Published in 1945, Animal Farm is one of George Orwell’s finest fictional criticisms of the Soviet Union. An allegorical novel, the text was initially met with several rejections by publishers because the United Kingdom was then in alliance with Stalin’s regime against Nazi Germany. However, Orwell was a staunch opponent of fascist and autocratic regimes and saw a very destructive society building up under Stalin.

In Animal Farm, Orwell uses allegorical devices to comment upon systems of power that oppress individuals based on differing ideologies and identities. The animals of Manor Farm boldly fight for shatters when the power shifts from a human to another animal, while following the code that ‘All Animals are Equal’. A witty and brilliant masterpiece, this satire on the Russian Revolution weaves a story of a gradual descent into a dystopian society. It traces how the initial principles upon which the eponymous Animal Farm was built are flouted by Napoleon – a pig – who sees any ideology differing from his as a threat.

Orwell’s Animal Farm is an important, thought-provoking commentary on how unchecked and arbitrary power tends to lead to the formation of an unjust and oppressive society. Animal Farm continues to hold importance in the study of modern literature and societies worldwide.