riassunto animal farm (in inglese)

Materie:	Riassunto
Categoria:	Inglese
Voto:	1.5 (2)
Download:	419
Data:	28.04.2006
Numero di pagine:	9
Formato di file:	.doc (Microsoft Word)

Chapter One: Summary As the story opens on Mr. Jones's farm, the farm animals are preparing to meet after Mr. Jones goes to sleep, to hear the words that the old and well-respected pig, Old Major, wants to say to them. The animals gather around as Old Major tells them that he had a dream the previous night and senses that he will not live much longer. As the animals prepare for his speech, the narrator identifies several of the animals which will become more important in the story: the cart-horses Boxer and Clover, the old donkey Benjamin, and Mollie the pretty mare. Before he dies, he wants to tell the animals what he has observed and learned in his twelve years. Old Major goes on to say that animals in England are cruelly kept in slavery by man, who steals the animals' labor and is "the only creature that consumes without producing". He describes his vision of an England in which animals are free and live in complete harmony and cooperation, free of the tyranny of man and his evil habits. Old Major tells the animals that they must all band together to fight the common enemy, Man, and rise up in rebellion when the opportunity comes. He exhorts them to remain true to their animal ways, and then leads them in a rousing song of revolution, called "Beasts of England". They are stirred into a frenzy by Old Major's speech and sing the song five consecutive times, until Mr. Jones stirs and fires a shot into the air to quiet them down. Soon the whole farm falls asleep.
Chapter Two: Summary Three days later, Old Major dies and is buried. His revolutionary fervor lives on, and the animals begin to flesh in the revolutionary ideology with which they will overthrow Mr. Jones. Two of the pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, emerge as the leaders of the animals. Snowball is naturally vivacious, while Napoleon "has a reputation for getting his own way". Another pig named Squealer also becomes prominent for his persuasive speaking ability. These three pigs create a system of tenets and name it "Animalism," and begin imparting it to the rest of the animals, often simplifying and slowly reasoning with the less-intelligent animals such as the Sheep, or the frivolous animals, like Mollie the white mare. The cart-horses Boxer and Clover are the most responsive of all the animals, and Moses the tame raven is the most difficult animal for the pigs to persuade to join the revolution. Moses claims that he knows of the existence of a magical place called Sugarcandy Mountain, and his tales are a constant distraction to the other animals. Revolution comes earlier than anyone expected, when Mr. Jones gets so drunk that he is unable to go feed the animals. After a day and a half without food, the hungry animals finally riot and break into the feeding area themselves, prompting Mr. Jones and his field hands to come outside. The animals attack them with a vengeance, and the men flee, leaving Manor Farm to the animals. Mrs. Jones wakes up during the commotion, and when she discovers what has happened, she runs off with a suitcase of clothes herself. The animals rejoice, walking over the farm to examine their property, curiously investigate the farmhouse interior, and celebrate with extra rations of food. The next morning, Snowball repaints the sign reading "Manor Farm" to say "Animal Farm," and he and Napoleon introduce the animals to The Seven Commandments, which form the tenets of their "Animalism": Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall kill another animal. All animals are created equal. The cows by this time need milking, so the pigs manage to milk them. Several of the animals want some of the milk for themselves, but Napoleon distracts them, saying that they have more important things to attend to and that he will take care of it. Later that day, the animals notice that the milk had disappeared.
Chapter Three: Summary The Animalism regime begins very promisingly, with all the animals working industriously to improve the farm, and enjoying the feeling of self-governance and "animal pride" which their regime produces. Inspired by the idea that they would enjoy the fruits of their own labors for the first time, the animals overcome the challenges of farming without man and bring in the largest harvest Animal Farm has ever produced. Boxer the horse becomes a model of hard work and devotion to the cause, and adopts the personal motto, "I will work harder". The pigs do not actually perform any work, but instead supervise and coordinate the work for the rest of the animals. Mollie the mare is the only animal who shirks work. Benjamin, the old donkey, remains unchanged after the revolution, and cryptically says that "Donkeys live a long time." The animals observe a flag-raising ritual on Sundays, which is a day of rest for them. Snowball forms an array of committees aimed at social improvements, education, training, and the like. The education program achieves the greatest success, with all the animals achieving some degree of literacy. After the discovery that the stupider animals could not learn the Seven Commandments, Snowball reduces the tenets down to the maxim "Four legs good, two legs bad," which even the sheep can memorize, and bleat for hours on end. The dogs have a litter of nine puppies, which Napoleon takes under the guise of educating them. He keeps them secluded in the loft, and soon the other animals forget about them. After the apple harvest, the pigs announce that they will reserve all the apples and milk for themselves, to fuel the strenuous efforts required to manage the farm. The other animals reluctantly acquiesce.
