Farm Animal Summary
Considered one of the 100 best works published between the 20th and 21st centuries, this work by Englishman George Orwell presents an allegory and critique of the political process of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. It was published during World War II, and although it didn't have much impact in its early years, it did so five years later.
This work has been adapted for film twice, enjoying the same success as the literary work. The author demonstrated a very strong opposition to the political process that took place in the USSR in the 40s during the dictator's rule. However, our purpose today is to provide a simple summary of this excellent work.
The novel depicts an unreal society where the protagonists are animals, who carry out an action where they decide that humans can no longer live on the farm, so they decide to govern themselves. However, the situation becomes difficult when some animals turn the government into a tyranny.
In the following article , Works of Mercy, you can obtain relevant information about other literary works of this type.
First chapter
The novel Animal Farm begins when the owner of the farm "Solariega", Mr. Jones, was drunk and forgot to lock the chicken coop, so the animals, led by a pig called "Old Major", make them see that they must rebel against Mr. Jones because they believe that the old man mistreats them.
They then decide to take control of the farm in order to control all operations themselves. The pig explains to them that everyone has the same opportunities and their rights on the farm are equal; the next morning Mr. Jones observes the riot and begins firing his rifle to disperse the rebellion.
The old pig had already left some ideas for the animals, sowing the seeds of revolution; he had also taught them the song "Beasts of England." However, three days after the revolution began, the "Old Pig" died in his sleep.
Second chapter
After the night with the old pig's meeting, things changed completely; the smartest pigs brought up the old pig's teachings, and at night after Old Jones was asleep, the clandestine activities began. So they began to instill the ideas left by the leader pig in the rest of the animals.
The three smartest pigs, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer, were very clever and lively animals. They carried out ideas based on animalism, a system created to inject revolutionary ideas into the rest of the animals. However, some animals refused to believe and listened more to what Moses the crow, a spy for Old Jones, had to say.
Among the disciples of the creeds were two horses named "Boxer" and "Clover," who carried out the orders of the three leading pigs. Every night they sang the song "Teaching Nothing for the Old Pig," and when they least expected it, a riot broke out; it happened one night when Mr. Jones had gotten drunk due to the loss of money and other problems.
The animals hadn't eaten and became agitated, so the uproar stirred up Old Jones and the employees, who tried to quell the rebellion, but to no avail. The animals ran from the farm to all the humans, pecking and attacking each other, trying to take over their farm. They drew up a manifesto highlighting the ideas of animalism and called it Animal Farm.
Third chapter
The animals had declared animal rights on the farm, which said: Anyone who walks on two legs is an enemy; anyone who walks on four legs or has wings is a friend; animals must not wear clothes; no animal will sleep in a bed; no animal will be allowed to drink alcohol; no animal will kill another animal; and all animals are equal.
In this way, they began working on the farm under conditions they felt comfortable with. They produced their own food and there were no restrictions; everyone worked and ate their produce. The pigs took the lead in every activity, and harmony was felt in the new farm organization.
Each animal even performed similar tasks to those they had before the rebellion; the animal society was consolidating, and there were regulations establishing Sunday meetings to plan the following week's activities. They also had a green flag with a hoof in its center, representing the Republic of Farm.
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Animal rights were growing little by little, but situations began to arise, such as not knowing what to do with cow's milk and having to give it to pigs; apples were lost because no one picked them, which caused some animals to complain.
Food was reserved for the pigs, and the rest of the animals were rationed, especially apples and milk. Some pesky animals had to be controlled by Squealer, the talking pig, who explained and justified every action of the pig authorities, claiming that the pigs were the intellectuals who needed that food to run the farm.
Fourth chapter
The entire region had heard about the animal rebellion at the "Solariega" farm, and the pig leaders sent carrier pigeons to free the animals from other farms. The other farm owners took precautions and found ways to inform their animals that the "animal farm" was experiencing problems to prevent a revolt on their own farm.
However, the animals on those farms sang the anthem "Beasts of England" every day, which had become a song of freedom. Humans were annoyed when they heard it, but they turned a deaf ear. However, every day the song was sung by more and more animals on other farms.
One day, Mr. Jones and other farm owners decided to take over his farm and break in to free it of animals. However, the animals were well-trained and prepared a trap for when another attempt was made to take over the farm. Snowball had read extensively about Julius Caesar's war strategies and taught them to the rest of the animals, who immediately repelled the intervention.
Fifth chapter
In this chapter, the writer decides to differentiate between some of the animals, and some differences begin to develop between them. The first to consider that she didn't belong on that farm was the mare Marieta, who showed signs of annoyance and didn't want to be there. She also liked to flirt with another horse on the farm, Monterroso, which motivated the mare to leave.
The pigeons were able to arrive with information that Marieta was riding in a black and red carriage, happily eating sugar cubes, and seemed happy. The farm's authorities decided that no animal could talk about the mare.
There were constant arguments among the pigs, Napoleon, and Snowball, and movements had even been created where each pig had his own followers. The rest of the animals had accepted that the three pigs were the smartest and should be the leaders of the farm, which gave them certain privileges.
