Why both the left and the right use 'Animal Farm' as an allegory

An academic on why the animals in 'Animal Farm' matter

Although Orwell intentionally wrote his 1945 novella as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, Charlotte Sleigh—an associate professor of science and technology—argues that the text can also be used to understand (and complicate) our relationship with the nonhuman world.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Read T.S. Eliot's rejection letter for Orwell's 'Animal Farm'

In 1944, the renowned poet T.S. Eliot, then an editorial director at Faber and Faber, wrote to George Orwell to decline "Animal Farm," arguing that the fable's politics didn't quite make sense, writing, "after all, your pigs are far more intelligent than the other animals, and therefore the best qualified to run the farm."

Hear 2 literature professors unpack the legacy of 'Animal Farm'

The University of Oxford's David Dwan—a professor of English literature and intellectual history—is an Orwell scholar who has written about the author's politics, especially as they relate to "Animal Farm." In this conversation with Dr. Nathan Waddell, from the University of Birmingham, UK, Dwan explores how framing the novella as a beast fable both made it more accessible and allowed it to be overly simplified.

How the CIA used 'Animal Farm' as Cold War propaganda

After Orwell's death in 1950, undercover agents bought the book's film rights from his widow and got to work creating a family-friendly version of the story that would reinforce its anti-Soviet themes and downplay its criticisms of capitalism and sympathetic portrayal of Snowball, the Trotsky analog.

Listen to the Pink Floyd album inspired by 'Animal Farm'

The 1977 album "Animals" was loosely inspired by Orwell's 1945 novella, though it was not a strict allegory for the Russian Revolution. Instead, Roger Waters' and David Gilmour's songs criticize what they see as the inhumanity of modern capitalism.

George Orwell's '1984' is one of the most famous dystopian works

Orwell's life experiences, from living among the poor to witnessing the rise of authoritarian regimes, deeply shaped his worldview. His iconic works, "Animal Farm" and "1984," offered stark warnings about power, control, and propaganda, making him one of the most enduring voices against totalitarianism.

A critic evaluates Orwell's lesser-known books

Orwell is primarily known for "Animal Farm" and "1984," but The Critic's Alexander Larman argues that Orwell's other titles—especially the 1936 novel "Keep the Aspidistra Flying"—are also worthy reads. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

George Orwell: What is fascism?

This 1944 article by George Orwell attempts to answer the question, "What is fascism?" Orwell's book Animal Farm was published at about the same time at the article, and he penned 1984, a book with anti-totalitarianism sentiments, a few years afterward. In this article, Orwell argues that the term "fascism" has become near "meaningless" due to being essentially demoted to a swearword.

Some believe 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' is a political allegory

Although Baum claimed his book was intended as a simple children's story, scholars challenged that notion. One high school history teacher, Henry Littlefield, began teaching the book as a satire of the Gilded Age and published an essay inspiring other scholars to consider the text as a politically charged allegory.

The long-tail influence of Thoreau's 'Civil Disobedience'

His essay "Civil Disobedience" laid out both a practical and a moral plan for resisting unjust governments, inspiring civil rights leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as anti-war anarchists like Emma Goldman and literary figures like Leo Tolstoy.

Norman Rockwell's 'Freedom of Speech' has become an internet meme

The famous painting, which portrays a man in work clothes speaking up in a crowd of men in suits, has become a companion image for internet users posting unpopular or controversial opinions. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

John Steinbeck often drew a pig with wings next to his signature, a character he affectionately called 'Pigasus.'

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

Read an analysis of Roosevelt’s famous Congressional address by a speech writer

Former White House speechwriter Bob Lehrman breaks down why Roosevelt’s 520-word “Infamy” speech endures—showing how FDR used structure, urgency, radio-era reach and careful omissions to rally the nation and win near-unanimous support for war.

Satirists sometimes use ironic personas

Satirists often embody a character to mock the kind of person who would believe what they argue are ridiculous ideas. One famous example was Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report,” who satirized right-wing pundits like Bill O’Reilly through a bombastic persona. When O’Reilly asked whether that meant he was owed money, Colbert responded with more satire: “There’s a difference between imitation and emulation … If you imitate someone, you owe them a royalty check. If you emulate them, you don’t.”

Critics are still debating 'the great American novel'

The title has been bandied about since the 19th century, though its definition has only become more debated as time goes on. This list catalogs some of the texts critics have argued deserve the crown (like "The Great Gatsby," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "Invisible Man") and, helpfully, includes those critics’ rationales. Think of it as your new “to read” list—or maybe just something to argue about at your next family gathering.

Camus was once a communist, but eventually disavowed the ideology

The writer belonged to the French Communist Party and the Algerian Communist Party in the mid-1930s, but he was eventually expelled for refusing to downplay objections to French colonialism. By the time he published "The Rebel," he was vocally anti-communist, believing it was a utopian ideology that often relied on violence.

How American politics influenced 'Star Wars'

George Lucas believed that myths were how societies communicated notions of good and evil, and that modern myths were found on movie screens. This deep dive from the Los Angeles Review of Books explores how Lucas' disillusionment with the Vietnam War and his disgust with President Richard Nixon informed some of the themes in "Star Wars."

Plato's allegory of the cave is a metaphor for the value of learning

In the story, which comes from the Socratic dialogue, "The Republic," a group of prisoners are confined in a cave since birth—chained and facing a wall with a fire behind them, so any glimpses of life were rendered by shadows. One prisoner escapes and lands in a strange and unfamiliar world, an analogy for the role of the philosopher.

Goya's 'The Second of May 1808' inspired Picasso's 'Guernica'

Goya’s painting commemorated Spanish resistance to Napoleon’s armies, making it a notable part of both the history of Spain and the romantic movement. But it took scholars over a century to realize the impact it had on Pablo Picasso, whose own anti-war work, “Guernica,” used Goya’s painting as a reference.

Shakespeare’s American productions have often reflected the state of the country

Shakespeare’s works have been used to interpret moments in US history, from the Astor Place Riot in 1849 and Lincoln’s frequent quotations of “Macbeth,” to the use of Shakespeare in nationwide classrooms today.

The Army–Navy rivalry has a long history of mascot heists

For decades, spirited cadets and midshipmen have plotted covert missions to steal each other’s mascots—Army’s mule and Navy’s goat—turning the already fierce football rivalry into a game of elaborate pranks and counter-pranks.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

'The Dark Night Rises' was inspired by 'A Tale of Two Cities'

The 2012 Batman film makes several allusions to the Dickens novel, with one character even holding a copy of the book in a final scene. Director Christopher Nolan and his brother (and screenwriter) Jonathan Nolan frame Gotham as a place of inequity, much like Dickens does with London and Paris. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Novels sometimes use unreliable narrators

When we read a book, we’re effectively forced to take the narrator’s word for what’s unfolding. But what if that narrator has a biased take on those events? What if, in a general sense, that narrator can’t be trusted? Enter the unreliable narrator, a strategic way of shaping a story that adds an additional layer to the narrative.

Grant's third-term ambitions helped create the GOP's elephant symbol

In 1874, as Republicans debated Ulysses S. Grant possibly seeking a third term, Harper's Weekly ran a Thomas Nast cartoon showing a panicked elephant labeled "The Republican Vote." The image caught on, cementing the elephant as the GOP's enduring symbol.

See which Russian Revolution faction your politics most closely match

This quiz asks about property rights, women’s suffrage, and church–state separation to reveal whether your views align most with the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Anarchists, or the ultra-nationalist Black Hundreds.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.