1.3 - Key Turning Points
Old Major's death and the revolution
What happens
- Old Major, an elderly prize boar, delivers a rousing speech to the farm animals about overthrowing human oppression and creating an equal society, inspiring them with ideas of rebellion.
- Shortly after, Old Major dies peacefully, leaving the animals to act on his vision without his guidance.
- The animals, led by pigs like Napoleon and Snowball, rise up against the drunken farmer Mr Jones, driving him off the property and renaming it Animal Farm.
- They establish the Seven Commandments as their guiding principles, promising a new era of freedom and cooperation.
Structural analysis
- This moment launches the narrative arc from oppression to revolution, establishing initial hope and unity among the animals.
- It creates dramatic irony as the animals' idealistic rules are set up only to be corrupted later, building anticipation for the story's tragic decline.
- The event advances the plot by removing Old Major's moral influence, allowing power struggles to emerge among the pigs.
Contextual connection
Old Major's speech draws from Marxist ideals of class struggle, mirroring Karl Marx's role in inspiring the Russian Revolution, while his death reflects how revolutionary visions often outlive their originators, leaving room for distortion by figures like Lenin or Stalin. Written in 1945, Orwell uses this turning point to critique how post-revolutionary societies in the Soviet Union abandoned equality for hierarchy, reflecting his experiences with totalitarian regimes during the Spanish Civil War.
Napoleon's expulsion of Snowball
What happens
- During a heated debate over building a windmill to improve farm life, Napoleon signals his secretly trained dogs to attack and chase Snowball away from the farm.
- Snowball, who had been a key leader in planning the windmill and organising committees, flees for his life and is never seen again.
- Napoleon declares himself the sole leader, cancels democratic meetings, and takes credit for the windmill idea, enforcing his decisions through fear.
Structural analysis
- This event shifts the story from collective decision-making to dictatorship, escalating conflict and marking the midpoint where hope begins to fade.
- It introduces foreshadowing of further betrayals, as Napoleon's use of violence hints at the total control he will later exert.
- The expulsion heightens tension by eliminating opposition, allowing the narrative to focus on the corruption of power under one ruler.
Contextual connection
Napoleon's chase of Snowball parallels Joseph Stalin's expulsion of Leon Trotsky from the Soviet Union in the 1920s, using secret police to eliminate rivals and consolidate power, which Orwell observed as a betrayal of revolutionary principles. Orwell's portrayal reflects the rise of authoritarianism in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s, influenced by his anti-fascist writings, showing how propaganda and force can twist democratic ideals into oppression.
The execution of the "traitors"
What happens
- Napoleon calls a meeting where he accuses several animals of secretly plotting with the exiled Snowball against the farm.
- Terrified animals, including hens and pigs, are forced to confess to false crimes like sabotage.
- The dogs immediately slaughter the confessors on Napoleon's orders, violating the commandment against killing other animals.
- The surviving animals are left in shock, singing "Beasts of England" quietly but feeling the weight of fear and loss.
Structural analysis
- This brutal scene accelerates the plot's descent into terror, transforming the farm from a hopeful community into a regime of intimidation.
- It builds suspense through the animals' growing realisation of betrayal, while advancing character development as survivors like Clover question the revolution's path.
- Structurally, it serves as a climax of moral breakdown, paving the way for further commandment changes and loss of ideals.
Contextual connection
The executions echo Stalin's Great Purge in the 1930s, where millions were killed or imprisoned on fabricated charges, a historical event Orwell condemned in his journalism as a perversion of socialist equality. Reflecting Orwell's biographical disillusionment with communism after the Spanish Civil War, this moment illustrates how totalitarian leaders use show trials to instil fear and maintain control over the masses.
Boxer's sale to the knacker
What happens
- Boxer, the dedicated cart-horse who embodies hard work with his motto "I will work harder," collapses from overexertion while building the windmill.
- The pigs promise to send him to a veterinarian for recovery, but instead sell him to a knacker for slaughter to buy whisky for themselves.
- Squealer spreads lies that Boxer died peacefully in hospital, praising his loyalty, while the other animals mourn but accept the story.
Structural analysis
- This event deepens the narrative's tragic tone, highlighting exploitation and moving the story toward its cynical conclusion.
- It creates emotional impact through dramatic irony, as readers know the truth while animals are deceived, underscoring themes of manipulation.
- The betrayal propels character arcs, showing the pigs' complete detachment from the working animals and foreshadowing the revolution's total failure.
Contextual connection
Boxer's fate symbolises the exploitation of the proletariat in the Soviet Union under Stalin, where workers were overworked and discarded, drawing from Orwell's observations of class betrayal in revolutionary societies. Influenced by Orwell's socialist yet anti-Stalinist views formed during World War II, this turning point critiques how leaders prioritise personal gain over the welfare of the masses they claim to represent.
The pigs walking on two legs
What happens
- The pigs alter the final commandment to "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" and begin walking upright like humans.
- They host a meeting with neighbouring human farmers, toasting to cooperation and renaming the farm back to Manor Farm.
- The other animals watch through the window, unable to distinguish between pigs and humans, realising the revolution has come full circle.
Structural analysis
- This finale provides cyclical closure, mirroring the story's beginning and emphasising the futility of the rebellion.
- It resolves the plot by revealing total corruption, while building to a powerful visual climax that reinforces the narrative's ironic tone.
- The event ties together character transformations, showing the pigs' evolution into oppressors and leaving readers with a sense of inevitable repetition.
Contextual connection
The pigs' transformation parallels the Soviet elite's adoption of tsarist privileges by the 1940s, a critique Orwell based on historical accounts of how Stalin's regime recreated the inequalities it overthrew. Orwell's allegory, written during wartime alliance with the Soviet Union, reflects his warning about how power corrupts revolutionary leaders, influenced by events like the Tehran Conference where Allied powers negotiated with Stalin.