Preview

Animal Farm: Plot Summary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
615 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Animal Farm: Plot Summary
-------------------------------------------------
Animal Farm: Plot Summary
‹ Previous PageNext Page ›
Manor Farm is a small farm in England run by the harsh and often drunk Mr. Jones. One night, a boar named Old Major gathers all the animals of Manor Farm together. Knowing that he will soon die, Old Major gives a speech in which he reveals to the animals that men cause all the misery that animals endure. Old Major says that all animals are equal and urges them to join together to rebel. He teaches them a revolutionary song called "Beasts of England." Old Major dies soon after, but two pigs named Snowball andNapoleon adapt his ideas into the philosophy of Animalism. Three months later, the animals defeat Jones in an unplanned uprising. The farm is renamed "Animal Farm."
The ingenuity of the pigs, the immense strength of a horse named Boxer, and the absence of parasitical humans makes Animal Farm prosperous. The animals post the Seven Commandments of Animalism on the side of the barn. The commandments state that all animals are equal and no animal may act like a human by sleeping in a bed, walking on two legs, killing other animals, drinking alcohol, and so on.
A fight for power soon develops between the two pigs Snowball and Napoleon. The rivalry comes to a head over Snowball's idea to build a windmill. At the final debate about the windmill, Napoleon summonsdogs he has secretly reared to be his own vicious servants and has them chase Snowball from Animal Farm. Napoleon tells the other animals that Snowball was a "bad influence," eliminates the animals' right to vote, and takes "the burden" of leadership on himself. He sends around a pig named Squealer, who persuades the animals that Napoleon has their best interests at heart.
Three weeks later Napoleon decides they should build the windmill after all. The animals set to work, with Boxer leading. Focusing on the windmill reduces the productivity of the farm, and all the animals but the pigs get less to eat.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Animal Farm is the account of a fictional farm under the tyrannical ownership of Farmer Jones. The animals reach breaking point, and start a revolution against the tyranny of man. The revolution starts off to better the situation and the animals are happy with what they have. But over time, the pigs become most powerful animals on the farm. They turn the farm from a free democratic state into a communist state. The pigs then state that “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. As the book is actually a satirical commentary, it has a direct analogy to society. In Animal Farm’s case, it is the…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Major dies the two younger pigs starting to share his philosophy known as Animalism. The two younger pigs Napoleon and Snowball eventually become the leaders of the farm as major once was. The two pigs engage in a rebellion against the owner of the farm Mr. Jones and other workers soon after the farm is renamed animal farm and seven commandments are made up on the side of the barn. The more important of the commandments is ‘All animals are equal’ and ‘four legs good, two legs bad.’ The farm is running efficiently until Napoleon becomes power hungry and asserts himself as the leader of the farm.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The pigs slowly started to do the same things that Mr. Jones did. They took all the milk because they felt they needed it more. They list Seven Commandments on the barn wall, which the pigs have developed from the teachings of old Major. 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. Napoleon trains young puppies, which he took from their mother at birth, to grow into fierce mean enforcers. Napoleon then later uses these enforcers to get rid of Snowball so he alone can dictate the farm. Then we have Squealer, another pig who convinces the animals that the pigs deserve certain special privileges because they work harder than the rest of the animals.…

    • 580 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the Animal Farm, once known as the Manor farm, Napoleon, the pig self-established leader, argues that Snowball is the real evil, an animal turned against his comrades, a criminal. Napoleon claims that it was all Snowball from the start, every wicked deed done was his fault and puts a reward out for his capture. The claims Napoleon makes are supported by Squealer, a fellow pig in his league, by first saying that that Snowball had not fought bravely at The Battle of Cowshed, though he had, and that bravery is not of much importance anyway. Several other incidents are brought up against Snowball such as the windmill and every other problem on the farm. And hence, Napoleon has succeeded in his purpose, using words and lies to to take control…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He says that once they finish it that they will have may modern luxuries. Snowball says that it will be hard work but that when they are done it will pay off. Napoleon strongly opposes the windmill and tries to deter any animals from voting for it. When it is almost time for the animals to vote, and almost all animals are planning to vote for Snowball, Napoleon lets out a high pitched squeal and summons up his nine personal bodyguards. They are nine huge vicious dogs and he commands them to case Snowball off the farm. Later Napoleon reveals that they will proceed with building the windmill and that they will no longer have Sunday meetings and that he will make all the decisions. That night when the animals get over their initial shock over what happened, they begin to question why Napoleon ran Snowball off the farm and why they are still building the windmill, Squealer comes to the rescue. He says that the windmill had been Napoleon’s idea from the very start and that Snowball had stolen it from him saying that it was his own. Squealer then goes as far to say that Snowball was a traitor and that he was conspiring with the humans against the other animals. He also says that napoleon does not want to make all the decisions, but that he takes the extra labor so that the animals do not have to…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Old Major, a prize-winning boar, gathers the animals of the Manor Farm for a meeting in the big barn. He tells them of a dream he has had in which all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He tells the animals that they must work toward such a paradise and teaches them a song called “Beasts of England,” in which his dream vision is lyrically described. The animals greet Major’s vision with great enthusiasm. When he dies only three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Late one night, the animals manage to defeat the farmer Mr. Jones in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm and dedicate themselves to achieving Major’s dream. The cart-horse Boxer devotes himself to the cause with particular zeal, committing his great strength to the prosperity of the farm and adopting as a personal maxim the affirmation “I will work harder.”…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    them that the source of all their problems is man, and that they must remove…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Snowball was also one of the leaders of the pigs, however was betrayed by Napoleon later. He was a lot more diligent than Napoleon but he lacked more depth in character and personality. Snowball, who represents Leon Trotsky, is a gradual politician and targets to advance Animal Farm with a windmill and other technological improvements, but Napoleon expels him before he can do so. In his absence, Snowball comes to characterize a conceptual idea of evil. The animals blame hardships on him, including the windmill’s destruction, and amuse the idea that he is waiting on one of the close farms, scheming revenge. Napoleon uses the animals’ fear of Snowball to create new excitement and changes…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Boxer would never have gotten himself wounded in the first place if it wasn't for Napoleon forcing hard and unfair work upon the animals. The pigs do none of this work themselves, and instead they make up excuses as to why they cannot perform the…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Three days later, Old Major dies in his sleep. The other animals start planning Old Major’s plan and they formulate the ideas of a philosophy called Animalism. Mollie is worried that she won’t be able to wear ribbons and have sugar in the utopian society, and Snowball tells her that ribbons are a form slavery and they will be abolished. Moses, a raven, tells all the animals that there is a place called Sugarcandy Mountain. The pigs try to convince everyone that it doesn’t exist, but they are still intrigued by the idea. The rebellion starts quickly and Mr. Jones is driven to drink after losing money in a lawsuit. His men become lazy and dishonest. Mr. Jones forgets to feed the animals and the cows break into the shed to eat. Mr. Jones and his men find out and whip the cows. In their anger, the animals attack the men and the men flee from the farm. Happy with their success, the animals get rid of any evidence of the humans being there. They…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    animal farm

