Animal Farm - Handout

Holy Childhood High School
Animal Farm- Production
Animal Farm as an Allegory:

An allegory is similar to a parable, which is a story with a hidden meaning. Characters and
events may be used to convey this message, which may be moral or political. In the case of
Animal Farm, Orwell conveys a deep message of the addictive nature of power and how it has
the potential to be corrupted.
To further reinforce his message, Orwell uses animals as the main characters of the novel. The
use of animals makes the novel a prime example of a fable, which is a story that uses animal
characters to outline a moral. The moral is possibly that one should not abuse the power given
to him/her.
A Political Satire
Satire is a literary device that critiques or ridicules a person or a situation through the use of
humour. This device is often used in social commentary to draw the reader’s attention so that
they can critically analyse the situation that is presented in a non-threatening way.
Animal Farm explores issues of politics, making it a political satire since Orwell uses the text to
highlight how political ideology could be misused in a communist society. It can be argued that
Orwell uses Animal Farm because of its non-threatening nature.
THEMES
Corruption
Is it the power and control that Napoleon gains that corrupts him, or is it his values and
attitude that corrupt his rule of the farm?
Animals are manipulated by Napoleon in the following ways: the milk and apples going
to the pigs; the secret changing of the commandments; stealing the credit for the
windmill plans.
Oppression
Old Major’s speech outlining the oppressive nature of Man; however Man is not the only
oppressor in the novel. The animals (pigs) start to oppress their comrades,
This oppression is deliberate and systematic; planned. For e.g. Napoleon taking away
Jessie and Bluebell’s puppies for rearing. This is a premeditated plan to bolster his
position by creating his own personal army. Why would he need an army at this point
when there is no personal threat to him? Does he plan to oppress the other animals
through force?
Injustice
Justice appears to be blind when it comes to the rights of the animals.
Orwell comments on the fact that the authoritarian political system only focuses on
power and domination, not on the human element or preservation of life. For e.g.
animals are overworked, eggs are demanded from the hens, slaughtering of the animals
after their supposed ‘confessions’
Inequality
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others’; this statement
encapsulates the inequality evident throughout the novel. All the events in the novel
culminate in this one fact. Equality never existed on Animal Farm; rather, it is an illusion
created by the pigs in order to gain control.
The division of animals is alluded to in chapter 2, when the animals are ranked by their
level of literacy. This hints at who is more valued in society and gives rise to the
prominence of the pigs. This equality is dependent on the level of acceptance by the
other animals. Did the animals give away their rights through the docility of their natures?
At no point in the novel do they argue for equal treatment.
Power and Authority/abuse of power
Tyranny and dominance are first displayed by the humans when they exercise their
power over the animals. Jones and his men abuse this power through their careless
approach to looking after the animals. This is more dominance than tyranny; their cold
indifference towards the animals.
The pigs’ abuse of their power and authority is much worse than that of the humans.
There is a level of tyranny experienced by the animals that was not present under
Jones’s rule. This is enforced by Napoleon who shows no compassion when he expels
his opponent,Snowball. He compels Squealer to spread propaganda, change the
commandments to promote his agenda of dominance.
Exploitation
Irony: the exploited become the exploiters.

The pigs would have been bred specifically for slaughter and, as such, their lives would
have been short. One would have thought that because of this, they would be the
champions, fighting against such treatment and fear. However, it is they who work the
animals like slaves, and Napoleon who orchestrates Boxer’s death and who enforces
obedience by squashing the rebellion of the hens.
The animals never reap their retirement life of freedom and bliss, although this was
promised to them.
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES
Point of view
★ The perspective from which a story is told to the reader often influences their
understanding of the plot and the themes the author wants to convey.
★ Animal Farm is told from the third-person perspective which offers the reader a
panoramic view of the multiple layers of plot. The point of view of the novel is
third-person omniscient (all-knowing).
Foreshadowing
★ Abuse of power- foreshadowed by the missing apples and milk, and the changing of the
commandments.
★ Failure to value life- this is foreshadowed by the mass execution, as well as Boxer’s
death.
Irony
★ Orwell employs situational and verbal ironies in his crafting of Animal Farm. Situational
irony is created when the actions of the characters in the story have an opposite impact
to what is expected.
★ The animals rebel and expect to have a free society, but instead find themselves being
oppressed mercilessly by their counterparts. By the end of the novel, the situation on the
farm has come full circle, with the pigs mirroring human beings.
Satire
★ See above
Allusion
Making reference to something or someone without actually naming that thing or person.
Instances of allusion in the novel are:
★ The animals’ Rebellion→ Russian Revolution, 1917

★ Old Major’s speech → Lenin’s inspiration for the Russian Revolution
★ Animalism → Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto
★ Snowball → Leon Trotsky
★ Napoleon → Joseph Stalin
★ Moses → Russian Orthodox Church
Symbolism
➢ Windmill: a symbol of the struggles the farm faces in moving into an
industrialised era.
First proposed by Snowball in the second chapter; it becomes a central feature of a
number of events that propel the plot. It is during a debate about the windmill that
Snowball is expelled from the farm.
It causes the animals a number of hardships: when it is first destroyed by the storm;
when Frederick and his men attempt to destroy it. It could have arguably contributed to
Boxer’s death since his tireless work on the windmill results in the injury that leads to his
death.
All these challenges highlight the fact that the animals are ill-prepared to take on the task
of modernising the farm because of their lack of expertise and limited knowledge. These
challenges are parallels with the Russian society that Orwell is satirising.
➢ The name of the farm

➢ Jones’s rifle
➢ Flag
➢ Old Major’s skull

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Holy Childhood High School

Animal Farm- Production

Animal Farm as an Allegory:

Power and Authority/abuse of power

Irony: the exploited become the exploiters.

★ The animals’ Rebellion→ Russian Revolution, 1917

➢ The name of the farm

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