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'''''Animal Farm''''' is a [[Satire|satirical]] [[allegory|allegorical]] [[novella]], in the form of a [[beast fable]],{{sfn|Meija|2002}} by [[George Orwell]], first published in England on 17 August 1945.{{sfn|Bynum|2012}}{{sfn|12 Things You|2015}} It tells the story of a group of [[anthropomorphic]] [[farm animals]] who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, the rebellion is betrayed, and under the [[dictatorship]] of a pig named [[Napoleon (Animal Farm)|Napoleon]], the farm ends up in a state far worse than before.
 
According to Orwell, ''Animal Farm'' reflects events leading up to the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917 and then on into the [[History of the Soviet Union (1927–53)|Stalinist era]] of the [[Soviet Union]], a period when Russia lived under the communist ideology of [[Joseph Stalin]].{{sfn|Meija|2002}}{{sfn|Gcse English Literature}} Orwell, a [[democratic socialism|democratic socialist]],{{sfn|Orwell |2014 |p=23}} was a critic of Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed [[Stalinism]], an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Barcelona [[May Days]] conflicts between the [[POUM]] and Stalinist forces, during the [[Spanish Civil War]].{{sfn|Bowker |2013|p=235}}{{efn| Orwell, writing in his review of [[Franz Borkenau]]'s ''[[The Spanish Cockpit]]'' in ''[[Time and Tide (magazine)|Time and Tide]]'', 31 July 1937, and "Spilling the Spanish Beans", ''New English Weekly'', 29 July 1937}} In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described ''Animal Farm'' as a satirical tale against Stalin ("''{{lang|fr|un conte satirique contre Staline}}''"),{{sfn|Davison|2000|p=}} and in his essay, "[[Why I Write]]" (1946), wrote: "''Animal Farm'' was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole".{{sfn|Orwell|2014|p=10}}
 
The original title of the novel was '''''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story''''', but US publishers dropped the subtitle when it was published in 1946, and only one of the translations, during Orwell's lifetime, the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] version, kept it. Other title variations include subtitles like "A Satire" and "A Contemporary Satire".{{sfn|Davison|2000}} Orwell suggested the title ''{{lang|fr|Union des républiques socialistes animales}}'' for the French translation, which abbreviates to URSA, the [[Latin]] word for "bear", a [[Russian bear|symbol of Russia]]. It also played on the French name of the Soviet Union, ''{{lang|fr|Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques}}''.{{sfn |Davison|2000|p=}}
 
Orwell wrote the book between November 1943 and February 1944, when the United Kingdom was in its [[Allies of World War II|wartime alliance]] with the Soviet Union against [[Nazi Germany]] and the British intelligentsia held Stalin in high esteem, a phenomenon Orwell hated.{{efn|[[Bradbury, Malcolm]], Introduction |p=vi, ''Animal Farm'', Penguin, 1989}} The manuscript was initially rejected by several British and American publishers,{{sfn|''Animal Farm'': Sixty}} including one of Orwell's own, [[Victor Gollancz]], which delayed its publication.{{efn|According to Orwell, Gollancz refused to publish the book due to the fear of spoiling relations with a fundamental ally in the war against Nazism: "I must tell you that it is I think completely unacceptable politically from your point of view (it is anti-Stalin)". Gollancz became very angry at this insinuation, but on 4 April 1944, he recognized his error of judgment: "You were right and I was wrong. I am so sorry. I have returned the manuscript". Dalya Alberge [https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/17/it-could-disappear-for-ever-anger-over-sale-of-george-orwell-archive 'It could disappear for ever': Anger over sale of George Orwell archive ''The Guardian'', 17 August 2024]. }} It became a great commercial success when it did appear, as international relations and public opinion were transformed as the wartime alliance gave way to the [[Cold War]].{{sfn|Dickstein |2007 |p= 134}}
 
''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine chose the book as one of the 100 best English-language novels (1923 to 2005);{{sfn|Grossman|Lacayo|2005}} it also featured at number 31 on the [[Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels]],{{Sfn|Modern Library|1998}} and number 46 on the [[BBC]]'s [[The Big Read]] poll.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml "The Big Read".] BBC. April 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2020.</ref> It won a [[Retro-Hugo|Retrospective Hugo Award]] in 1996{{Sfn|The Hugo Awards|1996}} and is included in the [[Great Books of the Western World]] selection.<ref name="Western books">{{Cite web|url= https://prodigalnomore.wordpress.com/great-books-of-the-western-world-as-free-ebooks/ |website= Prodigal no more | via = WordPress |title=Great Books of the Western World as Free eBooks|date=5 March 2019}}</ref>
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''Animal Farm'' has also faced similar forms of resistance in other countries.<ref name=":1"/> The ALA also mentions the way that the book was prevented from being featured at the International Book Fair in Moscow, Russia, in 1977 and banned from schools in the United Arab Emirates for references to practices or actions that defy Arab or Islamic beliefs, such as pigs or alcohol.<ref name=":1"/>
 
