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1 CE
Old Major's last speech
The boar Old Major holds his last speech in front of the animals. He tells the animals of a dream he had in his sleep. The dream depicts a society where all animals are equal and free of human enslavement. Old Major calls this "Animalism". After, he reminds the animals that all human habits are bad, and that no animal shall ever adopt them. Lastly, he teaches the animals of the farm the freedom song "Beasts of England", which would become the song of the revolution. -
2
Revolution!
Three days after his speech, Old major dies in his sleep, leaving the animals to plan their rebellion. This task falls to the pigs, who are the smartest animals, namely the three pigs Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer. The revolution happens earlier than anyone anticipated, and the animals succeed in their revolution with surprising ease. The pigs now tell the other animals they have learned to read and write. After renaming the farm to "Animal Farm" the pigs write down the seven key commandments. -
3
The first harvest & Animal committees
The animals spend the summer working the land, and committees meant to educate the farm's animals are established. Throughout the summer every animal workas hard they can in order to harvest the crops on time. Every morning, the animals hold a democratic meeting, where they debate new policies for the good of the animals. During the summer, snowball establishes a number of committees, most of which fail except the reading and spelling classes. Napoleon takes puppies to train them himself. -
4
The battle of the cowshed
News about the animal's revolution has spread far and wide. Neighboring farmers begin to fear that they too will be at the mercy of animals, as flocks of pigeons have taught animals "Beasts of England".
In early october, Mr. Jones marches towards Animal Farm, and the animals stage their defenses. Having studied roman war tactics, the animals fend off the humans in what is to be known as "The battle of the cowshed". In the wake of battle, Snowball and boxer get awarded "Animal hero: first class" -
5
Mollie dissapears
Mollie, a vain carriage horse is becoming an increasing burden on animal farm. Unable to conform to the new way of life, arriving late for work, accepting treats from nearby farms and in general behaving antagonistic to the 7 commandments, she is lured away by a man who offered her sugar and stroked her mane, never to be seen or mentioned by the other animals ever again -
5
The windmill project
Having studied Mr. Jones' books, Snowball comes up with the idea to construct a windmill. Doing so would enable the animals to produce electricity, and automate a lot of their workload. Napoleon opposes the plan, stating that animals should think about current needs rather than a distant plan. A great meeting is held in order to take a decision. As Snowball describes the joy electricity would bring, nine enourmous attack dogs appear. as they charge towards snowball he has no choice but to run. -
6
Building of the windmill
Even though the farm has all the needed materials, the building of the windmill poses a series of difficulties. The stone the animals have available is to big, and unable to use the necessary tools all seems lost. They finally come up with a solution, learning to drop big stones off a cliff, breaking them into manageable pieces. By the end of summer, the animals begin construction. -
6
Human collaboration
As time goes on, the farm is in need of materials and resources the animals cannot make themselves. The now sole leader Napoleon therefore hires Mr. Whymper, who visits every monday, to trade for Animal farm. Some animals find this weird, remembering that the seven commandments said to not interact with humans. Confronted with this, the pig known as Squealer simply states that there never was a law against money or trading, and anyone remebering such a thing is wrong. -
7
Storms ahead!
