Animal Farm

Animal Farm is off to a great start. Snowball teaches the other animals to read and write (though few animals besides the pigs learn to read well), food is plentiful due to a good harvest, and the entire Farm is organized and running smoothly. Even when Mr. Jones tries his last-ditch effort to retake control of the farm, the animals easily defeat him at what they later call the "Battle of the Cowshed". Soon, however, things begin to unravel as Napoleon and Snowball begin an epic power struggle over the farm. When Snowball announces his idea for a windmill, Napoleon quickly opposes it. A meeting is held, and when Snowball makes his passionate and articulate speech in favour of the windmill, Napoleon only makes a brief retort and then makes a strange noise to call in nine attack dogs. They burst in and chase Snowball off of the farm. In his absence, Napoleon declares himself the leader of the farm and makes instant changes. He announces that meetings will no longer be held as before, and a committee of pigs alone will decide what happens with the farm.

Napoleon begins to abuse his powers even more and life on the farm becomes harder and harder for the rest of the animals. The pigs impose more and more controls on them while reserving privileges for themselves. History is rewritten to villainise Snowball and glorify Napoleon even further. Each step of this development is justified by the pig, Squealer, who on several occasions alters the Seven Commandments on the barn in the dead of night ("No animal shall drink alcohol" becomes "No animal shall drink alcohol in excess", for example). The song "Beasts of England" is banned as inappropriate now that the dream of Animal Farm has been realised, and is replaced by an anthem glorifying Napoleon who begins to live more and more like a human. The