Old Major sets the story with a pure, heart-felt idea of equality. He tells the animals that he feels that they are being used by man, and suggests they rebel against Mr. Jones and create a government the animals later call `animalism' (very like communism). The other animals relate to what Old Major says and three days later he dies. Four months after this, the animals have indeed successfully rebelled and got rid of Mr. Jones, and formed an `animalist' government.

But Old Major's ideal is twisted when Napoleon and Snowball take charge of this government, using the Major's speech as an excuse to dominate.

I think this aspect of the book gives a poignant view of the fact that there is no perfect or equal society, despite beautiful ideals, because human nature will always interfere.

Snowball and Napoleon

At the beginning of the creation of...