Animal Farm

Question 1

Animal Farm

Key Facts

Answer 1

• novella by George Orwell
• It is a dystopian animal fable, satire, allegory, and political roman à clef
• Written in 1943-44 in London
• The narrator is anonymous and there is no clear central character
• The story is told from the point of view of the common animals of Animal Farm
• The tone of the novel is objective and steeped in irony
• The story is set on an imaginary farm in England, contemporaneous with the Russian Revolution

Question 2

Animal Farm

Summary, Themes & Motifs

Answer 2

• The major conflict is between the exploited and exploiting classes and the tension between lofty ideals and harsh realities of socialism
• The rising action includes the establishment of Animal Farm and the ideological disputes between Snowball and Napoleon
• The climax is when Napoleon runs Snowball off the farm and declares that the power to make decisions will be exercised solely by the pigs
• The falling action includes Squealer justifying Napoleon’s actions and the common animals continuing to obey the pigs
• Themes include the corruption of socialist ideals, class stratification, and the abuse of language as instrumental to the abuse of power
• Motifs include songs and state ritual, while symbols include Animal Farm, the barn, and the windmill
• The pigs’ eventual abuse of power is foreshadowed at several points in the novel.