Animal Farm Plot Analysis

Initial Situation

Submission under tyrannical human owner Jones.

This is the first situation we come across, so we’re thinking it’s the initial one. It’s also fairly static, and we get the sense things have been this way for a long time. Sounds like we need something new and exciting to set the story in motion.

Conflict

The animals want to run things themselves.

Something new and exciting happens. Old Major has a dream and convinces the animals they should rebel. An impending rebellion sounds a lot like a conflict. So does the Rebellion itself, what with the fighting and violence and all.

Complication

There are problems with the new leaders.

They had the Rebellion, so they should be all set. Right? Wrong. Like any good novel, complications soon arise. Turns out, these new leaders? Not so great. That whole equality business? Not really happening. Things are getting complicated.

Climax

Starvation! Windmills!

With all those bloody (literally bloody, not a slang British adjective) creatures and exclamation points running around, we’re feeling the climax full force.

Suspense

Boxer dies.

This is so suspenseful, even stoic Benjamin freaks out. We were biting our fingernails all the way through the chasing of the truck down the road scene. Which made it difficult to turn the pages.

Denouement

Time passes and the animals resign to a new and awful life.

Our heart rate slows considerably after the glue factory incident, which signifies we have hit the denouement stage. There are no exclamation points here, literal or figurative. We just chill out and watch the situation worsen at a steady and unalarming pace.

Conclusion

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The scene with the animals inside playing poker with the humans seems to be a conclusion. And not just because it’s the end of the book. We see a culmination of the theme here. This is where a nice little bow of closure gets wrapped up around the package of greed, manipulation, and corrupt power that is Animal Farm.