Allegorical novel that narrates the rebellion of the animals on Mr. Jones’s farm against human exploitation. Initially led by the pigs, the animals dream of building a fair and equal society in which all can live in freedom. However, after the farmer is expelled, the pig Napoleon begins to concentrate more and more power and ultimately establishes a new tyranny under the slogan: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Through a simple, almost childlike narrative, the work shows how revolutionary ideals can be corrupted when power falls into the hands of ambitious and authoritarian leaders. Orwell uses the figure of the animals to denounce propaganda, the manipulation of language, and the loss of freedom in totalitarian regimes.
The novel also functions as an acute political satire of post-1917 Russia. Napoleon represents Stalin: a ruthless, manipulative leader obsessed with maintaining absolute control. Snowball symbolizes Trotsky, the idealistic revolutionary who is expelled by his political rival, while Boxer, the hardworking and noble horse, represents the common people—strong and honest—who sustain the system with their effort but are ultimately betrayed by those they trust.
George Orwell was born in 1903 in Bengal (India) with the name Eric Arthur Blair. He studied at Eton and served in the Indian Police between 1922 and 1927. He worked for some years as an imperial police officer in Burma, an experience that awakened in him a deep rejection of imperialism and injustice. He spent a period in poverty in Paris and London and experienced the hardships of the working class. He volunteered to fight with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and returned to his country injured. He died in 1950 from tuberculosis.