Textual Analysis
The novel Animal Farm is set on a fictional farm in rural
England. In the novel, men and animals formulate an asymmetrical social
structure with men as the rulers and the animals as the ruled. Mr Jones,
his family, the solicitor Mr Whymper and other farm owners such as
Pilkington and Frederick represent this superior ruling race and class.
The animal characters, from pigs to hens, are the inferior and dominated
class. Again, the animals are not a homogenous group. According to their
biological, physical, and intellectual abilities, they are graded into
various groups. For example, The pigs are the cleverest and intelligent.
Boxer and Clover are enormously built and robust animals. Again, some
animals are four-legged, and some are two-legged but have wings. Some
are pet animals, and some are wild. Thus, animals are sociable and
hostile. All the animals respect Major, Boxer and Clover on the farm.
However, dogs and cats look down upon lesser animals and endanger the
life of birds and rats. Orwell uses these typical diversities and
multiplicity of social relations to represent social stratification. He
shows how these stratifications fracture the nation into various
contending groups in post-colonial times and lead the animal world
towards anarchy.