Chapter Four: Summary News of the rebellion at Animal Farm spreads quickly to the rest of the animals in England, and the words to "Beasts of England" can soon be heard on farms everywhere. Emboldened by the Animal Farm revolution, other previously subdued animals begin displaying subversive behavior in subtle ways, such as tearing down fences and throwing riders. This development alarms the local farmers, who have listened to Mr. Jones's tale of woe at the Red Lion tavern where he now spends most of his time. Alarmed by the developments at Animal Farm and the threat of revolution spreading, the townsmen band together with Mr. Jones and attempt to reclaim his farm. The animals successfully defend it, led by the strategy and bravery of Snowball. A young farm hand is thrown to the ground by Boxer, and at first it appears that he has been killed, but he gains consciousness a few moments later and runs off. At the first gunshot, Mollie the mare runs into the barn in terror and buries her head in the hay. Snowball and Boxer are given medals for their courageous fighting.
Chapter Five: Summary
Unhappy with the new workload at Animal Farm, Mollie runs away to work pulling a dogcart for a man who feeds her sugar lumps, and she is never spoken of again. When winter comes, Snowball begins talking of a plan to build a windmill to bring electricity to the farm. Snowball has spent much of his spare time reading Mr. Jones's old books on farming techniques, and he envisions an Animal Farm where increased productivity will result in less work and more comfortable lifestyles for all the animals. Napoleon, who by this times disagrees with Snowball about almost everything, is bitterly opposed, and the animals become divided into two camps of supporters. Napoleon and Snowball also disagree about the best course of defense for the farm, with Snowball advocating the spread of the revolutionary spirit to neighboring farms, while Napoleon feels the animals should procure weapons and develop a military force. The animals are set to vote, and after Snowball's impassioned speech, Napoleon whistles for nine large dogs (the puppies that he has trained), and they attack Snowball and drive him off the farm. Napoleon becomes the single leader of the animals, abolishes their weekly debates and meetings, and announces that they will go through with the windmill scheme after all. The animals are initially dismayed by these developments, but Squealer eventually smoothes things over.
Chapter Six: Summary The animals begin working like slaves to complete the harvest and build the windmill. Napoleon announces that the animals will now perform "voluntary" work on Sundays. Though the work is officially called voluntary, any animal who does not participate will have their food rations cut in half. To finance the completion of the windmill, Napoleon announces that Animal Farm will begin trading with the men who run nearby farms. The animals think they remember Old Major speaking against evil human habits such as trade. Squealer convinces the animals that they are only imagining it. The sight of Napoleon on four legs conducting business with the farm's trade agent Mr. Whymper, who stands upright, makes the animals so proud that they ignore their misgivings. The pigs then move into the farmhouse, and Squealer again convinces that animals that they are only imagining the earlier rules against sleeping in beds. Some of the animals go to check the Fourth Commandment, and discover that it actually reads "No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets". Rather than realizing that the Commandment has been altered, the animals accept that they must have forgotten the ending before. The windmill is destroyed in a storm, and Napoleon blames it on Snowball, and places a reward on his head.
