English 2 Accel//Winter Final//Animal Farm Summary

ch. 1

As their leader weakens, the privileged citizens see the chance for revolution. Notice the solidarity and sense of mutual concern among the animals. Yet the seating position of the pigs and dogs hints at the existence of class divisions among the animals, despite their united stance against Mr. Jones. Old Major's ideas mirror the main tenets of socialism: equality and freedom from exploitation. Old Major's words are revolutionary: they are the first time the animals understand that they're slaves to men, but don't have to be. Jones asserts his authority, but he's unaware of the mounting revolution.

ch. 9

Boxer still works harder than everyone else, but his strength begins to wane. He comforts himself with thoughts of retirement. In the first days of Animal Farm, it was decided that a horse could retire at age twelve and receive a pension. A steadfast idealist, Boxer continues to believe in Animalism even though most of its rules and laws have been broken or rewritten by the pigs. In April, the farm is declared a Republic, and an election takes place. Napoleon, the only candidate, wins unanimously. On the same day, it's announced that Snowball fought openly against the animals at the Battle of the Cowshed. With this crucial bit of misinformation about Snowball, the pigs have now completely rewritten Animal Farm's history. Moses the raven suddenly reappears, talking of Sugarcandy Mountain. The pigs say it's all nonsense, but give him an allowance of beer. The pigs use religion just as Jones once did: to make the animals forget their misery. Boxer gave up his freedom without knowing it by trusting the pigs' words instead of analyzing their actions: he allowed them to take power but never held them accountable. By the time he realizes he's been betrayed, Boxer is too weak to do anything about it. In a tragic irony, his strength has been sacrificed to the regime that now sacrifices his life for its own benefit. The pigs' willingness to sell Boxer to a glue producer proves that they view the other animals merely as means to their own profit and luxurious indulgences, such as alcohol. Mr. Jones viewed the animals the same way.

ch. 8

Clover and some other animals remember that the Sixth Commandment forbade killing. But when they get Muriel to read it for them, it says: "No animal shall kill any other animal without cause." The pigs continue to rewrite and corrupt the tenets of Animalism for their own benefit. Now the pigs begin to manipulate facts. The uneducated animals now have no reality they can trust. They trust the pigs just because it's too tiring not too. Napoleon inflates his image through propaganda, making himself bigger than life and all-powerful. Stalin used propaganda similarly to increase his power. Meanwhile, Napoleon's negotiations with Frederick and Pilkington for the wood intensify. Napoleon wavers back and forth between selling the wood to one or the other. Whichever farm falls out of favor in the negotiations is the subject of nasty, and temporary, rumors around Animal Farm. Napoleon at last seems ready to come to a deal with Pilkington, and his mantra of "Death to Humans" is changed to "Death to Frederick!" Napoleon announces a deal to sell the wood to Frederick. (His mantra is changed to "Death to Pilkington!"). The sudden reversal shocks the animals. The pigs explain that Napoleon planned all along to play Pilkington and Frederick against each other to raise the price of the wood. Three days later, Whymper rushes into the farmhouse. The animals hear Napoleon let out a roar of anger. As it turned out, Frederick paid for the timber with fake bills! Napoleon promises Frederick will be killed and warns the animals to brace for the worst. The next morning, Frederick and his men attack. All the men have guns and push the animals back into the barn. The animals watch as the men blow up the windmill. The sight drives the animals into a rage, and they attack. Many animals die, and most, including Boxer, suffer injuries. But they manage to drive Frederick and his men from Animal Farm. About 25-30 million Soviets died while pushing back the Germans. The war annihilated Soviet infrastructure, symbolized in Animal Farm by the destruction of the windmill. Though the animals are tired and bloody, the pigs lead two days of patriotic celebrations of their victory over the men. The animals' spirits rise and the memory of the forged bank notes fades. The pigs honor their citizens' sacrifices to increase the power of the state—the state that forced them to sacrifice in the first place. A few days later, the pigs discover whiskey in the cellar of the farmhouse. There are shouts and revelry that night in the farmhouse. But the next morning the house is silent. When Squealer eventually appears he has awful news: Comrade Napoleon is dying! By evening Napoleon has recovered, and the pigs soon purchase machinery to build a still to produce alcohol. The pigs make a mockery of the animals' sacrifice by indulging in alcohol. They reveal their inexperience (in comparison to the capitalist humans) by failing to distinguish Napoleon's hangover from imminent death. Soon after, a crash in the middle of the night wakes the animals. They see Squealer unconscious on the ground next to a fallen ladder and a bucket of white paint beneath the commandments written on the barn. Benjamin seems to understand what's happened, but refuses to say. Muriel later discovers that she's misremembered the Fifth Commandment. It now reads "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess." The pigs immediately resume rewriting Animalism for their own benefit. The animals are too beaten down and uneducated to realize the pigs' deception even when the evidence makes it obvious. The pigs take power, but the animals let them.

