Animal Farm Summary

Old Major, an old boar gathers all the animals in the barn. He explains to them his dream of living free, without any humans to oppress them. At the end of the meeting, he teaches all the animals a song called "Beasts of England". A few days after the meeting, Old Major died. In reply to his death, three pigs, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer take all of Old Major's ideas and create Animalism. The animals organize a rebellion and overtake the farm, kicking the humans out. Then they rename it Animal Farm. All is going well. Snowball is teaching some of the animals to read. One day, Mr. Jones, the former farm owner, returns with other humans to take back the farm. Once again, the animals drive him out. After this battle, things start to get a little more complicated. Snowball and Napoleon struggle over power. Snowball creates a plan to make a windmill on the farm, but Napoleon disapproves. They hold a meeting to discuss it. During the meeting, Napoleon makes a strange cry, and attack dogs burst in and chase Snowball off the farm. Napoleon decrees that there will be no more meeting. The pigs alone will make all the decisions for the farm. Napoleon starts changing all of the rules to better favor the pigs. Once again, the farm is attacked by humans, and the windmill is destroyed. Again, the animals win the battle, but Boxer, a strong working horse, is greatly wounded. He is eventually taken away due to his great injuries. Over the years, the pigs become more and more like humans. They walk upright, and they wear clothes. In the end, the other animals can no longer separate human from pig.