The rebellion by the working animals of the farm against the oppressive human farmer who lives off the fruits of their labor is directly analogous to the Russian Revolution of 1917 in which workers and peasants revolted against a feudal system in which feudal lords lived luxuriously from the toil of the peasants who farmed on their lands. Many of the events at Manor Farm are closely linked to political events in Russia during the first half of the twentieth century. The Collective Farm and the Communist State If an allegory is “a n extended metaphor in which characters and objects hold both a literal meaning as well as a secondary, implied meaning,” then what is the additional or alternative meaning contained in Orwell’s story of animal rebellion? Activity 2. How is this story allegorical? You may provide your own definition of allegory, or you can ask your students to read the definition of allegory that is available through EDSITEment's Literary Glossary. Rather than living under the heel of their human master, the animals of Manor Farm decide that they will take control of the products of their labor, working for the good of the farm and other animals, rather than for the good of humans. Jones, their master, and take over the management of the farm. The animal residents of Manor Farm, spurred on by the dream of the pig, Old Major, decide they will change their “miserable, laborious, and short” lives. George Orwell’s 1945 novella, Animal Farm, is the story of an animal revolution.
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