ch. 7

Despite the hard, bitter winter, the animals work to rebuild the windmill, which the humans claim fell because of its thin walls. Though the pigs say the humans' claim is a lie, they make the new windmill's walls three feet thick. The animals trust the pigs' lies rather than the obvious truth because they still believe blindly that "Four legs good, two legs bad!" In January, the farm's food supply runs out. Even though it seems possible the animals could starve, the pigs hide the food trouble from the humans, escorting Mr. Whymper through a storehouse made to appear full of food. Under Stalin's catastrophic Five Year Plan, the USSR suffered famines that killed millions. Stalin covered up the tragedy. Napoleon now issues almost all orders through Squealer, who one day announces that the hens must give up four hundred eggs a week to pay for grain and feed. The hens angrily refuse. Napoleon responds by cutting the hens' rations. He also declares that any animal that feeds the hens will be killed. After five days, during which nine hens starve to death, the hens give in. By tricking the animals into thinking Animalism and Animal Farm are the same, the pigs can kill or punish anyone who disagrees with their orders and claim they're defending Animalism. It's slavery disguised as freedom. At about the same time, Napoleon enters negotiations to sell some wood to either Pilkington or Frederick. Whenever he's close to a deal with Pilkington, rumors circulate that Snowball is hiding at Frederick's farm, and vice versa. In addition, Squealer soon announces that Snowball has been sneaking onto Animal Farm at night: Napoleon can smell him. Squealer tells the animals that Snowball was Jones's "secret agent" from the beginning. He reminds them how Snowball tried to betray them at the Battle of the Cowshed and Napoleon saved the day. The pigs aim to rewrite Animalism and all of Animal Farm history. If they can get the animals to fear Snowball, they can use Snowball to justify their own rule, as they once used Jones. Boxer disagrees. He says he thinks Snowball was loyal at the beginning, even if he later turned traitor. When Squealer responds that Napoleon himself has stated that Snowball was a traitor from the beginning, Boxer changes his mind and says then it must be true. Still, Squealer gives Boxer a dark look and warns the animals to be on the lookout for Snowball's secret agents. Boxer believes so much in Animalism that he believes Napoleon's statement about what happened even over his own memories. But just the fact that he voices his memories at all makes Squealer see him as a threat. Four days later, Napoleon calls for an assembly in the yard. When the animals gather, Napoleon whimpers and his dogs attack Boxer and the four pigs that had questioned Snowball's removal. The pigs are bloodied, but Boxer repels the attack and pins one of the dogs to the ground. Boxer glances at the stunned Napoleon to ask what he should do. Napoleon orders him to let the dog go and then commands the pigs to confess. They confess, and the dogs kill them as traitors to Animal Farm. A series of other animals also confess: all are killed. Then he had them killed. Napoleon considers Boxer an enemy because Boxer remembers the past correctly. And Boxer can't comprehend that Napoleon just attacked him. In the aftermath of the assembly, the animals are miserable, having witnessed the first killings on the farm since Mr. Jones was defeated. Boxer thinks he must work harder to make things better. Clover leads the animals in a sad rendition of "Beasts of England." Squealer soon announces that "Beasts of England" has been forbidden: it was a song of revolution, and the revolution has ended. A pig named Minimus has composed a new song: "Animal Farm, Animal Farm, Never through me shalt thou come to harm." After the purge, Napoleon and his pigs officially kill the revolution by banning the song "Beasts of England." As the new masters of the farm, the pigs fear the ideas in that utopian and idealistic song, and replace it with a propaganda song that defines the state as more important than the individual.

