Animal Farm: A Novel

Upon the death of Old Major, pigs Snowball and Napoleon lead a revolt against Mr. Jones, driving him from the farm. Flung onto the yard fire, the bits, halters, and whips vanish in smoke as the beasts claim the pasture and the great barn for themselves.

On the tarred wall of the barn, great white letters announce that all animals are equal, though only the pigs have mastered the alphabet. United behind the new order, Boxer pledges his vast strength to the fields, rising before dawn with his steadfast vow to work harder.

Yet even as the harvest begins, the clever boars assume direction of the work without touching a tool, reserving the harness-room for their own study.

The animals embrace the Seven Commandments of Animalism and life carries on, but in this classic dystopian novel, they learn that a farm ruled by animals looks more human than ever.

• Political Satire: Snowball and Napoleon clash over the construction of a limestone windmill, turning democratic barn meetings into a bitter struggle for control of Animal Farm.
• Totalitarian Allegory: Nine brass-collared attack dogs, raised in secret seclusion by Napoleon, silence all dissent and replace free elections with unquestioned decrees.
• Propaganda Critique: Squealer the porker skips from side to side and whisks his tail, convincing the hungry animals that their memory of past promises is mistaken and that rations are higher than ever.
• Class Struggle: Cynical old Benjamin the donkey watches the changing slogans with grim silence, knowing that whoever holds the whip, the common beasts will still carry the burdens.
• Also by This Author: 1984, Down and Out in Paris and London and Burmese Days.