Animalism In Animal Farm

Animal Farm begins on Manor Farm in England. After Mr. Jones, the neglectful owner of the farm, has drunkenly shut the animals away and gone to sleep, the animals all assemble in the barn to hear a respected boar named Old Major speak. Old Major proceeds to share his dream of a world without men, one ruled by animals. He points out that all of the suffering endured by the animals is the result of man. Mr. Jones forces the animals to work too hard and then steals the products of their labor. Furthermore, the animals all know that Mr. Jones does not value their lives and will mercilessly slaughter each and every one of them once they have outlived their usefulness. Old Major tells the animals that their lives would be much better if they could …show more content…
The preparations are led by the pigs, who are the cleverest animals on the farm. Two pigs in particular—Snowball and Napoleon—take on leadership roles and are aided by Squealer, an extremely persuasive pig. The pigs turn Old Major’s speech into a philosophy, which they call “Animalism.” They then hold weekly meetings to teach the rest of the animals about Animalism, though they find the animals are easily distracted by Moses, a raven who likes to tell the animals about a place called Sugarcandy Mountain where animals go when they die. The rebellion comes sooner than expected when Mr. Jones forgets to feed the animals and then attacks them when he sees them helping themselves. Incensed, the animals drive Mr. Jones and his men off the farm and take over, changing the name to Animal Farm. The pigs paint the principles of Animalism on the barn wall. There are seven commandments in total, and each one comes from Old Major’s speech to the …show more content…
Though Boxer is nearing retirement age, he does not slow down, wanting to contribute what he can before he retires. Meanwhile, the preferential treatment the pigs grant themselves only grows more obvious. Piglets are discouraged from playing with other young animals, and it is decreed that any animals meeting a pig on a path must step aside. Though the animals remain tired and hungry, Squealer continually announces that the farm is more productive and successful than ever. As the animals no longer clearly remember what life was like under Mr. Jones, they have no way of disputing the pigs’ claims that things are now better. One day, Boxer collapses while working on the windmill. The pigs tell the animals that they are sending Boxer to an animal hospital, but Benjamin, a donkey, sees that the van taking Boxer away is labeled “Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler.” Horrified, the animals rush after the van but are unable to free Boxer. Three days later, the pigs announce that Boxer died at the hospital. They shut down the “rumors” about the van by explaining that the veterinarian had recently purchased it and not yet repainted the