ch. 4

It's late summer and news of the revolution at Animal Farm spreads. Snowball and Napoleon send out flights of pigeons to teach "Beasts of England" to the animals of nearby farms. Soviet Communists also spread propaganda, hoping to make Communism global. Mr. Jones spends his time getting drunk and complaining about his fate. The owners of the farms neighboring Animal Farm, the gentleman farmer Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood and the shrewd Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield, are concerned that the revolution might spread to their own farms. But they dislike each other so much that they can't even agree on defending themselves. Instead, the Frederick and Pilkington spread rumors about the misery of life on Animal Farm. No animals anywhere believe them. "Beasts of England" spreads across England with incredible speed. Pilkington and Frederick symbolize the capitalist Allies and Fascist Germany. These nations feared the rise of Communism because it threatened their own countries: what if their own working classes, inspired by Communism, revolted? But these nations hated and feared each other too much to band together against the Soviet Union. One day in October, pigeons fly into Animal Farm with news that Jones, along with men from Pilkington and Frederick, are headed to attack the farm. Snowball has a defense planned out: he draws the men into an ambush, then leads the charge against the men. Jones scars Snowball with a blast from his shotgun, but Snowball still manages to knock Jones down. Boxer's strength, meanwhile, terrifies the other men. The animals rout the men with just a single casualty: a sheep that Jones shot dead. In 1918, anti-Communist forces (Jones), helped by Western nations (Frederick and Pilkington), attacked the Russian Communists (the animals). After two years of Civil War, in which Trotsky (Snowball) showed great bravery, the Communists defeated the anti-Communists. Boxer is dismayed to learn that one of his kicks seems to have killed a stable boy. To console him, Snowball responds that the only good man is a dead man. Just then the animals realize that Mollie is missing: she hid in the stable throughout the fighting. When they return, it turns out the stable boy was only stunned, and has run off. Unlike Boxer, Snowball thinks the enemies of Animalism deserve death. Napoleon will later kill animals for "opposing" Animalism. It's a small step from Snowball's position to Napoleon's. As the animals bury the sheep, Snowball emphasizes that animals must be willing to die to defend Animal Farm. Snowball and Boxer receive the award of Animal Hero, First Class. They name the battle the "Battle of the Cowshed," and agree that twice each year they'll fire Mr. Jones's gun, which they found lying in the mud, to celebrate both this battle and the anniversary of the revolution. Snowball's position seems noble: the animals should be willing to die for Animal Farm, right? But the implication is that whatever Animal Farm does must always be right, even if it results in the killing of animals..

ch. 2

Old Major dies three nights later, but his message takes hold. The pigs are the smartest of the animals, and over the next three months two pigs in particular emerge as leaders: the lively Snowball and the powerful Napoleon. A third pig, Squealer, gives eloquent speeches that can convince anyone of anything. These three pigs turn Old Major's ideas into a philosophy called Animalism. Like Karl Marx, Old Major dies before the revolution that his ideas inspired takes place. Like Lenin, his leadership is inherited by two underlings. At this point, the pigs believe in Old Major's ideas completely. The pigs teach Animalism to the animals, overcoming the worry, apathy, and selfishness of the others. The pigs understand Animalism, while the less intelligent animals don't. Mollie's ridiculous concerns reflect the middle-class's selfishness materialism. The pigs also have to contend with Moses the raven, who spreads tales of a wonderful place called Sugarcandy Mountain where animals go when they die. Most of the animals dislike Moses because he never does any work, but many also believe in Sugarcandy Mountain. The pigs fear belief in the afterlife might make the animals less revolutionary. Moses symbolizes the Russian Orthodox Church, which the Tsars used to control the lower classes. Boxer and Clover show the most devotion to Animalism. Neither is very smart, but their belief in animal equality never wavers, and they never miss a secret meeting. Though unsophisticated, Boxer and Clover value the essence of Animalism: equality among animals. Orwell describes the animals as a single group, indicating their equality. The tools Jones used to enslave them are destroyed. The renaming of the farm symbolizes their self-mastery, and mirrors the change from Russia to the Soviet Union. Whatever has two legs is an enemy. Whatever has four legs or wings is a friend. No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill any other animal. All animals are equal. The Seven Commandments are the animals' version of a constitution. The public posting of the Commandments seems to ensure that the animals' rights will never be violated again and that corrupt human behavior will be permanently outlawed. Now that Jones is gone, Napoleon's self-interest separates him from the other animals: he wants the milk for himself. And Napoleon, who clearly cares more about himself than about Animalism, realizes he can manipulate the animals' revolutionary spirit to get what he wants. A minute after the Commandments are posted, Napoleon has started to undermine them.

