implies, Animal Farm is set on a farm. But Orwell uses the farm to represent auniverse in miniature. It sometimes seems idyllic, peaceful, fresh, spring-like. Usually momentswhen it is perceived in this way contrast ironically with the real situation of the animals. Thesetting suggests an attitude: "this could be utopia, but..." It does not really interest Orwell in itself.Sometimes he sketches a wintry, bleak, cold decor, a perfect backdrop for hard times. Here youcould think of the setting as a metaphor--a way of representing hard times.ThemeThe theme of Animal Farm is not difficult to understand. Orwell intended to criticize thecommunist regime he saw sweeping through Russia and spreading to Europe and even theUnited States. Though he agreed with many Marxist principles, Orwell was unable to accept thecommunist interpretation of socialism because he saw many similarities between the communistgovernments and the previous czarist regimes in old Russia. Communism, he thought, wasinherently hypocritical.In his self-proclaimed fairy-story, Orwell uses his allegorical farm to symbolize the communistsystem. Though the original intention of overthrowing Mr. Jones (who represents the Czars), isnot inherently evil in itself, Napoleons subsequent adoption of nearly all of Mr. Jones principlesand harsh mistreatment of the animals proves to the reader that indeed communism is notequality, but just another form of inequality. The pigs and dogs take most of the power forthemselves, thinking that they are the best administrators of government. Eventually the powercorrupts them, and they turn on their fellow animals, eliminating competitors through propagandaand bloodshed. This is of course a reference to Stalin, who murdered many of his own people inorder to maintain his dictatorship of Russia....
