.......Soon or late the day is coming,
.......Tyrant Man shall be o’erthrown,
.......And the fruitful fields of England
.......Shall be trod by beasts alone.
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.......Days later, after Old Major dies, the animals plot the rebellion, led by the most intelligent among them, the pigs–in particular, Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer. The government system they design is called “animalism.” While the planning continues, Farmer Jones goes on a drunken binge and neglects to feed the animals. On the second day of his drinking bout, they break into the feed stores and attack and drive off Jones, his wife, and his workers. At the entrance of the farm, they put up a new sign. In bold letters, it says "Animal Farm." 
.......The revolution has succeeded. A new day has dawned. Napoleon and Snowball then present the seven commandments that make up their constitution:
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.......1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. 
.......2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
.......3. No animal shall wear clothes. 
.......4. No animal shall sleep in a bed. 
.......5. No animal shall drink alcohol. 
.......6. No animal shall kill another animal. 
.......7. All animals are created equal.
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.......All goes well. Only, Benjamin, a donkey, and Mollie, a mare, seem dissatisfied. Benjamin, an old cynic, believes nothing will really change. Mollie, a mare who pulled Mr. Jones’s buggy, yearns for the attention–and the sugar cubes–she received from human beings. The rest of the animals enthusiastically embrace the new order. Boxer, a cart horse, adopts a slogan: “I will work harder.” Special committees–including The Egg Production Committee for Chickens and The Clean Tails League for Cows–form to improve the animals’ way of life. The animals also design and raise their own flag and take the time to explain and simplify the rules for animals with low intelligence, such as the sheep. Animals at other farms hear about Animal Farm and are heartened.
.......After a time, the pigs reserve the apple crop and the cows’ milk for themselves because of the enormous energy they must expend on setting policy and administrating the day-to-day operation of the farm. 
.......When Farmer Jones attempts to reclaim the farm, the animals drive him off in the Battle of the Cowshed. Boxer and Snowball earn medals of valor. 
.......Just when the animals think nothing can go wrong, Napoleon and Snowball quarrel over policy, including Snowball’s proposal to construct a windmill to provide energy. Napoleon then unleashes a pack of vicious dogs, which he trained from puppyhood, on Snowball. They chase him off the farm, leaving Napoleon in control, with Squealer as his fawning supporter and propagandist. Thereafter, Napoleon keeps the attack dogs at his side to intimidate malcontents and keep order. Napoleon then dissolves the animal committees, saying the pigs will do all the thinking, and goes ahead with the windmill project that he earlier opposed. 
.......When a storm topples the windmill, Napoleon says Snowball sneaked back onto the farm and sabotaged it. He sets a bounty for his capture and executes animals accused of conspiring with snowball. 
.......Under Napoleon, hours are long and hard and work becomes drudgery. The pigs move into Jones’s house, altering the constitution to say that “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.” They drink beer and whiskey and conduct trade with humans. Squealer justifies these and other forbidden activities by amending the constitution again and again. A poem extolling Napoleon appears on the side of the barn.
.......While the pigs live in luxury, the other animals work their paws and hoofs to the bone as they till the fields and rebuild the windmill, all the while barely getting enough to eat. To raise capital, Napoleon sells timber to the operator of the neighboring Pinchfield Farm, Mr. Frederick, who pays with counterfeit bank notes. When Napoleon realizes he has been duped, he pronounces a death sentence on Frederick. Frederick then attacks the farm, blowing up the second windmill, but the animals repel his forces in a fierce battle in which Boxer suffers debilitating injuries. 
.......After his health declines and he falls on the job, Boxer disappears from the farm. Squealer says he died in peace in a hospital, a true and loyal animalist to the end. In truth, Napoleon sold Boxer to a glue factory for money to buy whiskey.
.......In time, the pigs become more and more like the humans they overthrew, walking upright on two legs, wearing clothes, and even entertaining humans at dinners. Eventually, the clause “All animals are created equal” becomes “All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal.”
.......Napoleon declares that Manor Farm should be the proper name for the business enterprise after all, then replaces the Animal Farm sign with the correct one. Life goes on, with the “human” pigs in full control.
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Study Questions and Essay Topics

• If Farmer Jones had treated the animals well, would they have revolted?
• What events in George's Orwell's life helped inspire him to write Animal Farm?
• How do you feel about laboratory experiments on animals to test the efficacy of medicine that may benefit humans?
• Napoleon the pig apparently represents the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (1879-1953). Research the life of Stalin, then write an essay detailing the atrocities he committed.
• Squealer is a propagandist. What is a propagandist? What techniques does a propagandist use? Identify examples of propaganda in American commercial and political advertising.
• Which world leaders today most closely resemble the pig Napoleon?
• The attack dogs represent the police force. What were the names of the secret police in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany? What powers did they have?