ch. 5

One day, Clover spots Mollie at the boundary of Foxwood letting one of Mr. Pilkington's men stroke her nose. On a hunch, Clover searches Mollie's stall and finds sugar cubes. Mollie denies all of it, but three days later she disappears. Weeks after that, a pigeon spots Mollie pulling a man's cart, with ribbons in her hair. But later in this same chapter the other animals also choose comfortable slavery over less comfortable freedom. In the Sunday meetings, Snowball and Napoleon now argue about everything. The most intense point of disagreement between the two is Snowball's plan to build a windmill. He says the windmill will produce electric power to warm stalls and run electrical tools that will make everyone's life easier. Napoleon, though, argues that the farm should focus on more pressing needs like food production. The animals take sides: some support Snowball's windmill, while others favor Napoleon and food production. Only Benjamin refuses to join sides, observing that no matter who wins, life will go on as it always has—badly. Benjamin believes that in the relationship between individual and state, the individual always ends up oppressed. Snowball finally finishes his plans for the windmill. Snowball's eloquence prevails. The rules of Animal Farm and Animalism state that if Snowball convinces the majority, he wins. But Napoleon isn't playing by Animalist rules. By seizing power and denying the non-pigs' right to vote, Napoleon counters the fundamental idea of Animalism: animal equality. If the animals let Napoleon get away with this act, Animal Farm will no longer be Animalist and the animals' freedom will vanish. Later, Squealer comes around and explains that Napoleon took on the "burden" of leadership and eliminated voting only because he feared that the animals might make the wrong decisions. Squealer also says it was recently discovered that Snowball was a criminal. When the animals say Snowball fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed, Squealer says he thinks Snowball's actions at the battle may have been exaggerated. He adds that bravery is not nearly as important as discipline and obedience. Without those, Jones might return. Squealer manipulates language in citing secret documents and using fear tactics to make it seem like Napoleon is defending freedom when really he's undermining it. Tricky language effectively misleads a poorly educated, frightened, and idealistic population. None of the animals wants Jones back, and Boxer, after heavy thinking, says, "If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right." Boxer thinks that because Animalism is good, Animal Farm must be good. Three weeks later, Napoleon announces that they'll build the windmill after all. Squealer explains: Napoleon opposed the windmill just to get rid of Snowball, who was a bad influence on everyone. The animals accept this explanation, especially since Squealer has the attack dogs with him. After exiling Trotsky, Stalin took many of his ideas. By making Napoleon appear always consistent, Squealers makes him seem all-powerful. Lies backed up by force are hard to resist.

ch. 3

The animals work hard but happily at the harvest. The pigs, the smartest animals, soon start directing the other animals' work. Everyone pitches in, each according to his or her own abilities. The animals have more food and leisure, and they enjoy being their own masters. Though Mollie does tend to disappear when there's work to be done, and Benjamin the donkey remains cynical, refusing to voice an opinion about the revolution. Though most animals are happy, Mollie, the symbol of the materialistic middle class, isn't thrilled with the revolution. Benjamin, a skeptic, refuses to believe the good times will last. On Sundays the animals don't work. Instead, they raise and salute their flag (a hoof and horn on a field of green) and hold a meeting to plan the next week. At the meeting, everyone is allowed to put forward resolutions and vote, but only the pigs ever come up with resolutions. Snowball and Napoleon are the most active debaters, but they almost never agree. The meetings show Animalist equality, but the non-pigs don't use their equal rights. Instead, they let the pigs dominate. So it's not just that the pigs seize power, it's that the other animals let them. Snowball soon starts setting up committees such as the Whiter Wool Committee to improve life on the farm. But only the reading and writing classes generate any interest. Soon Muriel and Benjamin can read as well as the pigs and dogs. Snowball's committees show his commitment to Animalism, but also his political naiveté. Trotsky set up similar committees in the Soviet Union. The sheep can't read or memorize the Seven Commandments. To help them, Snowball summarizes all of Animalism with the single phrase "Four legs good, two legs bad." Soon the sheep start bleating this phrase whenever they feel like it. Snowball's slogan creates a breakdown in language—four legs are good and two legs are bad only if four legs follow Animalism and two legs don't. The mystery of the missing milk is solved when the pigs declare that only they can use all apples and milk on the farm. The other animals grumble, but Squealer explains that the pigs are crucial to the running of the farm and need the milk and apples to stay healthy. If the pigs fail, Squealer says, Mr. Jones will return. The animals agree that the pigs should get the milk and apples. The pigs begin to define themselves as a separate class deserving of special privileges, and use fear tactics and confusing language to convince the other animals the privileges are in the common interest. Even Snowball is willing to sacrifice Animalism for his own self-interest.