In the same manner, ''Animal Farm'' has also faced relatively recent issues in China. In 2018, the Chinese government decided to censor all online posts about or referring to ''Animal Farm''.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Oppenheim|first=Maya|date=1 March 2018|title=China bans George Orwell's Animal Farm and letter 'N' from online posts as censors bolster Xi Jinping's plan to keep power|journal=The Independent|id={{ProQuest|2055087191}}}}</ref> However, the book itself, as of 2019, remains sold in stores. Amy Hawkins and Jeffrey Wasserstrom of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' stated in 2019 that the book is widely available in mainland China for several reasons: censors believe the general public is unlikely to read a highbrow book, because the elites who do read books feel connected to the ruling party anyway, and because the Communist Party sees being too aggressive in blocking cultural products as a liability. The authors stated: "It was – and remains – as easy to buy ''1984'' and ''Animal Farm'' in [[Shenzhen]] or [[Shanghai]] as it is in London or Los Angeles".<ref name=HawkinsWasserstrom>{{cite web|last1=Hawkins|first1=Amy|last2=Wasserstrom|first2=Jeffrey|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/why-1984-and-animal-farm-arent-banned-china/580156/|title=Why ''1984'' Isn't Banned in China|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=13 January 2019|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref> An enhanced version of the book, launched in India in 2017, was widely praised for capturing the author's intent, by republishing the proposed preface of the First Edition and the preface he wrote for the Ukrainian edition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thepolicytimes.com/book-review-george-orwells-animal-farm-received-mixed-reviews-from-across-the-world-enhanced-version-now-available-on-pirates/|title=Book Review: George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' Received Mixed Reviews from across the World, Enhanced Version now Available on Pirates|work=The Policy Times|date=23 September 2020|access-date=23 September 2020|archive-date=29 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029071652/https://thepolicytimes.com/book-review-george-orwells-animal-farm-received-mixed-reviews-from-across-the-world-enhanced-version-now-available-on-pirates/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
==Analysis==
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* [[Animal Farm (1999 film)|''Animal Farm'']] (1999) is a live-action TV version that shows Napoleon's regime collapsing in on itself, with the farm having new human owners, reflecting the collapse of Soviet communism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Animal Farm (1954, 1999) |url=https://lozierinstitute.org/movie-reviews/animal-farm-1954-1999/ |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Lozier Institute}}</ref>
 
[[Andy Serkis]] is directing an [[Animal Farm (upcoming2025 film)|upcoming animated film adaptation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/animal-farm-andy-serkis-cinesite-imaginarium-1235132208/|work=The Hollywood Reporter|title=Andy Serkis Teams With Cinesite on 'Animal Farm' Adaptation|author=Giardina, Carolyn|date=19 April 2022|access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref>
 
===Radio dramatisations===
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===Video game===
 
DeveloperDevelopers Nerial and The Dairymen released a game based on the book in December 2020, entitled ''Orwell's Animal Farm'', for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[macOS]], [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] in coordination with the Orwell Estate.
 
==See also==
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* {{cite web |last=Davison |first= Peter |title=George Orwell: Animal Farm: A Fairy Story: A Note on the Text |year=2000 |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |location=England |url= http://www.orwell.ru/library/novels/Animal_Farm/english/eint_pd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212041856/http://www.orwell.ru/library/novels/Animal_Farm/english/eint_pd |archive-date= 12 December 2006 }}
* {{cite book|last=Dickstein|first= Morris|chapter=Animal Farm: History as fable|pages=133–45|title=The Cambridge Companion to George Orwell |editor-first =John | editor-last = Rodden |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=x8-fnamQuUkC|date= 2007|publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 978-0-521-67507-9}}
* {{cite news |last=Eliot |first= Valery |title=T.S. Eliot and Animal Farm: Reasons for Rejection |date=6 January 1969 |url= http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1969-01-06-09-004&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1969-01-06-09 |work=[[The Times]] |location=UK |access-date=8 April 2009 |url-status= livedead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091015180725/http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1969-01-06-09-004&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1969-01-06-09 |archive-date= 15 October 2009 }}
* {{cite web |title=The Fall of Mister Jones and the Russian Revolution of 1917 |url= http://www.shmoop.com/animal-farm/fall-mister-jones-russian-revolution-1917-symbol.html |publisher=Shmoop University |access-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221910/http://www.shmoop.com/animal-farm/fall-mister-jones-russian-revolution-1917-symbol.html |archive-date=2 December 2013 |ref= CITEREFFall of Mister}}
* {{cite book|last=Firchow|first= Peter Edgerly|title=Modern Utopian Fictions from H.G. Wells to Iris Murdoch|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kzT3bY2a0hsC|year=2008|publisher=CUA Press|isbn= 978-0-8132-1573-0}}
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[[Category:Dystopian novels]]
[[Category:English novels]]
[[Category:Hugo Award for Best Novella winningNovella–winning works]]
[[Category:Novels about animals]]
[[Category:Novels about propaganda]]
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[[Category:Political literature]]
[[Category:Roman à clef novels]]
[[Category:Satirical novels]]
[[Category:Secker & Warburg books]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Karl Marx]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Vladimir Lenin]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Joseph Stalin]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Leon Trotsky]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Nicholas II of Russia]]