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Summary of George Orwell’s Animal Farm
O(caps)ld Major (Wellington Beauty) had sent words round all the animals in the farm that he had a strange dream which he will narrate in the big barn immediately Mr. Jones retires to bed at night. Mr. Jones was too drunk to secure the pop-poles. All the animals including Bluebell, Jessie, Pincher, Cat, the Pigs, Clover, Boxer, Horses, Muriel, White Goat and Benjamin were in the meeting. Birds too perched in the pen eagerly waiting to hear directly from the speaker dreamer.
The host dreamer was satisfied with the attendance, cleared his throat. He began a long and persuasive speech that appears like the speaker‟s attempt to give a vivid picture of the cruel nature of man. In the colourful speech of Old Major, the animal ‟ s attention was drawn to the depravity they suffered under; man animals were ill fed, overworked and ill-housed. The novel declares:
Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk. He does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet, he is lord of all animals. (P. 4)
Old Major ends his long, insightful and frightening speech by encouraging the animals to nurse and carry out a rebellion against Mr. Jones and his men, a necessary revolt that will give all animals the freedom they deserve and place them at equal or above the human race. According to the animals, man does not have any virtue worth emulating by the animals; therefore, Animal Republic was important after a defeat of the tyrannical man. The rendition of the song, „Beasts of England ‟, and the wild excitement that followed woke up Mr. Jones, but the shot from his gun put an end to the meeting of the animals. Three nights after the meeting, Old Major died and other animals continued the spirit of the revolution. The shot from Mr. Jones further confirmed man‟s recklessness, inhumanity and the urgent need for the true spirit of animalism. They looked up to the hope of a revolution that will „humanise ‟ them and put an end to man‟s „politicking ‟ and his tyrannical government over the animals, “liberty is wrath more than ribbons” . But after the animals attained a measure of freedom, gradually, they lapsed into suspicion, jealousy, distrust, hatred and abuse of power. Most of the questionable cultures they had accused Mr. Jones and his men of became a common recurrence among the animals. This began from the moment Mr. Jones deteriorated and could no longer control the animals who had acquired freedom.
Therefore, animals made draconian laws to sustain the newly acquired freedom and animal culture and a Republic that earned them a new anthem different from „Beasts of England‟. Manor Farm was renamed „Animal Farm ‟ and seven commandments named. However, open propaganda, wars, violent conflicts, accusations and counter- accusations ruined the new Animal Republic, throwing the citizens into a dilemma of whether to continue with their new found freedom or return to man. As a result, developments in the new society progressed in snail-speed pace. Indeed, the satire in fable form is about all revolutions, especially the Russian Lenin revolution and the conscious reaction of the masses everywhere to the abuses of political power, and revolts against Machiavellian will that is immanent in contemporary political leadership.
3.5 Themes
Some of the themes identified in Orwell‟s Animal Farm are discussed below.
3.5.1 Abuse of Power
Old Major believes that they were being maltreated, overworked and underfed. He initiated a revolt against man so as to free the animals. But the abuse of power the animals loathed continued even after they broke away from man. The independent animal republic under Snowball and Napoleon was worst as animals starved. Napoleon drove away Snowball from the kingdom, announced that the project of the Windmill he had opposed when Snowball was around be resuscitated. Apart from this, without any previous discussion with the other animals, Napoleon began a bilateral trade relations with man, in this case, Mr. Pilkington Frederick, his business partner. At last, Napoleon harassed and forced Snowball out of the farm, used propaganda to intimidate and secure the animals ‟ respect, even long after Snowball had been forced on exile.