Snowball arrived one day with the proposal to build a windmill so they could have electricity on the farm and have more modern services. This would allow them to study and improve their skills while the windmill was working. However, this created a divide between Napoleon and Snowball.
While Snowball urged intervention on the other farms to seek support from other animals, Napoleon urged the farm's defense in case Old Jones might come to conquer it again. In fact, he tried to kill Snowball by setting rabid dogs on him, but Snowball managed to escape, so he had to flee the farm.
This situation created conflict among many of Snowball's animal followers. However, the rest were afraid of contradicting Napoleon; a form of governing through fear had developed, and the pigs sent Squealer to explain about the new leader, Napoleon, and that Snowball was a fugitive from justice.
At the end of this chapter, we learn how Napoleon later took Snowball's idea for the windmill and tricked the animals into believing it was his own idea and that Snowball had stolen it. This was a way of plotting against his former friend.
sixth chapter
The mill's construction began supposedly voluntarily, but any animal that refused to work had its food portion reduced. Rudimentary procedures were used for its construction, as few had any knowledge of masonry, carpentry, or electricity; the mill's construction time was running out, and food was becoming scarce.
This allowed the food ration to be similar to what it had been when the farm was in Old Jones's hands. Napoleon, for his part, reported that in order to have food available, trade with other farms was necessary, which violated part of the Seven Commandments for Animals.
Four pigs began a timid protest, which was quelled by the growling of Napoleon's dogs. The sheep began to remark on the song "Four legs yes; two legs no," so the authorities sought a lawyer who could conduct the negotiations. Squealer was again used to dispel any doubts.
Things improved on the farm, and the owners of other farms began to disdain the farm's activities. This prompted Old Man Jones to move to another county; the lead pigs moved into the old man's house and began sleeping in the beds, something that contradicts the commandments.
The work on the mill that had been sparked by the mutiny on the farm continued, but one night a torrential downpour leveled the mill to the ground. Napoleon accused Snowball of causing this disaster, decreed the death penalty for him, and ordered a reward for anyone who could catch him, giving the mutiny on the farm another stigma.
seventh chapter
The animals began rebuilding the windmill again to prove to Snowball that they were stronger; however, little by little, the changes in the rules that benefited only the pigs began to arouse curiosity among the rest of the animals. This situation led to problems, as food began to become scarce again.
However, in this chapter of Animal Farm, it was Napoleon who sought a way to keep the other farms from finding out. He invented devices to make it seem from a distance that there was plenty of food. Negotiations with other farms were imminent, and Napoleon forced the hens to lay eggs in large quantities to sell and obtain resources.
The hens refused and laid eggs from high above, where they shattered upon falling; it was a form of rebellion, and nine hens died as a result. Following this situation, all blame falls on Snowball, who was being hunted by Napoleon's dogs; however, he no longer left the house and rested while attending Sunday meetings.
eighth chapter
Promises were broken, and the animals saw how, little by little, the commandments were violated. Nevertheless, the mill continued to be built, but Napoleon's actions varied each day. Negotiations with Pilkington, one of the owners of the neighboring farms, fell through, and he was tricked into selling to Frederick, who paid with counterfeit bills.
The animals were confused, and it was then that Frederick invaded their farm, demolishing the windmill. However, amidst rage and disappointment, the animals managed to defeat Frederick's troops, forcing him to flee his farm. There was a celebration, and Napoleon decided to open a bottle of Mr. Jones's finest whiskey.
The liquor was out of date, and Napoleon the pig was in a serious condition. The rest of the animals felt leaderless and thought Snowball had poisoned Napoleon. However, the pig recovered and was taken to the old animals' farm to stay there for a while, demonstrating that the rebellion on the farm hadn't just come to make the animals' conditions more equal, but also to improve their quality of life.
ninth and tenth chapter
In this chapter of the animal farm, construction of the windmill begins again, and the same situation arises: food shortages and hard work. Squeaky remembered Jones's time, but the animals no longer knew how they had lived in the old man's time; the pigs' privileges had grown, and a caste had been created where they were untouchable. The farm was declared a republic, and it was decided to hold elections with a single candidate: Napoleon, who won unanimously.
One of the horses, named Boxer, the hardest-working of all, was brought in by a supposed veterinarian, who happened to be a butcher who slaughters animals; of course, the news was that the horse had died from overwork. However, the deception was beginning to work on the farm, and the pigs were using their resources to drink whiskey and get drunk.
Most of the animals that had participated in the rebellion had died. The leaders were old; Napoleon weighed almost 200 kilos and could barely move, while Squealer could only speak at best. However, Clover, the youngest donkey, and Moses the crow were still alive. The rebellion became just another story on the farm, and no one had any idea what had happened.
The mill was completed, but it no longer offered electricity; it served only to grind wheat and corn. The animals continued to be kept in precarious conditions; they continued to be hungry and slept uncomfortably. The situation changed so much that the pigs began to adopt human-like behavior: they walked on two legs, slept in beds, and broke all the laws imposed at the beginning of the rebellion.
The pigs changed the flag and the farm's name returned to "La Solariega"; business with humans became more common, and the pigs betrayed all their original ideals. To the animals, the pigs were similar to humans, and humans were like pigs, leaving all the animals without any help, and once again, the pigs were destroyed.