Animal Farm: Plot Summary
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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.