3.5.2 Doubts over the true spirit of animalism
The teachings of Old Major provoked but encouraged the animals to think of a need to be united against man‟s vices. Thus, animals held secret meetings for weeks in the barn after Mr. Jones was asleep and “expounded the principles of animalism” . They were still preoccupied with the dilemma and thought of what will likely befall the animals should they rebel and break away. The doubts made them asked questions referring to Mr. Jones as “master” , indicating a divided loyalty as the future of the animals became doubtful. The fear or uncertainties raised are, “Mr. Jones feeds us, if he were gone, we should starve to death”; why should we care what happens after we are dead? If this rebellion is to happen anyway, what differences does it make whether we work for it or not?” The pigs were quick to tell the animals that the suspicion, fear, and dilemma were against the true spirit of animalism and conviction that will free the animals from human slavery and oppression forever.
3.5.3 Rebellion
From the moment Old Major invited all the animals and birds in Manor Farm and fed them with the evils of man in a dream he never had the chance to narrate till he died, he had clearly initiated and encouraged the animals into a rebellion. He ensured that he emphasised the need for the freedom of the animals. He also stressed the evils of humanity, especially against the animals such that afterwards, the animals were conscious of a rebellion. It was in that spirit that they took over the farm, initiated the changes they considered necessary to earn them full independence. Old Major ended his thought-provoking speech with a song, „Beasts of England‟ .
The fierce- looking Napoleon led the animals after the death of Old Major. He headed and deputised in the farm. When the animals sent away man from the farm, Napoleon decorated himself with the medal of order of the green banner after the Battle of the Windmill. He also received other awards he never merited.
3.5.4 Anger and Effects of a Change
The animals could no longer endure the situation they found themselves, especially after they became aware that it was possible for them to be free from the firm grip and control of man. Mr. Jones became disheartened after losing money in a law suit; he drank more than was good for him, abandoned his duties, and his men were dishonest. The field had over grown, he fed mosses with bread crumbs soaked in beer, could not remember to roof the building, left his primary duties which comprises a regular feeding of the animals and the security of the farm. He was apparently down cast and only read newspapers. Thus the animals could no longer endure hunger; the evening of the following day, one of the cows broke the door of the store- shed with its horns, and the animals began to help themselves with food from the bins. This angered Mr. Jone‟s men who whipped the animals, but the latter butted and kicked. The men, including Mr. Jone‟s, fled the farm which was taken over by the animals.
3.5.5 Patriotism and Hardwork
After the animals took over the farm, it became continually difficult for them to maintain discipline and patriotism. Various abuses now set in the new society of the animals: though, “Manor farm” had been renamed „Animal Farm‟ and a new anthem put in place; but the animals soon realised that ability to manage fellow animals under existing rules required patience, discipline and true patriotism for which humanity was earlier criticized. When Snowball commanded the animals “comrades, let us make it a point of honour to get in the harvest more quickly than Mr. Jones and his men could do”, three cows who had been uneasy set up a loud lowing as they had not been milked for twenty four hours. The milk that all the animals had harvested “had” disappeared. The animal also discovered that most of the designs in the farm could be better handled by man, thus making the animals to have difficult time working successfully. The more food the animals had to eat, the more work they do, the more pleasure they had, the more difficulties they experienced.
3.6 Style
Below is the style of the novelist in Animal Farm
3.6.1 Language
The language of the novel has been clearly chosen to give detailed attention without any complex rendering of the themes. Almost every page releases dark humor such that hardly can a reader notice the seriousness of the writer‟s engagement. Yet, the language of description has not reduced simplicity to the bare bone.
3.6.2 Use of Speech and Songs
Orwell‟s use of the long speech of Old Major marked by allusions, simile, metaphor, anecdotes and repetitive use of “comrades” appears special and deliberate.
The character‟s long speech is marked by precision, though no dream was really narrated. Yet the dream was implied by the speaker‟s eloquence, communicative; instructive and commanding subtlety, yet militant. The writer deliberately ends the speech with a song beast of England to make every content, or themes of Old Major‟s cajoling speech permanent in the mind of the animals such that the more they recall the song, the more they remember the task of rebellion ahead of them since songs are often permanent in the memory and easy to recall. Hence, the writer passes the message of possible revolt through the song. The aesthetic effect of the use of song and anthem to initiate a revolt adds beauty to the language of the novelist.
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