Animal Farm by George Orwell – Simplified Summary
Here is Animal Farm by George Orwell explained in the simplest language, chapter by chapter.
Quick Background Before We StartThe book was written in 1945.It looks like a funny fairy tale about animals on a farm.But it is actually a secret way to talk about what happened in Russia after the 1917 revolution.The animals = real people and groups in Russia.The farm = the whole country (first called Russia, later the Soviet Union).The farmer = the King (Tsar) of Russia.The pigs = the communist leaders, especially two real men: Lenin and Stalin.The other animals = ordinary workers and farmers who were promised a better life.Now let’s start the story.
CHAPTER 1 – The Dream SpeechMr. Jones is the owner of Manor Farm. He is a lazy, drunk human who treats his animals very badly. One night he forgets to lock the barn.
Old Major, a very wise and respected old pig, calls all the animals for a secret meeting.
Old Major says:
Three days later Old Major dies in his sleep.
But his words stay in everyone’s heart.
(Simple meaning: Old Major = Karl Marx + Lenin. He gives the big idea of “communism” – everyone equal, no bosses.)
CHAPTER 2 – The Rebellion (The Animals Take Over)Three younger pigs – Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer – take Old Major’s ideas and make a system called Animalism.
The seven rules of Animalism are:
One day Mr. Jones gets so drunk he forgets to feed the animals for two days. The animals are starving. They break into the food store. Mr. Jones and his men try to whip them. Suddenly the animals fight back! Cows, horses, pigs, chickens – everyone attacks. The humans run away in panic.
The animals win! They rename the farm ANIMAL FARM.
They paint the seven rules on the barn wall.
Snowball and Napoleon are now the leaders.
Snowball is clever and full of ideas. Napoleon is big, quiet, and scary. Squealer is the talkative pig who can convince anyone of anything.
The cows give extra milk, the hens lay extra eggs – everyone is excited for the new life.
CHAPTER 3 – The Happy BeginningFor weeks everything is perfect.
Animals work hard but they are happy because they work for themselves, not for humans.
But… the pigs take all the apples and milk for themselves. Squealer says: “Pigs need milk and apples to think properly. We are brain-workers. If we fail, Jones will come back!”
Everyone believes him.
CHAPTER 4 – News Spreads + The Battle of the CowshedOther farms hear about Animal Farm. Humans are angry. They say the animals are starving (but it’s a lie).
Two neighboring farmers – Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick – hate each other but they both hate Animal Farm more.
Snowball studies books about Julius Caesar and makes defense plans.
One day Mr. Jones comes back with guns and men to take the farm back.
This is The Battle of the Cowshed.
Snowball leads the attack:
First wave: geese attack legs.Second wave: pigeons poop in eyes.Third wave: Boxer, horses, and big animals charge.Snowball gets shot in the back but keeps fighting. They win again!
They give medals: “Animal Hero, First Class” to Snowball and Boxer.
Winter comes. Snowball has a big plan: build a windmill to make electricity. Life will be easy – lights, hot water, less work.
Napoleon never liked the idea. He just grunts.
One Sunday, Snowball is explaining the windmill drawings. Suddenly Napoleon whistles. Nine huge dogs (puppies he took away as babies and trained in secret) rush in and attack Snowball. Snowball runs for his life and escapes through a hole in the hedge. He is never seen again.
Napoleon says: “From now on, no more meetings. Pigs will decide everything. The windmill WILL be built.”
Everyone is shocked. But Squealer goes around saying:
“Snowball was a traitor. He was working with Jones all along.”“Napoleon is protecting you.”Boxer just says, “I will work harder.”
CHAPTER 6 – Hard Times + Trading with HumansAnimals work 60 hours a week to build the windmill. They are tired and hungry.
Napoleon says they need nails, iron, etc. So they start trading with humans.
The rule “No animal shall engage in trade” is quietly forgotten.
Animals now sleep in beds (another rule broken). Squealer says: “Beds with sheets are bad, but beds without sheets are okay.”
One stormy night the windmill falls down. Napoleon says: “Snowball did it!”
They start building it again – bigger this time.
Winter is freezing. There is almost no food.
Napoleon hides the real food and makes it look like they have plenty (so humans won’t laugh).
Hens are told to give 400 eggs a week to sell for money to buy grain. The hens smash their own eggs in protest. Napoleon stops their food. Nine hens die.
Then Napoleon announces many animals “confessed” to working with Snowball. The dogs kill them in public.
Boxer is sad but says, “I must work harder.”
The song “Beasts of England” is banned. New song: “Animal Farm, Animal Farm, never through me shall thou come to harm!”
CHAPTER 8 – The Second Battle + Windmill FinishedFarmers attack again – Battle of the Windmill.
They bring guns and blow up the windmill.
Animals fight like crazy and win, but many die. Boxer is badly hurt.
Napoleon sells timber to Mr. Frederick. Frederick pays with fake money and attacks the farm the next day (that was the battle).