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The first thing that the animals changed about the farm is the name. They changed the name of the farm from Manor farm, to Animal farm. They all learn the song "beasts of England" that Old major had taught them before the rebellion. They have also made up 7 commandments that all animals on the farm must live by. They use the phrase "four legs good, two legs bad," to remember the 7 commandments. They use this because not all animals on the farm can read, but sense the rebellion a lot of them have learned, or have learned few letters of the alphabet. The pigs can read and write perfectly. They have made the majority of animals to believe that they are the most intelligent animals on the farm, so they should be in charge. Instead of Mr. Jones telling the animals what to do, the pigs make the decisions. All the animals are happy because they get to live their lives without the humans. The animals work for the pigs without questioning their authority. They are happy because the pigs watch as the hard working animals (like boxer for example) does all the work. Boxer now believes that Napoleon is always right, so he does whatever he wishes. Some animals decide to leave the farm (Molly for example), but most animals have stayed loyal to the farm and put forward a lot of hard work and dedication.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Collapse of Animal Farm

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages

    <br>Animalism had a great effect on Animal Farm. In the beginning of the novel, all the animals cared only for one thing. The defeat of Mr. Jones, and the equality of each animal. After Mr. Jones was finally defeated, and the animals were on their own, the Seven Commandments, (similar to the Ten Commandments) were established. The Seven Commandments were to be the principles of Animalism, an unalterable law by which all animals must live by. The pigs, Snowball and Napoleon along with the other animals, decided to inscribe the commandments on the wall, in large white lettering, so that they never be forgotten. These commandments were established for the good of each animal, to maintain order and a peaceful life on the farm. Old Major, the prized middle white boar, taught Animalism and the commandments. He was the leader of the animal's rebellion. Old Major was the one who led the way for the animals, and taught them exactly what Animalism meant. He clearly states this in the speech he gave, a few days before his death. "Among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The animals will have an opposite view from the higher class of “Animalism.” Napoleon gains the minds of the animals through metaphors. Before Napoleon kicked Snowball out of Animal Farm, the whole farm looked up to Snowball, because he was smart in his words and in his ideas. Even after kicking Snowball out, the animals still could not fathom Snowball turning against them. Squealer changes their views of Snowball, telling them that he was a traitor from the very start. Snowball had knocked down their windmill, he tells them. The animals are frightened of Snowball being some kind of “invisible influence.” Because of this rhetoric device, the animals’ views on Snowball changed throughout the book. The pigs succeeded through this propaganda. Soon, Snowball was thought of as an outsider and nothing more than that.…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Firstly, the pigs controls and manages the Animal Farm well by creating a set of rules and jobs for each animals. For example, the Seven Commandments is a list of rule that is design by Napoleon and Snowball, the pigs. In this way, these rules help control animals’ behavior, to prevent the animals doing something rashly. In addition, the pigs set a list of jobs to each animals to and are responsible to them. These are like in human society, where there are law that everyone must obey in every country, otherwise they will get punish. Also, each humans has to go to work and do their job.…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Summary: The Moore Farm of 20th century England is an ordinary farm where life for everyone seems fairly normal. But, what the humans don’t realize is that the farm animals meet together in secret to conspire against them, because they believe they are being taken advantage of and treated like slaves. The animals eventually rally together and run all of the humans off the farm and begin to run it by themselves, renaming it “Animal Farm”. Life for them is great, even better than it was when the humans were in charge. Two pigs named Snowball and Napoleon establish themselves as leaders and help to assign the different animals jobs around the farm. As years pass however, the two pigs begin to disagree on how they should treat the animals and this leads to them turning against each other. Napoleon, the smarter of the two, gathers together a small army of dogs he brainwashed to only follow him and orders them to run Snowball off the farm, in addition to kill any of the animals who don’t agree to submit to him as their new dictator. Ironically, this story ends with life for the animals becoming worse than it was when humans were in charge and they wish for things to be back to the way they were years earlier.…

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics