'Is it not crystal clear then comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? We work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you comrades.'
I think this is the most important part of the book as it inspires the animals to start a revolution and have Animalism:
'The major's speech had given the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life.'
This was the start of the revolution.
Snowball and Napoleon are both leaders in the book. Snowball (Leon Trotsky) is a young smart, good speaker who is inspired by Old Major and wants to make life better for all the animals. Napoleon, on the other hand, is a cruel, selfish, devious and corrupt pig who is too power hungry. The first sign of his betrayal is when the mother dog, Jessie, gets her newborn puppies taken away from her:
'It happened that Jessie and Bluebell had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to nine sturdy puppies... Napoleon took them away, saying he would educate them... he took them up to a loft which could only be reached by a ladder... the farm soon forgot their existence.'
At first, you might think that it is kind of Napoleon to educate the young puppies, but later on you find out that he wasn't educating them at all, but turning them against everyone apart from himself. Also, the milk and apples episode; when Napoleon has all the milk and apples, he gets his sidekick Squealer (who represents all the propaganda ministers supporting Stalin) to tell everyone false things:
'Comrades! You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege?... Our soul object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig.'
Napoleon performs many other betrayals, and when the animals ask him why he is doing so, he gets Squealer to tell them that if they don't stop asking him questions then Mr Jones will come back. Thus, he is using fear to control the animal population, just like Stalin did in Soviet Russia.
Soon enough, Napoleon starts seeing Snowball as a threat, and starts plotting against him. When Snowball wanted to get a windmill made, everyone was with him:
'Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar side-look at Snowball, uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no-one had ever heard him utter before. At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to escape their snapping jaws... One of them, all but closed his jaws on Snowball's tail, but Snowball whisked it free just in time. Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more.'
Those “nine enormous dogs” once were Bluebell and Jessie's puppies that had been taken away from them.
Once Snowball had been driven off the farm,Napoleon completely took control of the farm, even changing the commandments:
Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy
Whatever, goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend
No animal shall where clothes
No animal shall sleep in a bed
No animal shall drink alcohol
No animal shall kill any other animal
All animals are equal
These were the rules how they used to be. But very slowly, each one was edited slightly, but in a drastic way. Napoleon breaks all the rules; sleeping in a bed, wearing clothes, drinking alcohol, trading with humans, even killing the animals if they spoke or did anything against him. This is such a betrayal as these are the commandments that Old Major has set before he dies. Everyone remembers him by these commandment, these are the principles that everyone should follow if they want a equal society. This is much like Stalin, as he betrayed all the original principles of communism. Napoleon continued to do this, until there was only one rule left:
“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”
All the animals endure these disasters silently, until the ultimate betrayal. Boxer, (who represents all the dedicated but tricked communist supporters) is a strong, hard working horse who always gives his all and trusted Napoleon like he trusted the ground beneath his feet. When Napoleon betrays Boxer nobody can bear it, it's such a shock to everyone because Boxer has always been loyal to Napoleon with his motto:
'I will work harder' and 'Napoleon is always right.'
When Boxer hurts his leg, Napoleon sends him to the knacker's, telling everyone that he is going to the vets:
'The animals crowded around the van. “Goodbye Boxer, Goodbye! Fools! Fools!” shouted Benjamin, prancing around them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs. “Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?... He read “Alfred Simmonds, Horse slaughterer and glue-boiler, willingdon. Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied”. Do you not know what this means? They are taking Boxer to the knackers!...“Boxer!” she cried, “Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!” and just at that moment, as though he had heard the uproar outisde, Boxer's face, with the white stripe down his nose, appeared at the small window at the back of the van. “Boxer!” cried Clover in a terrible voice. “Boxer! Get out! Get out quickly! They are taking you to your death!'
Those are Boxer's last moments with the animals, it was so sad that he trusted Napoleon so much and he got betrayed so badly. He does everthing for Napoleon and then he gets betrayed so badly.
Animal Farm is an allegoric tale of the Russian Revolution. Some of the characters represent: Old Major; Karl Marx, Mr Jones; Tsar Nicholas ll, Animalism; Communism, Snowball; Leon Trotsky, Napoleon; Joseph Stalin and lots of others. You may think that this story is a simple fairy tale, but if you read it with an open mind, you will realise that it has a much deeper meaning to it...