Windmill is rebuilt. Napoleon calls himself “Leader” and gives himself medals.
Pigs now drink alcohol (another rule broken). Squealer changes the rule on the wall to: “No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.”
Boxer’s lungs are destroyed from the battle. He collapses while pulling stone for the windmill.
Napoleon says he will send Boxer to the best hospital. A van comes. Animals read the side: “Horse Slaughterer”.
Squealer lies: “That was the vet’s old van. Boxer died peacefully saying ‘Napoleon is always right.’”
Three days later Napoleon buys whisky with the money from Boxer’s body.
Pigs now walk on two legs and wear clothes.
Moses the raven comes back talking about “Sugarcandy Mountain” (animal heaven). Pigs secretly give him beer to keep animals quiet.
Another schoolhouse for piglets, regular food only for pigs.
CHAPTER 10 – The Sad EndingYears pass. Most animals who remembered the rebellion are dead. New animals are born who never knew freedom.
The windmill is finally finished – but it produces electricity only for the farmhouse, not for the animals.
One evening the animals look through the window. Pigs are walking on two legs, wearing suits, reading newspapers, talking on the phone. Human farmers are visiting for dinner.
Napoleon carries a whip.
The animals hear loud argument inside:
Pilkington says: “You have perfect control of the lower animals.”
Napoleon says: “You have perfect control of your lower classes too.”
They play cards and cheat each other.
The animals look at the barn wall. The Seven Commandments are gone. Only one sentence remains:
“ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIM573 ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS”
The pigs and humans laugh and drink together.
The animals outside realize: the pigs have become exactly like the humans they hated.
The farm name is changed back to MANOR FARM.
The animals look from pig to man, man to pig, pig to man… and they can no longer tell who is who.
The End.That’s the whole story, simple and clear.
The big message Orwell wants you to remember:
“Power turns good people bad.
Revolutions that promise equality often end with new bosses who are worse than the old ones.”
Whenever someone says “It’s for your own good” while taking more and more power… remember the pigs.
FINAL SECTION: ORWELL’S OWN WORDS – SO NO ONE CAN TWIST IT AGAINThe Official, Undisputed Truth (with proof)
George Orwell himself wrote in 1946 (one year after Animal Farm was published):
“I did mean it to have a wider application… but I intended it primarily as a satire on the Russian Revolution.”
– George Orwell, “Why I Write” essay
He wrote a whole preface called “The Freedom of the Press” (which publishers refused to print) where he said:
“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism… Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole – and the main target was Stalin.”
The One-to-One Character Map (Orwell confirmed this himself)
Old Major = Lenin
Napoleon = Stalin
Snowball = Trotsky
Squealer = Pravda newspaper
The sheep = brainwashed Soviet citizens
Boxer = the Russian working class
The dogs = NKVD secret police
Mr Jones = Tsar Nicholas II
The windmill = Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
The hens’ rebellion = Ukrainian farmers crushed in the 1932 famine
“Beasts of England” = The Internationale (communist anthem)
Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War in 1936-37.
He saw Stalin’s agents murder his anarchist and Trotskyist friends.
That betrayal turned him against Soviet communism forever.
He wrote Animal Farm in 1943-44 specifically to warn Britain not to trust Stalin during World War II.
So what about India and Burma?
Yes, those experiences made Orwell hate all empires – British included.
But he used two different books for that:
Animal Farm is not about British India.
It’s about how the Russian Revolution started with “all animals equal” and ended with Stalin murdering 20 million people.
The Proof in Black and White
Orwell’s private letters: “If people think Animal Farm is only about Russia, they miss the point – but Russia was the main target.” In today’s time, it is Muslims and political parties allowing Muslims to practice their religion in non-muslim countries. You are being conquered using your own democracy. Once conquered, there will be no democracy – either convert or be killed.
BBC radio adaptation (1947): Orwell personally approved the Russia parallels.
CIA secretly printed millions of copies in the 1950s to fight Soviet propaganda. Today let’s see if CIA understands its connection to America, Europe, UK and other countries taken up by Jihadis.
Bottom Line
Animal Farm = Soviet Russia
1984 = totalitarian future (inspired by Stalin + Hitler + British wartime censorship)
Burmese Days = British India/Burma
Orwell hated all dictators – British, Russian, Spanish, whoever.
But Animal Farm has one specific target: the betrayal of the Russian Revolution by Joseph Stalin.
Also Read:
George Orwell’s Book 1984 Simplified (summary)
How Human Minds are Controlled – George Orwell’s 1984 in the present context
Hinduism vs Abrahamic Religions – TEACHINGS (Comparison)
How Christianity Uses Fear to Control People and Keeps Them Poor
Pandharpur Series https://rimple.in/category/blog-episode-series/pandharpur-series
Jagannath Series https://rimple.in/category/blog-episode-series/jagannath-puri-series
Gandhi as British Agent https://rimple.in/category/british-agent-gandhi/
Sikhism Series https://rimple.in/category/blog-episode-series/sikhism/