ch. 6

To build the windmill and keep the farm running at the same time, the animals have to work like slaves, enduring long hours. The animals make the sacrifice happily, since it's for their own benefit rather than for a human master. Boxer works the longest and hardest. Despite all the effort, the time spent working on the windmill makes the harvest slightly worse than it was the previous year. The pigs' deception has worked. The animals still believe they are free even though they have no freedom at all. The pigs use Animalism to get the animals to sacrifice for the pigs' benefit. The farm suffers shortages of items it can't produce itself, like nails and iron. Napoleon announces Animal Farm will start trading hay, wheat, and possibly even eggs with its neighbors, not for commercial uses, but for the benefit of the windmill. The animals are uneasy because they had agreed never to use money. Napoleon hires a man named Mr. Whymper to represent the farm, while Squealer convinces everyone that no rule ever banned the use of money. To be fair, it's not clear how Animal Farm would get necessary supplies without resorting to trade. But the pigs don't explain the issue and then slightly modify Animalism. Instead, they lie, and use the threat of force to get the other animals to accept the lie. Though the humans outside Animal Farm still hate and fear it, they also develop a grudging respect for the farm's efficiency. Humans start accepting the farm as the pigs act more like humans. Squealer begins to refer to Napoleon as "The Leader" and the pigs move into the farmhouse and begin sleeping in beds. Though Boxer dismisses the change by saying "Napoleon is always right," Clover is certain that the Commandments ban beds. She gets Muriel to read her the Fourth Commandment, but they discover that they seem to have misremembered it. It says: "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets." Note the pigs' manipulation of language to increase their power and luxury. They take more privileges for themselves and justify those privileges by secretly rewriting the Commandments of Animalism. By October the animals grow tired. Since the farm had to sell some food for money, the winter promises to be bad. The windmill is now half-finished, which pleases everyone (except Benjamin). By manipulating Animalism rather than overthrowing it, the pigs exploit the animals without angering them. One night in November, a terrible storm knocks down the windmill. The animals are horrified. Napoleon sniffs around the rubble. He looks worried and his tail wiggles as if he's thinking fast. Suddenly Napoleon shouts "SNOWBALL!" He announces that Snowball destroyed the windmill. The animals are shocked and furious that Snowball could do such a thing. Napoleon vows they will start rebuilding the windmill that very day. The destruction of the windmill shocks Napoleon: he fears the animals might question his authority now. To save himself, he cleverly shifts the blame to Snowball. Stalin demonized the exiled Trotsky in a similar way.

ch. 10

Years go by. Only Clover, Benjamin, Moses the raven, and some of the pigs remember the revolution. Animal Farm is more prosperous than ever. The windmill is finished, though instead of producing electricity it's used to mill flour, and brings in a hefty profit. Although the farm is richer, only the pigs and dogs seem better off. Still, the animals can't remember any other way of life, and even those that don't remember the revolution are proud to be free. The pigs rule Animal Farm as masters, just as Mr. Jones once did. However, they control language and thought on their farm so completely that their animals still consider themselves free citizens. One day Squealer brings the sheep out to a distant field with him and keeps them there for a week. Just after the sheep return, Clover lets out a terrified neigh: Squealer is walking on two legs! All the pigs then walk out of the farmhouse on two legs. Napoleon appears last, carrying a whip. The pigs' power is so complete that they now feel free to act exactly like humans. Napoleon's whip is a symbol of oppression. The animals are silent and seem poised to protest. Just then the sheep begin to bleat "Four legs good, two legs better!" over and over, and the prospect of protest passes. Once again the animals don't take their chance to rebel. The pig's propaganda overpowers them. Clover asks Benjamin to read the Seven Commandments to her. But the wall now only reads, "All Animals Are Equal. But Some Are More Equal Than Others." Animalism has been entirely rewritten to benefit the pigs. It now reads like nonsense. The next day, all the pigs start carrying whips and wearing clothes. A week later, they invite humans from nearby farms to look around and stay for dinner at Animal Farm. That night, the animals, led by Clover, sneak up and watch the pigs and humans through the window. Pilkington and Napoleon toast each other. Pilkington says he's pleased to have their history of mistrust behind them. He expresses admiration that the pigs can feed their animals so little yet get so much work out of them. He adds that pigs and men have similar problems: pigs have lower animals to deal with, while men have lower classes. The pigs, who once wanted to kill all humans, now seek friendly relations with nearby farmers. Animal Farm suggests that all totalitarian governments are fundamentally the same because their leaders share one goal: to maintain their own power by oppressing and exploiting individuals in particular and the lower classes in general. Napoleon agrees wholeheartedly with Pilkington, and announces plans to eliminate all signs of Animal Farm's revolutionary past, including its name. From now on it will be called by its original and proper name: Manor Farm. The similarity of all totalitarian governments is represented by the changing of the farm's name back to its original name. The men and pigs return to a game of poker and the farm animals turn to leave, but a shout from within stops them. Napoleon and Pilkington have discovered each other cheating at cards. A fight has broken out. In the chaos, the animals can't tell the pigs from the humans. In their petty greed, the Animalist and Capitalist leaders are indistinguishable. The animals are back where they started: enslaved by oppressive leaders.