Animal Farm study guide
1-9 rising action
10-13 falling action
Step 1: What parts of the plot seem related to a possible theme in the novel? (Think about the main conflict and how it get resolved or worked out.)

Step 2: Which characters seem related to a possible theme? Which characters change, and what do those changes suggest about people, power, or life.

Step 3: How does George Orwell use symbols to hint at the novel’s themes? What objects, people, or places stand for something “bigger” in the story.

Step 4: What does the novel’s title suggest about the novel’s theme? Why do you think Orwell named his allegory Animal Farm?

Step 5: Write one or two of the novel’s main themes in your own words.

As is the case with most fables, Animal Farm is set in an unspecified time period and is largely free from historical references that would allow the reader to date the action precisely. It is fair to assume, however, that Orwell means the fable to be contemporaneous with the object of its satire, the Russian Revolution (1917–1945). It is important to remember that this period represented the recent past and present at the time of writing and that Orwell understands the significance of the story’s action to be immediate and ongoing rather than historical.