1. Author’s name: George Orwell

2. Notes on the author, his life, his works and time:
George Orwell (pseudonym of Eric Blair) was born in India in 1903. He studied in England and then served in the Indian Civil police in Burma. After seven years, he was wounded in the Spanish civil war.
He spent the rest of his life in England where he died of tuberculosis in 1950.
His most successful publication besides Animal Farm is Nineteen Eighty-four.

3. Title: Animal Farm (subtitle: A Fairy Story)

4. Published by: Penguin Fiction
Date of publication: 1945
Number of pages: 95
Paperback.
Part of a series of matching novels: no

5. Genre:
A: Novel
B: - Fable
- Satire
C: Account of the choices made under 5A + 5B:
? 5A: it doesn’t belong to any of the other genres.
? 5B:- Fable: a lot of the characters are animals who represent certain people or
groups.
- Satire: ridiculous situations are presented as being normal.

6. Structure of the work:
a. division into: chapters
b. introduction:
? social setting: Manor Farm, owned by Mr. Jones, who exploits the animals.
? geographical setting: A farm somewhere in England.
? historical setting: The story refers to the Russian revolution in the early 20th century.
c. initial incident: The speech by old Major / The revolt of the animals
d. climax: the scene where the other animals can’t see the difference between the pigs and the farmers.

7. Account for the title and/or subtitle, and their relevance to the work:
Title: Animal Farm is the name of the farm after the pigs changed it.
Subtitle: A Fairy Story ? it’s about animals who speak, think, etc.

8. Theme(s) of the work:
Communism will eventually fail

9. Subject-matter:
The beast fable: animals represent certain persons or groups.

10. Characters:
a. Mention the main characters and describe them briefly:
? Major: an old pig who tells the other animals to revolt.
? Mr. Jones; the owner of Manor Farm, until the animals revolt, he’s always drunk.
? Napoleon: A pig, he gradually assumes command of Animal Farm.
? Snowball: A pig, the opponent of Napoleon.
b. Mention the important minor characters and describe them briefly:
? Squeeler: A pig who takes care of Napoleons propaganda.
? Boxer: A horse, the hardest worker of all.
? The dogs: Napoleons elite guard.
? Clover: A mare, a friend of Boxer.
? Benjamin: A donkey, he doesn’t say much.

11. The way the story is told:
Third-person narration.

12. Type(s) of language used:
Everyday language

13. Notes on the use of symbols:
The story is an allegory. All of the characters symbolise a person or a group from the Russian revolution. Some examples are:
? Napoleon is Stalin.
? Snowball is capitalism.
? Boxer represents Siberia.

14. Review: I agree on Orwell’s point of view concerning communism and it’s fabulous how he has put it into this story.

15. Story-line:
Mr. Jones, the owner of Manor Farm is always drunk and treats his animals badly. Major, an old pig, tells the other animals to start a rebellion. It is the only way to change their miserable lives. He teaches them the words of the song “Beasts of England”, a song about a time when England will belong to the animals. Old major dies, but the other pigs prepare the animals for the great day. The rebellion takes place one day when Jones forgot to feed the animals. The animals break into the store shed where the food is kept and chase Jones and his men of the farm. The pigs change the name Manor Farm into Animal Farm and paint seven commandments on a wall. Now that the farm is theirs, the animals do not mind working hard. During their Sunday meetings it becomes obvious that there is strong rivalry between the two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon. Jones and his neighbours are afraid of rebellions on other farms and try to recapture Animal Farm. But they are driven off thanks to Snowballs battle plan. The differences between Snowball and Napoleon dominate the Sunday meetings. Snowball wants to build a windmill but Napoleon is against it, when Snowball is about to win the argument, Napoleon suddenly produces nine fierce dogs, which chase Snowball of the farm. Now Napoleon makes all the decisions alone. The other animals listen to him because they are afraid of the dogs. Squeeler, one of the pigs, is always sent to explain the pig’s policy to the other animals. The windmill is built after all and the animals have to work even harder than before. They need goods they cannot produce themselves and Napoleon begins to trade with the neighbouring farmers. The pigs move into the farmhouse and sleep in the beds. The windmill falls down and Napoleon declares that Snowball, their enemy, is to blame. It becomes the custom to blame Snowball for everything that goes wrong on the farm. Napoleon keeps the other animals under control with help of the dogs. The animals are no longer allowed to sing “Beasts of England” which is replaced by another song. The pigs change the seven commandments one by one so that everything they do is legal. The animals have to work harder than the year before and are worse than in Mr. Jones days. But Napoleon, who behaves more and more like a king tells them that the production of food has increased greatly. Again farmers attack the farm but the animals succeed in defending their farm. However the windmill is blown up and many animals are killed or wounded. During he cold winter the animals again have little to eat. The pigs keep the best food for themselves, and even drink whiskey and beer. In the spring Animal Farm becomes a republic and Napoleon is elected to president. One day Boxer falls ill. The animals are told that he has been taken to hospital, but actually he’s been sold to a horse slaughterer. Many years later Animal Farm has become prosperous but only the pigs and the dogs live in luxury. The animals have to work hard and are always hungry. Yet they are proud to be on the only farm in England owned by animals. On day, they are very shocked, when the pigs suddenly walk on their hind legs, wear clothes and carry whips. The seven commandments are replaced by a single commandment: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others are. One evening the pigs and six neighbouring farmers with whom they have a friendly relationship now, have a party. In a speech Napoleon says that all the memories of the rebellion will be suppressed and that the farm is to be called Manor Farm again. The other animals that are outside looking into the window, can no longer see the difference between the pigs and the farmer.