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Animal Farm - Plot summary

Animal Farm is a novel about a group of animals who take control of the farm they live on.

The animals get fed up of their master, Farmer Jones, so they kick him out. Once they are free of the Jones, life on the farm is good for a while and there is hope for a happier future of less work, better education and more food. However, trouble brews as the pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, fight for the hearts and minds of the other animals on the farm. Napoleon seizes power by force and ends up exploiting the animals just as Farmer Jones had done. The novel ends with the pigs behaving and even dressing like the humans the animals tried to get rid of in the first place.

Social and historical context

Propaganda poster from 1917
Figure caption,
Russian Revolution propaganda poster

Animal Farm was written by George Orwell and published in 1945. This novel is an - even though it is set on a farm and stars a cast of farm animals, it reflects the events of the Russian revolution of 1917.

The animals are all clever representations of Russian politicians, voters and workers. Orwell used the novel to make his opinions on Russian leaders heard.