Chapter Seven: Summary A hard winter comes, and the animals face near-starvation. To hide the food shortage from the outside world, Napoleon fills the grain bins with sand to fool Mr. Whymper. He also plants several animals at strategic locations during Mr. Whymper's visits so that he can hear them making "casual" (and false) remarks about food surpluses and increased rations. Napoleon announces the plan to sell a pile of timber to one of two neighboring farmers, Mr. Frederick or Mr. Pilkington. At Napoleon's bidding, Squealer announces that the hens will have to give up their eggs to be sold for money to buy grain. The hens refuse at first, but Napoleon cuts off their food rations until they relent, after nine of them have died from starvation. All sorts of acts of mischief and vandalism begin to surface, which are immediately attributed to Snowball. Soon after, Napoleon announces that an attempted rebellion has been discovered, and has several of the farm animals executed. The remaining animals react with fear and horror, and huddle around Clover the mare for comfort. She reminds them of Old Major's glorious speech and leads them all in "Beasts of England," which prompts Napoleon to forbid the singing of the song and replace it with the song "Animal Farm, Animal Farm, never through me shall thou come to harm".
Chapter Eight: Summary The animals discover that after the executions, another commandment is different from how they remembered it; the Sixth Commandment now reads "No animal shall kill another animal without cause". Napoleon has a long poem praising his leadership painted on the side of the barn, and it is announced that the gun will be fired each year on his birthday. All orders are delivered through Squealer, with Napoleon living in near seclusion in the farmhouse and rarely appearing on the farm in person. When he does make public appearances, it is only while accompanied by a retinue of dogs and other servants. Napoleon announces the sale of the pile of timber to Frederick, a neighboring farmer whose acts of cruelty toward his animals are legendary. After the transaction, it is revealed the Frederick paid with forged bank notes. Napoleon pronounces a death sentence onto Frederick. Shortly thereafter, the farm is again attacked by neighboring farmers, led by Frederick himself. Napoleon appeals to Pilkington to help the cause of Animal Farm, but Pilkington's interest in the farm were only economic, and since he did not get the pile of timber, he refuses to help, sending Napoleon the message "Serves you right". The animals finally repel the farmers, but only with great difficulty, with Boxer sustaining a severe injury to his hoof and the windmill being destroyed in an explosion. Napoleon celebrates the victory by drinking lots of whisky, and despite his vicioushangover, the Fifth Commandment soon reads "No animal shall drink alcohol in excess".
Chapter Nine: Summary More and more, the animals begin to think about the generous retirement plans that had been part of the ideology of the early Revolution. Life is hard for the animals, and rations continue to be reduced, except for the pigs, who are allowed to wear green ribbons on Sundays, drink beer daily, and actually seem to be gaining weight. To keep the animals from complaining about the obvious discrepancies, Squealer continually reads the animals reports which detail how much better off they are now then before the Revolution. Animal Farm is declared a Republic and must elect a President. Napoleon is the only candidate and is elected unanimously. Moses the raven returns after an absence of several years, still talking about the mystical Sugarcandy Mountain. Boxer falls ill and Napoleon promises to send him to a hospital, but the animals read the sign of the truck as he is hauled away and discover that he is being taken to the butcher's. Squealer eventually convinces the animals that they are mistaken.
Chapter Ten: Summary
Years pass, and many of the older animals, who remember life before the Revolution, die off. Only cynical Benjamin remains just as he always was. The animal population has increased, but not as much as would have been predicted at the Revolution's beginning. Talk of retirement for the animals stops, and the pigs, who have become the largest group of animals by far, form a bureaucratic class in the government. As Napoleon ages, Squealer assumes a position of increasing power, and learns to walk upright. He teaches the sheep to change their chant to "Four legs good, two legs better," and the Seven Commandments are replaced with a single commandment: "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others". The animals are once again uneasy by the new political developments, but they comfort themselves with the knowledge that at least they have no human master. Squealer begins to seek out the approval of the neighboring farmers for his efficiency and order at Animal Farm. The pigs invite a group of townsmen to dinner to inspect the efficiency of Animal Farm, and the men congratulate the pigs on their achievements, noting that the animals at Animal Farm did more work and required less food than any farm in the county. Napoleon refers to the farm animals as "the lower classes" and announces that Animal Farm will take back its original name of The Manor Farm. As the animal watch the dinner proceedings through the window, they realize with horror that they can no longer tell the pigs' faces from the human ones