Animal Farm

• Old Majors Speech

  • “let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship“
  • ”then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform“
  • ”our lives are miserable, laborious and short”
  • ”the life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the truth”
  • ”And you cows… you hens”
  • ”Man is the only real enemy we have… he does not give milk, he does not lay eggs…”
• Rules from old majors speech

  • “In fighting against man we must not come to resemble him… even when you have conquered him do not adopt his voices“
  • “No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco or touch money or engage in trade”
  • “No animal must ever tyrannize over his own”
• Rebellion


  • “they flung themselves upon their tormentors”
  • “butted and kicked from all sides”
  • “their first act was to gallop in a body”
  • “capered with joy”
  • “the bits, the nose-rings, the dog-chains, the cruel knives”
• Commandments 


  • Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy
  • Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend
  • No animal shall wear clothes
  • No animal shall sleep in a bed
  • No animal shall drink alcohol
  • No animal shall kill any other animal
  • All animals are equal
• Battle of Cowshed 


  • “They were gored, kicked, bitten, trampled on”
  • “Snowball, who had studied… was in charge of defensive operations”
  • “First attack… second line of attack“
  • “Most terrifying… was Boxer, rearing up on his hind legs and striking out”
  • “The pellets scored bloody streaks along Snowball’s back, and a sheep dropped dead”
• Snowball (Trotsky)

  • “Snowball read it aloud for the benefit of the others”
  • “These two were never in agreement“
  • ”instituting classes in reading and writing”
  • ”often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches“
  • ”Snowball’s eloquence” omniscient narrator knows he is persuasive nd fluent naturally (contasts Napoleon)
  • ”there was no doubt as to which way the vote would go”
  • ”According to Snowball, they must… stir up rebellion among the animals on the other farms”
• Squealer description


  • “he could turn black into white”
  • “a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive“
  • ”would talk with the tears rolling down his cheeks“
• Squealer - Napolean and the Windmill propaganda 


  • “Squealer explained privately… that Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill”
  • “Here Squealer looked very sly”
  • “Tactics, Comrades, Tactics!“
  • “Skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh”
  • “The animals were not certain what the word meant”
  • “Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions“
• Squealer - Snowball and Jones


  • “Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start!”
  • “It was proved by documents“
  • “The animals were stupefied.”
  • ”I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to read it”
  • “Do you not remember… and do you not remember?”
  • “Squealer, speaking very slowly and firmly “has stated categorically - categorically, comrade - that…”
  • “But it was noticed he cast a very ugly look at Boxer”
• Before the executions, attack

  • “Napoleon stood sternly surveying his audience“
  • “The dogs bounded forward, seized four of the pigs by the ear and dragged them, squealing with pain and terror”
  • “The pigs’ ears were bleeding, the dogs had tasted blood… go quite mad”
  • “Three of them flung themselves upon Boxer”
  • “Boxer saw them coming and put out hid great hoof, caught a dog in mid-air and pinned him to the ground”
  • “Boxer looked at Napoleon to know whether he should crush the dog to death or let it go”
  • “Napoleon appeared to change countenance, and sharply order Boxer to let the dog go“
• The executions

  • “The four pigs waited, trembling, with guilt written on every line of their countenances. Napoleon now called upon them to confess their crimes”
  • “Without any further prompting they confessed that they had been secretly in touch with Snowball ever since his expulsions“
  • “The dogs promptly tore their throats out”
  • “In a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether ant other animal had anything to confess”
  • “Three hens… now came forward, then, then”
  • “They, too, were slaughtered”
• Aftermath of the executions

  “And so the tale of confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses lying before Napoleon‘s feet and the air was heavy with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones”
• Mollie (middle classes)


  • “taken a piece of blue ribbon“
  • “admiring herself in a very foolish manner”
  • “Mollie became more and more troublesome”
• Squealer / Power of Literacy 


  • “he assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had never been passed, or even suggested“
  • “Are you certain that this is not something you have dreamed, Comrades?”
  • “Is it written down anywhere?”
• Moses (religion)


  • “Mr Jones’ pet“
  • “Sugarcandy Mountain” where it is “Sunday seven days a week“
  • “Went there when you died”
• Frederick

  • Owner of Pinchfield farm, represents Hitler
  • Spread lies about communism and animals were “starving to death”
  • “Terrible stories were leaking out… about the cruelties”
  • “He had flogged an old horse to death, he starved his cows, he had killed a dog by throwing it in into the furnace”
  • ”The banknotes were forgeries! Frederick had got the timber for nothing!”
• Mr Pilkington 


