Resumo de Animal Farm - George Orwell

Animal Farm is a satire on the Communist Revolution in Russia.

On Manor Fam, Old Major, a pig, gives a fiery speech to all the animals: they must unite against their comman enemy, Man; they must prepare for a revolution. Old Major dies soon after and two younger pigs, Snowball and Napolean, teach the animals the principles of animalism. Soon after, the animals on the farm revolt, and drive out the owner, Mr Jones. Manor Farm is changed to Animal Farm, a farm ruled not by man but by animals.

There are seven commandments in Animal Farm:

1. Whoever has 2 legs is an enemy
2. Whoever has 4 legs 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.

At first, life on animal farm is good. The animals are inspired and motivated by their freedom from Man and work hard, achieving the largest harvest in history. The hardest worker is Boxer, the horse. His slogan is: I will work harder.

Snowball embarks on a plan of educating all the animals, and they soon acquire some literacy. He teaches the sheep to chant "4 legs good, 2 legs bad". The human owners soon come back to try and take over the farm. Snowball's strategy and bravery enables the animals to defeat the humans in battle. Inspired by their success, Snowball attempts to spread animalism to other farms and makes plans to build a windmill so that their lives will be easier. However, Napolean uses 9 dogs to drive Snowball away. Squealer, a smooth talking pig, soon brainwashes the other animals that Napolean is in the right and Snowball is an enemy. The animals accept what Squealer says, so convincing are his arguments. Boxer has a new slogan: Napolean is always right.

The animals suffer under Napolean's rule. They are made to build the windmill, working even on Sundays. When winter comes and there is a food shortage, their rations are cut. The hens are starved until they give up all their eggs to Napolean. Meanwhile, Napolean and the other pigs enjoy themselves drinking alcohol, sleeping in beds, eating and gaining weight. Animals who protest against the pigs and refuse to work are executed. The commandments read: No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets, no animal shall drink alcohol in excess, and no animal shall kill another animal without cause. Boxer falls ill from all the hard work, his reward is to be sent to the butcher's for glue. Squealer tells the other animals that he is sent to a retirement farm.

The pigs start to behave like Man. They trade with men, walk on two legs like men, and invite men to their house for dinner. Squealer teaches the sheep to chant "4 legs good, 2 legs better". The 7 commandments are now reduced to a single one: All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

The animals have a hard life but they comfort themselves that they do not work for men. However, looking in through the window at the pigs and their human friends at dinner, the animals realise they cannot tell the difference between pig and Man.

Animal Farm is not just about the Russian Revolution, about the past. It can also teach us to learn from the past, that any leader who is power hungry can use propaganda to bend the masses to do his will, while removing all dissenting voices by force.

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