Animal Farm

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

Animal Farm is a book by George Orwell. The story is a modern fable and allegory. The story is about a group of animals who throw out the humans from the farm they live on and run it themselves. What starts out well turns into a brutal tyranny on its own. It was written during World War II and published in 1945. The book was not widely successful until the late 1950s.

Animal Farm is a thinly veiled critique and satire of Soviet totalitarianism. Many events in the book are based on events from the Soviet Union during the Stalin era. (For example, the character Snowball, a pig who is expelled from the Farm by Napoleon, is clearly modelled on Trotsky.) Orwell, though a leftist — he was for many years a member of the Independent Labour Party — was a critic of Stalin, and suspicious of Moscow-directed communism after his experiences in the Spanish Civil War.

Contents 1 Characters in the book 1.1 Pigs 1.2 Horses 1.3 Humans 1.4 Other animals 1.5 Other groups of animals 2 Animalism 2.1 Beasts of England 2.2 Original beliefs 2.2.1 Maxim 2.2.2 The Seven Commandments 3 Other websites

[change] Characters in the book

There are many characters in the book who are based on real people. They are grouped into pigs, horses, humans and other animals.

[change] Pigs

• Old Major
• Napoleon
• Snowball
• Squealer
• Minimus

[change] Horses

• Boxer
• Clover
• Mollie, the Mare

[change] Humans

• Mr.Jones, the farmer of Manor Farm
• Mr. Frederick, the farmer of Foxwood
• Mr. Pilkington, the farmer of Pinchfield

[change] Other animals

• Benjamin, the donkey
• Moses,the tame raven
• Muriel, the goat
• The cat
• Blue Bell the she-dog

[change] Other groups of animals

• The puppies
• The Sheep
• The Ducks

[change] Animalism

Animalism is a system of beliefs shared by the farm animals of Manor Farm. The purpose is to ensure the farm animals behave like actual animals and not follow the footsteps of us humans beings. Therefore, any human behavior is considered contrary to the spirit of Animalism.

[change] Beasts of England

In the story, this song was sung by animals of England once upon a time. It is named "Beasts of England", with a stirring tune, a cross between Clementine and Cucuracha. This song became popular among the animals of England after Old Major recited it to the farm animals of Manor Farm. It serves as the 1st national anthem of Animal Farm.

[change] Original beliefs

These are the original commandments laid down by the pigs.

[change] Maxim

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

[change] The Seven Commandments

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enermy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

[change] Other websites

• Animal Farm by George Orwell. Retrieved on 22 May 2008.