Old Major's Speech & the Rebellion
Old Major’s Speech (Chapter 1)
The novella opens with Old Major, the prize-winning boar, calling a meeting in the barn. He delivers a passionate speech arguing that Man is the enemy of all animals. He tells them that their lives are “miserable, laborious, and short” because humans exploit their labour and give nothing in return. This speech is the catalyst for the revolution that follows.
Old Major represents Karl Marx (who developed communist theory) and Vladimir Lenin (who led the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution). Like Marx, Old Major dies before his ideas are put into practice — and like Lenin, his vision is later corrupted.
Orwell’s Use of Rhetoric
Old Major’s speech is a masterclass in rhetoric. Orwell deliberately crafts it to sound inspiring and logical, showing readers how revolutionary leaders use language to mobilise support.
Inclusive pronouns: “We are born, we are given just so much food…” — Old Major uses “we” to unite the animals and create a sense of shared suffering.
Rhetorical questions: “Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades?” — forces the audience to agree without questioning the logic.
Repetition: The repeated address “comrades” builds solidarity and a sense of collective identity.
Emotive language: Words like “miserable,” “slavery,” and “cruelty” provoke anger and resentment toward humans.
Rule of three: “our lives are miserable, laborious, and short” — three blunt adjectives hammer home the point.
Old Major also teaches the animals the song “Beasts of England,” which functions as a revolutionary anthem. The song imagines a future utopia free from human tyranny: “Rings shall vanish from our noses, / And the harness from our back.” It gives the animals a shared vision and emotional fuel for rebellion.
The Rebellion (Chapter 2)
Three nights after his speech, Old Major dies peacefully in his sleep. Over the following months, the pigs — recognised as the cleverest animals — develop his ideas into a complete system of thought called Animalism. Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer take the lead in spreading these ideas.
The Rebellion happens spontaneously when Mr Jones forgets to feed the animals. Orwell shows that revolutions are often triggered by immediate suffering (hunger) rather than ideology alone — mirroring how the Russian people revolted partly due to bread shortages.
The animals drive Jones and his men off the farm. They rename it “Animal Farm” and paint the Seven Commandments on the barn wall. The most important commandment is: “All animals are equal.” The early days feel hopeful — the animals work together, the harvest is a success, and there is a genuine sense of freedom.
The Seven Commandments include rules like “No animal shall sleep in a bed,” “No animal shall drink alcohol,” and “No animal shall kill any other animal.” These rules are presented as unbreakable principles, but Orwell plants the seeds of their corruption from the start.
Notice that it is the pigs who write the commandments. The other animals cannot read well enough to check them. This literacy gap is crucial — Orwell shows that control of knowledge is control of power. Those who cannot read the rules cannot hold their leaders accountable.
Also notice the detail that the pigs keep the milk and apples for themselves almost immediately. Squealer justifies this with the argument that pigs need brain food to manage the farm. This is the first sign that “equality” is already being undermined.
Orwell’s Purpose in Chapters 1–2
Orwell structures the opening to create dramatic irony. Readers familiar with history know the revolution will be betrayed, so the animals’ optimism becomes poignant and tragic. By making Old Major’s ideals genuinely appealing, Orwell ensures readers understand that the tragedy lies not in the revolution itself, but in its corruption by those who seize power.