Animal Farm by George Orwell

Mr. Jones, of the the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-house for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes. With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring.

As soon as the light in the bedroom went out, there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say.

All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began: 'Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.

'Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.

'But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep - and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word - Man. Man is the only real enemy we have, Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.

'Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.

Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilizes it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old - you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the field, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?

'Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives. And above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious.

'And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.'

About the Author

George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair (1903-50),English novelist and essayist, who was born in India. He is known for his satirical novels, of which Animal Farm (1945) is one. It is an allegory on the Russian Revolution.

A satire is a literary work - a novel or a play, which tries to show the foolishness or evil of some establishment or practice in an amusing way.

An allegory is a story in which the characters and actions have a deeper moral meaning and represent good and bad qualities.

Glossary

1. manor: a large house with land
2. ring: a circular band
3. lantern: a container that encloses the flame of a light
4. lurched: moved irregularly
5. yard: an enclosed area near a building
6. snoring: breathing heavily and noisily while asleep
7. fluttering: moving the wings quickly without flying
8. Major: an officer in the army; here it is the name of the boar.
9. prize: that has gained a prize or is worthy of a prize
10. boar: a male pig kept for breeding
11. communicate: make known
12. barn: a farm building for storing food for animals
13. highly regarded: very well thought of
14. raven: a large black bird
15. perch: a branch or rod where a bird rests
16. comrade: a close companion; fellow member of a union
17. acquired: gained
18. stall: an indoor enclosure for one animal
19. miserable: very unhappy
20. laborious: doing hard labour
21. atom: a very small bit
22. slaughtered: killed for food
23. hideous: shocking
24. order: arrangement
25. afford: able to give
26. dignity: true worth
27. produce: something that has been produced, especially by growing or farming
28. abolished: brought to an end
29. consumes: eats or drinks
30. bare: not more than
31. tills: cultivates
32. fertilizes: makes (the land) produce good crops
33. gallon: a measure for liquids (in Britain 4.54 litres)
34. breeding: bringing up
35. sturdy: strong in body
36. hatched: (of an egg) broke, letting the young bird out
37. foal: a young horse
38. confinement: the time when a mother is about to give birth to a child
39. crystal: a transparent natural mineral
40. spring from: be a result of
41. tyranny: the use of cruel power to rule others
42. rebellion: fighting against anyone in power
43. straw: dried stems of grain plants used for animals to sleep on
44. generation: all people born at about the same time
45. resolution: a decision; making up one's mind to do something
46. falter: lose strength
47. astray: off the right path
48. prosperity: good fortune and success

Comprehension Questions

1. Why was the ring of light from Mr. Jones's lantern dancing from side to side?

Because he was drunk and his movement was not steady.

2. a) Where had the animals agreed to meet? b) Why had they assembled there?

a) In he big barn

b) To hear what Major had to say

3. What does old Major want to share with the animals?

His understanding of the nature of life.

4. Pick out the three words Major uses to describe the lives of the animals. Why does he use these words?

miserable, laborious, short.

To tell the animals how bad their condition is.

5. a) How is Man different from the animals? b) Does Major depict Man as i) selfish? ii) greedy? iii) a weakling? iv) mean? v) the lord of all the animals? or vi) cruel?

a) The animals produce all the wealth and man takes it away from them. He does not produce anything himself.

b) selfish, cruel

Man makes the animals work and gives them just enough to keep them alive.

6. a) How, according to Major, could animals be rich and free? b) When will this rebellion take place? Does this show that Major is i) a realist? ii) an idealist? or iii) a dreamer?

a) By getting rid of Man, so that they could keep all the things they produced.

b) Major does not know. He is a dreamer.

7. a) How does Major describe all men? b) How does he describe all animals? c) Why do you think Major call the animals 'Comrades'?

a) They are enemies.

b) They are comrades.

c) To remind them that they are all members of a Union.