The central theme is that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The pigs, initially operating under the principle that "all animals are equal," gradually adopt human behaviors and traits.
The pigs' propagandist, representing the official state media. Animal farm: and related readings
The revolution, designed to create a utopia for the animals, ends in a totalitarian regime, showing that the goals of a revolution can be ruined by greed and the desire for control. The central theme is that power corrupts, and
“Orwell wasn't just critiquing communism — he was laying bare the terrifying ease with which any ideology, once corrupted by power, begins to mirror the tyranny it opposed.” YouTube · Shawn Grenier | The Canvas · 2 years ago Related Readings and Context The revolution, designed to create a utopia for
“Boxed broke my heart in a thousand pieces, because he was not smart. He truly believed in the system in which he was, and worked for the betterment of Animalism and the farm as a whole.” Reddit · r/books · 9 years ago
The pig who becomes the dictator, representing Joseph Stalin.
Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) is a seminal satirical allegorical novella, frequently studied as a biting critique of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the subsequent rise of Stalinism. It tells the story of farm animals who overthrow their human oppressor, only to fall under a new, more oppressive dictatorship led by pigs. Core Themes and Analysis