Chapters 5-7 Analysis

Chapters 5-7 show how the animals' new society starts to change under different leadership. Napoleon takes over, Snowball leaves, and harsh punishments begin, while the windmill work causes new problems.

What happens in this section

• Mollie leaves the farm after struggling with the new rules, showing early signs of unrest among the animals.
• Snowball and Napoleon argue over plans like the windmill, with Snowball wanting progress and Napoleon opposing it.
• Napoleon uses dogs he has secretly trained to chase Snowball away during a meeting, becoming the only leader.
• The animals face food shortages in winter, and Napoleon decides to build the windmill but claims it was his idea all along.
• Napoleon starts trading with nearby farms, changes some commandments, and forces confessions from animals accused of crimes, leading to their deaths.

Key events

• Snowball's expulsion
• Napoleon's assumption of total power
• The show trials and executions

Contextual connection

These chapters reflect the rise of Stalin's dictatorship in Soviet Russia during the 1920s and 1930s, where rivals like Trotsky (mirrored by Snowball) were exiled to consolidate power. Orwell uses the windmill debates to symbolise failed industrial projects like the Five-Year Plans, highlighting how propaganda twisted failures into supposed successes under authoritarian rule.

Key event 1 - Snowball's Expulsion

What happens

• During a debate on the windmill, Napoleon whistles for his trained dogs, who attack Snowball and force him to run away from the farm forever.

Structural analysis

• This moment shifts the story from group decisions to one leader's control, speeding up the plot by removing opposition.
• It creates tension through sudden violence, foreshadowing more fear-based rule and allowing Napoleon to blame future problems on the missing Snowball.
• The event links earlier rivalries to later oppression, building a narrative of growing control.

Key event 2 - Napoleon's Assumption of Total Power

What happens

• After Snowball leaves, Napoleon ends Sunday meetings, sets up a committee of pigs to make all choices, and uses Squealer to explain changes like building the windmill as his own plan.

Structural analysis

• This builds on the expulsion by establishing full control, slowing the pace to show how rules change gradually and create confusion.
• It advances the plot through propaganda, creating irony as animals accept shifts that contradict their original rebellion ideals.
• The event sets up cause-and-effect chains leading to hardships, strengthening the story's arc toward total dictatorship.

Key event 3 - The Show Trials and Executions

What happens

• Napoleon calls a meeting where animals like hens and pigs confess to secret crimes with Snowball, and the dogs kill them right away in front of the group.

Structural analysis

• This escalates fear after power is seized, using public violence to slow pacing and emphasise control through terror.
• It creates dramatic irony as innocent animals die, advancing the narrative by removing threats and forcing obedience.
• The sequence marks a key progression from hope to horror, preparing for later plot points like failed projects and more changes.