A fearsome storm hits Manor farm. knocking down rooftiles, elm trees and a flagstaff, the animals awake after a grueling night. To their devastation, the storm has utterly destroyed what has been built of the windmill. Napoleon quickly lays the blame on the desertor snowball, offering a basket of apples and "animal hero: third grade" to the animal that brings snowball to justice. Afterwards he holds a fiery speech, convincing the animals that the windmill must be rebuilt, despite the cost. -
8
Food shortages
As winter comes, the animals' food supply falls short. Napoleon works hard to conceal this from the outside world, not wanting the humans to know of this. Therefore, he contracts to sell four hundred eggs a week. The hens rebel, leading to their rations being cut and 9 hens dying of hunger before they give in. The other seem to remember that one of their original complaints was the selling of eggs to humans, but as always squealer manages to convince them that they're wrong. -
9
The purge
One day, Napoleon arranges a gathering in the yard. With his nine dogs flanking him, he begins questioning certain animals whether they've participated in snowball's conspiracies to sabotage the farm. The animals, forced to confess, get teared apart by the dogs, in plain sight for everyone to view. Wondering how the farm could come to this after the glorius rebellion, some of the animals begin to sing "Beasts of England", however, squealer appears and tells them that the song is outlawed. -
10
Do not kill - without cause
A few days after the purge, the animals find that the commandment stating that "no animal shall kill any other animal" has been edited. Now it says "no animal shall kill any other animal without cause", the animals blame their faulty memories for not remembering this, and as such, the gruesome executions are no longer as bad. If one were to believe squeler and his statistics, things are great at the farm, far better than they ever were under Jones. The cold and hungry animals swallow this lie. -
11
Timber sale
Some timber lies unused on the farm, left behind by Mr. Jones. Napoleon wants to sell this timber to one of the neighboring farms. Napoleon and the pigs teach the animals to hate whichever farm is currently not interested in the timber to an equal degree. In addition, whichever farm is not interested is said to be snowball's hiding spot. After an abundance of propaganda against Mr. Frederick, the animals are shocked to learn that he is the buyer of the timber. The payment is received in cash. -
12
Battle of windmill
As the construction of the windmill finishes, Napoleon uncovers that the cash he received is forged. He then warns the animals of what's coming. Mr. Frederick accompagnied by many armed men attack the farm. Mr. Frederick's men blow up the windmill, enraging the animals, leading them to attack. After a bloody battle, the animals drive away the men. Suffering heavy casualties, the animals hold a flag-raising ceremony to raise morale. -
13
Whisky in the basement
Shortly after the battle the pigs discover a bottle of whisky in the basement of Mr. Jones' house. Throughout the night, the other animals can hear singing and loud noises coming from the basement, followed by a loud disagreement. The next morning rumours spread amongst the animals that Napoleon is dying. By evening he is fine again, having suffered a hangover. The animals find squealer on the ground, failing to realise he has edited the commandments to justify the pig's drinking. -
14
Deception
Food is becoming ever more scarce on the farm, and as a result all animals, except the pigs and dogs, receive even smaller rations. Squealer continues to deceive the animals with his statistics, claiming the animals still receive more food than under Jones. At the same time, the pigs scramble together enough money to buy another bottle of whisky. -
14
Boxers death
Having been injured in the battle of the windmill, Boxer never quite recovered. Boxer was the farm's hardest worker, striving to do his best. With his strenght diminished, he was looking forward to his retirement. One day however, boxer collapses while pulling stone. The pigs announce that he will be sent to a human hospital in order to heal. When his cart arrives benjamin, a donkey, reads out that it is not an ambulance, boxer is being sent to slaughter. Boxer tries to escape, but in vain. -
14
President Napoleon
In April it is decided that the farm is now a republic. Napoleon becomes president, having been the only candidate to the presidency. Later that day, Napoleon presents new information that snowball was fighting with the humans at the battle of the cowshed. Because of how long it has been since that battle, none of the animals make any remarks -
17
Days, months and years pass by
As the years pass many animals come and go, and very few remember the days before the rebellion. The windmill is complete, but instead of producing electricity it mills corn, which is far more profitable. Even if the farm is richer, only the dogs and pigs live in comfort. The other animals are told this is due to the pigs doing very important work. The farm's animals still take pride in Animal farm and still believe in the goals of the rebellion, even after past events. -
17
Human or animal?
One day, the terrifying neighing of a horse can be heard all over the farm. the animals quickly come to see what the matter is. What meets them is the pigs walking around on two legs with whips in their hands, a choir of sheep following closely, bleating out "four legs good, two legs better!"