  • Owner of Foxwood, represents the West
  • “Napoleon and Mr Pilkington had each played an ace of spades simultaneously“ only one ace of spades and represents a position of power (one of them is lying about having it)
  • “Congratulated the pigs on the lower rations, the long working hours”
• Boxer 


  • “with his tremendous muscles“
  • “The entire farm seemed to rest on his mighty shoulders”
  • “I will work harder”
  • “Clover warned him sometimes to be careful not to overstrain himself, but Boxer would never listen to her” (foreshadows)
  • ”but for the first time it occurred to him that he was eleven years old and that perhaps his great muscles were not quite what they had once been”
• Boxer at the Battle of Cowshed 


  • “I have no wish to take life, not even human life”
  • “his eyes were full of tears“
• Battle of the Windmill 


  • “the animals could not face the terrible exploding and the stinging pellets“
  • “We have built the walls far too thick for that“ (complacency and foreshadows)
  • “The windmill had ceased to exist“
  • “Without waiting for further orders they charged forth in s body“
  • “Nearly everyone was wounded“
  • “Three of them had their heads broken by blows from Boxer’s hoofs”
  • “They had won, but they were weary and bleeding”
• Boxer description after fall

  • “his neck stretched out, unable to even raise his head. His eyes were glazed, his sides matted with sweat. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his mouth”
  • “said boxer in a weak voice”
  • “I think you will be able to finish the windmill without me”
  • ”They are taking Boxer to the knackers!”
  • ”A cry of horror burst from the animals.
  • ”when a few kicks from Boxer’s hoofs would have smashed the van to matchwood”
• Squealer about Knackers


  • “It was almost unbelievable, said Squealer, that any animal could be so stupid”
  • “surely they knew their beloved Leader, Comrade Napoleon, better than that?”
  • “The expensive medicines for which Napoleon had paid without a though as to the cost”
• Hen rebellion 


  • “They protested that to take the eggs away now was murder”
  • “Their method was to fly up to the rafters and there lay their eggs, which smashed to pieces on the floor”
  • “Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly. He ordered the hen’s rations to be stopped”
  • “any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death”
  • “Nine hens had died in the meantime… died of coccidiosis“
• Literacy

  • “as for the pigs, they could already read and write perfectly”
  • “the pigs with their cleverness”
  • “the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens and ducks“
  • “the education of the young was more important“
• The milk 


  • “I shall follow in a few minutes” (diverts)
  • “The milk had disappeared“
  • “Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself”
  • “This has been proved by science comrades
  • “Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig“
  • ”We pigs are brain workers”
• Hierarchy 


  • “the pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others”
  • “sat on the front of the raised platform, with nine young dogs forming a semicircle round them, and the pigs sitting behind”
• The dogs inflicting fear (Snowball’s exile)


  • “nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn”
  • “They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws”
  • “Too amazed and too frightened to speak”
  • “Silent and terrified, the animals…”
• The dogs


  • “huge dogs, as fierce-looking as wolves”
  • “They kept close to Napoleon… they wagged their tails to him in the same way the other dogs used to do to Mr Jones”
  • “deep, menacing growls”
• Napoleon 


  • “speaking of Napolean under the title of “Leader“
  • “Father of All animals, Terror of mankind, Protector of the Sheep-fold, Ducklings’ Friend”
• Napoleon - puppies 


  • “nine sturdy puppies… Napoleon took them away from their mothers”
  • in “seclusion“
• Irony and foreshadowing in Chapter 10


  • “if they went hungry, it was not from feeding tyrannical human beings”
  • “No creature among them went upon two legs. No creature called any other creature master”
  • “All animals are equal“
• Pigs on hind legs 


  • “It was a pig walking on his hind legs.”
  • “Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling round him” (arrogant and superior)
• Final breaking of commandments 


  • “four legs good, two legs better”
  • “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”
  • “the pigs… all carried whips in their trotters”
• Final line of the book (cyclical structure)


  “The creatures looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which“

  Cyclical structure shows oppression and the hierarchical society was inevitable and reflects there will always be groups in society that abuse their power and equality is hard to achieve
• Connotations of Napoleon

  French emperor who rose to power through military right and established an authoritarian regime - Orwell uses this name to foreshadow his tyrannical leadership and ambition for power
• Connotations of snowball

  Suggests a clean and pure leader (white connotations of purity) so acts as a contrast to Napoleon
• Connotations of squealer

  Onomatopoeia for squealing sound of a pig and also act of betrayal (emphasising his role as propaganda minister)