrides.
Newsinger, John. "Reviews." Europe-Asia Studies 48.7 (n.d.): 1264. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb.
2016.
Page 91 Is Animal Farm really a reactionary novel that rejects revolutionary change? It is difficult to see how
this interpretation can be sustained when we consider the Major's tremendous indictment of capitalism and call
for revolution at the start of the book. All this clearly has authorial endorsement. There is absolutely no doubt
whatsoever that Orwell's sympathies are with the working class (the farm animals) in their revolutionary
overthrow of Farmer Jones and establishment of a workers' state (Animal Farm). What follows is the story of
the betrayal of the Russian Revolution and rise of Stalinism, of a new privileged class, told as fable. The chosen
form of the novel inevitably involves simplification but the extent to which this compromises its socialist
politics is most debatable. His portrayal of the farm animals as so easily fooled by Napoleon and the pigs is the
book's weakest spot; indeed, in much of Orwell's writing he stumbles over the question of working-class
consciousness. Nevertheless, despite this important weakness, the two crucial elements of the book are its
support for the overthrow of Farmer Jones and its indictment of the revolution's betrayal by the pigs. Once again
it has to be emphasised that as far as Orwell was concerned the pigs had become as bad as, indistinguishable
from, not worse than, the humans. The famous last scene where the farm animals look in through the window
and can no longer tell them apart was a satire of the Tehran Conference involving Stalin and his Western Allies.