Book Club Guide

Animal Farm

by George Orwell · 1945 · Literary Fiction

Key themes

Political revolution and its betrayal
The corruption of language as the corruption of power
Propaganda and the manufactured consent of the powerless

About this book

Animal Farm is a brilliant political satire and a powerful and affecting story of revolutions and idealism, power and corruption. 'All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.'

Written in 1943-44 and rejected by several publishers before publication in 1945, Animal Farm was read immediately as a critique of Stalinism. Orwell said he wanted to expose the Soviet myth in a form anyone could understand.

Discussion questions

The pigs gradually take on the characteristics of the humans they replaced. At what specific point does the revolution fail — and is this failure inevitable, or could it have been prevented?
The novel is often read as a satire of Stalinism, but Orwell said it was about any revolution. Which elements feel specific to the Soviet Union, and which feel universal?
The revision of the commandments — and the animals' failure to remember the originals — is central to the novel's argument. What is Orwell saying about the role of memory and literacy in political resistance?
Boxer represents honest, loyal labour that gets nothing in return. How do you read his fate — as tragic, as inevitable, or as the novel's most direct political argument?
The novel is very short and allegorical. Does the allegorical form limit it — are the characters too symbolic to generate real feeling — or does the form serve Orwell's purpose precisely?