Tabs & Twists
Animal Farm
The animals of Manor Farm overthrow their human owner, only to find their revolution betrayed by the pigs.
- Setting / Period
- Rural England
- First published
- 1945
- Pages
- 112
- Language
- English
Review
Old Major's dream of an animal paradise inspires the creatures of Manor Farm to drive out the farmer. At first everything is equal, but the pigs, Napoleon and Snowball above all, slowly rewrite the rules in their own favor.
Orwell wrote a fairy tale with a clear target, the Russian Revolution and its betrayal under Stalin, but its lessons travel far beyond. The slogan "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" has become shorthand for every kind of hypocrisy in power.
It is short, accessible and funny in a sad way. Few books explain how propaganda and fear do their work as clearly, and its closing image is unforgettable.
