A Fairy Story of Power, Corruption & Revolution
A Group Presentation · 5 Members
Published in 1945, George Orwell's Animal Farm is a political allegory disguised as a children's fable. Set on a fictional English farm, it follows a group of animals who overthrow their human farmer in the name of equality — only to find themselves under a new, crueller tyranny.
Orwell wrote the novella as a direct critique of Stalinist Soviet Union, using animals to represent real political figures and events. The story is deceptively simple yet devastatingly powerful.
Born Eric Arthur Blair in 1903 in British India, Orwell became one of the 20th century's most influential political writers. He witnessed imperialism firsthand as a colonial police officer in Burma, fought in the Spanish Civil War, and lived in poverty to understand the working class.
"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism."
Old Major, a prize boar, shares his vision of a world free from human oppression. He teaches the animals "Beasts of England."
The animals overthrow Farmer Jones. They rename the farm Animal Farm and establish the Seven Commandments of Animalism.
Napoleon and Snowball compete for leadership. Napoleon uses dogs to expel Snowball and seizes total control.
The commandments are gradually rewritten. The pigs adopt human habits — walking upright, drinking whisky, sleeping in beds.
The pigs become indistinguishable from humans. The final commandment reads: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."
Ruthless, power-hungry. Uses fear and propaganda to maintain control.
Intelligent, visionary. Expelled by Napoleon; made a scapegoat.
"I will work harder." Loyal and strong, but exploited until death.
Twists truth to justify Napoleon's actions. Master manipulator.
Inspires the revolution with his dream of animal equality.
Preaches "Sugarcandy Mountain" — religion as opium of the masses.
Each amendment represents how totalitarian regimes rewrite history and law to justify their actions.
The pigs begin with noble ideals but gradually become the very oppressors they overthrew. Power corrupts absolutely.
Squealer manipulates language to control thought. Orwell shows how those in power weaponise words to maintain dominance.
Despite promises of equality, a new ruling class emerges. The working class (Boxer) is exploited and discarded.
The animals' inability to read or remember history makes them easy to manipulate. Knowledge is power — and its absence is control.
Revolutions that begin with idealism often end in tyranny. The cycle of oppression repeats under new masters.
A direct allegory for Stalinist USSR — the show trials, purges, cult of personality, and rewriting of history.
| Animal Farm | Real-World Equivalent | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Manor Farm | Russia / Soviet Union | The nation under oppressive rule |
| Mr. Jones | Tsar Nicholas II | The old regime, overthrown by revolution |
| Old Major | Marx / Lenin | The ideological founder of the revolution |
| Napoleon | Joseph Stalin | The dictator who betrayed the revolution |
| Snowball | Leon Trotsky | The exiled idealist, made a scapegoat |
| The Dogs | KGB / Secret Police | Instruments of terror and enforcement |
| Boxer | The Proletariat | Loyal workers exploited by the system |
| Windmill | Soviet Industrialisation | Five-Year Plans — promised prosperity, delivered suffering |
Nearly 80 years after publication, Animal Farm remains one of the most important political texts ever written. Its warning is timeless: power without accountability corrupts, and those who control language control reality.
Orwell's genius was to make this truth accessible through the simplest of forms — a farmyard fable — while delivering one of literature's most devastating critiques of political tyranny.
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.— George Orwell, Animal Farm, 1945