Animal Farm Chapter-by-Chapter Summary
Animal Farm has ten short chapters. The first two tell how the animals overthrow Mr. Jones; chapters three to five show the early years and the split between Snowball and Napoleon; chapters six to nine follow Napoleon's growing tyranny; and chapter ten jumps forward years to the famous final scene.
For the story in one short read, see our full Animal Farm summary; this guide goes chapter by chapter.
| Chapter | Main event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Old Major's speech and Beasts of England |
| 2 | The rebellion and the Seven Commandments |
| 3 | The first harvest; the pigs take the milk and apples |
| 4 | The Battle of the Cowshed |
| 5 | Snowball is driven out |
| 6 | The pigs move into the farmhouse; the windmill falls |
| 7 | Famine, the hens' revolt and the executions |
| 8 | Frederick's fake money and the Battle of the Windmill |
| 9 | Napoleon becomes president; Boxer is taken away |
| 10 | Years later: pigs on two legs and the final dinner |
What happens in chapter 1?
Mr. Jones, owner of Manor Farm, goes to bed drunk. The animals gather in the barn to hear Old Major, a respected prize boar. He tells them that their lives are miserable and short because humans take everything they produce, and urges them to rebel one day. He warns them never to adopt human ways and declares that all animals are equal. He teaches them the song Beasts of England, and their singing wakes Jones, who fires his gun into the dark.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 2?
Old Major dies three days later. The pigs Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer turn his ideas into a system called Animalism. One June day Jones gets drunk and forgets to feed the animals. They break into the store shed, and when Jones and his men attack them, the animals drive them off the farm. They destroy the whips and harnesses, rename the place Animal Farm and paint the Seven Commandments on the barn wall. That evening the milk taken from the cows disappears.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 3?
The animals bring in the hay harvest faster than ever. Boxer works hardest and adopts the motto that he will work harder. On Sundays the animals hold meetings, and Snowball sets up committees and reading classes. Since many animals cannot learn the Commandments, Snowball sums them up as four legs good, two legs bad. Napoleon takes nine puppies away to educate them himself. The pigs keep the milk and windfall apples, and Squealer explains that pigs need them for their brainwork.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 4?
News of the rebellion spreads to other farms, where the farmers Pilkington and Frederick fear it. In October Jones and his neighbors attack. Snowball, who has studied military tactics, leads an ambush and is wounded. Boxer knocks a stable boy senseless and fears he has killed him. The humans flee. The animals call it the Battle of the Cowshed and give Snowball and Boxer medals.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 5?
Mollie, the vain mare, runs away to pull a human's cart. Snowball and Napoleon disagree about everything, above all Snowball's plan for a windmill to make electricity. On the day of the vote, Napoleon's nine dogs, now grown, chase Snowball off the farm. Napoleon ends the Sunday debates; the pigs will decide everything. Three weeks later Squealer announces that the windmill will be built and that it was Napoleon's idea all along.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 6?
The animals work like slaves on the windmill, Boxer most of all. Napoleon begins trading with humans through the solicitor Mr. Whymper. The pigs move into the farmhouse and sleep in the beds, and the Fourth Commandment now forbids sleeping in a bed with sheets. In November a storm knocks the half-built windmill down. Napoleon blames Snowball and sentences him to death.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 7?
A harsh winter brings hunger, which the pigs hide from Whymper by filling the food bins with sand. Napoleon orders the hens to give up their eggs for sale; they resist, he cuts off their food, and nine hens die. Every misfortune is blamed on Snowball. At a meeting, four pigs, several hens, a goose and some sheep confess to plotting with Snowball and are killed by the dogs on the spot. The shaken animals gather on a hillside. Beasts of England is banned and replaced by a new song.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 8?
The Sixth Commandment now forbids killing without cause. Napoleon becomes more remote and gathers grand titles. He sells timber to Frederick, who pays with forged banknotes, then attacks the farm and blows up the finished windmill with explosives. The animals drive the men off at great cost and call it a victory. The pigs find whisky in the farmhouse, and after Squealer is found beside a broken ladder, the Fifth Commandment now forbids drinking to excess.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 9?
Rations are cut for everyone except the pigs and dogs. The farm becomes a Republic and Napoleon its only candidate for president. Boxer, worn out with a split hoof, collapses while hauling stone for the rebuilt windmill. A van comes to take him to hospital, but Benjamin reads the side: it belongs to a horse slaughterer. The animals cannot save him. Squealer claims Boxer died peacefully in hospital, and the pigs buy a case of whisky.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens in chapter 10?
Years pass, and most of the animals who remember the rebellion have died. The windmill is used to grind corn for profit, not to make the animals' lives easier. One day the pigs walk out on two legs, carrying whips, and the sheep chant four legs good, two legs better. The Commandments have been replaced by one rule: all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. Napoleon hosts the neighboring farmers and renames the farm Manor Farm. When a quarrel breaks out over cards, the animals at the window look from pig to man and cannot tell which is which.
↑ Back to the topMore about Animal Farm
This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.